Whidbey Island Fly Fishing Club

Nice!

Dry flies on a lake are a rarity I've not experienced. I'm glad you had the chance. And such nice fish!!

Thanks for the update, Bob. Looks like you did catch some fish, though.

It'll be great to see you.

I hope to see you there, Jim.

YES, YES, YES!! MARCH 31. This coming Wednesday. I've corrected the date in the original post.

Awesome!!

Cool! Yes, Cranberry is another option.

Wonderful report, Jeff. Thanks for taking the time to post it. And I love the photos--particularly the lake shot. We fishers don't always take the time to photo beyond the fish. I'm glad you were so successful. Catching a few fish when you're new to the game makes such a difference for morale. From my limited experience with Cranberry Lake, I think you've identified some key points. I've never seen or heard of people fishing the shoreline from boats. Bob Adams, of the club, fishes Cranberry a lot and sticks entirely to the deeper water. He even avoids the lily pads on the south shore. He says chironomids are very productive most of the time, and his alternative is trolling a woolybugger or leach. You're on track for becoming our next go-to guy for Cranberry Lake. A couple years ago WDFW dumped a lot of steelhead into the lake. Last year Bob Adams reported catching a hold-over of considerable size. I'll bet there are still a few around.

Nice work! I love those giant spots on your fish.

Bob, I'm not sure if you were asking me or Phil, but my answer is that our patterns were basically woolybuggers: marabou or flash tails and Chanelle bodies; with and without hackle. I do like polar Chanelle layered over regular Chanelle for the extra sparkle and bulk it provides.

Way cool!

It will be great to see you, Phil!

Thanks for the update. I'll pass this info along in my final update on next Saturday's outing.

Ha!! I can be there!

I've decided to fish the beach at Ebey's Landing Saturday morning (9 AM). Clarence Hein will join me. I hope others will, too.

Great report, Clayton. I'm happy you got out and had such a good time.

Thanks for sharing this, Phil. This is a nice review and summary. It's so very nice to be able to get out fishing after those weeks when it was closed, and it's nice to have club members getting together for casting practice, but let's stay vigilant--maintain your distance and utilize masks appropriately when we're together. As Bill Wheeler reminds us, our job is to protect others as much as to protect ourselves.

Weather permitting, the next fly casting practice session will be Friday (May 15) at 3PM at Lone Lake.

Clarence, Clayton, Dave Edwards, and I spent a nice hour casting and chatting at a suitable distance from each other. We may even have made some progress on our respective goals. It was fun and nice to see those faces. I'll keep you posted about future casting get-togethers. Weather permitting, next Thursday may be the next