GLC Fly Fishing School and Conclave, 2008, June 20 - 22

JOIN US TO LEARN, HAVE FUN AND FEDERATE

The GLC FLY FISHING SCHOOL & CONCLAVE is held at the R.A. MacMullen Conference Center located on the north side of Higgins Lake near Roscommon and Grayling, Michigan. Adjacent to the Center is one of Michigan's most popular parks, N. Higgins Lake State Park.

Educational programs will be offered for aspiring fly anglers as well as those experienced in the sport Simultaneous programs and workshops for beginners, intermediate and advance anglers will be offered Friday starting at 12:30 p.m. and all-day Saturday. Programs and workshops on casting (including Spey Casting), warmwater fly fishing, and fly fishing for trout will be on the schedule.

Beginning Fly Fishing School to include on-stream instruction. The instructor is Kris Nichols assisted by members of Flygirls of Michigan. You will learn about equipment and gear, knots, casting, entomology, fly selection, reading the water, on-stream tactics, and fly fishing etiquette. Saturday will be spent on the river with the instructors. Box lunch is provided. Students will need, all species fishing license, waders, rod, reel and line, nail nippers, and sunglasses. The beginning school starts at 12:30 pm Friday afternoon with classroom instruction and Saturday's instruction will be on the South Branch of the Au Sable River. Some loaner rod and reel set ups are available. Call Kris Nichols 269-377-3514 or email nicholskris@comcast.net to reserve a rod and reel setup.

Fly Tying Workshops will be offered Friday afternoon, Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon. These workshops are for tyers with at least some experience in tying. The instructors will be Dennis Potter, Dick Walle and Jim Reed. On Friday afternoon a workshop with Dennis Potter is being offered starting at 1 p.m. The theme for Dennis' workshop is "Pattern means nothing without technique". You will not tie a single complete fly, but will master several valuable tying technizues including tailing, bodies, wings and hackle. All materials including hook and specialty thread as needed will be provided. Students will need a good selection of 8/0 thread. At Saturday morning's fly tying workshop, Dick Walle will tying wet flies. You will learn Soft Hackles, Winged Wets, nynphs and others. Saturday afternoon's workshop features Jim Reed teaching tying flies with deer hair including Bass/Pike Diver, Mice, etc. Jim will teach some basic techniques that will enable everyone develop skills to tie deer hair flies. While there is no charge for tying at the workshops we do ask you to pre-register so we know how many tyers to have hooks and materials for (bring your own equipment). You are also welcome to just come and watch.

An Introduction to Fly Casting Class will be conducted by Rich Knoles and Staff on Friday afternoon. On Saturday Morning you can continue to work on your casting at the Fly Casting Clinic with Rich & Staff. On Saturday afternoon, Rich & Staff will do a Intermediate Fly Casting Clinic. Rods are provided or bring your own.

The Spey Casting Workshop by John Breslin will have a different focus this year. The longer workshop will take place on the main stream of the Au Sable River to include a box lunch on the river. Departure from the RAM Center will be at 7:30 am with return at 3 pm in time for the afternoon activities. John will teach all four major speycasts (single and double speys, snap-t and snake roll) and situations where they can be useful will be shown and practiced. You will need fishing license, waders and sunglasses.

An On-stream Workshop will be conducted on Saturday by Dave Rapier. This highly popular on-stream workshop will focus this year on streamer fishing tactics. You will need fishing license, waders, flyrod & reel, and sunglasses.

A Workshop on Building Braided Leaders by Ted Myer is new this year. In this two-hour hands on workshop, Ted will cover the basics of building braided leaders. This is a great opportunity to learn about these very effective and useful leaders.

A Fly Fishing Education Workshop will take place on Saturday. Matt Wilhelm, Education Specialist from FFF Headquarters in Livingston, Montana will be joining us to conduct this workshop. The workshop will share with participants successful strategies for promoting education, effective programs to teach, and tips for making the actual classes go smoothly, and how to grow FFF membership through club education programs. Adult programs and youth programs will be covered. This workshop is open to any interested in conducting fly fishing education programs. GLC clubs are encouraged to send representatives to attend this workshop
There is no charge for this workshop but we encourage pre-registration so make sure we have sufficient materials on hand.

Don Sawyer will be doing a program for us on Friday evening this year. Don's program will be on AFly Fishing Triple Slam in Manitoba@. Don will talk about his trip to Gangler's Lodge in Northern Manitoba which has more than 700 sq miles of exclusive access for grayling, northern pike and lake trout. For anyone who has never fished for northern pike with a fly rod you are missing out on an exciting adventure. Don will talk about how to get there, rods, reels and flies and pictures of some trophy grayling and pike. This along with the usual refreshment orientation will make your evening.

FFF Casting Certification will be available on Saturday. Bruce Richards and Dave Barron head up the certification team. You must register for the School AND register with the National office of FFF. Contact the national office at (406)222-9369 for information and registration. Bruce will also teach a Fly Casting Instructors Workshop on Friday afternoon for advanced casters. This workshop is open to anyone interested in teaching casting and is not a requirement for the certification test on Saturday. It is a good prep for taking the certification test and provides a good opportunity to pick up tips from a great casting instructor.

Fly tying demonstrations and federating along with the raffle & auction display will be ongoing in the Lower Education Building on Friday and Saturday.

Fishing opportunities in the area include not only the famous Au Sable and Manistee River and their tributaries but also float tubing on nearby Wakely Lake, a catch and release lake with outstanding fishing for Bass, Bluegill, and even Northern Pike. A special program will be held at 4 p.m. on Friday on where to fish and to match you up with a fishing partner if you desire.

Registration is open to anyone. Registration costs for Federation members is $25 for individuals and $35 for families. Add $10 to these costs for nonmembers. Special package rates are available ($190 double occupancy and $240 single occupancy) which include registration, two night lodging, Friday dinner, breakfast, lunch and dinner Saturday and breakfast Sunday. See the registration form for special rates for spouses and children. The beginning fly fishing class cost is $160 and the Spey Casting Workshop is $70. The Fly Casting Instructors Workshop and the On Stream Workshop for Streamer Fishing Tactics will cost $40.00. The remaining programs and workshops are free with registration.

Lodging accommodations are provided at the R.A. MacMullen Conference Center located at the north end of Higgins Lake, with sandy beaches and activities for the entire family. Adjacent to the MacMullen Center is the popular North Higgins Lakes State Park which boasts shaded campsites and a sandy beach. Other lodging is also available and information on private campgrounds and nearby motels will be provided upon request. Reservations for the MacMullen Center will be made on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you are not staying at the Center, you can still register for meals at the Center. Advanced registration for meals is required to be guaranteed availability.

Questions can be directed to Jim Schramm (231) 869-5487, e-mail jdschramm@oceana.net. The School Program, Faculty, and registration form, can be had by following these links:

FF School Program 2008

FF School Faculty 2008

FFS Registration 2008

GLC FALL STEELHEAD OUTING
October 17 - 19, 2008

Wellston Inn and Schmidt Outfitters
Wellston, MI
October 17 - 19, 2008

The GLC Fall Outing is open to all members of the Federation of Fly Fishers. The location for this event is the historic Wellston Inn and Schmidt Outfitters Conference Building. Wellston is located a few miles from the Big Manistee River and in close proximity to the Little Manistee, Pere Marquette and Betsie Rivers. The opportunities for fishing are excellent, great hospitality, and plenty of time for federating. Check in will be Friday at Schmidt’s along with refreshments, snacks, program and a light meal. Activities will resume at Schmidt’s Saturday afternoon with refreshments, dinner and the evening activities. Lodging and both breakfast meals will be at the Wellston Inn. The GLC Board of Directors meeting will be held Sunday at 8 am in the Schmidt’s Board Room.

Cost for registration is $150.00 for the three day/two night package, Friday evening thru Sunday morning. Members interested in attending this event but not requiring lodging may select the meals only package of $75. The Saturday evening only registration is $35 that includes refreshments and dinner and refreshments.

All attendees are requested to bring a raffle prize with a minimum value of $15 for the auction / raffle Saturday evening. Because of the active participation of attendees, the raffle has been an outstanding success with great items available and there will be at least one graphite fly rod in the raffle. Proceeds from this event will assist in funding GLC conservation and education programs.

A refundable dibs deposit of $35.00 is required to reserve a slot. Lodging reservations will be made on a first come, first served basis. Full payment is due no later than August 1st. If cancellation occurs after this date, refund of the registration fee is based on someone else filling the vacant position.

To make reservations, contact Don Sawyer at dsesi@aol.com:

Nov – end of April, 520/572-6790 (Arizona). Thereafter, 517/349-0454 (Michigan).

Education Workshop

An Education Workshop, taught by Matt Wilhelm, will be featured on Saturday, June 21, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., as part of the Fly Fishing School and Conclave. Further information is available by following these links:

FFS Education Workshop Outline

Education Workshop Letter

9th Annual Fly Tying Expo
December 6, 2008

Watch this space for additional information, which will be posted as it becomes available.

Other Events

For events in Ohio, visit www.ohiofff.org