2012 Eastern PA Flyfishing Instructional Jamboree

[Heritage-Angler]

To all PAFF members, family, and friends:

The 2012 Eastern PA Flyfishing Instructional Jamboree will be held on Saturday, March 24th, from 8AM to 4PM.

This event will be held at the Wildlands Conservancy in Emmaus, PA.

Directions to the Wildlands Conservancy can be found here.

The purpose of this event is to share the knowledge of some of our experienced members with beginners, newcomers, and those just seeking to expand their flyfishing skills.

While our Beginner's Forum here on PAFF is an excellent way to learn about our sport, this event will provide a more "hands on" approach, and will allow for interaction with the instructors. As always, this event is FREE OF CHARGE.

Here is the itinerary for the event:

8AM - 8:30AM Meet and Greet. Coffee, donuts, and spring water will be provided.

8:30 - Noon - Instructional presentations #1 through 8.

Noon - 2PM Lunch break. We have reservations at the Gourmet Buffet & Grill . Travel time is included in this time frame.

2PM - 4PM Onstream Instruction and Fishing. Directions to the special regulations area on the Little Lehigh can be found here.

Here's the list of presentations and instructors:

1 - Gear/ Setup - Head to Toe. Instructor: mcfinn.

2 - Knots. Instructor: BMarx.

3 - Leader setups for fishing dries, wets, nymphs, streamers. Instructor: Frequent Tyer.

4 - Entemology - What trout eat, and flies used to immitate those foods . Also includes a painting session showing trout coloration. Instructor: Fishidiot.

5 - Fly Tying Demo. Instructor: surveyor06.

6 - Casting Instruction. Instructor: Heritage Angler. Old Lefty may also be there if at all possible.

7 - "Approaching a Spring Creek". Instructor: salvelinusfontinalis.

8 - "Freestone Stream Brook Trout Fishing". Instructor: pcray.

9 - Onstream Instruction (bring your gear!). Instructor: afishinado.

Instructors and attendees are encouraged to donate any flies that they'd like - these will be divided up and passed out to the newbies by surveyor06. It's a good excuse/reason to clear out your fly boxes!

Please note - no alcoholic beverages are permitted at either the Wildlands Conservacy, or the Allentown Parkway where the onstream session will be held. Spring water will be available at the Wildlands Conservancy.

Looking forward to a fun and educational day, and meeting new friends and forum members!

H.A.

 

[krayfish]

Ed,

If I don't get scheduled to work, I'll be there to lend a hand again this year.

 

[Heritage-Angler]

krayfish wrote:
Ed,

If I don't get scheduled to work, I'll be there to lend a hand again this year.

Outstanding! We can always plug you in to whatever you'd like to help with. This applies to other possible instructors as well.

The more knowledge we have to share, the better and more useful the event will be to those looking to learn.

Pat and I aren't looking to run this event with an "iron fist". Life has a habit of getting in the way of things, and no one is getting paid to instruct. Having additional instructors gives us flexibility at game time.

Sharing knowledge, learning, having fun, meeting new friends, and spending time with old friends is what this event is all about.

H.A.

 

[pcray1231]

Yep, more help is always good.

It's looking to me like the set up will perhaps be a little less "formal" than last year, where it was more set times and prepared "lectures".

For now, we're going with the station format. Each instructor has a station and a topic and a fair bit of leeway on how they want to run their area. Attendees are free to browse, go to the stations they choose, ask specific questions, etc.

We do recognize that there will likely be considerations to clean up. For instance, equipment requirements, instructor availability, etc. may force us to set up a schedule for some things. Some of the instructors will need to be inside (perhaps they need power or warmth), and some may need to be outside (casting demos, etc.). And depending on weather, some of those details may change at a late date. We'll cross those bridges as we get to them and communicate everything appropriately.

But the format does insure that extra hands are good. There will be things to set up. There will be instructors who need a break, or get rushed and overwhelmed, and an extra hand will be appreciated.

The bottom line is that we have attendees who are coming to learn, and volunteer instructors that want to help them learn as much as possible. Ed has graciously organized a chance for the two groups to meet, and the conservancy has graciously provided us a perfect location. With that combination, we can't lose.

 

[djs12354]

As a neophyte hungry to learn, I've been excited about this event since I saw H.A.'s first post regarding it. I've even sent the info to a friend of mine who has expressed an interest in joining the fly-fishing ranks.

Looking forward to learning from what I perceive to be a very knowledgeable group of anglers. (and about beer too, not just fly-fishing! 🙂

Dave

 

[Heritage-Angler]

Having sent the Wildlands Conservancy an "ad" for this event, I just received a reply from their Director of Education.

They're absolutely thrilled with what we're doing with this, and they'd like to see it become an annual event. They're going to advertise it extensively, and they've invited us to use the "Pool Wildlife Sanctuary" (what their Emmaus, PA facility is called) for any and all events we may want to hold in the future. Yikes!

We gots friends.

Heck, we haven't even had the chance to impress them with our stunning good looks. 😎

 

[Volksnurse]

Can't wait!!!

 

[auriemma]

I'm hoping that less than a season of FF still counts me as a neophyte. I'm planning on being there.

Where do I register to hold a spot?

 

[Heritage-Angler]

auriemma wrote:
Where do I register to hold a spot?

You just did. Actually, there is no registration - all people have to do is just show up.

Come and go as you wish, take in whatever you want to learn.

People will likely be walking in and out of the classroom all morning. We're planning to set up tables for the "stations" around the perimeter of the room. People can walk around and visit each station as they see fit. The instructors will likely wind up doing more than one session so everyone can see them.

There will be people from the general public there as well, so it'd be nice if forum members introduced themselves to the instructors, just so we get the chance to meet you.

H.A.

 

[djs12354]

Don't think I've been on here long enough to be considered a "member" but have to ask - Should we have secret signal so that members can recognize each other? maybe even a secret handshake? 🙂

Dave

 

[krayfish]

$50 should cover it Dave. 🙂

 

[Phish_On]

If I can get offa work I'll come lend a hand. Maybe even learn a thing or two. I could help wherever needed.

 

[djs12354]

I'd pay the $50 but I wouldn't recognize you without the secret handshake and I can't learn the secret handshake without paying the $50, but I can't recognize you to pay the $50 ........

Damn paradoxes..........

 

[hack]

Mooney gave me the heads up about this after your run-in (and subsequent stalking) at Somerset. I will check my schedule tomorrow and make sure I put in for the day off. If Ben can stay out of the doghouse, I will be sure to bring him along. He really needs casting work - maybe he will listen to you!

Thanks for putting together what is sure to become (another) fine annual event.

 

[Heritage-Angler]

hack wrote:
Mooney gave me the heads up about this after your run-in (and subsequent stalking) at Somerset.

Is THAT what was going on? I just thought Mooney was being sociable! :lol: Regardless, he's great company, and I'm always glad to see him.

It'd be great to see you and Ben again. Krayfish might be there, so we'll all just have to wait in line to work with Ben. Ben couldn't ask for a better mentor than Krayfish...

 

[krayfish]

Ummm, mentoring what? LOL.

I'll be teaching the pile cast, the massive tailing loop and how to be effective at saving your flies when tangled on overhead limbs.

What will my job be? If it's walking around looking like I'm lost, I've got that covered. LOL. I'll bring some gear along (no tying stuff). Use me as needed.

 

[IdratherbePhishing]

Is each presentation a certain time frame? There's definitely a couple I'd like to get to. Also when I used the link for the little Leigh it took me to Seattle lol. Maybe cuz I'm using my phone.

 

[littlelehigh]

krayfish wrote:
Ummm, mentoring what? LOL.

I'll be teaching the pile cast, the massive tailing loop and how to be effective at saving your flies when tangled on overhead limbs.

What will my job be? If it's walking around looking like I'm lost, I've got that covered. LOL. I'll bring some gear along (no tying stuff). Use me as needed.

I was looking forward to you showing us the many ways to miss a hook set and how to make full sentences using only profanity. :lol:

 

[Heritage-Angler]

IdratherbePhishing wrote:
Is each presentation a certain time frame? There's definitely a couple I'd like to get to. Also when I used the link for the little Leigh it took me to Seattle lol. Maybe cuz I'm using my phone.

All the programs will be running at the same time (so far). The instructors will likely wind up doing more than one presentation, so everyone has a chance to see everything. That's their option, and at their discretion.

The directions link works for me - dunno what's up with that. You can always follow someone if all else fails...

Kray - As of now, we're holding you in reserve in case an instructor bails at the last minute. You could easily instruct any topic in the program in your sleep, so we'll just keep it that way for now. If everyone shows up, I'm sure one of the other intructors will need help - we could have a pretty big crowd for this.

Actually, your "suggestion" about getting flies out of trees, and maybe getting unsnagged from the stream bottom could prove very valuable to newbies. It might just save someone from breaking a rod...

H.A.

 

[afishinado]

Maybe Kray can give a talk on how, when, where, and why to fish the Upper D?!?