Men's Night Out, 12/14/12

Men,

I have planned a Men's Night Out for December 14, 2012, starting at 6 pm, at The Alpha & Omega Coffee House in Puyallup. They are a Christian business and worthy of supporting. Here's their website for directions and their menu so you can plan on how much you want to spend, lots of good food to choose from. I have been told the food is great!

http://alphaandomegacoffeehouse.com/index.php

They have live music too!

You do not need to be there right at 6 pm, just get there when you can. I will be there by 6 pm to get the table. We will stay as long as you all want and you can leave when you want. Bring friends or come by yourself.

If you plan to attend, please let me know so I can get a table for all of us. I look forward to fellowship with you all!

October 6, 2012 — Deschutes River (WA), Yelm, WA

Trip Destination — Deschutes River (WA), Yelm, WA. Date October 6, 2012. I have obtained special access to this gem and October is a great time to go fish it. We will meet at the Roy "Y" at 9 am to carpool if we can.

Bring food and fluids for the day. Dinner will be at the river as a group afterwards. You'll need waders/boots, stimulator and nymph type flies, and of course your rod rigged to go.
C&R ONLY!!!!! Barbless Hooks! See the current reg.s for all the info.

Leech Lake - Rescheduled to July 28, 2012

I have rescheduled the trip to July 28, 2012. Again, I would like to know who would be going, so please tell me if you are planning on going. So far many of us will be going to date. I really like Leech Lake! Can't wait.


Leech Lake requires a Recreation Pass (Forest Service) to park; the Discover and the Fish & Wildlife access pass are NOT valid up there for "parking" permits - although you must have the Fish & Wildlife pass on your mirror. I recommend paying the day use fee, unless you are going many times this year, instead of trying to find a place to and buying the Rec. Pass.


I rescheduled due to communications that the lake was inaccessible, however, thanks to Don and his friend giving Don a report on Dog Lake nearby to Leech, the area is quite clear of any snow and quite accessible. Apparently I have been had by the District Ranger up there. Jerks. They just don't want to open the area when the people want it opened apparently. I understand the cutting of funds and lack of people to open the Leech Lake campground, but don't tell me it isn't accessible - when it IS!


Trip Destination — July 28, 2012. Leech Lake, White Pass Summit, WA. We will meet at Graham Safeway parking lot at 6 am to carpool if we can. Bring food and fluids for the day,
we can go to dinner in Packwood afterwards if you'd like.
You will need a boat, i.e. float tube, pontoon boat, raft, rowboat — NO MOTORS are allowed on the lake. Fly Fishing Only. See the current reg.s for all the info.


Fly Patterns - All flavors, sizes, and colors of Wooley Buggers. Damsel fly nymph and ant patterns. Chironomid patterns - small.


Floating lines, 2wt - 6 wt, with longer, 10 - 12 ft, overall leaders/tippet lengths will do.

4 day weekend, Memorial Day, time to chase Sea Run Cutthroat

Erin has put out an invitation to those who'd like to join him Memorial Day weekend to fish the Puget Sound for SRC's. Here's the info:


will probably do some cutthroat fishing on friday and or saturday or sunday over memorial day weekend at some local beaches for anyone who would like to join.  most beaches can handel about 2  or   3  people

may 25  through  29th

I am thinking of around case inlet or purdy or yukon harbor area

cell   phone  425  260 4166

of course any trip involves going in and  bugging blake and his crew at his shop in gig harbor after words if we have time

http://www.protides.com/washington/2932/

2012 Fly Fishing Schedule

Men,

I didn't post this, just set it up on the regular website, so I thought I would do so here also to allow for another avenue to get to the info.

Of course the March Munn Lake trip is gone by, but the rest of the year to date is here:

March 03, 2012. Munn Lake, Olympia, WA. Report coming soon.

June 23, 2012. Leech Lake, White Pass Summit, WA. We will meet at Graham Safeway parking lot at 6 am to carpool if we can. Bring food and fluids for the day, we can go to dinner in Packwood afterwards if you'd like. See the current reg.s for all the info.

October Date TBD. Deschutes River (WA), Yelm, WA. I have obtained special access to this gem in an area not accessible to many and October is a great time to go fish it. We will meet at OSLC at 8 am to carpool if we can. Bring food and fluids for the day. We can go to dinner in Yelm as a group afterwards if everyone would like to. You'll need waders/boots, stimulator and nymph type flies, and of course your rod rigged to go. C&R ONLY!!!!! Barbless Hooks! See the current reg.s for all the info.

If you have any outings you'd like to offer up to others to join, send me an email and I can spread the word for you. Send me the date, meeting location, time, species to fish for, etc.

March 03, 2012. Munn Lake, Olympia, WA

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

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
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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^)

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Fellowship Night — June 23

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.

May 26 Next gathering night - Casting

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!

May 22, 2011, Saltwater Fishing Trip

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!

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

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^)
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www.oslcflyfishing.org

A New Year, a New Beginning

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^)