We are hosting the Gulf Coast Council Expo 2011 here in dear old San Antonio, and registration is now open!

Fly Fishing the Riverwalk

From our friends at the Gulf Coast Council:

The EXPO Registration Form is now online at www.gulfcoastfff.org

Don’t delay! Our quota of rooms at the reduced rate for Expo attendees at the renown Crowne Plaza Hotel River Walk is filling fast! Don’t miss this marvelous opportunity to bring your significant other for a wonderful few days in the beautiful and quaint River Walk area of San Antonio.

We have an outstanding group of classes and workshops this year, including those taught by Bob Popovics and Lilli and Andy Renzetti. Register early to make sure your get into those in which you are most interested.

Are you interested in learning the basics of fly casting? Maybe you need a helping hand to tweak your double-haul for your next trip to the coast. Either way, join us on February 27th as the Alamo Fly Fishers host a casting clinic open to the public and open to all skill levels. The casting clinic will be ongoing from 1 to 3 PM, so feel free to stop by any time while we are there. Equipment will be provided for those who may not own a fly rod. If you already have your own gear, you are encouraged to bring it along. We will be meeting at Cambridge Elementary School on Broadway, at 1001 Townsend Avenue (just off of Broadway).

In the event of bad weather, keep an eye on the web site for date and time of reschedule.

We are fortunate this year to have the Federation of Fly Fishers annual Gulf Coast Council Expo located close to home. On April 9th and 10th, FFF's Gulf Coast Council will be hosting their Expo 2010 at the New Braunfels Civic Center. If you haven't been to one of the previous Expos, this is an event you will definitely not want to miss.

Chico FernandezAs the largest fly fishing event on the Gulf Coast, the 2010 Expo will feature over 50 programs and educational workshops, 70 demo fly tiers, rod and paddlecraft tryouts, FREE Youth Program, FLY FISHING FILM TOUR, TexMex and Cajun cookouts, Photo Contest, Raffles and auctions featuring one-of-a-kind items, and MUCH MORE!

The FFF Gulf Coast Council is excited to have one of the most recognized names in our sport, Chico Fernandez, as one of the key speakers for our 2010 Expo. If you're not familiar with Chico and his many accomplishments, then please check out his bio on AskAboutFlyFishing.com

To get the full details of the Gulf Coast Expo 2010, please visit the council's web site at www.gulfcoastfff.org.

Gulf Coast CouncilThe Federation of Fly Fishers - Gulf Coast Council will be having their annual Expo at the Lakefront Civic Center in Lake Charles, LA on May 15th through May 17th.

The Gulf Coast Council's third annual conclave will feature celebrity guests Stu Apte, Nick Curcione, Bob Popovics, and Wanda Taylor. Activities include fly tying demonstrations, workshops, FREE seminars, product exhibits, rod tryouts, on-premises fishing for reds and specks, raffles, silent auctions, live auctions, Friday night crawfish boil and a Saturday banquet featuring Cajun delicacies. For more details, please visit the Conclave Page.

On Wednesday evening April 22nd, the day after our club meeting, there is a fly fishing film tour stop in Austin. If you need to get energized to go fly fishing, this is just what the doctor ordered. Drake Productions will be showing about seven different action packed, fast paced, intense films on fly fishing locations near and far. It’s fly fishing in H-D with surround sound! This may be too intense for some of our overexcited members – you know who you are! The films are showing at the Alamo Draft House 1220 S. Lamar in Austin.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will host the Flat Out Fishing seminar on February 2nd in Corpus Christi, at Texas A&M Corpus Christi. The event will be held at Bay Hall, Room 103, at TAMU-CC’s Ward Island campus.

The event will be a full day complete with seminars and presentations from noted guides and experts covering a variety of bay, surf, kayak and fly fishing techniques along the Texas Coast.

Check out www.girlonthefly.com, and then make plans to see the clothing line in person on September 18th. Girl on the Fly clothing will also be available for sale that evening at special wholesale prices. Visa and Mastercard transactions will be accepted.

Traditionally, fishing and fly fishing activities have attracted more men than women to the sport. Even membership numbers in the Alamo Fly Fishers will support that statement. Nevertheless, we want to reach out, and encourage female participation in fly fishing. The theme of our September meeting is about Women in Fly Fishing. With more women than ever before venturing out on the water, Susan Thoms-Bhatia and Jennifer Greenberg have recognized there is a lack of fashion-friendly fishing clothing for women. They believe that women shouldn’t be forced to wear men’s clothing when they went fly fishing, and so they did something about it. They will be showing their “Girl on the Fly” apparel on September 18th at the Alamo Fly Fishers meeting. The “Girl on the Fly” clothing line offers a variety of shirts and shorts in cool, tropical colors and patterns in a variety of materials.

Steve Flanagan will be tying some flies, and demonstrating the use of Tuffleye before the August AFF meeting on the 21st. Select "Read More" below for details.

Speakers will be Billy and Stacy Trimble on fly fishing the saltwater flats. There will be a swap meet before the meeting.

Our friends in the Guadalupe River Trout Unlimited club are sponsoring a river cleanup Saturday September 23. I hope some of you all can join. Here's an excerpt from their notice from Mick McCorcle, the chapter president, which gives time and location details:

It’s now September, the tubing and rafting season is almost over, and it’s now time to clean up the Guadalupe in preparation for our winter trout fishing season. The river takes a beating every summer, so despite the efforts of those hired to keep it clean, our favorite river could still use some serious TLC. And we could use your help.

As you may know, GRTU is co-sponsoring a river cleanup tomorrow, Saturday, September 23rd. We’ll meet at 8 AM at Cypress Bend Park in New Braunfels (check our website at www.grtu.org for a map) for some breakfast and instructions, then will head north to clean a section of river near the upper end of the Trophy Trout water. Specifically, we’ll be cleaning between Whitewater Sports and Rio Raft. That’s some great trout water and can certainly be improved if we give it a thorough cleaning.

So come on out and give us a hand – breakfast and lunch and free t-shirts will be provided, the weather should be good, and you’ll be doing the river some good as well.