From the President:      May 2020

Joe Soma providing salmon fly instruction to Mike Chapman at Camp Edge..

Chris Sulik showing how to tie bass poppers.

Greetings Fellow South Jersey Fly Fishers (SJFF), As the President of the South Jersey Fly Fishers, each month, I have to come-up with my “President’s Message”. I usually start thinking about what to write about… a week or so before it’s due. I generally have notes from past conversations with club members, notes taken from our last monthly club meeting; notes from events that have taken place and those activities that are to come. But last month and this month have not been typical months. A lot is happening or not happening. It all depends on how you look at it. Since there were no notes, I sat down and decided to try and put a positive spin on this crisis situation that we are all going through and not spend any time on the negative. Let me first say, by no means is this positive spin intended to put fly fishing ahead of what so many are going through during this crisis. Having said that, let’s wade right into it. Some of us typically would have been out fishing by now; whether at a river’s edge or wading into a favorite stream. But for some of us, we have found ourselves stuck inside. So, here are three positive suggestions, we as fly fishers, can be doing. First, let’s talk about casting. Turn off the TV, get up out of your easy chair, grab your fly rod and go outside. Oh, on the way, stop by the kitchen and grab a pot or pan, a cup and a plate. No, you are not having lunch outside; you are going to practice casting. Not to see how far you can get that line out, but trying to hit target. Place the objects you collected spaced out in your yard. Practice slow and deliberate cast to get that fly into that teacup. You are casting for ‘accuracy’, which plays an important role in the success of catching fish. If you practice ‘accuracy’ casting, you will get the reward later, on the stream. Next, take the time to read a book; a book about fly fishing. It can be an adventure story, filled with wit and wisdom. It could be all about the challenge of ‘catching the fish’ or the wonder about the ‘one that got away’. Even though you are stuck at home, reading can transport you away from today’s crisis, opening your imagination, letting you explore the beauty of the out-doors through the eyes of the writer. I know it’s not the same as being there yourself, but when you are not able to go to the stream, let a book take you there and help you recapture that feeling. My third suggestion is to tie. If you are like me, I have to ‘make the time’ to tie. Now, that ‘we’ have the time, ‘take the time’. Tie something you haven’t tried before or perfect your laying of the materials on the hook. Work on making the hackle stand or lay like you want it too. Untie it and tie it again. Experiment with different techniques, materials and finishes. I strongly believe that you will be rewarded over and over again with flies that not only look good, but stay together and “catch fish”. To all my fellow fly fishers; time is what we have more of right now. Take the time, use it well and you will be rewarded with some positive results. Stay safe, stay strong and stay healthy,

 Ken Fairchild – President

“The water you touch in a river is the last of that which has passed, and the first of that which is coming: thus it is with time.” – Leonardo DaVinci

A picture from 2005 aken at one of our club outings