MEETING LOCATION CHANGE FOR 2012

Starting in January (the 24th), our monthly meetings will be held in a new location:

2099 Adams Lane
Sarasota FL, 34237

(the new police building in downtown Sarasota, on the north end of Payne Park. Entrance and parking are at the south side of the building; the community meeting room is on the 4th floor. (There is an elevator.) You will need to check in at the front desk before proceeding (department policy).

This new location will save our club over $1,000 in meeting room rental expenses each year!

Next Monthly Meeting: Tuesday, January 24th

Ron Whitely presents "Georgia Trout"

"In 1993 at age 51, I said screw this and retired perma-nently to go fishing.

"I travel a lot and have fished for Giant Brook Trout in Labrador to Giant Marlin in Costa Rica all on a fly rod. I fished Jardines de la Reinas in Cuba for 3 years in row, The best flats fishing on the planet! I fished Coco Cohiba, Nicaragua for giant Tarpon and Snook. I have fished Crocodile Bay Lodge and Bahia Carrillo in Costa Rica for big Roosters, big Black Snook, Sails and Marlin.

"I have been the President of the CT/RI Coastal Fly Fishers, Thames River Watershed Assn., Life member of Trout Unlimited, Member of the Recreational Fishing Alliance, Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers and several other fishing groups. I serve on the State Board of FFF-Florida Council. I have fought to protect our fisheries resources for many years and received numerous from the White House on down."

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At our December meeting, Joe Mahler presented "Beaches, Bays and Backcountry: Fly fishing the waters of southwest Florida"

Joe Mahler is a fly fishing illustrator, author, casting instructor and member of the TFO Southeast Advisory Staff. His book "Essential Knots and Rigs for Trout" has quickly become one of the best-selling knot books on the market. Joe's second book, "Essential Knots and Rigs for Salt Water," is due to be released in January 2012. Mahler is a regular contributor to Fly Fishing in Salt Water and Salt Water Sportsman, and illustrated Jon Cave's recent book "Performance Fly Casting." Joe spends his time fishing the waters of Sanibel and currently serves as the president of the Sunshine State Casting Club.

At our October 25th meeting, Captain Rick Grassett presented "Finding Fish in Sarasota Bay"

As a prelude to MCFF/CCA's "Fall Fly Fishing Challenge", Capt. Rick discussed fly fishing and finding fish in Sarasota Bay. Fall is a great time for fishing Sarasota Bay, which is why the tournament is held then. Capt. Rick spends over 85% of his time guiding on Sarasota Bay. He showed us when, where, and how to fish both shallow and deep grass flats. Even for those not planning to fish the tournament, this presentation was incredibly valuable info for finding fish in here our back yard. At our September 27th meeting, Captain Jamie Allen presented “Hurricane Season: A Great Time to Fish!”
Capt. Jamie was back with more insightful and unique tips, this time focusing on how to best take advantage of the late summer heat and frequent afternoon thundershowers that can discourage inexperienced anglers. As usual, he had an excellent slide/video show, and fielded members' questions for 20 minutes.
You'd never believe a country boy from Vermont could possibly know so much about saltwater flyfishing on Florida's best coast. Another great presentation, Capt. Jamie. Thank you.

Our July 26th Fly-Tying Forum meeting featuring some of our best fly tyers. Members brought their own equipment and used the club's gear and materials and tied along with our presenters.

Several fly tiers covered a wide spectrum of different techniques and fishy patterns:

Bill Hopper tied both a yarn and a deer hair crab pattern.
Evan Jones showed how to add various weed guards.
Guest tier Dale Heilmann tied a snook deceiver.
Joe Bursel tied a neat beach fly that has been very productive for him.
Les Fulcher, who was about to leave for Alaska, tied salmon flies.
Craig Smothers focused on matching and splaying tail feathers.

Others pulled up a table and showed what they are good at.
It was a great opportunity for tiers of all skill levels to learn from each other.

local guides and tarpon experts Rick Grassett, Jamie Allen, and John Hand, in a question-and-answer open forum on tarpon fly fishing that gave members the opportunity to ask questions about fly fishing for tarpon.
Our May 24th Tarpon Forum meeting
featured local guides and tarpon experts Rick Grassett, Jamie Allen, and John Hand, in a question-and-answer open forum on tarpon fly fishing that gave members the opportunity to ask questions about fly fishing for tarpon.

We saw see the fly patterns, rods and reels, and knots and leaders these guides use. And we learned how to entice tarpon to eat, how to fight big fish, and how to land and handle tarpon.

A special tarpon casting demonstration was held before the meeting. Excellent presentation. Thanks, guys!

Our April 26th meeting featured Aaron Adams, PhD. Dr. Adams is author of Fisherman’s Coast and Fly Fisherman's Guide to Saltwater Prey, wrote four chapters for Chico Fernandez’s Fly-Fishing for Bonefish, has written numerous articles for fly fishing magazines, and has had many photos published in fishing magazines and other outlets.
He now is Director of Operations for Bonefish & Tarpon Trust and is a Senior Scientist for Mote Marine Laboratory.  He also holds a Coast Guard Captain’s license.
To learn more about Dr. Adams, visit his web site, http://www.fishermanscoast.com/bio/bio.html
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At our March 22nd meeting, Ron Whitely gave a presentation on his recent trip, Trout Fishing New Zealand's North Island.
Ron recently returned from New Zealand with some fabulous fish stories and pictures to share. Actually, Ron reported that he tired of taking pictures of fish even those rainbow trout exceeding 8 pounds. He expressed some annoyance at the earthquake which occurred on the South Island while he was there because it seemed to distract the fish and he only induced 5 to fish that day. Tough day!
Ron is a long time member of MCFF, lives in Rotunda and spends many happy hours fishing Charlotte Harbor. He has fished many parts of the globe even Cuba with Lefty Kreh prior to the New Zealand adventure. Thanks, Ron!
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At our February 22nd meeting, Captain Pete Greenan spoke on "Fishing Little Sarasota Bay."
Pete told us about all the locations and hot spots, flies, and times to fish one of Sarasota's best winter fisheries.
As an angler with over fifty years of experience in numerous fly fishing venues, a guide in his fourth decade in SW Florida, a Federation of Flyfishers Master Casting Instructor, and a colorful personality, Pete did not disappoint. Thank you, Pete!
To learn more about Captain Pete, come to the February meeting, visit his web site, http://www.floridaflyfishing.com, or contact him by phone: (941) 232-2960 or email: captpete@floridaflyfishing.com

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At Our January 25th Meeting, Capt. Jamie Allen spoke on fishing in cold weather

Jamie covered how to make a game plan before you go fishing. And what to do when your 1st ideas don't work under different weather conditions.

Jamie specializes in fishing for tarpon, redfish, snook, trout, fly fishing, light tackle, tournaments and is an FFF Certified Casting Instructor.



Thanks for an enlightening and entertaining talk, Jamie.

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At our Nov. 23rd Meeting Captain John Hand talked about Fishing the Winter Tides!

Understanding tides and how they affect fish can mean the difference between successful outings and getting skunked. Yet most recreational fly fishermen and –women know little about tides.

Captain John explained how to use tides to increase the chances of catching fish. Based in Ruskin, John Hand is a Ruskin-based guide and fourth-generation Floridian. He has fished the Little Manatee River and the south shore of Tampa Bay since he was five years old, when his grandfather taught him fly and light tackle fishing and the art of castnetting.

Thanks for a great presentation, John, and for all that you and your wonderful wife, Leslie, do for the club!

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At the October meeting we learned about "Fall on the Fly" in Sarasota with Capt. Rick Grassett. As we know, the fall months offer some of the year’s most exciting fishing, as a number of species make themselves available in our waters: pompano, Spanish and king mackerel, cobia, false albacore, tripletail, jacks, and big bluefish.

Captain Rick Grassett explained when, where, and how to successfully target these fast, often powerful swimmers, including the tackle and techniques to use.

Thanks for a great presentation, Rick!

BIO: Capt. Rick Grassett, owner of Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc. (http://snookfin-addict.com), is a full-time fishing guide and outdoor writer based in Sarasota, FL. He has been guiding the bays, back country, and coastal gulf waters from Tampa Bay to Charlotte Harbor since 1990. A Federation of Fly Fishers certified fly casting instructor, Rick is also a current board member and past president of the Sarasota Chapter of Coastal Conservation Association-Florida. He is an Orvis-Endorsed Outfitter fly fishing guide at CB’s Saltwater Outfitters in Sarasota.

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Don't forget these regular activities at our monthly meetings... Fly Casting with FFF certified casting instructors (before the meeting); Fly Tying with Craig Smothers and/or Bobby Hilbrunner; outstanding scholorship raffle items, 50-50 fly raffle, fishing reports from guides and members, MCFF Shirts and much more.

See you there!

Location for MCFF Club meetings - Twin Lakes Park. The entrance to Twin Lakes Park in Sarasota is located on Clark Road, just 1/2 mile east of I-75, on the south (right) side of the road. From I-75, take the Sarasota / Clark Road / State Road 72 exit (#205) and head east to the park. Once you've entered the Park, look for the Green Building on the right, closest to the front of the park. Enter by the RIGHT DOOR to our meeting. Doors open at 6 PM, meeting begins at 7 PM.

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