The Delta Fly Fishers in action... We're Awesome!

This Week's New Stuff
(Fisheries news is updated daily on the Conservation page.)

February 4 - The Trout Bout photos are on-line on the Photo Gallery page

February 3 - Only four spots left for the Lower Yuba outing, March 31 and only two spots left for the second Sacramento River Jet Boat Shad trip June 9th.

January 31. The February Fly of the Month is posted, Hydropsychidae or Net Spinning Caddis

January 30 The February issue of Rx Fly Fishing is on the Newsstands

February Events

February 8, General Membership Meeting
Rickey Mitchell - Kayak Fly Fishing

February 10-12, Healdsburg Wild Steelhead Festival

February 11, Discovery Bay Clinic and Outing

February 15, DFF Board Meeting

February, 24, 25, 26 The Fly Fishing Show Pleasanton

February 29, Fly Fishing Film Tour (F3T) Sacramento CA Discount Tickets $12 available at Fly Fishing Specialties and American Fly Fishing Co. Tickets $15 online and at the door day of show

March Events

March 10, NCCFFF Hall of Fame Dinner, Livermore

March 14, General Membership Meeting
Frank Pisciotta - Tahoe/Truckee Fly Fishing Opportunities

March 21, DFF Board Meeting

March 22, Fly Fishing Film tour (F3T) Modesto, State Theater, 6:15PM, tickets available at Sierra Anglers.

March 31, Yuba River Outing       Sign up Mandatory!

April Events

April 7, Kelsey Bass Ranch Outing
A private water lake all to ourselves, lunch included!

April 11, General Membership Meeting
Rob Anderson, Truckee River Outfitters, "Fishing Pyramid Lake"

April 18, DFF Board Meeting

April 26-29 Pyramid Lake Outing

May Events

May 9, General Membership Meeting
Al Smatsky - American Shad Fishing

May 12, White Pine Lake One Fly Contest

May 16 DFF Board Meeting

June 2, Oak Grove Park Catfish Derby

February's Program

Paddle and Flies

As well as being a kayak fly fishing guide, Rickey Noel Mitchell is a fly fishing and fly tying instructor, professional fly tier, free lance photographer and writer. This career began over fifteen years ago, when Rickey was a struggling artist. Sculpting wildlife out of wood wasn¹t exactly paying the bills, so he starting carving bass lures to supplement the income. Wanting to add feathers and synthetics, (rubber legs, flashibou, krystal flash) to his custom carved lures to give them action, he took a fly tying class. The first time he tied a fly that looked like what it was supposed to, it was like a revelation. Instead of a few weeks that it took to complete a carved duck decoy, he could tie a fly in a few minutes and by hand. One fire had gone out and another had been lit. Tying flies fulfilled the creative desires that wood carving had previously done.

As a struggling wildlife artist, Rickey went out in nature camera in hand, to get photos for reference for his carvings. Now a days he does the same for his flies, observing and photographing insects, forage fish, small animals and the bigger fish that eat them.

After paddling a gauntlet of water craft Rickey discovered the best craft for getting within casting or shooting distance of any of the creatures mentioned was a kayak. An article in Outdoor Life Magazine about a couple that fish out of kayaks in Florida lit another fire. The couple used conventional gear, he wanted to fly fish. It was a long search for the right kayak, it ended on a fishing trip to South Padre Island, Texas. On the flats around South Padre, he saw fly fishermen fishing from their kayaks while they were standing and to get from A to Z, they were poling them. The kayak in question was the Wilderness System Ride. The search was over. Shortly after returning home he purchased his first WS Ride; for Rickey that was the beginning of combining two passions. Three years were spent experimenting and developing paddling, fishing, casting and rigging techniques for fly fishing from a kayak. What took place during that span of time, inspired a book and a web page called Paddle And Flies

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