Make plans for Toledo Bend Rendezvous Nov 1-3

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. Members of Cane Country Fly Casters - and anyone else with interest - are invited to Rendezvous.

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

CCFC next meeting Tuesday, October 8

The next meeting of the Cane Country Fly Casters will be on Tuesday, October 8, 2013, at the Westside Baptist Church Family Life Center in Natchitoches. Time is 6:30 pm.

Vic McClain will be showing a great video on fishing for nymphs.  After the video, he will demonstrate tying nymphs.  The YouTube link is a sample of the video, it's a good one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvKhMO8Leyk

Bring your vise if you want to give a nymphs a try.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Cenla National Hunting and Fishing Day - Sat., Sept. 28

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) will renew it's celebration of National Hunting and Fishing Day on Saturday, September 28, 2013.

NHFD is a national event on the fourth Saturday in September.  It was created in 1972 when Congress passed two bills establishing a specific day to celebrate the conservation contributions of our nation’s hunters and anglers. LDWF introduced its first NHFD event in 1982 at the Monroe district office.  In the following years, three more locations were added in Baton Rouge, Minden and Woodworth.  Today, more than 10,000 people statewide attend the celebrations.

This free event offers activities for the entire family such as archery, fishing, fly casting, fly tying, shooting, canoeing, biking and much more. Visitors can learn about coastal restoration, bird watching, turkey hunting, game tagging, and much more from various organizations, agencies, and sponsors. 

The Cenla NHFD Outdoors Festival held at the LDWF Woodworth Education Center is the largest in the state with about 2,000 attendees.  There's free food and refreshments as well, courtesy of Burger King, Coca-Cola and Woodmen of the World.  New this year is the inaugural Woodmen of the World Team Barbecue Cookoff Contest. 

For 2013, the Woodworth event will feature fly fishing courtesy of the Cane Country Fly Casters and Kisatchie Fly Fishers.  There will be casting, fly tying, knot tying.  Kids and adults will get the opportunity to hands-on lesson in casting, tying, or knots. If you are interested in anything related to fly fishing, or even the sport of kayak fishing, be sure to look for our booth at the Woodworth NHFD Festival.

Click on this link for the Cenla NHFD Flyer  in legal format  (pdf, 512kb) 

CCFC next meeting Tuesday, September 10

The Cane Country Fly Casters resume their regular meeting schedule this month after our annual vacation period.  After a long hot summer we're ready to get together again!  The next meeting will be:

Tuesday, September 10 at 6:30pm
Westside Baptist Church
6834 Hwy 1 Bypass, Natchitoches, Louisiana 71457

For our new members, that is located on the by-pass in Natchitoches.  Click on this Google Maps link to find the location.

On the agenda:

• Tony is going to walk us through several knots, including the nail knot. 
• Catch will talk about the upcoming National Hunting and Fishing Day in Woodworth, Sept 28
• Other upcoming activities
• Fishing Reports
• Burley is cooking hamburgers and hotdogs. Members are asked to bring sides. Let us know what you can contribute.

See ya there!

Davy Wotton Seminar - August 17th in Bossier

Well known fly fishing personality Davy Wotton will be presenting a full day seminar (9:00am - 5:00pm) on "The Art of Wet Fly Fishing" on August 17, 2013 in Bossier City.  Topics will include casting and fishing techniques, flies and tying techniques, equipment and rigging related to wet fly fishing.  The North Louisiana Fly Fishers are sponsoring this event.  Seating is limited to 50 and there is a $20 registration fee.  For more information, including the registration form, please see the attached flyer.

Davy Wotton Program & Registration.pdf

LDWF Kids Fishing Camp June 10-13

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will hold a "Kids Fishing Day Camp" on Monday thru Thursday, June 10-13, 2013 at the LDWF Education Center in Woodworth.  This is for ages 10-15.  The registration fee is $75, and pre-registration is required, as seats are limited to 20. Campers will be supervised by LDWF education staff and volunteers in such activities as how to rig fishing equipment, fish identification, boating safety, cast netting, kayak fishing, how to clean the catch and much more. Lunch will be provided daily and each child will receive a rod/reel combo and stocked tackle box provided by the Association of Louisiana Bass Clubs.

For more information, or to obtain a registration form, contact Angela Capello at (318) 748-6914 or acapello@wlf.la.gov. Registration forms are also available via the LDWF website at www.wlf.louisiana.gov.

May 14th meeting

The next meeting of the Cane Country Fly Casters will be on Tuesday May 14th at the Westside Baptist Church Family Life Center. Time is 6:30pm. We will have dinner provided by Mamas.  We will discuss the recent Expo and review suggestions for next year based on feedback.  We will also consider dates for 2014.  Also, we'll talk about what's biting and where.  This is our last meeting until September as we take a break for summer. So everyone, please have a safe summer wherever you go, and come prepared for the September meeting with photos and great stories!