Welcome to the Keystone Flyfishers Website

February 2012 Meeting

2012-02-07T16:51:00.001-08:00

The next club meeting will be February 28th, 7:00 at NW Savings Bank in Franklin. Jim Simonelli of the Gem City Fly Tyers and Gander Mountain will conduct a presentation on fly fishing for stripers at Cape Cod. He and Bob and went last year and Bob reports that the fishing was tremendous so it should be a great presentation.

Also just a reminder that we tie every Tuesday (excluding of course the Tuesday we have our monthly meeting) at the Oil City Transit Building at 6:30.

Annual Picnic

2011-08-16T18:50:00.001-07:00

Don't forget about the picnic next Tuesday the 23rd at Oil Creek State park in Petroleum Center. We'll start around 6:00. The club supplies hot dogs, hamburgers, beverages, plates,service ware and cups. We ask everyone to bring a dish. As always it is a family affair. I ask that you give me an idea of if you will attend and how many approximately so we can plan accordingly.---Steve

OPEN HOUSE

2011-03-04T13:46:00.000-08:00

Click on the flyer for more details. We hope to see you there!

February Meeting

2011-02-20T05:33:00.000-08:00

The February meeting will feature Bob Anderson and his presentation on the Grannom Caddis. Bob will go over patterns and fishing techniques you will need to be successful with this early season caddis hatch.

Bring your flytying gear for the first hour and get a jump start for spring. The early hatches are right around the corner so not is the time to get prepared!

See you there.

Christmas Dinner

2010-12-01T16:30:00.000-08:00

Greetings,

Hope everybody had a good Thanksgiving. This year our Christmas party will be held on December 14th (Tues) at 6:00PM social period and dinner at 7:00 PM.. This year we decided to switch gears with the party. The party will be held this year at The Commons at Franklin (The old Franklin Club 1340 Liberty St. Franklin). It will be a buffet style dinner. The menu will be:

Salad
Herb Roasted Chicken
Slow Roasted Beef with bordelaise sauce
Prince Edward Medley (green beans, yellow beans, & carrots)
Buttered Red Skin Potatoes
Rolls
Hot Tea or Coffee

We will also haves a cash bar for soda and alcoholic beverages. Soda will have free refills.

There is also an outside balcony off of the room for people to smoke.

The cost will be $20.00 per person. This includes all taxes and gratuity.

Unfortunately we are pressed for time so I have to have a final count on attendees by this Friday Dec. 3rd. This final count of attendees will be turned into The Commons and we will be billed for this many people at a minimum the day of the party so it is very important that everybody attends who say they are. We can add a couple people the day of the party if we need to. We will need to collect the money up front before the day of the party. You can give it to either Bob Anderson or myself or mail a check to us.

Bob’s address is
1021 Bredinsburg Rd.
Franklin, PA 16323

My address is:
720 Wily Ave.
Franklin, PA 16323

Also, there will be no auction this year. We have decided that this evening will be a relaxing and socializing event this year. There also will be no meeting this month.

Please respond back ASAP by Thursday the 2nd evening if you plan to attend. If there any questions call me at (Home) 437-0868 or Cell) 657-1777. I hope everyone can make it!

October Meeting

2010-10-22T12:56:00.001-07:00

Our next meeting will be Tuesday October 26Th at 7:00. The meeting will be as always at NW Bank in Franklin. This month we will be discussing steelhead fishing. We will review flies rigging and techniques. Hope to see you there!

Weekly Fly Tying

2010-10-11T16:50:00.000-07:00

Weekly Fly Tying

When: Every Wednesday Evening
Where: National Transit Building at the corner of Seneca and Center Streets in downtown Oil City
Time: 6:30-8:00

This is a great opportunity for tiers of all ages and abilities to get together and share information. We hope to see you there!

Update to September Meeting

2010-09-13T11:59:00.003-07:00

UPDATE TO THE SEPTEMBER MEETING: Jim Sharp will be doing a presentation on his Alaskan fly Fishing trip at our 1st meeting. Jim will start at 7pm sharp!

September Meeting

2010-09-12T12:50:00.000-07:00

The 1st meeting of the season will be the 28th of this month (September) at NW Bank at 7:00pm. The meeting agenda is yet to be determined but as usual, it will be an informative meeting. See you there.

UPDATE TO PICNIC

2010-08-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

We will have a special presentation at the picnic this year.

Gary Kell, a certified FFF casting instructor will be on hand to give a demonstration on the fundamentals of casting. Gary will give a group demonstration and will also be available for individual consultation for a small donation.

Gary is one of those instructors where even the most experienced caster will take something home with them. Don't miss this!

Summer Picnic

2010-08-06T19:21:00.000-07:00

The date for our summer picnic is Tuesday August 24Th at Oil Creek State park pavilions in Petroleum Center. We will be meeting between 6 and 6:30. The club will supply burgers, hot dogs, drinks, plates, cups silver ware etc. We ask that you bring a covered dish.

We will have some door prizes and our regular 50/50 drawing. If you have any questions feel free to call me at (home) 814-437-0868 or (cell) 814-657-1777.

Hope to see everyone on the the 24th for a great evening!

Summer Hiatus

2010-06-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

There are no monthly meetings in June or July. We will resume our monthly meetings in August when we have our annual picnic. Be sure to check the bulletin board if your interested in the summer weekly fishing outing. Time and location will be posted on Monday or Tuesday of each week.

Have a great summer!

May Meeting---Oil Creek State Park May 25th at 6:30pm

2010-05-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

There will be a brief meeting under the pavilion at Petroleum Center starting at 6:30 followed by an evening of fishing. Sulfurs, March Browns, Blue Wing Olives, and Caddis are hatching, so be ready for just about anything. Remember---A Rustyspinner at dusk is always a sure thing this time of year!

April Meeting---April 27th at 7pm sharp!

2010-04-23T21:18:00.001-07:00

This will be our last indoor meeting of the year. The presentation will be on knots. It will cover fly line to backing, leader to fly line and basic knots used for tippet and fly connections. We will have some "hands on" training.

March Meeting, March 23rd starting at 7pm

2010-03-21T19:17:00.000-07:00

Hope you're enjoying the weather. Maybe getting a little fishing in. Just wanted to remind everyone that the next meeting will be this Tuesday the 23rd at 7:00 at the NW Savings bank in Franklin. We will have a gentleman from the Scrubgrass Creek Water Shed give a brief presentation and then Bob will give a demonstration on tying the fox squirrel nymph and dark stone.

Fox Squirrel Nymph:

Dave Whitlock created this pattern called the red fox squirrel nymph some years ago. It is an awesome pattern for both cold and warm water species.

Dave calls this fly his favorite and for good reason. It is an absolutely excellent fish getter and deserves space in your crowded fly box in a range of sizes.

OPEN HOUSE!

2010-03-04T19:23:00.001-08:00

CLICK ON THE FLYER FOR A LARGER IMAGE

Februrary Meeting Information

2010-02-17T13:59:00.000-08:00

The Februrary Meeting will feature a presentation by Jim Simmonelli of Gander Mountain and the Gem City Fly Tyers on fishing small PA streams. Jim has done a handful of presentations for our club in years past and always puts on an educational and entertaining show.

The flytyers will have their final lesson and we will focus on tying a dry fly (Adams). If you have been practicing, you should be able to breeze through this pattern as it is just a matter of putting together all the techniques you have learned over the past few months.

If you are a board member, we will be meeing at 6:30 sharp in the smaller room to discuss/plan the open house.

See you there!

January Meeting Update

2010-01-20T14:18:00.000-08:00

The topic for the January meeting will be furled leaders. There will be a demonstration on how to build a furled leader along with ample opportunity for those who want to give it a try. There will also be printed plans on how to build your own jig.

For the flytying class, we will be tying an Elk Hair Caddis. I hope you have been practicing as we are going to step up our game a little by putting many of the techniques you have already learned into this pattern. Make sure your there and ready to go at 7pm sharp.

CHRISTMAS PARTY

2009-12-06T06:59:00.000-08:00

The annual Christmas Dinner will be held on December 8th at 6pm at Hoss's Steak House in Cranberry. Everyone is welcome to attend! We will have dinner (order off the menu) followed by our trash to treasure auction. If you have anything to auction off, please bring it that evening.

For those coming a distance to join us, here is the address and phone number for Hoss's:

Cranberry
2432 State Route 257
Cranberry, PA 16319
(814) 677-3002
Intersection of Rt. 322 and Rt. 257

October Meeting Information

2009-10-20T07:20:00.000-07:00

Our next meeting will be Tuesday Oct 27th at 7:00 at the NW Savings Bank in Franklin. We will have another guest speaker from the PA Fish and Boat Commission who will speak about steelhead fishing in Erie and some of the latest stream access locations the state has acquired from the Lake Erie stamp program. He will also discuss a new training certification (free) they have started to train fly fishers to be instructors to those organizations (churches, boy scouts) who would like an introduction to fly fishing. This would help get our name out there. He mentioned that we could assist with their family fly fishing program that they started this summer. One was held at Oil Creek and it was pretty successful with 2 groups of 20 people.

Also we will be tying some steelhead flies (sucker spawn etc.).

One thing we will try is a beginning fly tying course. This is a good time for those of you who thought about tying but never started to finally get in gear. We will have a few vices available and some tools if you don't have any to get you started. We will also have some tying materials. You should however get your own gear after the first couple of meetings.

You will also need to practice in between meetings so you are able to move on to the next task at the next meeting. If you want to take part in this beginner class, PLEASE BE THERE PRIOR TO 7PM, THE CLASS WILL START AT 7PM SHARP.

We also still have 2 spots available for rod building. If interested please let me know ASAP as we are running out of time to get started.

Don't forget we have a 50/50 drawing so bring a couple bucks if you can. This helps us raise money since we are a non profit group.

Hope everyone can make the meeting. See you the 27th.

September Meeting Information

2009-09-15T12:43:00.000-07:00

I am proud to announce that Gary Kell from Warren, Pa will be our featured speaker at the September meeting. Gary will be giving a presentation called "The Fly Delivery System - Design it right and catch more fish!!"

Gary goes on to explain that "The Fly Delivery System consists of the backing, fly line, leader and tippet. Knowing how to design and adjust this system is an often overlooked key to effective presentations in all kinds of conditions."

Gary, a native of NW Pennsylvania, has been fly fishing for over 40 years. He has taught over 1000 people various aspects of the sport. Gary was the lead fly fishing instructor for L.L. Bean in Virginia, is a Master Certified Casting Instructor through the Federation of Fly Fishers (one of only 2 in PA and less than 200 nationwide) and a licensed Pennsylvania Fishing Guide. He resides in Warren, PA where he operates Gary Kell The Fly Fishing Coach and provides a variety of flyfishing instruction services.

You can also check out his website at: http://www.theflyfishingcoach.com/501.html

NEW MEETING LOCATION

2009-09-14T14:27:00.000-07:00

We will be meeting at a new location starting with the September meeting. We will be meeting in the Basement of the Northwest Savings Bank building, on the corner of Liberty street and 13th street. See the Map for further details. Parking will be available in the bank parking lot. We hope to see you there!

Annual Picnic August 27th

2009-08-15T09:31:00.001-07:00

The Annual Picnic will be held on August 27th at 6pm. We will be meeting at the picnic pavilion at Petroleum Center. As usual, burgers, hot dogs and drinks will be provided. We ask that each family bring a covered dish. There will be door prizes and a 50/50 raffle. Weather permitting, you may want to bring your gear and do some fishing after the event. If you are planning on attending, please RSVP with Steve Crawford via his email or a post on the bulletinboard no later than August 25th. It is important that you RSVP so we know how much food to purchase. Please bring your family as all are invited

Keystone Flyfishers Hats are Chuck Norris Approved!

2009-07-11T10:34:00.000-07:00

We have Keystone Flyfisher hats for sale. We are selling them for 15 dollars each. If you are interested in purchasing a hat. Let us know or pick on up at the next meeting/outing.

A Sure Sign of Spring

2009-04-09T08:09:00.000-07:00

Here is the article we submitted for the Galena Signal, a local paper in Franklin that is running a column about flyfishing for us as well as any meeting information we throw at them. I thought that others outside the Franklin area would find it useful.

If you were to ask a group of people what they thought was a sure sign that spring was here to stay, many would say blooming flowers or some would say chirping songbirds. If you were to ask an avid flyfisherman, they would say “when the Grannoms start hatching”. We rely on this hatch every year to remind us that warmer weather is just around the corner.
The Grannoms belong to the Caddisfly family (Trichoptera) and are sometimes called the Little Black Caddis. They start hatching in late April to early May and usually last a week to ten days with the peak about five days after the start of the hatch. I have seen them as early as April 13th and are very weather dependent on when they start hatching. You will find these insects hatching all day long with the majority of the hatch occurring midday.
Life Cycle
The Grannoms follow the same hatching pattern as all caddisflies, undergoing a complete metamorphosis (meaning they have a pupal stage that the mayflies and stoneflies lack). This is important to the fisherman because the pupa and the adult stages are the most important to pay attention to and imitate. The complete life cycle for the Caddisfly consists of the Egg, Larvae, Pupa and the Adult.
Larvae
The life cycle of the caddisfly lasts one year starting with the egg laying by the adult. This egg then hatches in to a larva. The larval stage is the longest stage for the caddisfly lasting about 11 months. Most Caddisflies are unique in that the larvae protect themselves by building a hard casing around them made out of wood and vegetation and are attached to a rock or stick. The legs of the pupa stick out of the other end of the case searching for food. The unique case known to the Grannom is called a Chimney case and can be identified by its square sided cone like structure.
The Larvae stays in the case and feeds throughout the year until it is fully mature. The larvae will eventually reach a point where it no longer eats and grows, it is then that it is ready to move on to the next stage.
Pupa
When the stream conditions are right, the larva crawls out of its case and starts its journey to the water surface. It is then that it’s classified as a Pupa and is now most vulnerable to the lurking trout. This Pupa will drift for a long period of time struggling to make its way to the surface. As it does it becomes a very easy prey for the trout and produces most of the feeding activity for this hatch. The pupa that does somehow make it to the surface breaks out of the pupal shuck and molts into the adult Grannom.
Adult
The adult stage is what we see flying around everywhere blanketing the air space above the stream. Mating takes place sometime after hatching and can happen two or three times unlike mayflies which only mate once. The gravida will go to the stream and deposit her eggs by either dropping her eggs on the surface of the water or sometimes diving into the water and laying her eggs on the stream bottom. This is the second most vulnerable time for this particular species. With the eggs laid, the whole cycle starts over again in preparation for the next year.
Spent Adult
The final stage for the caddisfly is when mating is complete. Once mating is finished for the year (They usually mate two or three times), The female caddis lays the last of her eggs and then dies on the stream. This spent caddis is very easy prey for the waiting fish and provides an excellent fishing opportunity. The spent stage isn’t really considered a true stage in the caddisfly lifecycle. For the fisherman though, it is a valuable piece of information to know and understand.
Identification
Identification of insects as the hatch is one of the keys to ensure a successful day on the water. Exact imitation is not always necessary but to even come up with a “close enough” Imitation, you should take the time to observe and study the insects that are found on the stream.
The Grannom is fairly easy to identify. It hatches during a part of the year when there is very little insect activity happening on the stream. It is fairly safe to say that when you see a dark bodied caddisfly hatching in late April, it is going to be a Grannom.
Adult Grannom
The body size for the Grannom varies from 8-13mm in length, or a size 16 dry fly hook in fisherman terms. The body color varies from a dark black to a dark green depending on the location you are fishing. Here in Western Pennsylvania, all of the Grannoms I have observed have a Charcoal colored body. The Wings are Gray in color with black veining and the legs are also dark gray to dark dun in color.
Imitations
As with most caddis hatches, there really is only a very select few number of patterns that are necessary to have a productive day on the stream. I find that good imitations of the pupa and adult stages is all that is truly needed for the Grannoms. I also like to have two other patterns, one imitating the emerging pupa, and another imitating the egg laying femals. I don’t fish these secondary patterns that often but if you determine that the fish are keying in on that type of activity, they sure can come in handy.
Below are the patterns I commonly use to imitate the different life cycles of the Grannom:

Grannom Pupa
Hook: Size 16 Scud Hook
Thread: 6/0 Black
Head: Gold Bead
Body: Charcoal Colored Dubbing
Thorax: Same as body
Dub a heavy thorax and tease it out using a dubbing brush

Grannom Adult
Hook: Size 16 Dry Fly
Thread: 6/0 Black
Body: Charcoal Colored Dry Fly Dubbing
Underwing: Gray Antron
Overwing: Elk Hair or CDC