Bill Logan

If you are one of our club’s fanatical and devoted fly tiers, this November’s guest speaker is Mr. William Logan who is a well-known and highly talented flytier from New Jersey.

Bill Logan’s passion for fly-tying began around the age of 5.  As a boy growing up fly-casting on the South Platte River in Colorado, he always loved the early spring, when the two-inch wriggling nymphs of golden stoneflies sent trout into a feeding frenzy. At home in the evenings, he would watch his father, who wrote about fishing and hunting for the Rocky Mountain News, turn tiny hooks, feathers, fur and thread into lures that resembled the nymphs and other tasty bugs.  “It was like magic,” Bill recalled. Eventually, Bill was given a single hook, which he transformed into his first trout fly using scraps of thread from his mother’s sewing kit. 

Bill put himself through school twice. He has a Bachelor and Masters of Fine Arts.  He lived in New York City for 10 years working as an editorial illustrator and Production  Supervisor for LIFE  magazine.

While studying art and working as an illustrator in New York City, he grew familiar with the bugs of the Catskills, home to some of the world’s best fly-tiers. In 1993 he entered his first ultra-realistic fly, an Isonychia nymph in an international competition run Mustad.  Bill Logan’s fly won.

Not for fishing! One of Bill Logan's super-realistic art bugs.

 He began testing new techniques and materials in his single-minded pursuit of the perfect replica. The pieces that would soon be on display in Manhattan are not for sale. They’re all essentially prototypes. But he won’t turn down commissions if there is someone out there seeking an ultra-realistic fly of his own.

Logan has become a favorite among serious art critics around the country with ultra-realistic trout flies that take him 150 hours to tie and are complete down to the antennae and the delicate gill tufts.  Bill has been featured in Fly Rod &Reel, as well as illustrations have appeared in such publications as Life, the Saturday Review and Forbes Magazine. “His flies are works of art, more like sculpted models than fly patterns.  Bill creates startling taxonomic detail and realistic morphology,” Darrel Martin editor of Fly Rod & Reel said in a recent column.

Bob Slamal shows a striped bass he caught at Lake Skinner.

Bob Slamal, our October 10, 2001 speaker,  grew up fishing Deep Creek near Lake Arrowhead with bait until he was converted to fly fishing.  He fished Montana and Wyoming on family vacations.  He's since fly fished the US from Alaska to Florida, and overseas from Baja to Norway.  He was part of the 1993 winning four man team at the Jackson Hole One-Fly Tournament and has been on the US National Fly Fishing Team.  

Bob now runs Riverside Ski & Sport where he conducts fly fishing classes and guides Lake Perris and Temecula's Lake Skinner. He's developed special patterns for the stripers at Lake Skinner.  He also runs summer trips to Pinedale, Wyoming with his son Scott.

C. Boyd Pfeiffer, our September speaker,  is an award winning outdoor journalist known for his fresh and salt water fishing expertise. 

He’s the author of: Fly Fishing Bass Basics, Fly Fishing Salt Water Basics, The Complete Book of Tackle Making, Bug Making : A Thorough Guide to Making and Tying Floating Bugs for All Gamefish-Bluegill to Billfish, and The Compleat Surfcaster, and many articles for fishing magazines.

He’s been the outdoor editor for the Washington Post and a past president of the Outdoor Writers Association of America, who awarded him the Ham Brown service award.

Boyd makes his home in Phoenix, Maryland, but has fished throughout the world, including the US, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Panama, Belize, Columbia, Costa Rica, and elsewhere.

 Boyd will be talking about the World’s Greatest Fly Fishing Trips.

Our August speaker, Roger Bloom is the California  Dept. of Fish and Game Wild Trout biologist for Southern California. He recently moved down from Northern California after working on the Statewide Wild Trout Program for more than 5 years. 

Roger says "I am excited about my new position and I look forward to meeting the anglers in Southern California. I believe that there is great potential for the trout fisheries in southern California and know first hand that the support group already in place is phenomenal."

July 11, 2001: Ken Hanley 
Saltwater Fly Fishing in Estuaries 
and Harbors of California—Tying

Ken Hanley, our July speaker, will cover the wonderful opportunities for exploring our inshore saltwater habitat. His show will focus on "protected waters", areas where foot anglers and small craft operators can both revel in the beauty and action of pursuing wild gamefish on light-weight flyrods.

It's the perfect introduction to exploring untapped fisheries in our local region. Species included in the show are sand bass, halibut, white seabass, and much more. Ken is a 30-year veteran of the adventure recreation/environmental education industry. 

He’s written a number of books on salt water fly fishing: Fly Fishing The Pacific, Mexico: Blue Ribbon Fly Fishing Guide, California Fly Tying and Fishing Guide, The No-nonsense Guide to Fly Fishing Northern California, Fly Fishing Afoot In The Surf Zone, Fly Fishing Afoot for Western Bass.

A freelance writer and photographer, Ken has also a Contributing Editor & Columnist for California Fly Fisher, and has written for many fly fishing periodicals. He’s a member of the Outdoor Writers Association of California

Ken is owner of Adventures Beyond (Established 1977 - programs conducted with over 10,000 students) Adventure travel business and field seminar/workshops. He’s an instructor specializing in outdoor adventure skills including fly fishing, mountaineering, and wilderness photography.

Ken is on the Sage Pro Staff his sponsors include Wood River, and Islander Reels.

Ken's extensive field experience spans the globe; from the highest peaks in Tibet and the Himalayas, to the remote wilderness regions of Asia, New Zealand, Mexico, Europe, and North America. From pan fish to roosterfish, he's caught over ninety different species of fresh and saltwater game fish.

March 7, 2001 meeting featured Peter Cockwill who has run his own fishing syndicate water in England for some 16 years and his own shop for eleven. A well-known speaker on the club circuit in Britain, he is a regular contributor to Trout Fisherman magazine and the author of three books. The captor of the first 20 lb rainbow, he has twice won the Small Fisheries Championship, and has won the European Open.  He has fished extensively in different parts of the world and regularly takes groups on salmon fishing expeditions to Alaska.

He can be contacted at Tel: 01483 205196  

Jeff won the Buz Buszek Conservation award in 1991 and has been the subject of articles in Mike Fong’s Inside Angler, LA Times, Bill Sunderlands’s California Blue Ribbon Trout Streams and California Fly Fisher Magazine.

He fishes primarily for trout but also fishes for American Shad, Stripped Bass, Steelhead, Salmon, and saltwater species. He has put together a new slide show dealing with the Upper King’s River.

He guides the Upper and Lower Kings River and the American for rainbows, steelhead, American shad during the spring and summer. Fall and winter he fishes the Kings River and the Merced below Yosemite Valley for rainbows and the American River for steelhead and king salmon. Winter and spring he fishes in Southern California at Kings Harbor (Redondo Beach) for bonito, calico, and sand bass and also does small mouth trips on the Kings and Merced Rivers.

Our January 10, 2001 speaker was John Wilson on Fly Fishing Alaska Streams for Big Salmon.  John was born in Kodiak, Alaska, and has spent most of his life in Alaska involved in fishing. His family owns the Lake Marie Lodge where they fish for King Salmon, Silver Salmon, and rainbow trout. John will be talking about techniques for sight fishing small streams for King Salmon.

John will be tying some King Salmon flies of his own design.

Darrell Martin, our November 8th, 2000 speaker,  comes from Washington State and has many talents to recommend him. His background in teaching and literature is put to good use in the four books he has written, including Micropatterns.  He has also written for The Fly Fisher, Rod & Reel, and other fly fishing magazines.

He has spoken internationally and is the inventor of many fly tying tools including the Streamsider Tying Vice and DM Dubbing Whirl.  He is also an accomplished artist who has illustrated his own books.  His latest, being published this year, is The Fly Fisher's Illustrated Dictionary.

Before the meeting Darrell will be tying. An informal dinner with our speaker will be held at Roxy’s Deli, 1345 Thousand Oaks Blvd., from 5-6 p.m.

October 11, 2000  speakers: Mark McKenzie passion for fly-fishing began in 1980 on the Kern River, where he’s enjoyed fishing for 30 years. For the past nine years Mark’s lived in Bishop and has been guiding for eight years.

Mark loves fishing the waters of the Eastern Sierra and exploring all that the backcountry” has to offer. He also enjoys fishing for steelhead, salmon, trout, and pike in Canada where he’s spent vacations for 11 years.

Before moving to Bishop, Mark lived in LA and spent 10 years on the board of South Bay Fly Fishers, where he was President for two years and taught fly-tying.

Marks says, “I know the importance of conservation, and how necessary our part is in promoting it. I have been active for many years in conservation programs with the FFF, Trout Unlimited and CalTrout. “

Beryl Rea is “The Trout Scout”, a founding member of the Sierra Guide Group, based in Bishop. Beryl has been fishing the waters of the High Sierra since she was old enough to toddle along Mammoth Creek with her grandfather, constantly getting in his way and tangling his line. However, he did manage to teach her how to cast, read the waters and tie simple flies. She has continued to hone her fishing skills through summers spent goofing off along the creeks and lakes of the Sierra, and in her travels around the world, casting over (and occasionally into) waters from Canada to South America, to the renowned trout fisheries of Kashmir, India.

Beryl has been guiding year-round since 1993. A favorite destination is the Reid Watson ranch, a private trophy fishery featuring browns and rainbows up to 30" in length. Beryl’s guide trips are highlighted by her delectable lunches, a product of her many years operating a deli and catering business.

September 13, 2000 Van Beacham is a fourth generation New Mexican and has been fly-fishing for over thirty years.  He has been guiding anglers since 1980 and currently has guiding operations in New Mexico / Southern Colorado, Southwest Wyoming and Mexico’s Southern Yucatan. 

Van will be talking about fishing The Green River below Fontenelle Dam -- a beautiful tailwater running through the desolate, arid region of Southwest Wyoming forming a desert oasis known as the Seedskadee National Wildlife Area.  The little known fishery boasts multiple species of trout, which average larger than the trout in any other Wyoming river, and a supply of aquatic groceries unparalleled in Wyoming. Van will explain why the river is so unknown and how you can take advantage of this unique trophy trout river.  Several nearby tributaries also offer miles of splendid fly-fishing for wild trout without the crowds.  Van will cover the seasons, locations and techniques for fishing this unique, wide-open region.

Van Beachams’ Solitary Angler guide service specializes in providing quality year-round fly fishing experiences “without the crowds”.  Emphasis is on instruction, beauty and solitude.  Van is in constant search for out of the way places and private waters that have yet to be discovered and their full potential realized.  By continually adding new waters that meet this criteria the Solitary Angler is able to provide a wide variety of fly fishing opportunities to its' growing clientele while maintaining pristine qualities including solitude, light fishing pressure and “wild” trout.  From the bottom of the Rio Grande Gorge in Northern N.M. to the top of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains on Forbes Ranch in Southern Colorado.  From small, private blue-ribbon trout streams to large rivers like the Green River in Southwest Wyoming; the Solitary Angler has something to suit just about any flyfisher on a year-round basis. 

Before the meeting Van will be tying couple of variations of Van's Wrag fly which is similar to a casual dress nymph.  If there's enough time he'll tie a soft- hackle streamer.

An informal dinner with our speaker will be held at Roxy’s Deli, 1345 Thousand Oaks Blvd., from 5-6 p.m.

While guests are always welcome, there is a $10 donation for non-members who have attended more than one meeting.