March 2011 PACKTX Meeting Notes

PACK MEETING 3-15-2011

REI –HOUSTON

Opening comments by President Ron Romeis-Ron offered sympathy for those in Japan. Thanks to Barry and Jim for greeting members at the door. Guests were introduced and new members recognized; Four new members have joined in the last month. Greg Corbett and his wife were recognized as being from the Texas Fly fishers and candidates for learning about kayaking. Greg offered his comments about the recent trip to Fayette County Lake at which he was a participant.

Past President Adrian volunteered he was recently laid off but had a new job in a matter of days.

Safety Tip of the month was presented by Ron Romeis. The tip was to consider using a tall flag to make the kayaks more visible. Bruce Behrens volunteered that when in a power boat he finds red kayaks very difficult to see. He recommends any color other than red. Ron Moore suggested arranging for a speaker on the topic of life jackets and/or other types of flotation devices.

Dick McGonigle made an announcement about the April-8-9 salesman’s sale at FTU; he also announced arrangements for the March 26 trash bash at Virginia Point and told the group about leading a day trip of bird watchers to observe the Oyster Catcher. Every third Saturday of the month the bird group meets for the purpose of locating a specific bird. Those interested should contact Dick.

In May, REI will be doing inventory so the PACK May meeting will be at another location. The exact location has yet to be determined. Orvis volunteered through its fishing manager, Marcos Enriquez, that its store would be available for the May meeting if necessary. Meeting date will be communicated to club members soon.

Ron Romeis mentioned creating a Face Book page for PACK. He said it would be a good method of communicating and getting the PACK message to persons not currently members of the club. Ron also mentioned Bruce Behrens is working to get pod casts of our speakers posted on the PACK web site.

Trip Reports were presented by Ron Romeis:

Fayette County Lake-many fish were caught. 16 people participated. Terry offered comments about having caught a 21 inch bass-she said it was quite a thrill; Greg Corbett told the group about catching his largest bass on a fly he tied and passed out a few examples of the fly now named: “Buzzes Choice” in honor of member Buzz Black.

Powderhorn-everyone caught fish. A nice fish fry was prepared for the group. Bruce pointed out on a power point map where the fish were caught.

Up-Coming Trips

Troy Sunkel’s Trip-Sargent-March 26^th; Breakfast Tacos and coffee will be available for participants so Troy needs to know as soon as possible who will be participating;

East Matagorda-Ron pointed out good fishing locations on a map and described the camp ground-Michael Harris will be the leader.

Guest Speaker-Marcos Enriquez fishing manager from the Orvis store here in Houston.

He has been with Orvis 16 years;

The history of fly fishing was explained along with the compelling reasons for fly fishing;

He will lead a PACK trip in August with the intent to primarily fly fish;

Fly fishing gear was explained; Orvis has a new series of rods named the Axis which is an entry level rod; He explained the method Orvis uses to identify the flex of its rods; He recommends a fast action rod for saltwater; The Hydros came out last year and is on the same blank as the Helios which is the top of the line; He recommends trying a rod before buying; He demonstrated casting technique by using a teaching aid; Fly lines were explained; Reels were discussed; He recommended spending your money on the rod which is the most important component; He has ordered a Native Versa Board which is a type of vessel similar to a kayak which anglers can stand up on to sight cast to fish in shallow water. Finally Marcos talked about sun glasses and how they are different-Zeis makes some of their glasses; He thinks a rose lens is a great color choice for sun glasses; Orvis has a great warranty on its products; Lip a Locks are a product similar to Boga Grips but are lighter; He says to put your stringer behind you or on your left side if you are right handed to keep the fly line away from the stringer; Squeeze the grip at the end of the cast, back and forward, which will provide for a better loop;

Closing comments-Orvis will be offering free fly fishing classes within the next few months. Clouser, Bendback, & Seaducer on No.4 hooks are, in his opinion, the top flies for saltwater.