Reminder to All SOFT Members

All About Deer Hair. A free fly tying class. Tuesday evening, May 8th, 6:00 – 9:00 pm. Bring your vise, tools, and a light. You will also need black 3-0 thread or gel spun or kevlar, a hair stacker, a hair packer, and a good sharp pair of scissors. We will provide the helpful instructors and all the materials and hooks needed to tie the Irresistable and the Muddler Minnow. The first half hour will feature a presentation on the types and uses, how to buy the right hair, and where it comes from off the hide. There will be hand-outs and pattern worksheets for everyone. An informative video by Chris Helm will be shown in the Fly Tying Theater from 5:00–6:00 pm. You don’t want to miss this one!!

May 2018 Meeting

FREE FLY TYING CLASS

When: Tuesday, May 8th 6:00pm.

Where: Madrone Hill clubhouse, Gold Hill

What: All About Deer Hair. 

What you will need: Your vise, tools, a light, a sharp scissors, 3-0 black thread.

Patterns covered: Muddler Minnow and the Irresistable

Materials needed: None. The club will provide all hooks and materials needed for each pattern.

Who: All club members, guests and new tiers are welcome.

You don’t want to miss May’s SOFT meeting. A lot of our members have mentioned that working with deer hair was difficult, some even said they avoided patterns that required spun hair. This class is designed to help you overcome those difficulties and get comfortable with the techniques required to tie these very effective patterns as well others in the future. You will learn to pick the right hair, prepare, spin, and trim. There will be handouts, pattern worksheets, and an instructional video playing in the Fly Tying Theater from 5 – 6 pm. There will be at least 3 instructors on hand to answer your questions and assist you through the process. There will be live demos on the big screen for close-up views of all the techniques.

So mark you calendar and set aside the evening for a very informative session with your fly tying friends. There will be coffee, treats and of course the raffle.

April 2018 Meeting

Note the Date Change

Due to the floor being redone at the facility, we need to move the date of the get together to Monday, April 2…

Dave McCants will tie this time and will tie the following flies, BWO cripple/emerger one light one dark, aka Quigley Cripple or something close to that that he uses on the Rogue River, quite successfully. 

Patterns are as follows and the photos are also below:

Light version - 

Hook -Daiichi 1180 size 14 -16,

Thread - Gordon Griffiths 14/0 gray,

Tails - 3-4 gray ostrich as long as hook shank,

Rib - 6/0 uni black or similar thread,

Abdomen - Mad River Beaver Dubbing BWO Gray,

Forward wing - very light to dun deer hair that is very fine,

Hackle - Light to med dun, three to four turns,

Head - tying thread whip finished with head cement.

Dark version:

Hook -Daiichi 1130 size 14 -16,

Thread - Gordon Griffiths 14/0 gray,

Tails - 3-4 gray ostrich as long as hook shank,

Rib - 6/0 uni black or similar thread,

Abdomen - Superfine Blue Winged Olive,

Forward wing - dun to dark deer with good light and dark tip that is very fine,

Hackle - Brown or medium furnace, three to four turns,

Head - tying thread whip finished with head cement.

FLY TYING DEMO FOLLOW UP

At the March SOFT meeting Dan Kellogg did a tying demo on the Umpqua Special steel head fly. At that time he did not have the name of the originator or when it was developed. Thanks to Annabelle Wolflick and some research on the net, she came up with an article that gives us the answers.

In the early 20th century, the North Umpqua River drew anglers to Douglas County, Ore.  They fished for Chinook and Coho salmon, as well as sea-run cutthroat trout.  Summer fishing camps were established, leading to a storied angling history.

One piece of North Umpqua lore involved an Irish immigrant and World War I veteran, Victor "Vic" O'Byrne [oh-BERN], born in 1890.  The 1940 census lists his residence as Douglas County, Ore.

A 1939 Oakland Tribune article reported that he had landed a 25-pound North Umpqua Chinook salmon on a fly rod.  He not only may have been the first to introduce two-handed rods to the local rivers, but also his name is linked to developing the pattern for a colorful and popular fly-fishing lure called the "Umpqua Special,” which is still in use today.

O’Byrne lived as a recluse in a small, remote cabin upstream from Steamboat.  One evening in 1951 he drowned mysteriously after drinking with a friend at a fishing camp.  It’s said that his glasses and other personal effects were found neatly laid out on his cabin table after his body was recovered from the river downstream.

Here is a picture of the fly and a list of materials needed to tie it.

HOOK: Steelhead size 8 – 2

THREAD: Black 6-0

TAIL: White bucktail with red bucktail over.

BUTT: Yellow wool yarn.

BODY: Red wool yarn.

RIB: Silver oval tinsel.

HACKLE: Brown.

WING: White bucktail with red over.

CHEEKS: Jungle Cock (optional).

February 2018 Meeting

Southern Oregon Fly Tyers

Meeting on Tuesday, January 9, 2018

6:00 PM

8401 Old Stage Road, Gold Hill

The February SOFT meeting will feature a demonstration by Kevin Daniels. Kevin is a member of the Southern Oregon Fly Fishers.  Kevin is a very talented fly tyer  that you will see in Albany next month.

Blue Wing Olive Hackle Stacker

HOOK: Tiemco 2487 in sizes 12 - 18

TAILor SHUCK:  Antron fibers in Olive or White

THREAD: Olive

BODY: Olive Goose Biot

THORAX: Olive fine dry fly dubbing

HACKLE:  Medium dunn

Two Fly Tying Classes

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Field & Stream, Medford Oregon

Fly Tying Programs – Beginning Class Info and Sign Up Sheet

Winter 2018

            Welcome to Beginning Fly Tying!  In the weeks to come we hope to take you step-by-step and introduce the basic elements and techniques to tie simple but effective fishing fly patterns.

            Since we have a very short time to cover a considerable amount of knowledge, it is important for you to bring the required tools, equipment and materials to each of the sessions.  You will receive a weekly schedule at that time and all future tools and materials will be discussed prior to the next class.

           

            I am providing the following information about the beginning class this year:

Dates:                    7 Tuesday nights starting 02/13/2018

Class time:                        6 pm to 9:00 pm

Place:                     Field & Stream, Medford Oregon (Fishing Department)

Fee:                       There is no fee. Those signed up for and starting the class will receive 20% off their purchases of fly tying materials and tools purchased from Field and Stream for the class.  Additionally, those completing the class will receive a one-time coupon for 20% of their next purchase of fly tying materials, tools, hooks and books.

Tools:  You will receive a separate email of all tools and materials needed to do the homework for your classes.  You can purchase the needed tools/materials prior to the first class or attend the first class (I will have tools for you to use in the first class).  You can then buy the items needed from Field & Stream (20% discount) and other local establishments to do the first week’s homework.

Please bring all tools and materials (and the ones I hand out) to each class!

Class 1:      Getting Started, Vice, Other Tools, Thread Mounting, Duck Quill Pinch

Class 2:      Working with Hair Types, Control vs Spinning Hair, Posting Wings and Tailing with Hair

Class 3:      Working with Hair, Spinning Hair Bodies

Class 4:      Nymphs and Dubbing Techniques

Class 5:      Floss Bodies, Tails and Peacock Herl

Class 6:      Hackle Types and Tying Techniques

Class 7:      Homework follow up and instructor to tie 3 complete flies (student’s choice – students to choose 3 flies they want to see tied)

If you signup and cannot attend, please notify us right away (call F&S 541-772-0462 option 4, or Dave McCants 541-973-3508) so another person may take the class.

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Rogue Fly Fishers - Intermediate Fly Tying

Location: Dave McCants tying den – 1884 Sonya Circle, Medford, OR 97505

Date: Each Thursday for 6 weeks starting February 15^th, 2018 (6pm to 9pm)

Fee:   $0

Coffee provided, seating for me and 6 people, first come, first serve.  Contact Dave at 541-973-3508 or at Davetyer@comcast.net to reserve a spot.  If you cannot make it for the class let me know right away as there are a limited number of spaces.

Class 1:          Catskill Fly’s (March Brown/Light Cahill/Quill Gordon)

Class 2:          Parachute Fly’s (March Brown/Adams/Blue Winged Olive)

Class 3:          Soft Hackle and No Hackle Fly’s (Partridge Orange & Yellow/Slate Gray No Hackle)

Class 4:          Classic Steelhead Flies (Jim Prey’s Thor / Boxcar)       

Class 5:          Stoneflies!

Class 6:          Midges for everyday use!

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Dave Hamilton flies and LNG Letters

The step by step tying instructions for all three of Daves flies have now been added to the previous post.  

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Two new tabs has been added to the top of the home page.  The new tabs are LNG Letters, Share LNG Letters, and Copy and Paste.  Click on it to see sample letters.  More letters will be added as time permits.  Please use them, feel free to modify them, or write your own.  When you write your own, send me a copy.  I will remove your name and we will have a new sample letter for others to use.