As far back as 200 A.D. Aeolian, a Greek author wrote of a speckled fish that would rise when he would “fasten red wool around a hook, and fix on to the wool two feathers that grow under a cock’s wattles, and which are in color like wax.” (The Longest Cast, p. 142.)
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Mark Hays provided his tasty smoked amber jack spread to kick off the party. The main event at lunch was Mark’s kabobs made of tender venison marinaded in Spiedie sauce and grilled to perfection.

Thanks to Ann Hofmeister and Martha Dail, we had chocolate
chip oatmeal cookies and keylime bars for dessert. Special
thanks to all club members who attended and made this joint outing
a success by showing their friendliness and hospitality to the
members of the MCFFC. You should have been there!

Our July outing will take us to the beautiful Chassahowitzka River. This is a freshwater outing, unless you’re ambitious enough to follow the river to the Gulf of Mexico. We’ll see otter, porpoises and maybe a bear as we leisurely fish the river as it passes through the Chassahowitzka Nature Preserve. We’ll meet at the boat ramp at the Citrus County Chassahowitzka Park and Campground. The park fee is $2.00 per vehicle and $2.50 for vehicles with trailer. Bring your kayak, canoe or Gheenoe; or you might want to rent a canoe there for $10 for a half day. This is a special price for SFF members, thanks to the negotiating skills of our president. If you’d like to camp there, full hookups are $20 and tent sites are $15/night.

President Ken Hofmeister plans to camp there and has reserved the “clubhouse” for our lunch at Noon. Call 352-382-2200 to reserve a campsite or canoe. To get there, drive North on US 19 to Citrus County. At Chassahowitzka, turn left onto West Miss Maggie Drive, a.k.a. Route 480. The campground is at the end of Miss Maggie Drive. For an alternate route, take the Veterans’ Expressway to Route 98. Go West on 98 to US 19 and cross US 19 to Miss Maggie Drive.

Maps and the sign up sheet will be at the July meeting.

For our June outing, the Mangrove Coast Fly Fishing Club of Sarasota has invited us to join them at Emerson Point. Our two clubs will meet on the beach at the Park and “buddy up” with fishing partners at 07:00am. These guys know their way around this park and should help us find fish. Emerson Point Park, located at the confluence of the Manatee River, Boca Ceia Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, provides habitat for snook , redfish and trout. It can be fished by boat, canoe and kayak, or wading. The Mangrove Coast Club will provide lunch.

To get there, take I-275 South toward Bradenton. Exit onto route 19/41 to Palmetto. Turn right on 10th Street in Palmetto. From 10th street turn right on Tarpon Avenue then left on 17th Street, then follow the signs to Emerson Point Park. The sign up sheet and maps will be at the June meeting.

From Friday through Sunday, April 27-29, approximately 17 SFF members and guests enjoyed spectacular fly fishing on the canals near I-75 in western Broward County.

Several bass in the four-pound category were reportedly taken on white foam spiders (President Ken was observed hauling a big one into his canoe), and 40 to 50 hard-fighting cichlids per fisherman were common. Also caught were oscars, stumpknockers and shellcrackers.

Vessels used included powerboats, gheenoes and canoes. Alligators were abundant, which may explain why no kayaks were seen (except those belonging to a club from Cocoa Beach whose members seemed reluctant to put them into the water).

The group stayed at the La Quinta Inn in Sunrise, which made us welcome by having breakfast ready by 5:30 a.m. each morning. On Friday, the group met for dinner at the Diner 84, where the conversation centered on the amazing catches that afternoon, particularly by those who had not made the trip before. Dinner on Saturday was at an outdoor table at Grumpy Dick’s, highlighted by a visit from a scantily clad motorcyclist who was unfortunately accompanied by a rather large, bearded biker.

President Ken turned on his charm and a possibly embarrassing incident was avoided. Although this is not an official club outing, the Everglades trip is becoming an annual tradition, and the club appreciates the efforts of Don Manning for getting it started and for making hotel and restaurant arrangements.

Don Manning has reserved 10 rooms at the La Quinta Inn (formerly the Baymont Suite & Inn Motel) 13651 Northwest 2nd Street, Sunrise, FL 33325. Call Gladys at 1-954-846-1200 between 7:00 am and 3:00 pm Monday through Thursday and tell her that you are with Don Manning’s Suncoast Fly Fishers group and ask for our special room rate. If you need directions, just go to MapQuest, plug in your home address and the motel’s address for excellent directions and map.