| Newsletter of the Central Texas Flyfishers | January 2003 Vol. 9No. 1 |
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Calendar | Officers
| Happy New Year | New Officers Elected | CTFF Annual Banquet
Editor's Cast
| Website Marks Second Anniversary |
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Issues | Home
President: Kevin
Duren
Vice President: Steve Batchelor
Conservation: Billy Wofford
Outings: Matt Jennings & Justin Millikan
Secretary: Marcus Rodriguez
Treasurer: Brian Watson
First of all, I would like to wish CTFF and friends happiness and health for the new year. I have never thought much about health and happiness, until one day it hit me. Happiness and health go hand and hand, we cannot have one with out the other. I am happy and I feel healthy. I am always looking forward to taking a hike with my beautiful daughter or taking a long float trip with my wife and angling friends.
I have mixed feelings when a year ends and another one begins. I tend to feel sadness and a little excitement. This is a definite feeling for me as I feel it deep in my heart. I feel sadness for those friends and family that we have lost over the year. I feel sad because the adventures of the past year are over. I feel sad because I spent most of the darn summer indoors waiting for it to stop raining.
More than the sadness, I feel excitement. I feel this deep in my heart as well. I am thankful for the friends and family that I still have. I feel excited that I am alive another year. I feel excited because life is like a river, and to steal a saying from Michael Brown, no one knows what lies around the next bend.
This year should be a great year for CTFF. We have new club officers, we have a big banquet coming up, and the surrounding rivers are flowing strong and healthy. This year should also be a great year for those of us who make frequent trips to the coast. I think that when we are fishing, talking about fishing, or lying about fishing we are all truly happy. Being that happiness and health go together, we must be damned near immortal.
Marcus Rodriguez
New Victims…err …Club Officers Elected
CTFF has elected new officers. The new officers are President, Kevin Duren. Vice President, Steve Batchelor. Treasurer, Brian Watson. Outings Director will be shared by Justin Millikan and Matt Jennings. Billy Wofford will return as the Conservation Officer and myself, Marcus Rodriguez, will continue getting the newsletters out in a not so timely fashion. I am very confident that the newly elected group will take the club far. I am also looking forward to see what Justin and Matt can come with in the outings department.
All of the new officers have great experience fly fishing Texas and other waters. I have been lucky enough to fly fish with most of them. We have had some major adventures on the river and I am looking forward to the adventure of the upcoming year
Central Texas Flyfishers Annual Banquet
On January 25, 2003 the Central Texas Fly Fishers will hold their annual banquet at the Southside Community Center on Guadalupe Street. The banquet offers club members and their families the chance to enjoy great food and depending on who one talks to, great conversation. The fun will begin at 7 p.m.
The yearly banquet also serves as the hazing ritual for the new president, and as he has to plan it and hope it runs smoothly. The banquet is also the time where we let the older, wiser, ex-president finally take his leave so that that he can enjoy other pursuits.
This year, Steve Batchelor will provide the brisket. Former President, Terry Blackwell will provide the club with deer meat. Other members are asked to bring a covered dish or dessert.
Members are also asked to bring non-perishable food items to donate to South Southside Community Center as they have been gracious enough to allow us use of their facility. C'mon guys and gals, don't save your cans of corn for the trout.
Some club members have volunteered to set up tables in the facility. If one would like to volunteer, the set up will begin at about 5:30 PM. Look for details on the club web page.
Finally, expect a lot of people and be prepared to talk about fly fishing. I will not be able to attend, but I am expecting a report to be posted in the next newsletter.
Editor's Cast: Finally, I get to fish...Almost
I got to fly fish this past Thursday. The last time I had fished before that was a beautiful trip on the upper Guadalupe with Matt Jennings and Michael Brown. That was a beautiful day. Matt had put a post on the CTFF web site and I just had to go. I used my best call in sick voice and skipped out on work. I have suffered many ailments since starting my job. I have had appendicitis, arthritis, bleeding ulcers, and several dead grandparents. I called in sick, but I had to go fishing. It is not everyday that the three "M" igos (Matt, Mike, and Marcus) get to stalk and wreak havoc on a river.
Anyway, back to this last fishing trip. Johnny and I were on the San Gabriel River. Johnny wanted to take a few slides of fly fishing for carp. We were above Mankin's Crossing and the water was perfection. It was flowing strong and clear. We only took one rod and there were carp everywhere. I made some beautiful casts and had a few carp turn on my fly, but never take. I must have fished for about twenty minuets and cast at about twenty different carp. Johnny asked me if he could take a couple of casts. Since, I was having no luck I handed the rod over. Johnny waded a little ways downstream from me and made one cast...and I saw a carp explode and scream off downstream. Johnny held my rod up high and I saw it bend under the weight of the fish. Johnny asked me to come over and help him. When I got to Johnny he handed me the rod and started snapping pictures. Do any of you know how bad it feels to get a hand out from Johnny?
Marcus Rodriguez
Website Marks Second Anniversary
It's hard to believe that we haven't always had a website. There was even some discussion a couple years beforehand wondering if one was necesssary. It's evident that the success of the website has made a believer out of the skeptics. One of the goals of our website is to share information about who we are and allow access into our community of fly fishers. We've had visitors from around the world, been able to interact with each other via the message boards, and share photos of all the things we do.
Websites are evolutionary by nature and successful ones adapt to meet the needs of their users. If you have suggestions about what to include on our website, please let me know.
I look forward to seeing what's around the next bend for both our club and the website.
Michael Brown
© 2003 Central Texas Flyfishers
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