OSLC Men's Fly Fishing Ministry

March 03, 2012. Munn Lake, Olympia, WA

2012-01-24T20:15:00.000-08:00

Men,

We will meet at OSLC at 8 am to carpool if we can (Address in the side menu). Bring food and fluids for the day. We can go to dinner in Lacey as a group afterwards if everyone would like to.

Please let me know if you are going to go so I know who to wait for. Let me know if you will meet us at the church and carpool or meet us there at the lake. Use the website Contact Us email address to do so.

For our trip to Munn Lake here are some fly patterns to plan to have on hand. You can find them at your local fly shop, such as Gig Harbor Fly Shop or Puget Sound Fly Company or your choice of big box stores.

Here are the fly pattern recommendations for a March trip:

RS2 in Olive; Black, Olive Wooly Buggers; Olive Leech; Damsel fly nymph; Chironomids in Yellow, Red, or Black; Black Nose Dace; Tinsel Minnow; Bead head Mohair Leech in Black, Deep Purple, Maroon or any combination thereof; and Carey Special.

Sizes are your choice, just remember Damsel fly nymphs are not huge, as Chironomids are not either. Ask the fly shop for size suggestions.

You will need a boat, i.e. float tube, pontoon boat, raft, rowboat — NO MOTORS are allowed on the lake. C&R, Selective Gear Rules. See the current reg.s for all the info.

Hope to see you on the trip!

Men's Night Out - December 9, 2011

2011-11-20T17:13:00.000-08:00

Men,

Save the date, OSLC Men's Fly Fishing Ministry will wrap up the year with a Men's Night Out on December 9, 2011. Looks like we will be meeting at The Rock Wood Fired Pizza in Puyallup (directions and website below).

I will be there by 6 pm and you all are welcome to come before or after that. If you come before, just save some spots. You can stay as long as you want. Come just for the fellowship if you don't want to eat. Bring a friend too if you'd like.

PLEASE let me know if you plan to come. It would be nice to have an estimate on how many to expect. Thank you.

It's pay individually for your own order or you can go in with someone.

For the menu, etc. http://therockwfp.com/

For directions http://www.mapquest.com/#e137b6c234da37a6b3bb7508

We will wrap things up between 8 - 8:30 pm if we all last that long or they give us the boot beforehand cause they want our seats.

Towards the end of December I will give you a heads up on the changes and plans for 2012. Plan on more fishing FUN! We have learned a lot the past 6 years and we strive to make it better each year.

Hope to see you Dec. 9! And may you all have a blessed Thanksgiving as you remember to give thanks to the ONE who gave you all those blessings.

Until we fish again,
Brad
------------------------------------
May your fly always be wet and the fish be in the net!
We fish rain or shine - the fish are always wet and don't care if we are too. 8^)

I dare you to watch the entire video!

2011-11-17T16:40:00.000-08:00

And not change.

Fly Fishing Purdy Spit, Part II - Friday, 11/4/11

2011-10-29T18:37:00.000-07:00

Erin Roach is going to Purdy Spit again on November 4, 2011, and welcomes anyone to join him once again.

He says he will be starting at 8 am and may finish up around 1:30 pm. Low tide is 6:54 am and High tide is 1:54 pm.

His cell phone number is 425-260-4166 if you'd like to call him and get more info. I believe you can meet him at Massiminos at the corner of Hwy 302 and 144th Street again.

Fly Fishing Purdy Spit - Friday, 10/21/11

2011-10-17T21:33:00.000-07:00

Men,

Erin Roach has made an open invitation for anyone of you all to meet up with him next Friday, 10/21/11, to fish Purdy Spit. He has really got it dialed in, so he is an awesome resource to go fly fish this area.

He say low tide is at 6:52 am and he will be at Massiminos at the Purdy Spit around 8 am and will fish until around 1 pm if the fish are there.

Massiminos is at the corner of Hwy 302 and 144th Street.

Have a great time!

September 29, Fellowship - OSLC Men's Fly Fishing Ministry

2011-09-27T19:07:00.000-07:00

Men,

This month we will be meeting on Thursday, September 29, 2011, 7 pm, West Campus. We will continue casting lessons for those who have started.

See you there!

August 18, Fellowship - OSLC Men's Fly Fishing Ministry

2011-08-13T22:36:00.001-07:00

Men,

This month we will be meeting on Thursday, August 18, 2011, 7 pm, West Campus. We will continue casting lessons for those who have started. Also, it's Pink Salmon season, so if you would like to tie some flies, bring your tying equipment and materials to tie some flies. I can show you two very easy flies to tie up for these fun fish; the Clouser Deep Minnow and, believe it or not, a Pink Wooley Bugger. They can be used in the Sound or the rivers. It really doesn't get any easier than that!

I can bring clouser hooks and materials for both the clouser and the wooley bugger, but if you could bring hooks for the wooley bugger, that would be great. I don't know if I have any hooks or enough of them for the wooley bugger.

Hope to see you there! Enjoy this beautiful weather to it's fullest and thank God for providing it!

New WDFW Fishing Regs 2011-2012

2011-06-26T12:46:00.000-07:00

The new 2011-2012 regs have been released to the public and I wanted to tell you that you REALLY need to pay a lot of attention to them and ANY waters you may be wanting to fish.

Case in point the Mashel River and Muck Creek are CLOSED - yes, you CANNOT fish them. This is due to a new law they passed last year (maybe the year before and took affect last year). In the May 1, 2011 to April 30, 2012 regs for this season you need to go to page 32, Puget Sound and Strait Rivers - Special Rules. If the MAIN RIVER SYSTEM (such as the Puyallup or Nisqually) is not listed (Puyallup and Nisqually thankfully are), then that river system is CLOSED to fishing period. If the MAIN RIVER SYSTEM is listed (such as Puyallup and Nisqually), then you need to find it's special rules on the following pages (p. 32 - 48). When you look at the special rules for it, such as the Nisqually, if you DO NOT see the tributary listed with the main river system, that tributary is CLOSED. For the Nisqually, on page 43, Muck Creek and Mashel River are NOT listed, therefore they are CLOSED. However, Ohop Creek and Tanawax Creek are listed, therefore they are OPEN. That being said, the exception to the Nisqually is anything above the LaGrande Dam - they are all open.

This is not my interpretation, you can find on the Washington Fly Fishing (WFF) forum the discussion that a few of us had. One of the forum members actually called the WDFW and asked them point blank about the Mashel River. The regs specifically state on p. 31 "The basic rule in these waters is that all rivers, streams, and beaver ponds are closed to fishing unless they are listed in the following tables in the Puget Sound and Strait Rivers section of the pamphlet (see pages 33-48)." Yes, it even includes Beaver Ponds! Why, I do not know...except if they are a pond resulting from damming a river I guess.

Here's the WFF forum discussion link - http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com/board/showthread.php/79729-Mashel-River

Yes, I was really bummed to find this out as I had planned to do a special fishing trip to the Mashel to hike in and fish a spot I used to when I was a kid, but now can't. I do understand why, being involved in the Nisqually River Council - Salmon recovery efforts.

So, please read the regs carefully BEFORE you fish! It isn't worth a fine or loss of fishing for life. If you have questions, or complaints, call the WDFW before you fish to validate the river you wish to fish.

Preventing Ice-up on Guides and Rod

2011-06-11T11:22:00.001-07:00

This tip came from today's, June 11, 2011, Sportsmen's Devotional. It is a daily devotion that you can subscribe to and I HIGHLY recommend it. Here's the link to subscribe http://www.sportsmensdevotional.com

Sportsmen's Tip of the Day

Several marketed products such Stanley's Ice-Off Paste by Loon or better yet, vaseline petroleum jelly help with preventing ice freezing to fishing guides and line. Vaseline applied frequently doesn't freeze, is non toxic, very inexpensive, and will not harm your line, pole, or reel.

Now I know it is Spring - almost summer - and we are not supposed to be worrying about ice this time of the year - but who knows what is going to come with the weather we have been having!!! Could happen on the OP or the East Side or even the Seattle metro area. Global warming huh??

So now you don't have to fight ice no matter the time of the year. Go fish!

Fellowship Night — June 23

2011-06-07T12:43:00.000-07:00

Our next gathering is 6/23/11, 7 pm, West Campus. We will continue with Beginner Casting lessons. We have gear for you to use or you can bring what you have and continue to learn with it. If you are wanting to learn fly fishing, this is a no cost way to try it. If you end up not wanting to continue, you are not out anything. Come join us. For more info contact Brad Nickel, 253-569-9032.

No Seal Bombs Needed!

2011-05-26T11:33:00.001-07:00

In this case, let 'em eat their fill!!!!

Salt Chucking on the Narrows

2011-05-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

We had a great day at Narrows Park. Full of casting practice, and one fish released, but not in the hand...........Jerry plays with them too much! But he had two witnesses, so I guess I can believe he caught one. 8^) It was a great tide change to fish and the skies held back the rain. There were definitely fish there, as the bait fish were a hopping! And the seals were present too........not sure that is a good thing, but it is an indicator. Erin got some excellent casting practice on his new rig and us guys closed up the day with some great fellowship at the Tides for dinner. Thank you men for a great day on the water! Thank you God for an awesome day and great men to spend it with! Amen!

Erin working his new rig.

Steve wetting the line.

Shane, Jerry, and Shawn casting to hopeful waters. And where Jerry caught his.

Shane workin' it.

Again, it was an excellent day! And I got to play with my new toy - GoPro HD Hero Naked video camera. Way too much fun! I got to get the head strap mount so I can fish and film at the same time, giving a new POV for the fly fishing experience.

Flies used: Snot Darts (orange), Chum Baby (natural, blue), Ferguson Green and Silver, Sili Shrimp (orange), Clouser Minnow (red).

Thanks again men for a great day!

Steelhead Dreams

2011-05-19T21:50:00.000-07:00

Makes my mouth water!

Steelhead Dreams

Part 1

Steelhead Dreams by Todd Moen from Todd Moen Creative on Vimeo.

Part 2 - You have to go to the actual website to watch it.

Steelhead Dreams Part 2 - by Todd Moen from Todd Moen Creative on Vimeo.

May 26 Next gathering night - Casting

2011-05-15T18:52:00.000-07:00

Men,

We will be meeting for our next monthly gathering on May 26, 7 pm, OSLC West Campus. We will be focusing on casting that night, so bring your rods and reels so we can rig up and practice. I will give beginner lessons that night too, so if you haven't cast a fly rod yet, bring some patients. We'll get you off to a good start.

See you there!

Salmon: Running the Gauntlet by PBS

2011-05-05T09:53:00.000-07:00

Watch the full episode. See more Nature.

Phenomenal video. I bought a copy to show at a later date.

Mayflies on the Window Screen

2011-05-01T09:49:00.000-07:00

Well, it is Definitely spring time AND fishing season - officially by state reg.s anyway, despite a lot being open year round. Why?

There is a Mayfly on my window screen! Now that is God telling me it's time to fish! And you know what is odd about this? I have no creeks, rivers, or real lakes around my house to fish. There are entryway ponds at a housing development a 1/4 mile away, another pond that is just a persons personal pond and sort of a swamp, mainly for drainage runoff collection, an 1/8 mile away, but other than that, nothing.

Besides the excitement of being blessed with this insect gracing my house, why make a deal of this? Because it is time to start matching the hatch for sure! I believe this one to be a Blue Wing Olive. If I had fishing opportunities around my house, this is what I'd be tying on.

So pay attention to the guides and river reports, use their knowledge to match the hatch. And if you don't get that info ahead of time, take a half hour of your morning to look at the evidence of what is hatching, like the grass, bushes, rocks, for carcasses or shucks, etc. Pick rocks out of the river bed and check what's clinging to them. Then try yo match the hatch and go fish.

Or, if your lucky like me, check your window screens...........8^)

Sunglasses

2011-04-28T21:37:00.001-07:00

One of the most overlooked pieces of safety equipment for fly fishing is a pair of sunglasses, or glasses in general. They act as safety glasses and can prevent you from loosing an eye - despite how large or small the hook is.

If you are chucking heavy weight Clouser Minnows, that fly can SMACK you at any time during the cast. And a hit to the head is bad enough, think of getting that size 6 or 4 hook in an eye - especially if you didn't pinch the barb well enough. I don't even know if an eye that gets hook can be saved for that matter.

Of course if you get polarized sunglasses, you get the added bonus of glare reduction and site fishing.

So go buy a pair of sunglasses that you can afford and get polarized too for that added benefit. They range from as cheap as $5 and go up over hundreds of dollars if you'd like.

You only have two eyes, the glasses are not totally for fashion, they serve one good purpose, to keep the eyes you have.

May 22, 2011, Saltwater Fishing Trip

2011-04-26T20:34:00.000-07:00

Men,

REMINDER - we meet on this Thursday, April 28, 7 pm, West Campus for casting and tying chum babies and snot darts. Bring your tying gear and thread. I will provide the rest. And I will bring extra tying equipment for those who need it.

We will be going fly fishing on the Sound on May 22, 2011, to Narrows Park, which is on the Gig Harbor side of the bridge (you see it to the south of the bridge when crossing). We will meet at 1 pm to leave and carpool over. We will meet in the parking lot of Our Savior Lutheran Church, 4529 112th Street E., Tacoma, WA 98446. It's on the corner of 112th St. and Bingham Ave. - can't miss it, it's a big church building. 8^)

We should arrive at the park by 1:45 pm at the latest.

Low tide is at 3:30 pm. We will fish through the tide swing from high to low and then on the incoming tide again. It's only really good fishing 2 hours before and after the low tide, better yet on the incoming, so we will more than likely finish up by 5 or 5:30 pm.

Flies: Chum Baby's, Snot Darts, Clouser Deep Minnows (Olive, orange, chartreuse, pink, brown - chuck and duck!)

An 8 or 9 ft long, 6 wt, floating line rig is just fine. Using a 9 feet long, 12 lb mono leader and tippet (regular fishing line in two pieces) is all that is needed too. I probably have more than enough to rig everyone up with a leader and tippet, so shouldn't worry about buying any if you don't have it.

I am sure there will be plenty of flies to share with those people who don't have any or any time and materials to tie some up.

Bring waders and boots, as we will be wade fishing - makes it easier to get farther out with your casts.

Dress for the weather, of course. Layers are best. Hopefully it will be a nice, sunny day.

It is not all catch and keep! Sea run cutthroat are always to be released. We will see what the regs say about the rest by then if they get the new ones out. Bring your camera, that's the best bet to take your catch home.

After that, I may go to dinner at the Tides Tavern in Gig Harbor. Anyone is welcome to join me if they would like to. Of course if you carpool over with me, then you will be. LOL!! We will see what everyone is up for after chucking heavy flies for that long - and if we're soaked or not....Please God, no more rain! At least on May 22. 8^)

See you Thursday or next month on the Sound!

2011-04-24T08:36:00.000-07:00

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Today is Resurrection Sunday when we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ; this is what Easter is all about. It's not about chasing kids and eggs around the yard or hiding a basket for them to find or giving them a present just because, it's about Christ's conquering death and hell as the absolute and eternal sacrifice for you and me for the forgiveness of our sins; the final sacrifice and atonement to God the Father for our sins so we can be right with Him and have a living relationship with Him for all eternity.

Let me make this blatantly clear - You DO NOT earn your way into Heaven by doing good things and being a good person!!! It's not performance based. That is a lie of satan. All the other gods of this world are false gods and cannot save you from the eternal torture of Hell. There is only One true God. There is no other way to be with and in relationship with Him except through Christ. Christ's gift of salvation is FREE! God's gift of Jesus is a GIFT from God to you! All you have to do is ask Jesus Christ into your heart, to give your life to Him, through faith as in Ephesians 2:2 & 9:

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

If you do not have this free gift, please accept it now. Here's a prayer to help you do so.

"God, I am a sinner. I ask you to forgive me of my sins.
I believe in my heart, and confess with my lips, that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior.
Come into my heart Jesus. Take my life, I surrender it to you.
From this moment on, I will live my life according to the Bible and serve you.
Thank you for taking away my sins and giving me everlasting life. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen"

I don't know if you know where you will be going after death, but I assure you death is a fact and you will not avoid it. I know where I will be going - to be with my God and Creator, my Lord and Savior, Jesus, in Heaven for eternity!

You know what? If you think this is all a hoax and you do not believe in this Christ, Holy Spirit, God, Heaven thing, then what do you have to loose by asking Christ to be your Lord and Savior? It can't hurt can it?

I can tell you, you have nothing to loose and everything to gain if you do so, but you have everything to loose if you do not. If you do not believe now, you will when you are in Hell for eternity and at that time there's nothing you can do to get out.

If you wish to contact me or Paul about your choice to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, go for it. We want to know and help you in your new journey. Our emails or phone numbers are:

Paul Remington: plremington@yahoo.com

Brad Nickel: toy4x4@comcast.net ; Cell: 253-569-9032

He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!

Happy Easter from OSLC Men's Fly Fishing Ministry

2011-04-17T16:32:00.000-07:00

Men,

The website is up and running again and has also been updated to 2011 - Thanks be to God! Prayer works! Not too much different, but working - and finally up to date. Click the logo on the right side menu -----> or the link:

http://www.oslcflyfishing.org/

On the website, in the On the Fly page, are the two April flies, the Snot Dart and Chum Baby, and their recipes. As I stated, I will provide the materials, not tools and thread, for April 28 when we tie them, but the recipe is there for you to see what is going to be used and for you to go buy the materials so you can tie some up after that. The address to West Campus is on the ride side menu. ----->

We will still be using the blog for more information too. We will be putting tying tips on it, trip information (more than what would be on the website), general updates that don't need to be emailed out to everyone - I don't like SPAM either - etc, and so on.

Reminder, the two dates as options for saltwater fly fishing in May are May 15 and/or May 22. Please let me know which date you would like to go, if you would like to go. I will put the info for the day (each day if needed) on the blog, so start watching the blog in May for it. I will follow up with an email too. I would like your input for this trip by April 26, reply to the email I sent out, please.

In regards to fly tying, Blake, the owner of Gig Harbor Fly Shop, has offered to provide a tying night at their shop. I would like to know from you all if this is something you would like to take part in. If so, I will get with Blake and see what we can do for setting a date and discuss the level of tiers that would be coming. Please tell me if this is something you would participate in and what fly tying level you think you are at - beginner, intermediate, advanced. (Be careful, you may also walk out with a new spey rod too..........inside joke)

The email addresses info@oslcflyfishing.org and derfliegenfischer@oslcflyfishing.org are working again too. If you wanted to know and have them in you address book.

2011-04-05T15:57:00.000-07:00

I began the transferring of website hosting today. In doing this the website may not be available for up to two weeks, so please use the blog for information.

Along with that, the email may not be working. Honestly, I can't wait to get rid of this Gmail garbage anyway. So no love lost there. If you need to contact OSLC Men's Fly Fishing Ministry, use my home email: toy4x4@comcast.net

Snot Dart and Chum Baby

2011-04-02T15:06:00.000-07:00

Here are the two flies we will be tying April 28 for your reference. Sorry for the unprofessional pics, but hey, they are what you get. 8^)

Snot Dart

Chum Baby

I will give you the recipe/tying order at the time we tie them, but these flies are readily found and the recipe is easy enough to find.

Tying tip: Fluorescent colors actually maintain their colors no matter the depth they are fished at. So if you want a fly to be red below 3 feet, use fluorescent red, otherwise the color red does not show below that depth.

2011-03-26T16:33:00.000-07:00

Men,

I had to change the date for our April gathering due to Maundy Thursday. We will meet on April 28, 2011, 7 PM, West Campus.

Bring your fly tying gear. We will be tying two Saltwater patterns for Salmon and/or Sea Run Cutthroat. I will provide all the materials except thread, so please bring some red, white, olive or black thread. For those who do not have tying equipment, I will bring two extra vises and provide the tools too.

A few of us will also be bringing some rods rigged to do some casting. So we will do that for about 20 minutes and move on to the fly tying so as to be able to get through the two flies.

We will be tying the Chum Baby and Snot Dart if you'd like to search for them and see what they look like beforehand.

See you April 28, 2011, 7 PM, West Campus.

--
Until we fish again.
--------------------
Spread the Word,

Brad Nickel
May your fly always be wet and the fish be in the net! 8^)
------------------------------------
www.oslcflyfishing.org

A New Year, a New Beginning

2011-03-06T18:44:00.000-08:00

Men,

We are spooling up our reels and preparing for the first cast of 2011. Officially we will start meeting on March 24 at 7 PM, West Campus building again, but from April on we will be meeting once a month on the third Thursday of the month, so that means April 21 at 7 PM is next and so on. Our room is the one in the back, SE corner, down the hall.

We will only meet once a month this year, if there is a lot of want or need to meet twice a month, then we will look at doing so. There is a idea to do a trip to Rocky Ford in Ephrata in the next few months. We also will be doing a lot more small mountain stream trips into the Cascades this summer and I am sure we will convoy up to Leech Lake once. We have not set any dates for any of the trips yet, that is a work in progress.

The night at West Campus will just be fellowship, nothing more. If someone brings their fly tying gear to tie up something or rod and reel for casting lessons or has something they want help with, then we'll do what we can to help them learn what they would like. Other than that, we have no plans for education; it's just gonna be a laid back, masculine fellowship (which we all know means Christian for shooting the bull), man time night. Keep it simple.

As for the website, I lost the ability to edit it early last year. Everything on the website still works, links, etc, it's just not up to date informationwise. I have a plan to get that back in order now though, just need to do it. We will be using the Blog a lot more this year for updates and schedules, as it is a much easier way to do so and a few of us have access to edit it all the time rather than just myself being able to update the website, plus the Blog is free. The link to the Blog is the top link on the left side menu of our website - http://www.oslcflyfishing.org or http://oslcflyfishing.blogspot.com/

The address to West Campus is: 11107 44th Ave E, Tacoma, WA 98446

Hope to see you all there.

--
Until we fish again.
--------------------
Spread the Word,

Brad Nickel
May your fly always be wet and the fish be in the net! 8^)

Knots and Faith

2007-03-19T20:42:00.000-07:00

While at Cady Lake, fighting the biggest fish I ever caught in my life on a fly rod, God taught me about faith - my 6 lb test leader snapped at the leader loop knot (Surgeon’s End Loop) attaching it to the fly line. The next day while reminiscing about the event, I thought about how it was I who tied the knot. Why did it fail? Why where it did? WHY ME?!!! Araaaarrrggg! I feel like I pulled the football away at the last minute like Lucy does to Charlie Brown, but to myself. The knot could have failed for numerous reasons: I nicked the line while trimming it or it got nicked by the hook during a crumby cast or it abraded on something or whatever, the point is it failed. It most likely failed due to the fact I was using a 12 foot long piece of tippet as a leader, instead of a tapered leader that would've been terminated in a good leader loop and also to 25 lb test. I can honestly say, it's worth the $2.50 - $5 bucks to buy a properly done tapered leader. Well, if you talk to Paul, I have had a lot of experience with knot failure - all knots I tied myself and all HUGE fish I lost do to it.

So what's this got to do with faith? Well, faith in ourselves, and only ourselves, is susceptible to failure every time. However, when you put your faith in Jesus our Lord and Savoir and God our Father, now that faith can never fail. Trust me, the only way it can fail is if you don't try it.

So in whatever you do and however you do it, put your faith in God and Jesus. So say a prayer before you "tie your next knot" and ask God to be with you and bless you during this event. Depending upon your faith, He will be there.

12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Ephesians 3:12

19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:19-25

Cady Lake

2007-03-18T18:48:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at the Cady lake OSLCFFM outing on Saturday. Don, Paul, Brad, Jerry and I made the short hop on over to the lake. The weather when we left Tacoma was good; Cloudy and about 50 degrees, no wind. Jerry said to bring rain gear and be prepared for wind. I was a little skeptical, it was perfect fishing weather as we started out. Once we got there the wind was whipping on the lake. We got there about 930 am and got all of the pontoons and float tubes unloaded. Paul was unloaded, rods together, waders on and pontoon loaded all in about 6.7 seconds. He was itching to get on the water. Brad on the other hand put together 4 or 5 rods loaded his pontoon put on his waders and it took about an hour. Jerry, Don and I were somewhere in between.

We had a short devotional and prayer and we hit the water.

I paddled my brand spankin' new pontoon out on the water, it was awesome! I was about half way across the lake and I decided to troll a nymph. I cast the fly and it got caught in my net on the back of my boat. As I was trying to get untangled the wind blew me back to the shore where I started. I started out again and finally made it to the other side of the lake. Fish were rolling and jumping. It seemed like when they started to roll on the surface the rain wasn't far behind. It rained pretty good on and off for the whole day. Paul caught the first fish on a dry fly. I was back at the vehicle getting some of the stuff that I forgot to pack in the boat. I needed my dry line. I fished all around the area and only had one bite on a dry fly, my speed stimulator. It looked awesome in the water. Very buggy. Brad caught the second fish on a dry nymph. After fighting the fish and Paul getting into position for a great picture, Brad decided to do a LDR (Long Distance Release). Oh well. Jerry had a great take and unfortunately missed it. Don, finally got one at the launch on a wooley bugger.

When we were loading the sky's opened up and the rain poured down. We had a great dinner with lots of laughes on the way home.

Fly fishing in my pontoon with 4 other guys in their boats on a small lake has to be one of the funnest times that I have had. You are fishing with 4 guys, but you are also fishing all by yourself. It is a great time to reflect and think about life. You can fish where you want to, but you are still with friends. I got some great casting practice yesterday and don't have any regrets about not catching fish.

Thank you God for giving me the privilege of being with such great friends and brothers fishing, laughing, learning and experiencing Your Great Outdoors.

'till we fish again.

Ramblings of a new Fly Fisher

2007-03-13T20:35:00.000-07:00

It has been a little over a year since I started my trek as a Fly Fisherman. Actually it really started about 11 years ago. I bought a 9 wt Lamiglas rod one evening with Fred, a guy that I worked with at Sears. We were going to start Steelhead fishing. It was a great thought at the time, but I never went any farther with it. I had a rod, no real or line and I parted ways with Sears and moved away from Fred.

Fast Forward 11 years. My mom asked what I wanted for Christmas. I told her it would be nice to get a fly rod for Trout. So, now I had two rods and no reels, waders, fly's, etc. Is history going to repeat itself? So my wife and I are going to church one morning. I was talking with her about how it would be nice if we could do the fun things we do, with people from church. Like, ATVing, Fishing, Hunting, etc. We get to church and are in the 3rd pew from the front, where we normally sit and are getting ready to worship and my wife points to an 'add' in the bulletin. It was for the 'OSLC Men's Fly Fishing Ministry'. WoW my prayers had been answered and I didn't even have a chance to pray yet. I communicated with Brad and Paul via email and went to some casting classes with Brad. History didn't repeat itself! I started picking up the gear that I needed with Brad's good advise. Over the course of a few months I learned to cast. It wasn't pretty , but it would get the bug to the water. I went on the 1st annual Yakima trip with OSLC Mens Fly Fishing Ministry and had a blast. I didn't catch a fish, but lost a lot of fly's and bonded with a great group of guys who are now close friends and Brothers in Christ.

On the Yakima, during the evening, I tied my first fly. The Wooley Bugger. I have been hooked on this ever since. Don, the guy who got me hooked, apologized to my wife at church last weekend for starting me out on this very addictive, new passion in my life. We all laughed. Well at least Don and I laughed. My wife looks at the piles of tying materials and my vise always on my desk and shakes her head. She is fine with all of this. She knows that I am hanging around a great group of guys and am doing something I love.

Oh, and it all isn't only about fly fishing. We get together and study the Bible, talk, support and are a good accountability group for each other. Yes, things do seem to focus on fly fishing a lot, but we all want to use this group to bring more people to Christ. Finally as it was stated in an earlier post on this Blog. We are MEN. We like to have fun and I hope that shows thru. What you see is what you get. Within our group we can discuss and talk about anything, church, personal, whatever. It stays in the group and that's that.

Even if you don't want to join the OSLC Men's Fly Fishing Ministry, I encourage you to join some sort of small group at church. God will bless you with a Band of Brothers, or Sisters, just like he has me. I know that I would be fly fishing, but I don't think that I would have such a passion for it without my Band of Brothers.

I did finally catch a trout last summer. It was awesome!

Role Models

2007-01-19T10:13:00.000-08:00

I just watched a review of the now (in)famous American Idol and heard something Very disturbing. An author and expert on bullying, Rachel Simmons, stated as part of her review of the "hit" show, “We live in a society where role models, good role models, are being replaced by celebrities." She also stated as part of the review that, "Social cruelty is being woven into the American Idol experience." There are two things we can learn from these statements.

First, we need to strive to make Jesus our role model - celebrities most often know very little and are pompous fools, why anyone would idolize and make them role models I can't understand. On the other hand, there are good Christian celebrities out there that are indeed living for and showing Jesus in their lives and are not afraid to do so. These are great earthly role models. Quite a few of our Seattle Seahawks are great, Christian role models, be inspired by them if you need an earthly role model. Or find a Christian in the sport you love to show your friends or children how to live for God and Jesus AND who to give the credit and glory to.

Second thing we can learn is that history hasn't changed much. All that lead up to the betrayal of Jesus, and even after Adam and Eve committed the original sin; social cruelty has been being woven into our society in general. We do not need to encourage this and continue to give it momentum. So realize that even the littlest dig on someone you don't know is just as harsh as what the American Idol "judges" and "celebrities" do to the contestants.

Here's some Biblical reference to this to help you know what you need to do to be a good role model.

John 13:34-35 (New International Version)
34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Romans 12:10 (New International Version)
10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

Hebrews 10:24 (New International Version)
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

And more for you to look up: Romans 13:8, Galatians 5:13, Ephesians 4:2,

So be on guard brothers, make Jesus your role model and do not spur on social cruelty.

What it's all about.

2007-01-17T18:13:00.000-08:00

"So what is our ministry all about?” you say. It's all about MEN! About being a MAN! Being a man who is RIGHT with God or is striving to be right with God. Inevitably it's about becoming a man of God, giving your life to God fully, and striving to do His will by accepting His free offer of eternal life through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior - freely and in faith – if you have not done so. It's about being a man who will have ONE wife and be FAITHFUL to her. Being a man who will LEAD their family in a Godly manner. Being a man who will lead their children, be a part of their children's life, lead by God pleasing example, TEACH them and RAISE THEM UP in God, and guide them to be responsible, respectful adults who need to understand there are repercussions for their actions, they must be responsible for their actions, and there is no such thing as free lunch. It's about being a man who does man things - belching, farting, shooting guns, fishing, playing football or baseball or whatever their passion, killing animals (hunting and fishing, legally for food), standing up for and defending their family, driving fast, experiencing the thrill of pursuit, BBQing, a good steak, a great beer, the outdoors, being MEN of GOD. Yes, God allows these things, if done in a manner that is pleasing to Him. It's time to reverse the effects of feminism and political correctness and allow men to be the men God wants them to be, take back their families, and start being the leaders God has called them to be. Men who have morals and know right from wrong, choose life, and “know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:23-25 God designed men to be a certain way and we want to teach them what He wants them to be and allow them to be a man. We also want the men to know that it is not all about you, it’s about God. If you are interested in joining us, whether or not you fly fish, every Wednesday we meet for either Bible study, fly tying, or fellowship at 7 pm. See our website’s calendar of events for more details of where and what. I hope you will take the challenge and joins us. See you later; I can’t wait to meet you.

May God bless you indeed!

21st Century Communications

2007-01-15T17:54:00.000-08:00

Amazing! God equipped me with enough knowledge to create and maintain our ministry's website - and be very HTML dangerous - and now He has equipped us with bloggin' technology to enter into yet another prime way our society communicates in the 21st Century. Hopefully our thoughts, insight, direction, and general brain dumps will help and encourage you all to participate in our ministry and you realize we're just a bunch of guys with a passion - for God and for fly fishing.

Welcome to OSLC Men's Fly Fishing Ministry Blog.