Events

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!