December 9th meeting

Cane Country Fly Casters regular monthly meeting
Tuesday evening, December 9th, 6:30pm
Westside Baptist Church, Christian Life Center

Glen 'Catch' Cormier will instruct us on tying a couple of his favorite wintertime saltwater flies, the LaFleur's Charlie and the Coma Cocaho. Pot luck dinner. Bring a friend.

2015 Dues are coming due.   $20 per person  $25 for a family

November 11th meeting

Cane Country Fly Casters Regular Monthly Meeting
Tuesday evening, Nov, 11th, 6:30pm
Westside Baptist Church, Christian Life Center

Vic has a great fly fishing video he is going to show. Pot luck dinner. Bring a friend.

2015 Dues are coming due.   $20 per person  $25 for a family

Jerome Hebert

We were very surprised and saddened to learn that our good friend and colleague, Jerome Hebert, passed away last Friday at his residence in Broussard.  He was only 43 years old, and seemingly in good health.  Funeral will be held at Martin & Castille Funeral Home in downtown Lafayette. Time is 10:00am, with visitation prior on Wednesday 2-9pm and again Thursday 8-10am.

This is a great loss for the fly fishing community in Louisiana. Jerome and his wife were the First Couple of fly tying here in our state. Jerome was an innovative tier, a talented artist, and an avid promoter of warmwater fly fishing. Further, he gave freely of his time to teach others - whether as a demo tier at countless events (including the IFFF National Conclave), or giving a workshop on tying flies, or teaching someone to fly fish.  His passion for our sport was rarely matched. He also donated his artwork and flies for club events, as well as his personal charities.  He was a very special young man, and will be greatly missed.

Make plans for Rendezvous October 31st - November 2nd

What is Rendezvous?  Twenty-five years ago, a group of fly fishermen from Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and elsewhere decided to get together for a weekend to fish and tie flies.  They found the facilities at North Toledo Bend State Park to be ideal.  Since then, the tradition has continued and grown.  There's no planned activities, but plenty of fly tying, food, fly casting and fishing, with only a minimal fee to cover lodging and meals.  The activities take place at the park's group facility, which features a commercial kitchen and dining hall, and lodging available for up to 150 people in 5 heated log bunkhouses (30 beds each). There's also a heated central shower and restroom building with nice night lighting on all the sidewalks and a large main log building with A/C, picnic tables and a large barbeque trailer.

Held the first weekend of November each year, the Toledo Bend Rendezvous (aka Southern Fly Fishers Rendezvous) is co-sponsored by the IFFF Texas and Gulf Coast Councils.  It remains one of the top tying events in the country, with many of the attendees featured at regional and national expos.

For complete details, go to the Toledo Bend Rendezvous home page

Deer Hair Tying Workshop - Sat, October 18

Mike Hawkins Instructs Deer Hair Tying Techniques -
Including Dave Whitlock's Diving Frog & Deer Hair Bream Flies

A Cane Country Fly Casters Fly Tying Workshop
Saturday - October 18, 2014
8:30am to 1:00pm
Location: Alligator Farm Rd, Natchitoches, LA (Jim Pierson's Hunting Camp)
This is limited-seating workshop for tyers, with some experience, throughout the region.
Cost is $20 per person and includes: tying supplies, beverages, breakfast snacks and lunch.

Schedule:
7:30 Coffee, Doughnuts, Snacks & Set-Up Your Tools
8:30 Workshop Begins
12:00 Burgers and Dogs

Bring your tying equipment. Reservations are based on 1st come 1st serve.
For more Information, contact either: Burley Johnson 318-471-5049 or Vic McClain 318-228-9729
To pre-register, please fill out the form above and mail it in with your check. Make checks
payable to CCFC and mail to:
       CCFC
       915 3rd Street
       Natchitoches, LA
Fill out form the form below and mail it in with your check:
Whitlock Flies Workshop Form (16k, PDF format)

Gulf Coast Fly Fishing Fair - September 12-13

2014 Gulf Coast Fly Fishing Fair
Sponsored by the Gulf Coast Council, International Federation of Fly Fishers
September 12-13, 2014
Ocean Springs Civic Center, Ocean Springs, Mississippi

The IFFF Gulf Coast Council consists of IFFF members and clubs in Louisiana, Mississippi, and southern Alabama.  Cane Country is proud to be a member of the GCC.

This event is free and open to the public.  The Fair features free casting lessons, free tying lessons, free beginner classes, tying demonstrations, and free classes.  Class size is limited, so registration is strongly suggested as some classes will fill up early.

On Friday, there will be workshops, including Continuing Education for CCI Members.

On Friday evening, there will be a Jambalaya Buffet, followed by Awards and a Live Auction at the Ocean Springs Yacht Club, 100 Front Beach Drive.  The Auction will feature fly tackle, guided trips, artwork, fly plates, and much more!  Half of the proceeds will be donated to the University of Southern Mississippi - Gulf Coast Research Lab, which is responsible for a number of projects in conjunction with the Gulf Coast Council.

Saturday is a day full of activities, including casting, tying, vendors, exhibitors, workshops, raffles, and much, much more.  The list of casting instructors is impressive, with a number of IFFF Certified Casting Instructors (CCIs) as well as Master Certified Instructors (MCIs).

To register for the event (free registration) simply click on this link for the GCC Fly Fair 2014 website:
www.gulfcoastifff.blogspot.com/p/gulf.html

September 9th meeting - Flies and Tales

The next meeting of the Cane Country Fly Casters will be on Tuesday, September 9th at Westside Baptist Church Family Life Center on the Highway 1 bypass in Natchitoches.  Time is 6:30pm.  Guests are welcome.

We return from our summer break.  Many of you had great fishing vacations this summer and we're looking forward to your stories and reports! 

We will have a covered dish and tying class.  Bring a dish, whatever you want!  Burley and Vic will teach us the "weave", how to attach eyes and hackle.  Bring your vise, tools and tying thread. 

And bring a friend!

Contraband Fly Fishing Expo August 23rd

Our friends in Lake Charles will be holding their annual conclave on Saturday, August 23rd.  We encourage all Casters to take advantage of this great opportunity to learn or improve on casting skills, fly tying, and fishing techniquest from regional experts.   Here are the details:

10th Contraband Fly Fishing Expo
Saturday, August 23, 2014
8:30am - 4:00pm
PPG - Porter Hall, 2250 Prater Road, Westlake, LA
FREE ADMISSION.  Open to the public!

Sponsored by the Contraband Fly Casters / Tom Nixon Chapter

Fly Tying, Casting Demos, Lure Exhibits, Auctions / Raffles, Food and Refreshments, Equipment Displays and more!  Public invited.

Have a fun and safe summer!

As is our tradition, the Cane Country Fly Casters will not hold regular monthly meetings during July and August.  Our next regular meeting will be on September 9th.   

However, we are working on a Saturday morning workshop sometime in July or August.  In addition, there are regional events and activities taking place this summer, which we'll announce here.  So please continue to visit our website often over the summer period. 

CCFC next meeting June 10th

The next meeting of the Cane Country Fly Casters will be on Tuesday, June 10, at Westside Baptist Church Family Life Center on the Highway 1 bypass in Natchitoches.  Time is 6:30pm.  Guests are welcome.

We will be tying poppers! If you have a vise, bring it!  Those of us who have more than 1, please bring your extra vise and share so all can tie one on!

The club will bring hamburgers and dogs. Members are asked to bring something to go with it if you can.

See you Tuesday,

Destination Texas Fly Fishing Expo June 12-14

The Texas Council of the International Federation of Fly Fishers (IFFF) will hold their first-ever Expo Friday-Saturday, June 12-14, at the Civic Center in New Braunfels, Texas. The title of their event is "Destination Texas Fly Fishing Expo" with the intent to feature fly fishing opportunities in Texas, as well as flies and techniques for all fish, all waters. Admission is $20 for both days.

The Civic Center will feature exhibitors, vendors, programs, and fly tying demonstrations by some of the country's top fly tiers. Cypress Bend Park will be the location for Casting Programs, Certifications, and kayak fishing classes. Both locations will have hands-on workshops, which attendees can sign up for a nominal fee, and with limited class sizes. Also Youth and Women's Outreach programs.

Other activities: Thursday night there will be a Welcoming Dinner, Friday night the Texas Council will host the Fly Fishing Film Tour, and Saturday night will be the Awards Banquet and Auction. For more info, go to www.txflyfishexpo.com

Spring Fishing Outing cancelled due to weather

The low pressure system that brought 8 inches of rain this past week to the Red River area threatened to dump more rain on us Saturday, so we had to postpone our Spring Outing on Lake Cotile.  We plan to reschedule, although it might be a "Summer" or "Fall" outing as opposed to Spring.  In the meantime, we encourage CCFC members to post any fishing reports on our forum on WarmFly.com.

May 31st Fishing Outing at Cotile Lake

Fellow Casters, mark your calendar down for May 31, 2014 for some area fishing.  We've reserved the screened pavilion #1 at Cotile Recreation Center for our post-fishing activities.  Or come by early and talk and tie flies. We'll meet up at 12 noon for "show and tell" photos of the morning's catch, along with BBQ hamburgers, hot dogs, sausage, grilled corn and refreshments.  Bring a dessert to share.

Fishing opportunities in the Cotile area abound!  There's bank fishing at Cotile, and at nearby (10 minutes) Kincaid Lake recreation areas, pier fishing at Valentine (yes, you can fly fish off a pier), kayak fishing only at Valentine, kayak and boat fishing at Cotile and Kincaid.  Lake Rodemacher is also an option if the water clarity improves by then. We'll have a map to show access and launch areas.

This outing could be the pre-cursor to an annual freshwater tournament, similiar to the New Orleans Fly Fishers Rio Grande Rodeo.

CCFC next meeting May 13th

Cane Country Fly Casters next meeting
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
6:30 pm
Westside Baptist Church Family Life Center, Hwy 1 bypass, Natchitoches, LA

Bring a  1) covered dish, 2)  your rods, and  3) your wish list for future programs.

Casting prior to the meeting.

During "supper" we will...
1.  report on the standing of the expo, and
2.  decide where we want to fish on May 31st!

CCFC next meeting April 8th

Cane Country Fly Casters next meeting
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
6:30 pm
Westside Baptist Church Family Life Center, Hwy 1 bypass, Natchitoches, LA

Bring your rod and let's do some casting!  We'll also finalize details on the 2014 Expo - now less than a month away!  Excitement is building!   See you there!

March meeting rescheduled to the 18th

Cane Country Fly Casters next meeting
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
6:30 pm
Westside Baptist Church Family Life Center, Hwy 1 bypass, Natchitoches, LA

For this month, our meeting has been moved to the 3rd Tuesday.  Come out for a followup on last month's casting clinic.  CCFC member and FFF Certified Casting Instructor Glen Cormier will give a short review of basic flycasting principles, followed by a video by Mel Krieger on "Casting Faults and Fixes".  The video is designed to help you self-diagnose your casting problems when you practice.

We'll also talk about the latest developments for our upcoming Fishing Expo for May 3rd. Excitement is building!   See you there!

Rescheduled meeting Tuesday, February 18th

Well we made it through another winter storm. We apologize for any inconvenience we caused by postponing last weeks regular meeting but looking forward to this weeks meeting. Hope to see you there!

Cane Country Fly Casters - February Meeting
Tuesday Feb. 18, 2014
6:30 pm
Westside Baptist Church Family Life Center

************Casting************
Bring your rod, or use ours!

***********Fly Tying***********
Bring your fly tying gear, feel free to demonstrate your favorite fly, have a hands on experience!

Sandwiches, chips, sweet stuff, etc Bring something if you would like. It's not required or expected! Bring a friend! See you Tuesday evening. Sunny

2014 membership dues

Please disregard if your dues have already been paid.   This is to remind everyone that dues for 2014 membership in the Cane Country Fly Casters are now due! 

• Individual - $20 
• Family - $25

Please make checks payable to: CCFC or Cane Country Fly Casters.
You can bring your dues to the meeting or mail to:
     CCFC c/o Sunny Arceneaux 
     915 3rd St 
     Natchitoches, LA 71457

CCFC next meeting Tuesday, January 14

Happy New Year Casters! 

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, January 14th, 6:30pm, Westside Baptist Church hall.   Rusty is demonstrating a fly.  Casting prior to the meeting, bring your rods if you want to cast.   We will also be discussing upcoming Expo 2014.

Sandwiches on the menu.  We need a couple of bags of chips.  Sunny is making tuna sandwiches, if anyone would like to make a different kind, please let me know.  Burley is bringing a dessert.

See you there!