Calvary Outfitters

Calvaryoutfitters 2010 January Meeting Notes

2010-01-30T06:52:00.001-08:00

Well guys -2010 is well underway and the Outfitters kicked off the year with good coffee, good food, good discussion and fishing reports, and GREAT company. This meeting, led by Captain Mark Roberts and assisted by Blake Morgan featured a short devotion, fishing reports, open discussion and serious although ugly (in my case) fly tying. Also, thanks to the extensive research from an absent member - we learned of some new potential fishing spots on a local river - maps were provided.

Our plan for the next few meetings will follow this format with a goal of answering what questions we can, learning from the experiences of the group and MAKING PLANS TO FISH TOGETHER. Let's make 2010 the Year of the Caught Fish. Also, more serious tying. And one of our members suggested gear swaps - I want to pursue this pretty soon (not that I have any EXTRA gear - but.....). Anyway, don't' forget your Tennessee fishing license expires soon. See you next month

Calvary Outfitters Year End Review because I was too lazy to post about our last two GREAT meetings.

2010-01-15T11:23:00.001-08:00

OK, I am a loser. We had TWO great meetings that I have not reported on...no excuse, just didn't do it - let life get in the way...

ANYWAY! For our October meeting our own Bill Brison brought us an outstanding presentation on Fly tying along with several resources and examples of flies that not only he has tied but also tied by some of the best tiers in the world - seriously. It reminded me of a Nature photography workshop I went to many years ago that inspired me so much I became a little bit obsessed with Nature photography (OK, if you asked my wife she would probably change the "little bit" part) and what you could do with a camera - to the point that a few years later I was doing shows and seminars and whatnot. Now, while I haven't gotten quite that bad, I do find myself: 1) tying more and 2) being more critical of my flies.

If Bill will graciously agree we'll have him back and more involved in the tying portion of our meetings.

Then in November we had Captain Mark Roberts present his work on fishing tandem rigs. Now, I need to say a couple of things here. First, for me, a tandem rig means more tangles and wind-knots but Mark can seriously fish these. Secondly, Mark introduced me to several more options of tandem rigs that I wasn't familiar with and he, learning is a lot of what are meeting have been about. Our thanks to Captain Mark and I hope his boat lands many fish today on the Caney.

We cancelled our December meeting - too much too close to Christmas for too many

Now, about 2010. Our next meeting will be Thursday January 28th at 7:00 pm. This year we are going to focus a little less on presentations and classes and a little more on that fishing stuff we all love. We're going to tie more, talk about fishing more and hopefully actually fish more - together. Happy New Year! See you on the river.

Calvary Outfitters September Meeting Notes and Bunch of Other Stuff

2009-09-26T09:21:00.000-07:00

Well, -Best laid plans of mice and men..Mark Roberts was scheduled to be our guest speaker and enlighten us on fishing tandem rigs. Well, Mark got sick - SO - we were able to do a "Focus Group" on a new TV Show produced by Jason Cruise of the Outdoor Ministry Network. Fun stuff and some great input. We are rescheduling Captain Mark for our November meeting which will be Thursday, November 19th at 7:00pm (a week early but we avoid Thanksgiving). Next month for our October meeting we're going to have our own Bill Brison do an in-debt meeting devoted solely to Fly Tying. Bill began fishing nearly a decade ago and what was supposed to be an alternative to competitive golf ended up carrying him "downstream". Not only has he become familiar with fly fishing he has become a prolific fly tyer as well. Bill ties flies for the fish on our local waters but he also ties fully dressed salmon flies which can take up to several hours to complete. Bill has studied with some of the best including Ron Alcott, Stack Scoville, A.K. Best and one of France's best tiers, Jean Paul Dessaigne. And if fishing and tying wasn't enough of a challenge Bill has spent several years learning to make bamboo rods. Bill is truly a "Renaissance Man" of the pursuit of Fly Fishing. Bill plans to share many of the "Tip and Tricks" he has learned and lots of ways to have more fun tying flies. Bill especially encourages us to bring our questions along with our tying gear. This meeting will be Thursday, October 29th at 7:00pm. If you fish a fly you really need to see this one.One final note: Make sure you check out http://www.calvaryoutfittersmontana.blogspot.com/ for the latest information on our planning information for the 2010 Montana Trip.

Calvary Outfitters - August Meeting Notes

2009-09-03T08:35:00.001-07:00

Blake Morgan and I gave a FULL report on our trip to Montana celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Lifeway/OMN Fly Fishing Adventure Trips. River reports and pictures of BIG Montana fish were in abundance. I was able to completely enthrall the entire membership in attendance with my report of my fishing skills (at least that's how I remember it). ANYWAY, a good time was had by all and we finished the night with the tying of the Chernobyl Ant, a great topwater fly for trout, smallmouth, and other species..

Additionally, we are now in the beginning planning stages for a 2010 Calvary Outfitters Montana Retreat! For details please see our NEW Blog http://calvaryoutfittersmontana.blogspot.com/ dedicated to planning this trip. PLEASE visit the blog and offer any suggestions you have for this event.

"And May God Bless",
Anthony

Calvary Outfitters - July Meeting Notes

2009-08-07T09:03:00.000-07:00

Thursday night at Calvary Outfitters was a Night of Bamboo. Leo deMonbreun did an outstanding job showing the progression of the making of a bamboo rod. Leo started with the bamboo harvest in China and finished with the product and how good bamboo performs on the river. He educated the group on everything from reel seats to tips while covering the entire process of making a handmade bamboo rod. Several members of Calvary Outfitters own and fish bamboo, while others have an interest in future trips to the river with their own cane rod one day.

Calvary Outfitters has become an informative once a month stop for local anglers to meet and talk about fly fishing in a Christian based setting. Next month we are looking forward to a fishing report from Montana as well as local reports from members of the group. I would encourage anyone who is thinking about stopping by to come and get your feet wet with a fine group of anglers.

My thanks to Captain David Perry for providing this report in my absence.

Calvary Outfitters - Three Tips for July

2009-08-05T06:59:00.000-07:00

OK, I'm a bit late on this and I'm sorry. Here are my 3 Tips for July;

1. Psalm 23:2 "He leadeth me beside still waters. He restores my soul."
2. Montana
3. MONTANA !!!!!

June Meeting Notes

2009-07-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

If you ever wanted to know where the fish were hiding then the June meeting was the place to be. Guide David Perry did an excellent presentation on "reading" tailwaters. Runs, shoals, ledges and pools, oh my - David explained using a great slideshow where the trout hide in these and other places on our Tailwaters. He also was kind enough to help us learn a few tactics on fishing these waters accurately rather than just drowning a fly. Great night -now, if we can just get the Caney to cooperate. See you next month.

Calvary Outfitters - Three Tips for June

2009-06-22T08:35:00.000-07:00

OK, pressure is on - June is running out but - AS PROMISED here are the Three Tips for June.

1. Summer Fashion Advice. For those of us of a certain age as men we sometimes have performance problems -with our eyesight - and have to wear glasses. If you are like me and too cheap to buy good polarized prescription sunglasses that you have to change when the sun goes down you can do without, wear clipons or buy "fitovers" (the old men's standard sunglasses). Not wanting to look too very, very old I went on a mission and found these http://www.liveeyewear.com/vistana/index.html. If you wear smaller frames you can get smaller sizes and not have Spiderman eyes. Worth checking out.

2. Popper crazy -here is a dealer on eBay that has a nice selection of Poppers CHEAP http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=260315973922 $9.99 plus $3.00 shipping for 20 poppers (5 each of White and Yellow with legs and 5 each of White and Yellow smaller no legs). I bought my 20 and was very pleased.

3. Final thought. At the Last supper Jesus washed the feet of his Disciples -all of them - including Judas, knowing what he was about to do. Next time you're having "Un-Christian" thoughts about someone in your life or holding a grudge think about the Son of God washing Judas feet and "Man up". By the way - I can't take credit for this. I was having an issue with someone and my Bride brought this to my attention. I have to say it's really hard to do.

Calvary Outfitters - May Meeting Notes

2009-05-29T10:46:00.000-07:00

Our May meeting, featuring David Knapp focused on midge fishing for trout. David did an excellent job of enlightening us on the life-cycle of a midge and which stages are important to the trout fisherman. Science and biology can be fun - especially if it helps us catch fish. After learning a bit about the midge itself David discussed tactic for fishing the midge - size, types, and techniques. And trust me, any man brave enough to fish a three fly rig is worthy of our attention. Once David completed his presentation we moved on to actually tying a midge. I checked all the vises and there did appear to be tiny little somethings with thread on them so apparently we were successful. I do know that I personally ordered some micro-tubing this morning.
- I now fully expect the group to go out an now become expert midge fishermen.
Our sincere thanks to David for making the long journey to the "Boro" to help us out.

Scripture for our Devotion was 1 Corinthians 10:13 (New International Version)
13No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Calvary Outfitters - Three Tips for May

2009-05-15T13:24:00.000-07:00

1. Rain, Rain Go Away - OK I think we'll all agree that we've had enough water here in Middle Tennessee. It appears to be slowing down (As I write this another thunderstorm has dumped another 1/2 inch on us). Someday soon the rains will stop, the generators will turn off and we will be wading our favorite streams once again. When that happens -be very careful - the river bottom you thought you knew will have changed so watch your step.

2. Warranties -worth their weight in gold. I just sent back to the factory an Orvis rod I have because the reel seat was slipping and I couldn't tighten my reel. One week later the rod came back with a new reel seat and cork. Total cost - shipping to Orvis. Orvis isn't the only company that has warranties -I've had two other warranty claims on rods one through Cabela's and the other through TFO -both of which worked out just fine. Just a thought as you add to or update your gear.

3. Proverbs 27:14 If you wake your friend early in the morning by shouting, "Rise and Shine!" It will sound to him more like a curse than a blessing.

Have an great month, "And May God Bless".

Calvary Outfitters -April Meeting Notes

2009-05-01T08:17:00.000-07:00

April Meeting Notes

Wow, another OUTSTANDING meeting. We opened with prayer, Psalm 1 and then our guest speaker, Dan Sharley, took us through the basics of fishing the Stones River for a variety of species in a presentation I like to call The Good (Stripers and hybrids), The Bad (Smallmouth – one bad fish) and The Ugly (Carp, had to be Carp).

Dan discussed not only his tactics for catching these fish he also discussed the “Whys” – feeding habits, types of water to find the fish and how the seasons effect how and when you hit the river. While Dan was perfectly willing to open his Fly Box and show us his favorites he was somewhat less willing to give us specific locations, like any good fisherman. All I can say is that if you missed this meeting you missed one of the better ones. With Dan’s art complementing the “Hero” shots of several of his recent local fish it was truly an entertaining meeting

After Dan’s presentation Captain Perry led us through tying the deadly “Wiggle Minnow” – a fly that has proven tremendously effective on both cold and warmwater fish. Dan’s efforts seemed to be the most artistic and last I heard Captain Perry was planning on “Field Testing” the pattern on the Caney this weekend. We’ll expect a full report.

My thanks to all who showed up and especially our new comers – hope to see everyone next month.

Psalm 1
BOOK I : Psalms 1-41
1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Calvary Outfitters - Tips for April

2009-04-03T12:40:00.000-07:00

OK, I'm going to cheat -but just a little. This month all three tips are links. And all three links are to the same fly fishing newsletter. BUT, all three are very timely for April.

1. A Basic Selection of Dry Flies by Lefty Kreh: Great article by one of the true legends of Fly Fishing. Especially useful if you're just building your dry fly box or throwing out the junk like I do every other year.
http://littleriveroutfitters.com/littleriverjournal/storiesapr09/lefty/index.html

2. Long Live the Bead Head by David Knapp: An interesting article about the advantages of the beloved bead head fly
http://littleriveroutfitters.com/littleriverjournal/storiesapr09/davidk/index.html

3. Observations from the Tailwaters by David Perry: Interesting commentary on fishing the Tennessee tailwaters.
http://littleriveroutfitters.com/littleriverjournal/storiesapr09/davidp/index.html

As I mentioned all three of these articles came from the Little River Outfitters Journal. Little River Outfitters is located in Townsend, TN and are helping/hosting Troutfest in May. Great shop with lots of toys.

Calvary Outfitters - March Meeting Notes

2009-03-30T06:52:00.000-07:00

MARCH 26 MEETING NOTES: Great meeting with several visitors - Tommy, Bill, Fred and Todd (hope to see you guys again soon).

For those of you on Spring Break you missed an excellent presentation by Jim Pipus with TWRA on the Elk River. His pictures and statistics were outstanding. Several of us are now trying to attach toasters to 12v batteries to shock up a few fish ourselves. The good news from Jim is that the changes in the flow on the Elk are hopefully going to improve this fishery long-term and the results from their shocking survey of early this year are encouraging. Even with the flow issues of last summer the fish count for 2009 was similar to the count of 2008.

Now, about size. Rainbows are going to run for the most part stocked in the 10" range, with some growing to 12-14's and just a few over 15-16. Browns - well....bigger (I'm not going to tell you how much bigger but NICE). Jim indicated the fish are found in the "usual" places from the dam to Ferris Creek. All-in-all a very informative meeting.

Fishing reports were give by Jeff Yarbrough about his recent fishing expedition to dangerous, treacherous Gatlinburg. As I mentioned in one of my emails from March Jeff has now become the only member of Calvary Outfitters to actually have Groupies and be applauded for his fishing expertise..AND he caught some VERY nice fish. Blake Morgan also gave a report on his trip with Captain Perry to the Elk the week before our meeting. Blake is the ultimate sportsman in that he chooses to not boat fish but can get some BIG fish to follow his fly...Captain Perry managed to boat a large Brown. Neither fisherman reported hearing applause.

And finally, Captain Perry has kindly donated four new fly-tying kits to the group so in future meetings we'll be able to have more vises. We'll be using these in the coming months as we investigate warmwater fishing and midge fishing for trout.

In closing let me leave you with this thought from 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 (New International Version) " 11Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody."

Calvary Outfitters - Tips for March

2009-03-27T14:49:00.000-07:00

And, as promised, here are the "Three Tips" for March:

1. Check your License - In Tennessee your license expires on the last day of February so it's DEFINITELY time to renew
2. Buy, or make, some Popping Bugs - April is almost here and the warmwater fish are starting to get active on the surface. I started fly-fishing with a western auto rod wading Richland Creek in Marshall County catching bluegill and redeye on little black popping bugs -there is very little that is more fun and easier to do around home.
3. Check out this website - http://www.bethemanministries.com/ Many of you have met Jason and know of his work. This is his latest venture into reaching Christian men. You can sign-up for his weekly devotionals from this site.

Calvary Outfitters - Tips for February

2009-02-19T16:11:00.000-08:00

TIPS FOR FEBRUARY

In keeping with my promise for 3 Fly Fishing Tips Each Month here ya go.

1. STREAMERS, STREAMERS, STREAMERS - This is the time of year to target the BIG fish on streamers -Trout, Stripers and soon the Smallmouth will be running. Several of us made the TU meeting held here in the Boro last Monday night and got a nice presentation on streamer fishing for trout. Mouths were watering all over and not because of the food. Clousers are fun, as are some of the home-grown or older patterns. last year I was tying and fishing a Warden's Worry - a streamer developed in the '20s (you know -the last depression)

2. Local information - Cumberland Transit Board http://forums.cumberlandtransit.com/forumlist.asp?SID=1&FID=3 Great place to check out what's going on in our local Fly Fishing community. If you're too busy to run by CT everyday like Mark Joines does you can always check the board.

3. Manly Get-a-Way - Some of you may remember me fishing North Carolina last year (and bragging about the 18" Brookie AND the 19" rainbow) - well it's not too early to sign up for one of the Men's Outdoor Ministry Network retreats at either the Ridgecrest Conference Center in Asheville N.C. or the Glorieta Conference Center in N.M http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/article_main_page/0,1703,A%253D159518%2526M%253D201125,00.html These trips are a great way to work on your Spirit AND your backcast. Blake Morgan and I have both done these so see us if you have any questions.

OK here's a freebie http://naboursandfriends.blogspot.com/ Pass this on to EVERYBODY you know - great project of OUR Heroes. Note the logo - designed by our own Blake Morgan with a push from Captain Perry.

OK, I'm out of breath -next meeting is a tying meeting the last Thursday in MARCH - we have new vises to try out thanks to a donation from one of our members so practice NOT breaking anything. April is Warmwater Fish and May will be midge fishing. See you on the river.

"And May God Bless"
Anthony

Calvary Outfitters - Tips for January

2009-01-16T12:50:00.000-08:00

Here's a new little service we hope to provide monthly - 3 tips to save money, increase your fishing pleasure, elucidate your mind or just plain confound.

The tips for January 2009 are:

1. Big Y Flies http://www.bigyflyco.com/ is offering 10% off to all Tennessee residents the month of January. Just type in TN in the promotion code. I just ordered some streamers and zonkers and was well pleased with the quality and got the order in about 3 days.

2. TU on TV. "On the Rise", the Trout Unlimited supported fly-fishing show is back on the Outdoor Channel (270 on local comcast I think). Great show and rumor has it they were in Arkansas on the White and Little Red and caught a beast.

3. TU in the Boro' - we've been working with the Cumberland Chapter of Trout Unlimited and they are going to hold their February meeting here in Murfreesboro - more details to follow.

Calvary Outfitters - Fishing Report - Blake Morgan

2008-10-27T13:20:00.000-07:00

Mark Roberts and I (Blake Morgan) took a half-day drift boat trip down the Caney Fork from the dam to Happy Hollow this past Saturday. It was a beautiful day and no one was out. I caught the biggest couple of fish for my own personal record! I reeled in three browns (17", 16", and 14") and a brookie that was about 10". The 17" looked big, until a trout almost twice as big cruised by as I was bringing him in. Mark steered the boat, but was able to catch 3 rainbows, with the biggest being around 14". So together we were able to achieve the grand slam. It was a great day!

Welcome to Calvary Outfitters

2008-09-18T13:29:00.000-07:00

Ever watch “A River Runs Through It” and say, “I’d like to try that.”
• Want to learn how to tie a “Depleted Uranium” or “Bead-head Pheasant Tail”?
• Interested in how a Bamboo rod is made?
• Want to Fly Fish with a great group of guys out west? Back east? Around here?
• How about helping to promote fly-fishing and conservation in Tennessee and teaching beginning Fly-fishers?

If any of this sounds remotely interesting to you, join us here at Calvary for the next meeting of the Calvary Outfitters – the latest men’s ministry at Calvary. We’ll meet for about an hour in the classroom next to the library. And please bring a friend. Beginners are encouraged as well as the experienced. For more information, see Blake Morgan, Mark Roberts or Anthony Williams – or call 416-1596.
Next Meeting: Thursday, September 25 - 7:00 p.m.Program: "Building your own Fly Rod" with special guest Gary Woods, devotion, and setting date for next outing.