John Loebach

Looks like it might be a dobson fly( adult form of larval helgrammite)- does it have large mandibles?

Welcome, mike. We will have a tying outing soon( date later this week) & a fishing outing on a local Tributary on 6/10. I'll pm you with details. John

No white sign at glenwood- If you know locations i will help or do it myself, let me know.

I was at Glenwood F.P. Saturday- yellow sign intact, but the sticker re: closed season peeled off. We need to do a check of these to see how many are damaged. I would work the fox but I need locations & signs. If the sticker is prone to tampering then maybe we should do new signs.

While mowing lawn in Lombard this weekend I noticed clumps of topsoil in areas under trees that looked like the soil deposited by crawfish burrowing. I didn't know cicadas pre bore emergence holes.

The date is set for our annual planting on the fox river with the Friends of the Fox. This is a 1/2 day outing where volunteers will plant water willows along the shoreline and enjoy lunch afterwards. Again this year we will meet 7/21 at Violet Patch Park on Rte. 25 south of Montgomery, start time 8:00am bring your waders.

Short rods are usually 3 or 4 wt. these days. Old glass rods of 7 or 8 wt. were sometimes that short. Shakespere made 7' 9" production rods for years. If you are in such close quarters that a 7' or 7' 6" is necessary you can live with the lighter wt. rod as your casts will be short, otherwise work on a sidearm cast with your longer rods, it will make it easier to lay your cast down under those overhanging branches.

I second what Alan said. Most of the time subsurface to bottom bouncing, vary colors from whites to olive to brown/orange don't foget attractors like yellow madonnas. Hairy Fodder in all colors, poppers work I don't try them enough. The rivers close to Chicago don't have large fly hatches except for caddis the bass don't seem to key on them much. Check the events post & the calendar for outing details. Welcome & post some results when you get out! Feel free to join us on an outing. John

Contact with sap can be one of the most potent exposures, that and smoke from burning it- did that clearing brush from a fenceline as a teen on the farm. Woke up the next day with swollen eyes and blisters all over. Leaves need not be present at all to get it and early spring the sap is rising in all the trees.

From 5pm till almost 8pm 14 members made it a good gathering. Host Eric Heckman gave an interersting 1/2 hour rod (blank) construction presentation ( Sage dvd) followed by question & answer. Then guest speaker Bob Rogers spoke about spring lakefront fishing patterns. Very informative & timely. He starts about now & the early fishing is more brown trout but as the water warms into the 40's (think a weeks warming trend) the smallies mix in and get more active as the spring proceeds. Bob fly fishes alot with a full sinking line, his flybox was very interesting - I would like to have the Bassbuggers have him demo some of his patterns. Someone should post an informal fishing outing to try this out soon. Thanks to all who came out - Eric is a great source of information - if you missed this stop in sometime & mention the ISA. Ask him about the flyfishing on the Kankakee. John

He was at the great waters fly show - its an interesting boat, parking brake lever handles on the sides of the seat lift to move the wings out. Includes a rope grip to help you lift to stand or lower back down. Definitly better than outrioggers as you can convert back and forth with no set up, move, set the brakes stand up & fish. A little pricey though.

The tarpon 120 is the benchmark the others are aiming at, heard nothing but good about it. If you don't make it to saturdays meeting I will get anchor rigging info to you. John

Dick- I agree we should gather to share& test our various rides. I have two sit on tops & love them. Regarding the Manta ray a freind has one (12' bought at last years canoecopuia) & it is very well designed- I like the dryer seat. A 10' vs. 12' hull will affect tracking as well as weight. Best to test before you buy. I will bring a copy of the anchor system I have on my yak to the meeting this Saturday, simple & effective. john

Its finally thawing out & its time to gather to discuss the new season & plans to get out and fish-SOON! Eric Heckman owner of Coren's has invited the ISA membership to drop in for a presentation on graphite rod construction and discussion of rods for bronzeback angling. Eric's shop has gear but also specializes in rod & reel building & repair. He also is a fly tyer & fisherman. We hope to make it easier for some of our north city & suburban members to make it to an outing. We will discuss the upcoming season and planned events and of course share notes on our favorite waters. Hope to see you there! John

I want to thank all who attended and made the day a sucesss. Especially the tyer demonstrators - Michael Taylor, Steve Jordan, Craig Reindeau, Alan Sherman, Joseph Meyer, And Ralph Loza. A great job as 10 patterns were taught. Also thanks to Joseph for hosting the day in his shop.

You don't want to miss our annual members tying event, 10am to 4pm at One More Cast in Countryside. In case your time is limited, here is the days schedule:

10-11am Micheal Taylor Meat Whistle & Mowhawk Minnow

11-12am Joseph Meyer Yellow 8 Footer

12-1pm Craig Reindeau Awesome Minnow & Crystal Craigfish

1-2pm Alan Sherman Float & Fly, Gartside Gurgler

2-3pm Steve Jordan Holschlag Hackle Fly

3-4pm Matt Jennings Matts Bug

Matt can't be there so one of our members will demonstrate Matt's Bug. Also the hourly schedule is for the main table, a second table will run cosecutively so we can repeat or add patterns as requested throughout the day. Bring your vise, thread, and scissors - materials will be provided.

If you don't tie come out & visit to see how its done. John

thanks for the heads up Jude & jaime! I now think I will be able to put together 2 sets ( x6 , twice what we had last year) anyone else? John

Happy New Years to all. Ken is looking for member tied flies 6 of each pattern to be combined in sets of 6 different flies for the bucket auction. This is tying season & there are alot of us who tie, what better way to warm up at the vise than to tie a few of your favorite patterns and get them to Ken (details to follow) before the blowout. While you are at it take a look at your old gear you don't use and pick something to donate. This is our major fundraiser that supports the conservation efforts that continue to improve local habitat and smallies. Dues pay for the bulletin and not much more, please lend a hand to make this blowout the best ever! John

Just a reminder that the blowout is almost here. Many have tied & passed along flies. I will be assembling boxes of flies this week. If you have flies please let me know by post or pm so I can plan space in the boxes to be added. You can bring donations to the blowout & we will work it into the raffles, its helpful but not essential to know whats coming. Thanks, John

Day three was a sucess. Thanks to Pat, Stan, Jim, Tim & Jude for working the booth. I was over helping Drift most of the day. Nine paid today not sure that two are renewals or not. I don't think its coincidence that we got a great response today following the presentation by Tim & Jim on conservation. Its whats different about the ISA & its good to see the response. Way to go guys- and welcome to the new Bassbuggers.

I agree he is incredible. He has a couple of short books on casting. One is called something like ten steps to a better cast. As a teacher he has the knack of simplifying his point. Imagine learning tennis or golf by reading, but his methods do work.

Day two done, much better traffic. Signed up several for the blowout & a couple of renewals& one new member. Out of backissues of the bulletin and yellow poachers cards. Thanks ken, cory & nick for staffing the booth. John

Thanks Jim - One more ought to about cover sunday. See you there.

Friday- could use one more. Saturday is good , Sunday need help. Thanks John

The Great waters fly show is next weekend. Friday 2/16 2:30pm to 7:00 pm, Saturday 2/17 9:00am to 6:00 pm, Sunday 2/18 9:00am to 4:00 pm. We need 2 or 3 members at a time to staff the ISA booth. The show has alot to offer including tying demonstrations, seminars and free casting lessons.

Plan on enough time to work a couple of hours and see the show. Link to program schedule: http://www.greatwaters2007.com/chischedule.html

Post or pm me to let me know when you can help. Thanks, John

One of the things Don Rego & I hope to do with meetings this year is move around - specifically try to have a few north & south of the city/west suburbs. March chicagoland meeting is northwest side of Chicago (I90 & harlem) at Coren's rod & reel. South in April at Strictly Fishing in Plainfeild. Farther south - what is a good central spot? Lets hear where you want to meet. The bassbuggers will go where there is interest . A 2nd tying group should get the same support - just need to know how many & where. Thanks john