Kirk Dietrich highlights Red Stick Day March 7th

26th annual Red Stick Day
Saturday, March 7, 2020
8:30am - 3:00pm
Waddill Wildlife Refuge
4142 N Flannery Rd, Baton Rouge, LA
FREE admission!!

Every first Saturday in March, our club hosts our annual "Red Stick Day" - a celebration of fly fishing. Whether beginner or expert, there's something for everyone! Activities include fly tying demonstrations, seminars, casting demonstrations and lessons, fishing on premises, and our giant fundraiser that goes to support our club's conservation and education initiatives.

Our special guest this year is Louisiana's own Kirk Dietrich. Kirk is recognized as one of the top fly tiers in the country, having been featured in numerous books and magazines either as a writer or as a subject. His flies have been sold by Orvis for over two decades. Last year, his first book, "Tying Bugs: The Complete Book of Poppers, Sliders, and Divers" was released to rave reviews. Kirk will tie as well as give a presentation on making bugs.  He'll also have copies of his book for sale and to autograph.

Former world casting competitor Jay Clark, a Fly Fishers International Master Certified Instructor, will give a presentation on "Improving Casting Skills" on one of Waddill's ponds. Regardless of experience, Jay's presentation is a must-watch!

Other presentations cover topics such as "Preparation and Strategies for Coldwater Trout" and "Kayak Fishing Strategies".  We highly encourage those new to fly fishing or kayak fishing to come and learn from the experts.

To help make this event free, we'll have our raffle and Gamblers Draw.  We bequest members to make donations of used equipment, or boxes of flies. Once again, we'll have our Big Bundle for those who join the club or renew their membership.

We also have delicious jambalaya cooked by one of our great "Bayou Chefs" for a nominal fee.

For complete details, including schedule, list of fly tiers and jig makers, exhibitors, speakers, and much more, click on "2020 Red Stick Day" on the menu above.

February 10th general meeting

Red Stick Fly Fishers monthly meeting
Monday, February 10, 2020
7:00pm
Adult Education Building, Broadmoor United Methodist Church
10230 Mollylea Drive, Baton Rouge, LA

On the agenda:

• Update by Pete Sturgis on the club's upcoming Red Stick Day March 7th at Waddill.
• Update by Dugan Sabins on LDWF public meetings on future speckled trout management. The Baton Rouge meeting is Wednesday, March 12th at LDWF headquarters.  At our March meeting, LDWF biologists will reveal results of their meetings.
• Fishing reports
• Upcoming club trips
• Instruction: how to build a leader and connect leader to fly line using speed nail knot.

As always, the public is welcome!

LDWF announces public meetings on seatrout management

* Please note updated times and locations *

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) has announced dates for public meetings to be held on spotted seatrout (speckled trout) management. The most recent stock assessment indicated spotted seatrout are overfished and undergoing overfishing and changes are necessary in order to recover the stock.

The slide to the left was part of the presentation given by LDWF biologists at the January meeting of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission. It shows that speckled trout spawning stocks have been on the decline since 2010, and below both the conservation target (yellow line) of 14 percent since 2012, and the recruitment threshold (magenta line) of 10.2 percent since 2013.  It also shows what various savings in the spawning biomass or potential ratio (both had similiar graphs) would result in.  CLICK on the images to enlarge.

No action is being taken at this time.  The Commission indicated it would like to hear public input before considering management changes.  LDWF’s biological opinion is that a 20% reduction in harvest is needed in order to recover the stock by 2025 or sooner, but there are a range of options that can achieve that goal.  From the standpoint of Fly Fishers International Gulf Coast Council (FFI-GCC),  the best management goal is one that takes us above the conservation target in the least amount of time.

Management change options recently presented to the LWFC in early January 2020 included:
- creel limit only changes
- minimum size limit changes only
- combined creel and minimum size limit changes
- slot limit only changes
- combined slot limit and creel changes.

Below is a list of meeting dates and locations.  All meetings will begin at 6:00 p.m., except the meeting in Ruston, which will begin at 1:00 p.m.

- Monday, February 10 – North Branch Library, 4130 West Park Ave, Gray
- Wednesday, February 12 – LDWF HQ, Herring Room, 2000 Quail Drive, Baton Rouge
- Thursday, February 13 – Lafayette Council Chambers, 705 West University Avenue,  Lafayette
- Wednesday, February 19 – East Bank Regional Library, 4747 West Napoleon Avenue, Metairie
- Thursday, February 20 – Slidell Municipal Auditorium, 2056 Second Street, Slidell
- Wednesday, February 26 – Calcasieu Parish Extension Office, 7101 Gulf Highway, Lake Charles
- Thursday, February 27 – Rapides Parish Extension Office, 300 Grady Britt Drive, Alexandria
- Saturday, February 29 – Lincoln Parish Library, 910 North Trenton Street, Ruston

LDWF is partnering with Louisiana Sea Grant to use interactive voting technology at these public hearings in response to a survey that will be given at the meetings.  LDWF will also be sending out an email survey identical to the survey that will be administered at public meetings.

For more information, please contact Jason Adriance at 504-284-2032 or jadriance@wlf.la.gov.

January 27th fly tying

Red Stick Fly Fishers monthly fly tying
Monday, January 27, 2020
7:00pm
Independence Park Library, Room 2D
7711 Goodwood Blvd, Baton Rouge

The public is invited, beginners are welcome.  Bring your tools - if none, the club has tools for use during the session.  Materials are provided.

January meeting moved to the 20th

Red Stick Fly Fishers monthly meeting
Monday, January 20, 2020
7:00pm
Adult Education Building, Broadmoor United Methodist Church
10230 Mollylea Drive, Baton Rouge, LA

Our regular 2nd Monday general meeting has been moved a week back due to the BCS National Championship game being held on January 13th.  Our hometown LSU Tigers led by Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow will be facing off against the daunted defense of Clemson.  Geaux Bayou Bengals!

At the January 20th meeting, we'll be taking nominations and holding elections for the following positions:  President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Communications, Fly Tying, Education, Events, Warmwater, Saltwater, Conservation, Membership, Past President.

Also on the agenda: Rainbeaux trout reports, updates on our upcoming Red Stick Day, and a proposed Casting 101 Clinic.

Rainbeaux trout have arrived!

On Tuesday, BREC stocked five ponds around the parish with rainbow trout. Already several anglers have posted their catches on Facebook. Most of the trout are being caught on worms or corn. This is the case each year. As the trout become acclimated, their diet diverts to aquatic insects - and it's advantage flyfishers!

The daily limit is four (4) trout per person. However, catch-and-release is strongly encouraged to allow the maximum number of anglers to enjoy this fishery.

The ponds that were stocked are:
- Central Sports Park, 10501 Lovett Rd, Central
- Forest Community Park, 13900 S. Harrells Ferry Rd
- Howell Community Park, 5509 Winbourne Ave
- Perkins Community Park, 7122 Perkins Rd
- Zachary Road Community Park, 20055 Old Scenic Hwy, Zachary

New this year... at each pond there were four (4) tagged fish. Anglers who catch a tagged fish are eligible for a prize. Details of the program can be found at the BREC Rainbow Trout webpage.  Click here.

Red Stick members are encouraged to post their rainbeaux trout stories (with photo) on our Facebook Group page. Members can also check on what flies and tactics are working best. Click here.