MONTHLY MEETINGS: 700-900pm (social hr from 6-7), Last Tues of the month. The Pit Room; CONTACT US via email: texasflyfishers@gmail.com WHY JOIN: Dedicated to the promotion of fly fishing education, conservation, and outdoors ethics. Detailed benefits below.
Reel Recovery (RR) is a national non-profit organization that helps “men in the cancer recovery process by introducing them to the healing powers of the sport of fly-fishing, while providing a safe, supportive environment to explore their personal experiences of cancer with others who share their stories.”
RR provides free three-day retreats that give men with cancer a respite from their day-to-day concerns and an opportunity to gain a fresh outlook in their journey with cancer. At the retreats, participants: (1) find a safe place to discuss their cancer experience with other men who have gone through it too, and (2) have opportunity for a healing connection with nature through fly-fishing. Participants learn a new skill and get introduced to fly-fishing, which can be a sport they can draw upon for recovery throughout their lifetimes.
Reel Recovery currently offers six annual retreats in Texas. Two of those are in our area—currently at Camp Allen in Navasota, TX. Our Texas FlyFishers of Houston club has been a strong supporter of Reel Recovery for quite a few year both financially and by providing volunteers. Many of our members have served in various volunteer capacities, including regional coordinators, camp coordinators and fishing buddies.
Our current need is for more participants. If you know of a man who currently has or has had cancer and might be interested in attending a retreat, please direct them to contact me or check out www.reelrecovery.org. In addition, we need more volunteers who can serve as Fishing Buddies.
Below is a link to a YouTube video (13 minutes) that focuses on a retreat we had in Texas and gives an overview of what a retreat entails.
Our state regional coordinators are Tom Strawther and Drew Cox. The coordinator for the May retreat at Camp Navasota is Paul Robertson. Reach out to them for more information.
My grandson Caleb and I were privileged to attended the GRTU Youth Camp again this year. This was our second time to attend. The camp goes from Friday-Sunday and is hosted by the Rio Guadalupe Resort. This year there were 21 youth at the camp. I think there were 6/7 girls and 14/15 boys.
Caleb flew over from Jackson, MS, on Thursday. He and I had planned to drive over and fish Friday morning and afternoon before the camp. But there was a weather alert for high winds (20mph sustained) most of the day Friday. So we had to nix that idea. But in looking at the weather report on Thursday evening, it looked like the wind might die down some after about 3:00 Friday afternoon. So, we left Sugar Land Friday morning, hoping to get in a fishing session that evening. Of course, we made our customary stop at Buc-ee’s, this time for a sliced pork sandwich and some beef jerky for snacks through the weekend.
We arrived at the Guadalupe Rio Resort and fortunately we were able to check into our room early. We put on our waders and gear, rigged a couple of rods, and headed to the river—one rod with a nymph rig and one with a dry fly. I wanted to take Caleb to a hole that I had fished earlier in the week. That day, there had been a nice Caddis hatch about 4:30 to 5:00 in the evening and I had caught six (and lost two) on a dry fly. I was hoping I could put Caleb on some rising fishing and that he could have his first experience at catching a trout on a dry fly. Unfortunately when we were wading to the hole, we noticed four fishermen were already there. But there was a caddis hatch! So we fished awhile in a different spot but there were no rising fish. About 5:15 the four fisherman cleared out and we made our way up to the hole to give it a shot before the sun set. A caddis hatch was still going and we could see fish rising. So, I got out the dry fly rig (size 18 or 20) and showed Caleb the basics. He caught on quickly and was able to net two, and he missed a third. We were off to a good start. We topped off the evening with pizza at The Wicked Pizza.
A highlight of the camp on Saturday is helping with the trout stocking. The fish come on a truck from Missouri. This is always a fun experience for the kids. They love being a part of the process (carrying fish in buckets from the truck to the river), in addition to just being in the water. I think we had three kids “fall in” and get wet. But they just got up and kept on going. Being young is nice! After the stocking, we met back at the retreat center for a lunch of brisket (it had been smoking overnight), sausage, jalapeño macaroni and cheese, and green beans.
The afternoon was filled with various classes such as:
Knots and rigging
River ecology
Fly Fishing 101
Fly casting instruction
Being a TPWD game warden
Panel discussion of fly fishing industry representatives
Fly tying
Dinner was burgers and hot dogs. The weather was just gorgeous for the day—I think the temperature may have been in the low 60s.
But the weather was to change on Sunday. We woke up to about to about 27 degrees with an 18 degree feel temp. The youth put their waders and wore them to breakfast. After breakfast it was time to meet their guides and fish. There were about 15 guides with their rafts/boats lined up to help. A shout out to them as they all volunteer their time for this camp! I had arranged for Caleb to be matched with Judson Cole as he is one of my favorite guides. Because of the cold temps, everything started about an hour later than normal. And because of the cold, most of the groups came in from fishing a little earlier than normal. It was brutally cold—not the best fishing conditions. Not too many fish were caught, but the kids still seemed to enjoy the experience. Although, one guide found a hole of hungry fish and the youth with him caught 32! I think he found a hole where the state stockers had been put on on Thursday. As the guides and youth were arriving back at camp, the cooks had hot chocolate waiting. After the kids warmed up, and swapped stories, it was time for a fabulous lunch of beef and chicken fajitas.
Caleb and I had planned to stay over until Monday, doing some fishing Sunday evening and Monday morning. But with the extreme temperatures and bad weather around the state, the camp shut down a little early, and we decided to head home. The camp coordinator, Dakus Geeslin, shared that this was the coldest GRTU Youth Camp they had ever had.
I would highly recommend that our TFF members consider taking a child or grandchild to this camp. Our GRTU chapter sponsors it. Dakus Geeslin and his team of volunteers put on a wonderful camp for the kids—good fellowhip, great food, excellent learning opportunities, and quality time on the water. For more information check out the GRTU website: www.grtu.org
On Saturday, October 7, 2023, Sea Center Texas will be hosting our second annual Special Olympics Fishing Competition. We are very excited for the opportunity to host this wonderful event again.
Last year, 50 athletes, spread across four different ponds, participated in the fishing competition. This year, we are doubling in size. As of today, we currently have 92 athletes registered to compete! The Special Olympics Fishing Competition is an “all hands on deck” event, and we are seeking additional volunteers to accommodate the competition’s growth.
We need volunteers to assist with the following stations:
Registration Table
Fishing Assistant
Scorekeeper
Weigh Master
Rig Repair
Athlete Village
Setup & Take Down
Due to the number of athletes, we will be splitting the competition into two heats. The first heat will fish from 9am – 10:30am, and the second heat will fish from 11am – 12:30pm. There will be a 30-minute break for volunteers between heats. After the competition is over, there will be an athlete award ceremony from 12:30pm -1:30pm.
In addition to the fishing portion of the event, there will also be an “Athlete Village,” located in the green space between the ponds and the employee parking lot. The village will have inflatable games for the participants and their families to enjoy while they await their turn to compete. There will be a food truck onsite to provide donated snacks to athletes. Sea Center will also set up several education stations in the village.
To be a volunteer at the Special Olympics Fishing Competition you MUST sign up through the Special Olympics registration website. The Special Olympics organization has their own waiver that all volunteers are required to acknowledge. Signing up through their website fulfills the waiver acknowledgment.
Please note, there will be a mandatory safety/site orientation for all volunteers the morning of the event. Orientation will be held at the youth fishing pier at 8:00AM. If you are volunteering for the Registration Table shift, we need you to arrive at SCT no later than 7:30am.
I have also attached a volunteer signup flyer to this email. Please feel free to share this flyer with everyone you know.
We are so grateful for your help. The Special Olympics Fishing Competition is a truly wonderful event, and it would not be possible without a host of volunteers.
Good evening, Texas Council FFI Club Presidents, and Board members. Sharing with you an update on events that are filling up the calendar fast, for a great fall!!!
An ask of the Council from the last Presidents call was to provide a casting lead contact for each club. Thank you FW and the Texas Fly Fishers for already providing their casting lead contact information. Clubs if you could get this to us before or during the next Presidents meeting, that would be great, and we will forward that information to Stephen Weaver.
Appreciate all that you do, and hope to see you at these awesome events!!
Thanks,
Russell Husted
Conservation / Communications / Social Media Director of the Texas Council FFI
Thank you for allowing me to discuss the needs of Casting for Recovery Texas. We have two upcoming official retreats:
Oct 13-15, Camp Capers, Waring, TX
Nov 3-5, Latham Springs, Aquilla, TX
Each retreat hosts 14 women, so 28 in total. (That math was for me, more than you!) We would love to take any fly donations. We will be targeting panfish.
We are always looking for Fly Fishing Guides to help our participants so they have a 1:1 fishing experience. If you have members that are interested in helping, please direct them to this link: Volunteer – Casting for Recovery
North Texas is doing a quick fishing outing on June 3rd at LLELA from 7:30 until we can’t fish anymore due to the heat. We are waiting for our RSVPs to see what help we may need. For River Guides, this will be a fish with and we are anticipating the need to bring extra rods for our participants. If you are interested in assisting with this fishing outing, please email me back and I will tell you all of the details. Since this is a pilot for us, we are limiting it to the first 12 participants that sign up. We currently have 5 CfR River Guides available to help. You would still need to use the form if you plan on volunteering.
Club member, Matt Sherwood, recently traveled to Port Mansfield to lead fly tying and casting instruction for a Cross Trails Outfitters (http://teamctotx.wildapricot.org) youth saltwater camp. CTO is a well established ministry with multiple opportunities for mostly teen boy and girls to be able to participate in a variety of hunting and fishing activities. Currently, CTO Buffalo River Chapter in Arkansas is operated by a local guide and artist, Duane Hada with a heavy emphasis on fly fishing and of course, ministry. The CTO chapter out of San Antonio organized this event with an offshore fishing charter boat, 3 bay boats and Matt’s poling skiff. Thus, each day the 12 young men were able to rotate among different boats and experience a variety of fishing.
Fly tying was taught by Matt Sherwood and a local guide who generously donated his time, Captain Ryan Sparrow. Captain Sparrow drove over from Harlingen to his Father’s (Captain Scott Sparrow) VIP popper. The following day, Captain Sparrow also volunteered to team guide 4 boys out our our two skiffs.
None of the young men really had much fly casting experience but between the two of us, we were able to get them casting and numerous fish were landed. One young man even managed to land 4 redfish sight fishing on foot in ankle deep water and is forever changed! We had a rich time of ministry, small group discipleship, great food, fun, conservation discussions and we were really able to bond with this young men, and fellow volunteers over this 5 day trip.
Gordy & Sons and Marcos Enriquez provided 12 loaner fly tying vices complete with tools and Texas Parks and Wildlife provided loaner rods and reels for instruction. At the end of the trip, the young men were asking for more fly tying and even sending me pics of the flies they have created now that they are home. An outside individual donated several boxes of well-organized fly tying equipment and materials to the CTO San Antonio chapter so hopefully, they can tie many more flies!
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