Welcome to the Ozark Fly Fishers
Founded 1971
A Missouri 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation
Upcoming Events
Friday Feb 20 - Fly tying Session with Son Tau 6 pm to 8 pm Holy Cross Lutheran Church 13014 Olive Blvd, Creve Coeur, MO Reservation required - Contact Steve Antonic or Paul Jackson
Feb 21 - All Day Meeting Son Tau 8:30 am to 3:30 pm Community Christian Church 623 Meramec Station Rd, Manchester, MO Discussion of different types of fly fishing and equipment Travel segment - Several US destinations possible Hackle and dry fly session - UV resins and glues. Differences between the types and when to incorporate them into tying
March 7 - Chili Tie-In 9 am to 1 pm Community Christian Church 623 Meramec Station Rd, Manchester, MO Tie Flies and eat too much chili.
March 19th - Ryan Walker, Smallmouth Guide 7pm to 9 pm Holy Cross Lutheran Church 13014 Olive Blvd, Creve Coeur Spring Small Mouth Fishing
March 26 – 28 Sow Bug Baxter County Fairgrounds 1507 Fairgrounds Dr, Mountain Home, AR 72653
April 23 - Mike Krewse, Trout Fishing Guide 7pm to 9 pm Holy Cross Lutheran Church 13014 Olive Blvd, Creve Coeur
May 28- Jim Murphy's Drift Boat Build Randy Shell's Trout Stamps 7pm to 9 pm Holy Cross Lutheran Church 13014 Olive Blvd, Creve Coeur
June 11 - Member Barbecue Tilles Park 5pm to 8pm
Thanks,
Paul Jackson
New Membership form and announcement:
The Board for Ozark Fly Fishers has voted to make multi-year membership available to our members.
The benefit being offered to the members is a reduction in the yearly dues of $5 per year for 2 or 3 years.
In addition, the members choosing this option, will not to be required re-apply every single year, but can set their membership for up to 3 years at a time.
We ask that members who move, change phone numbers or email address be sure to let us know so we can keep our records up to date and stay in contact with our valued members
Bennet still a mystery . . .
As we published earlier, the Bennet Springs Construction is suspended. Here is the web address.
Https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/places/bennett-spring-fish-hatchery/bennett-spring-construction-updates
When asked for the status and time frame, one MDC official stated "I cannot comment because of potential litigation." The lack of transparency is frustrating.
BANQUET REMINDER
Dear Members
The time has come to mark your calendars for our annual fundraising banquet.
As you know, our annual fundraising banquet is our clubs largest fundraising eventof the year, providing us the opportunity to sponsor our many events throughout the entire year.
Next year’s banquet and silent auction is on Saturday, January 17th, 2026.
The banquet will be held at the same location as years past. Andre’s at Sunset Hills 13366 West Watson Road Sunset Hill, Missouri 63127
This year’s cost will remain the same as last year, $40.00 per person which includes a nice meal, desert, and open bar. The event will include raffles, silent auction as well as a live auction.
We encourage all of you to bring your spouse, guest and even friends, who might not be club members, to join us for a great night out.
Please mark your calendars, make plans to attend and support your club. Reservation form follows.
Thank you and hope to see you there.
Winter at Montauk
Winter is my favorite time of year to fish for trout – especially in the parks. Less traffic, less pressure, and trout acting like trout ought to. For various reasons, I didn’t get to fish much this past year, but I did get to Montauk the weekend after Thanksgiving. Friday afternoon was great – about 40 degrees and sunny, lots of BWO’s coming off and very happy fish. I don’t think I caught a fish less than 13 inches and landed 5 over 15 inches.
Then Saturday it rained all day… I don’t mind the rain, but it was 34 degrees with steady rain. Water temps fell, no bugs, and stubborn fish. Things improved around 1pm when the rain stopped. Sunday morning we woke up to 16 degrees – no fishing for us.
The hot flies were my usual go-to patterns for winter season. Frenchies, Hot Tail Hare’s Ear, Purple-Head Sexy Walt’s Worm, Two-Biot BWO nymph, JuJuBee Midge, Tope Secret Midge, and Ed Heist’s version of the Ruby Midge. All have been Flies-Of-The-Month at some time or another – a couple of them a couple of times. I fished the heavier fly on top and the smaller fly as a dropper off the bend of the heavier fly hook.
On Friday they were on a search-and-destroy mission for the BWO nymphs. The trout would actively pursue them and take them aggressively. Saturday they were very subtle takes until the rain stopped. Then I found that the fish had moved up into the tail of the runs and shallow flats and began feeding actively again. I sight-fished for them with the #18 bead head Ruby Midge on top with a JuJuBee dropper with no indicator. The takes were not as subtle, but they were very skittish. It was very rewarding fishing until the horn blew ending the trip. The best part – I didn’t see another fisherman on either day. The campground, motel, and most cabins were empty all weekend. If you’re not fishing winter season, you need to start.
Mike Ott
Note: our member Bill Armon has relocated, but will continue this series:
Fly Casting Tip – January 2026
This month we will look deeper into the principles as taught by Mel Krieger.
“A caster must develop a good casting stroke.”
A casting stroke is the entire action of the rod, arm and hand completing a back and forward cast. This motion will vary depending on the amount of line that is being cast --short stokes for shorter casts, and longer strokes for longer casts. Kreiger states “good flycasting requires the backcast and the forward cast work together in a straight line”.
Fly Casting involves casting strokes of all sizes. In order to keep the rod tip in a straight-line path (SLP) the size of the casting arc must be adjusted to fit the amount of bend in the rod. Rod loading (bend in the rod) is determined mostly by 3 factors:
The length of the cast. (That is the weight of the line outside the rod tip.)
The amount of power the caster is using.
The stiffness or flexing ability of the rod itself.
The greater the bend in the rod, the longer the stroke should be to maintain a straight-line path or the rod tip.
A word of caution: casting is not a power game – it is a game of rhythm and timing.
Next, the importance of the stop cannot be over emphasized. The loop is formed by a crisp decisive stop at the end of the backcast and the forward cast. “The position of the rod tip at the conclusion of the casting stroke controls the size of the casting loop”.
Smooth acceleration is essential to prevent a shock to the rod tip. A sudden jolt on the rod at the beginning of a cast, can produce a “blip” in the fly line, introducing slack into the cast, probably resulting in a tailing loop. The smoother the acceleration, the greater the speed attained, and the sharper the stop, the better (tighter) the loop will be.
Before closing I want to mention that some of the definitions of stroke and arc have changed since Krieger’s book The Essence of Flycasting was first published in 1987. I have tried to write this article using the definitions as he explains them in his book.
