FAOL Tiers save the day!

[kbproctor]

Over the weekend we got ready for the first session of Hooked on Tahosa Fly Fishing Merit Badge Program. We loaded 30 fly boxes with flies from donations from you kind folks that sent flies for the boys. We were able to put about 18 flies in each box. I can't even lose that many in a weekend at Tahosa!

We only had about 5 dozen flies left in our supply so the boxes were really filled by the generous folks on this board.

Thank you all!

[fishdog54]

Kevin,

I am always looking to help groups such as yours. I have put together fly assortments for folks like Trout Unlimited & Pheasants Forever for their banquet auctions. Is your group of Scouts also tying flies for their badges? Are there particular patterns that you are looking for? Sizes? Drys, nymphs, streamers, wets? When would you need them? If there is already a thread here on FAOL with this info, please point me in the right direction. Thanks.

Best regards, Dave S. (fishdog54)

[AlbaSurf]

Same here!

[kbproctor]

The first session starts this weekend with one more the following week. I am not sure about next year's schedule. Registrations were down this year due to two factors, the economy and the condition of the lake after the dam repairs.

The boys do tie 3 or 4 flies for one requirement of the merit badge. They need to tie two flies of different types, a dry and a streamer, or a terrestrial and a nymph. You get the idea. I generally teach a simple nymph and a foam ant. Both are easy to tie and are usually effective on the lake. This year may be the ant and a bright yellow woolly bugger. Once we get the boys on the water and fishing, they tend to lose flies. The idea is to keep them fishing and not worrying about running out of flies.

After the dam repairs, the only thing that has been effective has been Kastmaster lures. I did catch a couple a month ago on weighted #12 Woolly Buggers, but that is it. No one else is having any luck with flies, either right now. I expect next year to be much better.

The flies that have been effective are simple scuds, nymphs, Copper Johns, Woolly Buggers (small), leech patterns, smaller terrestrials, hoppers on occasion, BWO dries and nymphs, mayfly imitations, smaller caddis imitations, and Royal Coachman dries.

Since this year is taken care of, let's worry about next. Anything from the above list will work in sizes from 10 down to about 16. The fish in the lake are brook trout. Colorado G&F may dump some rainbows in for us next spring but we are not certain as yet. The continuing population will be brookies as the rainbows will not reproduce from what I understand. They will give the boys something to catch while the brookies recover, though. Whatever you feel like tying up will be appreciated.

Flies can be sent to:

Camp Tahosa
Attn: Hooked on Tahosa
173 County Road 96
Ward, CO 80481

Feel free to PM me with any questions you might have.

[fishdog54]

Kevin,

Those Kasmasters are going to be tough to tie up. They need an awful lot of lead! LOL!!! I will keep you guys in mind when I'm tying and whip up a few extra as I go along. BTW, I have had a lot of luck in the past, on lakes, using a small silver/flor.orange Cleo. Trolling streamers behind a canoe is also very effective.

Best regards, Dave S. (fishdog54)