November 27, 2023 Fly Tying - Bennett's Lunch Money

 

 

RSFF monthly fly tying
Monday, November 27, 2023

7:00 pm
Orvis Perkins-Rowe
7601 Bluebonnet Blvd, Baton Rouge, LA

 

 

Join us this evening (Monday, November 27th) at 7pm for this month's RSFF Fly Tying meeting.  This month Brian Robert's will be leading us as we learn to tie Matt Bennett's Lunch Money streamer.

 

 

New speck regulations effective November 20th

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has officially published the change in spotted seatrout (speckled trout) regulations. They will go into effect Monday, November 20th. According to biologists, these new regulations will allow the Spawning Potential Ratio of specks to return to 18 percent within 3 years.  Currently, the SPR is 8 percent which is below the Conservation Standard of 14 percent.

The new regulations are as follows:

• Size limit: 13-20 inches total length, only two fish included within the daily creel limit can be greater than 20 inches total length
• Daily Creel: 15-fish daily limit per angler
• Charter guides and crew will not be able to retain a creel limit while on a charter trip but may engage in fishing

The current limits are 12" minimum size (no slot) and a daily creel of 25 fish east of Mermentau River and 15 fish west of Mermentau. The new regulations will be statewide.

November 13th General Meeting - Fly Fishing Belize (A trip report from Jim Wright)

 

Cayo Frances Farm & Fly (Ambergris Caye, Belize)

RSFF monthly general meeting
Monday, November 13, 2023

7:00 pm - meeting
Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife & Fisheries
2000 Quail Drive, Baton Rouge, LA

Join us Monday evening as Jim Wright shares a report from his recent visit to Belize.  

In addition we will have elections (appointments) for officers for the new year.  Also, changes to the by-laws and budget will be available for review and approval. Hope to see everyone there.

Fish of the Month 2023 - Filling in the Gaps

Murray sent in a list of fish he thought were worthy of nomination for our infrequently used Fish of Month feature so let's take a minute to highlight a few of our RSFF anglers and fish that have been caught by the club this year:

February 2023 - Redfish - Ben Roussel

I caught a few nice redfish on a trip to Leeville back in February, the biggest went 34.75". It fell for a Fool's Gold crab fly. Thanks for the nomination Murray - I wish I had better pictures, but it's tough to take good shots of big redfish when you're solo in a kayak.

March 2023 - Golden Shiner - Emmitt Simmons

Emmitt caught this golden shiner and an orangespotted sunfish in Capitol Lake on a black beadheaded nymph using his 4wt fly rod. If you've never caught either of those species Capitol Lake is a great spot to target them, just don't wet your knots with your saliva as it is a waterbody that is quite polluted!

April 2023 - Bullseye Snakehead - Chris Williams

Chris took a couple of trips to south Florida this Spring and one of the species he caught was this bullseye snakehead, which shattered his 8wt Orvis rod. Chris gave a presentation to RSFF on fishing the Tamiami Trail back in May; click the link for that presentation. We'll have to get the full story on what prompted such a rod failure if he didn't cover it in May. The fish was caught on a Clouser minnow (they catch everything) in Ft. Lauderdale. 

June 2023 - Longnose Gar - Ken Holmes

In June Ken "The Garman" Holmes caught a nice longnose gar up on Bayou Sara on a bangtail T&A, which I believe is a fly originally tied by Kelly Galloup. Ken is an avid gar fly fisherman and it just so happens presented on fly fishing for gar at the RSFF general meeting that same month; click the link to see his presentation.

July 2023 - Smallmouth Bass - Kevin Andry

Murray had nominated Kevin's chain pickerel he caught from his trip to Maine this year, but I'm going to overrule Murray and offer up Kevin's smallmouth bass only because it's a much better picture. Kevin caught chain pickerel, smallmouth bass, and fallfish while visiting New England this summer. This fish, and any of the others that were submitted to the Jambalaya Challenge from his trip, fell for a deer hair popper.

August 2023 - Hybrid Sunfish - Duaine McMullin

I get to see all the Jambalaya Challenge entries that come in and y'all may not be aware, but Duaine has caught a number of different sunfish this year that have either been hybrids or at least don't look pure, which is tough when you're turning in fish for a species challenge. He's kept at it though and continues to submit fish. This was one of the prettier ones I've seen that has come from one of the ponds he fishes down in Ascension Parish, it fell for a foam spider. 

All my Jambalaya Challenge folks, y'all keep it up, we are at 354 entries this year so far, which is awesome. I love seeing the fish pics roll in and you never know when they'll be featured on the website!

Flies and Flights - Wednesday October 18, 2023

  Where: Rally Cap Brewing (11212 Pennywood Ave, Baton Rouge, LA)

When: Wednesday, October 18th (7pm til close)

Join us this evening, Wednesday, October 18th for this month's Flies & Flights hosted by Rally Cap Brewing.  This month  Brian Roberts will be leading the way as we tie up some Halloween-themed versions of the Mr. Creepo streamer.  Tools, vises and materials are available for those looking to learn, so please don't hesitate to join us if you're looking to learn.

This evening also marks a first for this event as Ken Holmes will be raffling off a set of spooky streamers to raise funds for The Mayfly Project charity.  Raffle tickets start at $5 so be sure to have some cash (or your Venmo) on hand.  It's not every day you have the opportunity to win some great ties from our resident Gar Guru.

F&F is an independent collective of tiers just looking to tie and enjoy a social gathering with some fine brews. While not affiliated with Red Stick, it was hatched by a few club members as an alternative to a traditional meeting environment. Everyone is welcome!

Sack Up For Clean Waters Burbank Event - 10/15/23

 

Sack Up For Clean Waters                                                       Sunday, October 15, 2023

 

  

8:00 AM                                                                                         BREC Burbank Soccer Complex                                                 12400 Burbank Dr, Baton Rouge, LA 70810

Be sure to join Robinson Almeida at BREC's Burbank Soccer Complex this Sunday (10/15) as he and fellow RSFF members host the inaugural "Sack Up For Clean Waters" fly fishing and waterway cleanup event.

The event is open to club members and the general public alike.  So be sure to stop by, hopefully catch a few fish and do your part to help cleanup our local waterways.

For those interested in attending and learning more about future cleanup events, please take the time to fill out the volunteer form at the link below:

Volunteer Here!!

Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

 

 

 

Fish of the Month - September 2023

The Red Stick Fly Fishers recently held their annual warmwater trip to Lake Concordia and consensus at October's meeting was that Jack Lithgoe had caught the nicest bass! Nice enough for fish of the month, congrats Jack! The fish was estimated around 4-5 lbs, caught on a 5wt on Sept. 30th using a purple #12 bully bluegill spider. 

If you'd like to submit a picture for Fish of the Month consideration, email it to us at RSFFJam@gmail.com. Murray gave me a list of backdated nominations, so we'll feature some other fish that RSFF members have caught this year soon.