Florida Fly Fishing Association

Been fishing Saturday’s with daughter and son-in-law in the Tortoise Isle canals, they use shrimp but I’m able to use my fly rod. It is so great just to be on the water, having sold my boat! The catch is snapper,lady fish, trout and even got a sheepshead on the fly.

PRESIDENT’S CORNER

Fresh back from the Great Smoky Mountains where we enjoyed several days of Fly Fishing friendship, but now I need to settle down and get back on course.  Ron Nementz and I shared the ride for the Smoky’s trip and due to the unknown status of Michael, we cut our stay a day short.  Weather was extremely warm for October and the campgrounds and parks were packed with hikers and fellow fisherpersons, but with the warm weather, the larger fish were staying in the higher elevations.  Ron and I traveled on the “Senior Circuit” therefore what we saw and/or caught would have fit in a sardine can. On the plus side, we provided a lot of entertainment to the kids and gave some other folks the opportunity to tell us what we were doing wrong. In times like this, being catch and release has its advantage.  But I really enjoy the mountains streams with their many waterfalls, which provided the perfect backdrop for the fellowship of the trip.

Speaking of Michael, our hearts and prayers go out to those who experienced firsthand, the mighty power of Mother Nature. Many have lost their lives and those who have survived, many have lost either lost friends or family in addition to everything they owned.  Remembering firsthand the devastation of Andrew and the impact it had on southern Florida, it will be many years before the gulf coast recovers, but the scars will remain forever. While natural disasters are something that we cannot control, we must always be mindful of their power and the impact it can have on human lives, and act accordingly.

Our Website, FloridaflyfishingAssociation.org, is up and running, and we encourage all Club members to go to the website and register.  All club internal information will be via the website, visible only to members who are registered.

This month’s General membership meeting’s program will be an update to our previous  “Hot Spots” program, and I am sure that we are in for a treat. I would suggest that everyone come a few minutes early and enjoy dinner from Kay’s large dinner menu to ensure that you have a seat. At the last “Hot Spots” Kay’s back room, which seats 50 was standing room only. In fact, I was told later that some people came and when they saw the situation left.  We are looking forward to a good crowd but hope that we are able to seat everyone.

November is our silent auction program which coincides with our yearly election of Officers for the upcoming year.  Steve Lo and the Nominating Committee are busy calling all of the club members to inform them of the upcoming election and also provide them with the opportunity of being a potential candidate for a BOD position. We will be publishing the official ballot on the website early in November and if you are unable to attend you can vote by absentee ballot either by mail or thru the website.

Also want to remind everyone that our Holiday Party will be on 8 December at the Viera East Resident’s Center, 1964 Golf Vista Blvd. Rockledge 32955.  This is the same place as the past couple of years and Donna Gabor has graciously agreed to be our host once again.  Raffle Tickets for the event are currently be sold by Joe Sherer, the Vice President for $5 a ticket or 5 tickets for $20. The prizes include a YETI Booty cooler, A custom Fly Rod and the 25 flies from our Holiday Tree. Yes, we keep the tree so we can use it again next year. The Holiday Flyer along with more detailed directions to the club house is available on the website.

In case you have not heard, after four years I have requested that another member of the club be elected President of FFFA.  My primary reason is that I am now battling Macular Degeneration in my left eye.  Since cataract surgery a few years ago, I have been operating with “mono vision”, meaning I see distance with one eye and read or see close-up with the other eye.  Well, this is my reading eye, and while there is no real cure, there are injections available which hopefully slow AMD down and perhaps stabilize it. That is my status, injections every 4 to 6 weeks and cross my toes.  I think it is working, but I currently cannot read without glasses, readers work, but still getting injections. It has been my pleasure to have the opportunity to serve as your Club President for the past 4 years.  It has been a great honor to me and  very instrumental in my conversion into the world of retirement. I want to give a very special thanks to each member of the FFFA, it has been a GREAT trip.

Dave Harbour

FFFA President

PRESIDENT’S CORNER

Where has 2018 gone, seem like it was only a week or so that we were in Miami fishing the canals, but now we are putting things together for the North Carolina fishing trip. Which brings up another discussion, what impact is Florence going to have on us. as it is only two and a half weeks until we plan to travel. We also want to send out our condolences and best wishes to those directly impacted by Florence.

Having traveled I-95 since the mid 1970’s, I can’t remember as much rain and flooding as that area has seen the past three years, especially eastern North and South Carolina.  Pat prepared to leave last Wednesday for Virginia to see the Great Granddaughter but now not sure when it will be safe to travel.  After a flood of this magnitude, gasoline and other utilities become a premium, so caution is required.

Once again, we will be using our new website for the distribution of the FFFA Fishin’ Rag. If you are a member of the club and haven’t registered on the website, you need to do so ASAP.  The latest Roster, meeting Minutes (Board and General Membership) plus any other Club Specific information will be on the website open to registered members “only”.  The website is up and running and we are still working out some wrinkles, but I think you will find this is a great new tool for the club.  Keith Braun has worked very hard to get us a useful website and I think all of us on the board that worked at getting is started are proud that we finally are on the web. You will be able to look up all the club’s scheduled events and if you so desire, you can download a copy to your smart phone.  If you need help, I am sure that Keith will head you in the right direction.

Steve Lo is the 2019 Nominations Committee Leader and either he or a volunteer will call you to solicit your help by either volunteering to serve in a BOD position or by assisting Steve and the Committee in finding qualified candidates for the needed positions. We are hoping to have a sample ballot on the website by the end of October for the election at November General Meeting on November the 27^th. If you so desire, you can fill out a copy of the website ballot and either mail or email it to a member of the current BOD as an absentee ballot. In addition to the BOD election, we will be having our annual silent auction as part of the same meeting. Joe Sherer, FFFA VP, will be providing pictures of some items, available at the silent auction, on the website between now and mid-November. This will give everyone an idea what is being auctioned plus we expect some special items to also be available, so check the website.\for details.

Two additional upcoming events that I will mention are the “Hot Spots” night on the 23^rd of October.  Look for the presenters and areas of interest on the website calendar of events, Last time we held this event we had a standing room only, so come early, pick your favorite seat and enjoy dinner from the Kay’s menu.  The second event is the Holiday party being held on the 8^th of December at the Viera East Resident’s Club with Happy Hour at 6:00, Dinner at 7:00 sharp.  We will wind things up at 10:00 to allow us time to clean up and leave the area clean.  Donna Gabor is our Hostess again this year, so thank her the next time you see her.  Our preliminary raffle items this year will be the personal size Yeti cooler, a custom Fly Rod and the Fly Tree with 25 custom made flies. On the tree, you get to keep the flies, but we want the tree back so that we can use it again next year.  Tickets for the raffle are $5 each or 5 tickets for $20.  We will also be having our gift exchange, so start looking for a unique fishing/outdoor type gift around the $20 range. We will be entertained by the same Musician this year, courtesy Randy Cleveland. I will be posting the Holiday Flyer, which includes the directions to the Club house.  I will also be posting a sign-up sheet with a space for listing a side dish. The club will furnish the Turkey and Ham, along with the soft drinks (diet and regular), tea, ice, paper goods and plastic utensils. If you are new to the club or have never attended this event, a good time is always had by all, so join us if you can.

Dave Harbour

FFFA President

PRESIDENT’S CORNER

It sure feels like we are in the “Dog days of summer” with the temperature and humidity hovering around 90/100 and being chased inside most afternoons by the thunderstorms with their torrential downpours.  I guess that my only complaints are that rain means the grass grows and I must cut it, and it is almost too hot to fish plus I am not fond of being in a metal boat on the water during a lightning show.

This month we will be posting the articles and notes of interest on our new website, which has the same address as the old one, or floridaflyfishing.org.  Hopefully most of the members have registered and have their account.  We, the board will do our best to ensure that we keep it up to date and keep you informed on what is happening around the neighborhood.

For security reasons and keeping the website in order, only Keith Braun and myself can make changes to the website proper.  Members can load items to their user accounts and if they desire to have them posted on the website proper, let Keith or I know.  Or intent is once we get the website firmed up, we hope to open up some areas to all members.  Also remember, there will be some areas that will be open to “member’s only” that have registered. Example is the roster and anything that maybe considered sensitive. You will also see that you can view the events calendar as a list or in calendar format, and if you are on your phone, the events can be transferred directly to your phone calendar.

Steve Lo is our Nominating Committee Lead and if you can give him a hand in calling the members and setting up a ballot for the 2019 Board, please give him a call, text or an e-mail. I would like to publish a ballot by the October General Membership Meeting and with the new website, we will probably post it there.

Remember that October will also be our Hot-Spots presentation and Aldo Martin has worked diligently in working with the presenters and Keith to ensure that we have another super presentation. We will also have applications for FFFA membership available at the meeting for those interested in joining our club.

November will be our silent auction and the election of the 2019 Board of Directors.

Our speakers for the August General Membership meeting is Dr. Jon Schenker, Bone fish research, and in September Capt. Rick Worman, one of our supporting local guide, who by the way, is donating a fishing trip to the club’s silent auction. (There will be a minimum bid of $150 on the trip, due to its market value)

We will conclude our yearly events with the Holiday Party on December the 8^th at the Viera East Residents Club, the flyer will be posted on the website shortly with the directions. The will also be a sign-up list for those planning to attend along with a space for your side dish.  The club furnishes the meat, turkey and ham, along with dressing, masked potatoes and gravy. Sodas will also be provided, and those who would like a beer of wine are welcomed to do so. Looking forward to seeing you there as we will also introduce the 2019 Board of Directors.

PRESIDENT’S CORNER

After almost three years of chasing our tails. It appears that we are going to finally have a NEW website. Many thanks to Keith Braun for not giving-up and helping us find someone who can put us back on the web. It is our desire to have the initial pages up and in place by early August, we will notify everyone once it is up and running. We are going to start slow with the basics and continue adding until we have a website that you, the members, can feel at ease directing a potential new member to, knowing they will find all the latest information about FFFA , FINALLY It was also great to see our family and friends in the great states of VA and WVA, especially our new great-granddaughter. What a little package of love and dynamite. As always, it was great to get back home, but unfortunately it has either been too hot and rainy or I have been in a Doctor’s waiting room. As I heard last night, we all know we are going to get older, we just didn’t know it was going to be this soon.
I have a couple of club related events that I would like to share and hope that everyone comes out and supports our club events. First one is the Family Picnic, July 29th at Burton Park on RTE 520 just east of Lone Cabbage Fish Camp. We will be passing around a potential attendee list along with your side dish the July 24th General Member-ship Meeting, We need to have an idea of how many burgers and dogs we need to purchase, so if you can’t make the meeting and would like to come, please send myself or Keith Braun a short e-mail to let us know. Secondly, we are having two special General Membership meetings this year, October 23rd we are doing the FFFA Hot-Spots again and this is an oppor-tunity to find new fishing spots and on November 27th, we are having the elec-tion of the 2019 Board of Directors along side our Silent Auction. Joe Sherer has accumulated a lot of special Fly Fishing Equipment and I heard we will also be auctioning off a fishing trip with one of our local guides. I might also add there will probably be some items that have a minimum bid due to their actual value, more on this later.
The third item of great interest is our Holiday Party for 2018. It will be held on December 8th 6:00 – 10:00 PM at the same place as last year, Viera East Res-idents Club in Rockledge. A flyer with additional information, including direc-tions will be attached to the Rag. Hopefully you will be able to call it up on the new website calendar before then. There will be a raffle, same as past years, we just haven’t decided what it will be yet. Tickets will $5 each or 5 tickets for $20, and as in past years, we will have some great raffle prizes available.
Just got word that our new website baseline has been put on the internet. Right now it is “bare bones” but Keith is working to add additional information and expand it’s efficiency at giving FFFA more exposure to potential new members. Got something you would like to have put on the website, sent it to Keith as he will be our Web Master for the moment. We will give him some help as it picks-up steam.