Magic Valley Fly Fishers September 2023 Club News. Friday, September 8, 2023
Good afternoon. Here is our happy, very busy September & Beyond.
This next Tuesday, September 12, is our Fly Tying and Club fun evening at the Barn 5-9 with burgers, salads and beverages. We’ll be tying flies and telling tall tales and it will be easier now that we have moved our board meetings back to a different night and location each month for less distraction and more tying and communicating time for all.
The following Saturday, September 16, we will be enjoying our Exciting New Whitefish Derby and fish out on the Boise River below Anderson Dam. Details are on our FB page and website with registration on the latter. This looks to be a great new fundraiser that could be an attraction fitted to each and all fish outs in the months ahead. James has worked hard on this one and let’s all get out and catch one for the club! Every fly fisher can use a chance to win a great new 5 wt. too!
The next Tuesday after that, September 19, is our General Meeting at the Barn, 5-9 with burgers, salads and beverages and maybe more. This will start our new next season with a recap of our Whitefish Derby and Adventure Stories of Summer ’23 by James and others and gets us going again for another fun fly fishing fall. Many had asked to have general meetings again and we were lucky to get this day because all Third Thursdays were already booked for Sept. October will be back to a 3rd Thur. as is listed below.
Our President’s Message for September.
Hello all.
It feels like just yesterday that we were looking forward to another summer with the promise of warm weather and all the fishing that that entails. Now with Labor Day in the rearview mirror we can both look back at the summer and look forward to my favorite time of year the autumn. Looking back on the summer is a great time to reflect on what went well and what we can improve on for next year. Like any fishing trip I like to reflect on some of my favorite fish. Like the 20” brown on Silver creek that sipped the brown drake. I also like to reflect on the ones that I didn’t get. Like the fish feeding 10 feet in front of me that I didn’t get a cast to due to weather on the Missouri. I reflect on what I could have done both differently and better.
Overall, I feel the club has had a great summer. Fred has done a great job of planning the fish outs that we have had and Mike has done a fantastic job in support and can really cook a tasty dog. The fishing has been pretty good at all of them and the company and talk has been even better. If you haven’t come to one you are missing out, and there are still a few to come so put them in your planner and see if you can make it.
I can honestly say this summer just flew by. I was able to get some great fishing in and I sincerely hope you were as well. The rivers were flowing high for a long time but mostly fished well once they started to fish, in my opinion. I am really optimistic for a great fall and the fishing that will come. I am excited for the September fish out that is going to be our Whitefish derby. Daniel from Idaho Troutfitters donated a fantastic Lamson fly rod to give away. This will be a great time fishing a great river (South Fork Boise below Anderson). I am also excited to start meetings again and visiting and hearing everyone’s triumphs this summer. The fly-tying meetings have been fun as well and we look forward to keeping that going.
As the board goes, we are really moving forward with planning for the fall Banquet. We are finalizing the details of that up and will have more news shortly. We are planning on the next couple of fish outs. In Sept and Oct, and we are resuming meetings and busy with work on presentations for those. We are always looking for help on all of these, and volunteer time and even money is appreciated. Along those lines if you haven’t visited the Facebook page and/or the new Webpage please do. There is a bunch of work that has been done and hats off to Greg for his work there. We love to hear from all of you on Facebook, and you can post pictures on both sites. I just put some of my summer pics on the website. Go take a look and share yours as well. Thanks all and I look forward to talking to you more at one of the meetings or the fish outs.
James Harper, President 2023. paraadams@hotmail.com mvff208@gmail.com208-961-0850
October 3 is our Talkin’ & Tyin’ Tuesday evening at the Barn.
Ya all come, ya hear?
October 14, Saturday is our Club fish out at Clear Springs Country Club Lake in Buhl and is free to all paid club members.
October 19, Thursday, is our General Meeting at the Barn 5-9 with the details of the evening posted on our website and Facebook as they are finalized.
November 7 is our Talkin’ & Tyin’ Tuesday evening at the Barn.
November 18, Saturday is our Fall Banquet with prime rib dinner at the Barn 5-9. Details with registration, payment and other information are being finalized as James said above and will be published and sent out to you all very shortly. Please see the additional information below under Donations on this, our major event of the year, as edited and added to from last month’s Club News.
December 5 is our Talkin’ & Tyin’ Tuesday evening at the Barn.
December 16, Saturday is our winter (hopefully warm) Club fish out at Clear Springs Country Club Lake in Buhl and is free to all paid club members.
Other Important Information.
NO RSVP’s Needed.
Increasing attendance at our functions has now established all our published events will occur unless uncontrollable events require changes and has removed the need for rsvp minimums. Come on out if you can even if you didn’t think you were going to be able to attend. Everything is doable, one way or another.
Registrations and Event Details.
It is now still very important and easy to register and pay for events if there is a charge using our new website and it is essential for our planning and making these activities happen successfully. Early registration and payment help us immensely and we are looking for ways to give you perks for that that work for us all without complications. Late arrivals for some functions may have additional charges or other than normal meal selection, seating, etc., depending on the event and will be posted in the details of that activity. Watch these for new updated information.
Donations.
Saturday, November 18, 2023, is our Fly Fishers & Friends Fall Fun Prime Rib Banquet at the Barn 5-9 pm. that is only 10 weeks, 70 days from tomorrow, 9/9/23. Mark your calendars if you haven’t already!! All the fine details are in process and will be sent out & posted soon so all can register, pay and plan to make it a great evening. It is going to happen no matter what so register as soon as it is posted!
It is also time for all of us to seek donations of all kinds to ensure great raffles and silent auctions. Let’s get back to the old days of flowers on the table for the ladies and lots of cool and interesting prizes of all types as well as great fly fishing related goodies. The donations world has changed with our large donors of the past all gone. That increases the need for all our members to get creative and seek donations whenever or go to a craft show, farmers’ market, and entice all your friends and relatives to do the same so we can replenish our till at our raffles. Feel free to call me, Fred or James if you would like us to pick up your donations early so we can get them logged in and ready for our silent auction and raffles ahead of Saturday November 18.
Building back our reserves is needed again and is the only way to continue our scholarships, conservation group donations and ongoing activities. We must keep our goal of education of fly fishing to all that are interested and allow us to spread the pleasures and rewards of fly fishing to new folks and next generations of conservationist fly fishing friends.
Costs have increased many fold. If we want to get back to doing projects in riparian habitat restoration & maintenance and fisheries, as well as landowner access improvements with IDFG and others as we have done in the past, we need new and additional funding support.
Consult your company and others about donations and sustaining support contributions to our type of recreation and natural resource education based non-profit organization that provides both youth and adults a long tradition of new and interesting ways to get out, fly fish, learn entomology, and do it in our Southern Idaho Outdoors and beyond.
Our new MVFF website is up and running {still www.magicvalleyflyfishers.com} and has much still to be added, but we want you all to use it and give us your input as WE evolve it over these next weeks into what we want it to look like and have the functions you want for our club. There is way too much to talk about in this Club News. We will be sending out an email soon regarding membership log in, posting pictures, getting forums going and much more. Please volunteer to help us on this if you have website or database use and management experience and forgive our slow rate of implementation and improvement. Greg is still doing most as we gain momentum in building the site to what we all want and, as James said, we thank him immensely!
Time to Volunteer.
Our officer and board election is typically held each November so we need to fill our slate of candidates by early November to have our election for 2024 on schedule.
We want to do what you all want with your guidance and help. Getting our meetings at the Barn grows more difficult as their business grows and as we attempt to increase our attendance with different days of the week/ month to fit more of your schedules. Your active participation is essential. We continue to need more folks to take on tasks to get the club work done to keep activities happening. Please contact any of us to help on a committee or help with other duties.
Officers & Board of Directors.
President-N_______________#_____________: Vice President N_______________#________ ____ Secretary-N_______________#_____________: Board Mem-N _______________#______________
Committees needing members:
Casting,N___________________#_____________:
Tying, N_____________________#_____________:
Meetings, N___________________#_____________:
Membership, N___________________#_____________:
Website & FB, N___________________#_____________:
Projects & Conservation, N___________________#_____________:
Fishouts-Outings & Special Events, N___________________#_____________:
Fundraising-Scholarships & Promotion. N______________________#_____________:
Articles, stories and other input.
I hope to get back to having more time to incorporate YOUR trip reports, stories and fishing-conservation-habitat-access improvement and other ideas into these Club News. I would like it to evolve into a Back-to-the-Future new version of our old Windknots Newsletter. Don’t know where I parked my DeLorean so may not be able to get there, but I would like some of your stuff to put in too. Then too, I hope, to get more of that directly onto the website and make it much faster and easier.
Thank you all for your support to keep this fun old fly fishing club going strong. See you soon.
Bryan S. Woodhouse, Secretary & Past President, 2023. Call or text anytime, 208-934-6405 or e-mail me at mvffeditor2014@hotmail.com
