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We returned a few hours ago from the Central
Washington Fish-In, clear sailing literally since
we drove onto the ferry coming home without the
expected 2 ferry wait. Sunday dinner in Ellenburg
on the way, so no cooking to do when we returned.
Food probably is something I at least should avoid
for a few days. We had a potluck Saturday night at
the Oasis Park in Ephrata. Everyone brought something,
and there was enough good food to feed the town! All
who attended should probably be looking for a copy of
Dr. Atkins diet. Good food, great conversation, and
the nicest group of fly fishers anyone could ask for.
We missed some who didn't make it - but the 28 who were
there fished, caught fish, tried out some rods they hadn't
seen, tied some flies, and some got a little help with
their casting.
As Linemender (Cary Morlan) mentioned on the Bulletin
Board, when he and Steve Zweber (Z) thought this Fish-In
up they had no idea how many people would come. They knew
they had the fishery and a nice place to hold it, but
everything else was a complete mystery. Congratulations
guys, you did a terrific job! My husband, JC, and I were
the only people not camping - we sold or gave away nearly
all our camping gear when we moved to Washington in 1988.
So we stayed at the Best Western Rama Inn a mile from the
Oasis Park. I must say, the Rama Inn is a really nice place,
with all the amenities one could require and reasonable rates.
Highly recommended by us at least!
JC had fished Rocky Ford Creek twice with our friend
Jim Sisson a couple of years ago, but they had not been
aware of all the water available to the public there.
They had fished at what is called the 'first parking lot'
and had missed two more farther down the road. We
fished Saturday and Sunday morning at the 'third parking
lot' both up and downstream. Several of our FAOL folks
caught very good rainbows...in the 20 inch and up
category - including one of our younger Chat Room people,
'ffb,' who I think landed 3 in that size range. A tip
of the FAOL to ffb's dad, Bob, who brought his son to
this event - and caught some fish himself! This camping
trip is something they will relive years to come.
It's more special than you might think - Bob was not
an angler before.
James Martinez (SpanFly) was there with his wife Julie
and their 2 sons. James caught his first fish ever on
a fly rod this trip. (And it wasn't his only one!)
Some of the group had float tubes or pontoon boats
and hit a couple of the local lakes for trout and
panfish too.
The award (there really isn't one) for who came the
farthest is split between MikeMT from Kalispell, Montana
and Webfoot from Glide, Oregon. Long haul for both - and
having them attend was a big plus for everyone.
There were a lot of photos taken, some were probably
even emailed to me when folks returned home. However,
my computer refused to play when I got home (actually
I think it is pouting since it wasn't used for 3 whole
days, and our tecky folks were unable to get it back
up on line despite some help on the phone, so it goes
back to the shop Monday morning. ) To make it worse,
JC has a new hard-drive and it appears the software
for transferring images from his camera wasn't installed,
so we couldn't upload the ones he took. Stay tuned, we
will get photos up. I'll probably do a Central Washington
Fish-In page so everyone can see what a great time it was.
I'm trying to remember if I ever saw a city park with
the kind of facilities of the Oasis Park. The City of
Ephrata owns and operates it, with campground, swimming
pool, fishing pond, store and golf course! The campsites
were nicely laid out and the manager Patti was very helpful.
The FAOL folks were all in the same area and could visit
back and forth. Great planning!
Like all of the FAOL Fish-Ins, this was yet another
opportunity to meet folks, put faces on names and
share the connection we all have as fly fishers. The
common bond and the frame of reference allows almost
instant friendships. What a terrific thing.
Our thanks to all who came and shared their time and
experiences with us. Cary and Steve are looking at a
date for a repeat next year! Check the Fish-In page
for dates on it. This one lives!
Great job guys! You make FAOL look good! ~ The LadyFisher
If you would like to comment on this or any other article please feel free to
post your views on the FAOL Bulletin Board!
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