Jim Roberts, our November 2002 speaker, will be talking about "The Strike Zone, Modern Nymphing Tactics"

Roberts defines the strike zone as a narrow slot where the fish can get the most amount of food with the least amount of effort. His presentation covers why it is so important to keep the flies in the strike zone and techniques for maximizing the amount of time the fly is in this area.

Roberts was baptized into fishing on Hot Creek and the Owens River in the Eastern Sierras.  He rapidly found his  calling and spent most of his free time chasing trout. After college and a brief stint as a teacher, Roberts decided to make fishing a career. Partnering and running companies in retail (Buck A Bug), wholesale (Innovative Anglers), and guiding (Trout Guys), he has accumulated a wealth of information that helps him introduce ideas to others willing to listen and watch. 

Roberts says he has developed a system of fly fishing more closely related to hunting. He tries to maximize the amount of time casting to fish rather than prospecting. His passion has evolved over the years, but still remains  high as he continues to log over 150 days a year on the water. From 60 pound tuna to 6 inch bluegill, he says his grin is still that of a 6 year old  with his first bike.

Milt Jensen, our October 9, 2002 speaker, arrived with his parents in the Lake Almanor area in 1942, at the ripe old age of four, and caught his first trout on a fly at the age of eight. He spent his formative years fishing the area, alternating between fly and spin tackle.

Jenson first became dedicated to still water fly-fishing during the seventies. Jenson says his uncle fly fished exclusively in Lake Almanor before passing away in the early fifties. “His successes must have remained in my subconscious and probably swayed me to prefer lake fly-fishing,” says Jenson.

After a four year stint in the  service, Jenson  worked in the  lumber industry. When he saw the decline in the  industry begining in 1982, Jenson  began guiding part time on weekends and went to fulltime guiding and commercial fly tying when the  logging company he  was working for closed it's doors for the  last time in 1984. 

Jenson has had a working business relationship with THE  FLY SHOP of Redding, CA and several other fly shops in the  region. He  also works with owners of private waters in northern  California, opening Five Dot Reservoir in 1996.

Jenson has been featured in several outdoor publications, including WESTERN OUTDOORS, FLYFISHING magazine, FLYFISHERMAN, FLYTYER, and the  late Michael Fong’s INSIDE ANGLER news letter.

Jenson now guides Lake Almanor almost exclusively with an occasional group outing to Five Dot Reservoir, in addition to tying commercially.

Bill Sunderland, our September 2002 speaker,  is a life-long journalist, writer and fly fisher, whose father, a classical musician, was an avid fly-line angler. So he learned from his father? Nope.
         "My dad never showed me how to fish. I had to wait until he quit fishing for the day, then I'd sneak in and grab his rod. In reality, I taught myself how to fly fish.  And, with a few breaks, I've been at it ever since."
          Sunderland worked as a journalist and foreign correspondent for United Press International and the New York Daily News, before moving to Ketchum, Idaho, where he bought a weekly paper. When that didn't work out he joined the San Jose Mercury News.
          "When I came to California in the late 1970s there really were no good books on where to fish here," he says. "So when I finally got some time a decade later, I teamed up with Dale Lackey, a close friend who was a steelhead guide, to write California Blue Ribbon Trout Streams. It still is doing great and is now in its third edition."

           "I published this one myself so I could control the layout, photographs and reproduction," he says. "Rick Martin, an excellent photographer, took the photos and we really put some work into this book. I think it shows -- Fly Fishing California Stillwaters can sit on a coffee table as well as in your fishing car."

Sunderland lives in Shelter Cove on California's Lost Coast, an isolated area south of Eureka. He has fished all over the world, in Russia, Costa Rica, Argentina, Peru, Midway Island and Ecuador, to name a few places. "I'll fish for just about anything anywhere," he says. "From tiny trout in the Sierra to tarpon and sailfish off Costa Rica -- it's all fun!"

Will Trefry, our August 7, 2002 speaker,  has been a resident of the Pasadena area for the past thirty years, following formative years growing up in Los Angeles.  He has fished extensively in the Eastern Sierra, on various waters throughout the state, and regularly on the West Fork of the San Gabriel River.  Will has been a member of the Pasadena Casting Club since 1973, and has been on the Board of Directors since that time, serving as President, on several committees, and as the editor of the club newsletter, The Fish Tales for twenty-five years.  Will also designed and continues to teach the fly casting and fly fishing class, which began in 1974 and is conducted on three Saturdays in March.

 In 1999 Will joined the Board of Governors of California Trout, a conservation organization dedicated to enhancing and preserving California’s wild trout fisheries.  Will has been a life-long advocate of conservation matters and feels that CalTrout is an excellent organization to pursue this commitment.  Will now serves as CalTrout’s Secretary and sits on the Governance and Executive Committees.

Will’s presentation will provide an update of the recent conservation projects being conducted by CalTrout, particularly those that are of interest to Southern California anglers.  

The July 10, 2002 meeting is our inaugural members presentation program. Each year, one meeting will be set aside for short presentations given by several members of the Conejo Valley Fly Fishers.

Our all-star lineup features a slide show by Don Honus and Bob Kieling, aka Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, on Montana and Yellowstone. They may or may not divulge the location of the Hole in the Wall Gang.

Larry Martin will be speaking about Colorado waters, specifically the Frying Pan, Roaring Fork and Colorado Rivers with a few moments on Sopris Creek, his private little fishing heaven.

Last but not least, Wayne Caywood will present “Adventures of a Party Boat Skipper.” This may be the most hilarious 20 minutes you have ever heard at a CVFF meeting.

Jimmy Toy will graciously tie his “Toy Hopper” and his CDC midge. Both are “fabulous” producers on Hot Creek, according to program chairman, Larry Garfinkel.

How do you decide which fly to use first when fishing your favorite trout stream or a stream you’ve never fished before?  The slide show given by Jan Kurahara June 12, 2002 will provide a systematic method for determining the right trout fly for any situation you are likely to encounter on a trout stream - during a hatch, before a hatch, or when there are no hatches.

He is a FFF certified master fly casting instructor and, along with his wife Carole, teaches fly casting and fishing classes for Sage Rod Company.  He is also the principal instructor for the Master Angler class, a 5-day advanced fly fishing class held at Clearwater House on Hat Creek in California.  Jan has instructed beginning to advanced fly tying classes for fly fishing clubs and fly shops in California and has demonstrated fly tying internationally.  He's also a member of Conejo Valley Fly Fishers.

Dan Edwards (front) guiding Tom Greenup to a nice smallmouth.

We are very pleased to have Dan Edwards as our April 2002 speaker.  

Dan was, for several years, the flyfishing consultant for Abercombie & Fitch. He is the former president of the Houston Flyfishers and is the Senior Instructor for Fenwick's customized flyfishing schools.

He is a field staff representative for several companies and is active in the Montgomery County Flyrodders of Conroe, Texas.

Experienced in tying flies professionally ("Several of my patterns are known as 'winners'") Dan has just caught a World Record Walleye at 8 lbs. and 30.5" long with a flyrod on 8 lb. tippet!

Business end of a muskie.

Ed Engle, our March speaker has been an avid fly fisherman for the past 25 years. He has fly fished throughout the continental United States, Alaska, Mexico, Chile and in Europe for a variety of game fish species with a special emphasis on trout.

As a fly fisherman Ed is especially interested in small fly tactics and techniques. His small fly-fishing research has taken him to a many of the West's famous tail waters and to spring creeks across the country. He is also dedicated to fly fishing small streams and high country lakes for wild trout.

Ed lives west of Colorado Springs, Colorado within 40 of the South Platte River, one of Colorado’s premier tail waters, where he guides and instructs fly fishers.

He’s the Southwest Field Editor for FLY FISHERMAN MAGAZINE, Small Flies Columnist for FLY TYER MAGAZINE, Bamboo Rod Columnist for ANGLER’S JOURNAL, and an Outdoor Writer for the BOULDER DAILY CAMERA.

Ed’s articles and photographs have appeared in: Fly Fisherman Magazine, Fly Rod & Reel, American Angler, Trout, Warmwater Fly Fishing, Fly Tyer, Saltwater Fly Fishing, Angler’s Journal, Sports Afield, Fly Fishing Magazine, and Gray's Journal.

His book, FLY FISHING THE TAILWATERS is a how-to book about fly fishing for trout in the regulated waters that occur below dams (Stackpole, 1991

Feb 13, 2002  Kathy & Scott Sparrow
Flyfishing Texas Gulf Coast

Capt. Scott Sparrow guides fly fishers only, and specializes in sight casting in less than a foot of water from kayaks or his poled skiff. Operating out of Kingfisher Inn in Arroyo City, he has quick access to the shallowest, clearest areas of the lower Laguna Madre. He and his wife Kathy own and operate Kingfisher Inn and Guide Service, and offer full service fishing/lodging/meals packages for fly fishers in search of redfish, speckled trout, and tarpon.

A practicing psychotherapist and writer, Scott grew up fishing the lower Laguna Madre, and in his adult years fly fished extensively in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and in the Catskills of New York. Now that he's returned to his home waters, he believes that the skills acquired in the most demanding dry fly conditions readily translate to the stealthy, meditative approach required of the successful Laguna Madre fisherman.

Scott's wife Kathy is a writer, flyfisher (and avid bird watcher), too, and enjoys hosting clients who enjoy the sport

Kingfisher Inn & Guide Service
956-748-4350
Email: kingfisher@lagunamadre.net
Visit his website

January 9, 2001   Mike Kaul, Windriver Wyoming

Mike Kaul is from Pinedale, Wyoming located at the foot of the Wind River Mountains and the Bridger Wilderness. This area produces the headwaters of a multitude of outstanding trout streams to include the renowned Green and New Fork Rivers.

Mike has taken every opportunity in the past 48 years to chase these wiley trout with a fly rod. Starting under the tutelage of his grandfather at age 8, Mike studied and practiced the fly fishing craft with great zeal. He has introduced fly fishing to many individuals of all ages and backgrounds over the years and enjoys working with beginners who want to learn the art of fly casting and fly fishing.

Mike is a Federation of Fly Fishers Certified Flycasting Instructor.

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