Events

By Rob Burlingame, AFF Vice President

With summer well upon us and saltwater fishing action in full swing, we have decided to try something a little new and different for this month’s chapter meeting. We will be hosting a “Saltwater Smorgasbord” in conjunction with a club swap meet. At this month’s meeting, we will set up a table or two in our usual meeting room for those who are interested to showcase your items to sell. Aside from the sale table, the rest of the room will feature a few information tables covering a range of topics and possibly a movie section to preview some exciting fly fishing footage.

It is time to dust off some of the equipment in our closet that has long since been replaced and pass it on to fellow members at the sale table we will have set up. For those who have been wondering how you can accumulate so much fly fishing gear, this is a great opportunity to make space in your closet for some new additions. For those new to the game, this is a great venue to upgrade some of your tackle or try out some new tackle at discounted prices. Be sure to bring some goodies along with you to sell at the meeting.

The goal of our information tables is to provide one-on-one guidance on a variety of saltwater adventures. Todd Fleming will be hosting a table dedicated to sight casting the flats and kayak fishing. Bill Slough will be discussing night time adventures at the jetties and the surf. I will be covering tide charts and fishing maps. We are still working on a couple of other mystery tables that could be added to the list as we draw closer to the meeting. This will be an evening to come prepared with your questions on nearly anything related to fly fishing the salt. Do you need help selecting the best rod/reel set up? How about the best way to rig your tippets, leaders and flies. How can you bring all that you need without bringing everything you have? Where are the best places to fish? How can I make sense of a tide chart and how can they help me? Where can I find fish during the late shift? What is the best way to maintain, repair and store my gear? Our host of volunteers will be ready to discuss nearly anything else you can throw at them. This is a great place to find personalized advice and answers to the questions we have all asked at some stage of our learning.

by Rob Burlingame, Alamo Fly Fishers VP

Have you ever wondered what to do if you find yourself in an unfortunate situation while you are out on an adventurous fishing trip? How do you handle first aid in the field? What should you have with you just in case? Our August meeting will host Dave Heitzman, the Clinical Director for Baptist Medical Center’s Emergency Department. He will be discussing a range of aspects on what to do if first aid is needed while in the field.

Dave has been in the medical field since graduating from U.T. Health Science Center here in San Antonio in 1993. During this time, he was a member of the Air Force and involved with a wide range of emergency related services, including his roles as an Emergency Nurse, Instructor Flight Nurse and Assistant Nurse Manager of an Emergency Department. In looking over Dave’s resume, he has experienced some very exciting and adventurous nursing roles, such as aeromedical missions in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Joint Forge and leading a medical team for a NASA recovery mission in Kazakhstan. His various roles have certainly provided him with hands on experience for nearly anything one could experience while exploring the outdoors.

Personally, Dave is active as the Assistant Scout Master of Boy Scout Troop 145. He has presented similar topics to his troop to help them gain the knowledge needed to live up to their motto, “Be Prepared”. Clearly, Dave is well qualified to speak on the topic of field first aid and should be a great resource to help us all be more prepared if something does happen while we are in the field. Come to the presentation with your questions…this will be a great opportunity to have them answered by an expert in the field.

Whether you are heading out later this month to chase redfish in the flats, catching the Hill Country action in full swing or heading some place more exotic, this is a presentation you will not want to miss. While none of us want to experience an emergency while we are out fishing, especially in a remote location, if something should happen, we would all want to be prepared. This presentation will surely give you a head start on what to bring and what to do if you ever find yourself or a friend in need.

I look forward to seeing everyone there!

by Rob Burlingame, AFF Vice President

Stacy TrimbleSeptember has become the month to promote and highlight “Women in Fly Fishing”. Men appear to outnumber women in the sport of fly fishing, and in the membership numbers for the Alamo Fly Fishers. It has become obvious to the leadership of this club that we need to do more to attract women to fly fishing. As a rule, women learn quicker than men to be better fly casters, and generally are thought to be better at tying flies. Women who try fly fishing seem to develop better mechanics sooner than men, but for whatever reason they don’t sign up with the same numbers. The theme of the September meeting is specific to women in fly fishing, and is designed to boost their participation in fly fishing. We all know men and women are different, and they have different interest, expectations, and methods of satisfaction. The Alamo Fly Fishers would like to attract and develop the interest in fly fishing by men and women equally with our programs and outings.

Our featured speaker for this month will be Stacy Trimble, a fabulous woman fly fisher and FFF Certified Casting Instructor. Stacy's presentation will be "The Fashion of Fly Fishing". She will be covering a variety of products, history, tips and tricks about the gear fly fishers use. Expect an evening sure to be entertaining that will be filled with great information and humor for men and women alike. We will also be hosting an exciting group of other phenomenal women anglers that will be guests at our meeting! Be sure to attend this month as it is a meeting you will certainly not want to miss!

Join the Fredericksburg Fly Fishers for their fifth annual Oktoberfisch Fly Fishing Festival. This year, the event will be held October 17-19 at Morgan Shady Park on the South Llano River in Junction, Texas. They will have casting clinics, exhibitors, fishing, shuttles, great food and lots more. This is always an enjoyable event and keeps getting better every year. You will not want to miss this one.

For more information and to register for the event, please visit fredericksburgflyfishers.org/oktoberfisch.html

by Rob Burlingame, AFF Vice President

Have you ever found yourself deep into one of our Texas flats when that miraculous red flag starts waving 30 feet away? Your heart races as you realize that huge commotion is the tail end of a hungry redfish just breaking the surface, with the front half just below waiting to swallow your fly. Your eyes get laser focused on the target, your arm begins a familiar motion and as your line lands delicately with a huge splash right over the fishes back. As your line lays there slack and the fish hits warp speed on his way to Mexico, the voices start in your head telling you that you should have spent more time practicing your casts before heading out for that day on the water. Don’t worry, we have all been there and chalked that day up to experience.

To help us all avoid the frustrations of bad casts and poor set ups, we have invited one of our favorite Texas coast fly fishing guides, Captain Billy Trimble to be our host speaker for October. He has prepared a wonderful presentation full of “professional secrets” on how to rig up and cast for redfish. Capt. Billy Trimble has been an avid fly fisherman since he was introduced to the sport over 25 years ago. Since that time he has fly fished in eleven states and 4 countries. To say that Billy is an avid angler is an understatement. Before he began guiding professionally, he averaged over 100 days a year on the water catching everything from Redfish and Black Drum to Red Ear and Black Bass, along with more exotic species like Cutthroat to Chum Salmon. Capt. Trimble specializes in guiding clients on his Hell's Bay flats boat, sight casting to Redfish, Speckled Trout and Black Drum. He is a gifted fly tier, designing practical, successful patterns for his guiding business and for a few fly shops. Just recently, a couple of Capt. Billy Trimble’s flies have been picked up for commercial production, including probably his most famous, the “Blind Chicken”. Capt. Billy Trimble is the owner of Trimble Fly Fishing, a professional guiding service for fly fishers of all experience levels. Check out his photos and stories at www.trimbleflyfishing.com. Capt. Billy’s patience and exceptional knowledge make for a pleasant and informative day of fishing, regardless of your skill level. He is based out of the Aransas Pass area. Billy guides clients on the coast for most of the years in the bays between Rockport and Corpus Christi.

by Rob Burlingame, AFF Vice President

Our November meeting will host a long time friend of many of our club members, and active member of Guadalupe River Trout Unlimited chapter, Bill Higdon. As the weather begins to cool in South Texas, we start gathering our gear and head north to try out hand at Texas trout fishing, courtesy of the largest Trout Unlimited chapter in the land. What a perfect time to host one of the river’s long time residents to share his knowledge of the river.

Bill is currently the VP of Fisheries for GRTU and has chased many of the species offered by the Guadalupe River for over 16 years. After his retirement from Dell Computers in 2000, he moved to the banks of the Guadalupe River and began a guide service. This has put Bill on these waters almost daily for the past decade. Needless to say, his knowledge of the river and the fish it holds is exceptional. This is easily noted by his appearance in a number of national magazines and television shows over the past several years.
Bill’s presentation will cover many aspects of fishing the Guadalupe River, most likely with a preference to the upcoming trout season. This is a great chance to bring your questions along to be answered by an expert. He is a great resource on questions about many of the fish the river houses as well as techniques for fishing from a drift boat, which Bill often uses. Currently, Bill is the owner and full time guide for In the Hills Fishing Excursions, specializing in fishing the Guadalupe and other Hill Country rivers. You can visit their website at www.inthehillsfishing.com for more information or to book a trip with Bill.

This is definitely a meeting you will not want to miss, especially if you want to get a head start on the trout fishing season just getting underway. Join us on Tuesday November 18th for a great presentation to better prepare you for success on your next outing to one of the area’s greatest rivers.

by Rob Burlingame, AFF Vice President

The end of the year is already upon us. Traditionally, the Alamo Fly Fishers gather for a Christmas Party to share food and fellowship, and celebrate the events of the past year. We get together to share memories and stories from the year, and prepare for activities of the coming year. It is a time for celebration, and it is a time for planning. The Christmas Party will also mean officer elections, and a change in the club leadership that will start in January. We will sell raffle tickets and have some silent auction items for bidding to raise money for next year’s operating budgets. The party is a fun evening, and the whole family is invited. One exciting change that we will be making this year is the addition of a wonderful “grand” door prize, in the realm of a fully guided trip with one of our club’s favorite guides!

This year the AFF Christmas Party will be in the same spot as last year, in a large banquet room at Alamo Cafe Restaurant on Sunday evening December 14th. Alamo Cafe is located at 14250 U.S Highway 281 North. A social gathering for appetizers will begin at 6:30pm, and dinner is planned for 7:00pm. Dinner costs will be $15 per person, and everyone will have their choice of dinner plates from a special select menu. Soft drinks, tea, and coffee are also included. Other adult beverages will be available from the restaurant cash bar. Our party will occupy the combined Travis and Bowie banquet rooms at Alamo Café, and should provide plenty of space for all of the activities. We will have the projector and screen set up to show pictures of events and outings from the year. That should bring back some great memories, and get us thinking about outings for the upcoming year. If you have pictures from this year that you would like to share with us, please e-mail or call myself (rob.burlingame@cbre.com, cell 210.885.3730) or Todd Fleming (tfleming@bartlett-cocke.com, home 210.479.3062). We will also have some tables set up for raffle prizes and silent auction items. Raffle tickets are $5 per each or five tickets for $20. Dinner and raffle tickets can be purchased at the party. Please join us for an evening of food, fun, and fundraising. If you need a ride to the party, please call me on my cell at 210-885-3730 and I will be glad to coordinate drivers and riders.

DIRECTIONS TO ALAMO CAFE ARE BELOW (CLICK ON MAP FOR LARGER VERSION):

From the South along Loop 410
- From Loop 410, take US Highway 281 North exit
- Once you are on US Highway 281, exit Bitters Road (should be your first exit)
- Alamo Cafe will be on the access road of US Highway 281 North, a couple blocks past Bitters (about 1/2 mile) on the right
From the north along Loop 1604
- From Loop 1604, take US Highway 281 South exit
- Once you are on US Highway 281, exit Bitters Road (about 2 1/2 miles) and take the turn around
- Alamo Cafe will be on the access road of US Highway 281 North, a couple blocks past Bitters (about 1/2 mile) on the right

The fly fishing community has been very supportive of our activities throughout the years, and this year is no exception. When we started calling on individuals and businesses for donations for our end of the year fundraiser, we received an outpouring of generous support. Despite the pinch I am sure most have been feeling from the slowed economy, they have been generous as always to help with donated items and services for prizes and fundraisers. In many cases we were given more and grander items than we asked for. The Alamo Fly Fishers are blessed to have so many friends and supporters of our club. Their support allows us to provide education, service, and conservation projects throughout the year. They provide the resources to keep our club energized to learn more about fly fishing and fly tying. I encourage you to do business with these folks, and tell them “thank you for supporting the Alamo Fly Fishers”. As a side note, we are still looking for a few additions to make this year’s raffle and silent auction the best ever! If any of you have some new or gently used items that you would like to donate, please give me a call!

A sincere "Thank You" to all of the wonderful friends and sponsors that have made generous donations to make this year's event possible! . I hope to see you at the party. We have lots of nice prizes! Have a safe holiday season, and I look forward to another great year in 2009!

AFF Map

Monthly meetings are held at 7:00 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month at Alamo Heights Presbyterian Church, 6201 Broadway.

Informal fly-tying and lying gatherings happen on all other Tuesdays - same time and same place.

Hope to see you there!