Hello from the Dakota Fly Fishers

[bobmorenski]

Just logged on to intoduce myself. I am Bob Morenski, president of the Dakota Fly Fishers in Minot, North Dakota. I am actually just getting back into the sport after nearly 8 years of illness. Things are looking up for me and I am looking forward to seeing many of my old friends from Manitoba on the water next year. After nearly 8 years, I have cabin fever real bad!

The Dakota Fly Fishers are also making a strong comeback. We met for the first time this winter last week. We had my old friend Bob Sheedy down to do a couple talks for us. For anyone who is interested, our next meeting is January 8th. It will be a fly tying meeting and our beginner's fly tying classes are going to start. If anyone is interested, you can contact me at [e-mail]

[Bow Slayer]

Welcome aboard Bob. Great to see/hear you are generating a comeback for flyfishing in the Dakota's. I can tell from your comments that Sheedy has got you guys worked up in a froth! You'll be chasing the elusive Shamu's like us in a few short months.

What lakes do you fish around Minot? Any stocking programs? What species are reproducing naturally around there - (other than Pike)?

Tight lines!

[caddisguy]

Hi Bob
Nice to hear your out and about again.Looks like your going to give that 25 by 25 club a a run for their money again or at least keep BS honest. ;D I hope to see you out at the Turttles or Parkland this spring. We have a guy in here that went and did some some of your Sakakawea Salmon fishing and has us all excited. check the threads I think you can find his report.

[bobmorenski]

Hey Bow Slayer,

Our guys are very well versed in Shamu's. We know the lakes in the western part of the Manitoba very well. Bob Sheedy and I came up with the 25/25 club after I did it two years back to back in 1995 and 1996. I am very excited about Patterson Lake. In fact, our club voted to start up a fund raiser to help pay for the electricity to run the generator. We raised $350 last weekend. Our Goal is to raise between $600 and $750 US. We are doing this because we feel that the biggest impediment to getting more new trout lakes in the region is the cost of running the aerators.

I have not fished in North Dakota for at least 4 years. One of our better lakes, Northgate Dam, winter killed last year. I hear that Lightening Lake near the town of Turtle lake is fishing well since they put new regulations on it. Chuck Loftis told me that Fish Creek Dam also fished very well this year.

[kkansas]

hideeho Bob M
rockin good news
let me tell you folks that Bob M has been a key component for ffishing in the parkland (Spear/Silver Beach/East Goose etc) for years...this dude can fish still water like no one i've met...knowledge, experiance persistence and besides that a heck of a good guy...he came up to the CNFFC's when he was ill and spoke on the 'southern perspective' at the Conservation Symposium and pulled it off...judging by comments from Dakota biologists, he can get things going so get your chance to meet this cat at the 2005 tfest in rossburn, besides that, he will be on the water shamuing his face off for the 2005 open water stillwater season in the parkland...i'll try and melt the ice early for you...great news Bob, here's to ye !!

[bobmorenski]

Hi Caddisguy,

There is nothing in the world that I would rather do than to be able to catch enough big fish to make the 25/25 club again. Never the less, I am just glad to be able to fish again. You never appreciate your health until it is taken away from you. I did get a 25 inch rainbow on East Goose on my lone 4 day trip to the parkland. That fired me up a little.

I have known Bob Sheedy since 1988 and I don't think anyone can keep him honest! Actually, Bob is a good head.

As for the salmon, they are alright. I have had some very good days fishing on Sakakawea for them in the past. All things considered, I would prefer to fish trout. I read that post from Ken Kansas about fly fishing for lakers on Child's Lake. That sounded like it would be a gas. I will have to break out some of my saltwater fly tackle and then feed Ken enough beer at the FLIPPR banquet until he shows me the location of the reefs.

[bobmorenski]

Hey Ken,

Thanks for the kind words. I am so fired up to come up and fish that I can barely contain myself. To anyone you does not know Ken, he is the best friend that fly fishers have in Manitoba Fisheries. We'll have to pair up in the Silver Pig contest. I have to warn you, I am very rusty! I almost feel like a beginner out there. It is going to take a while to get my confidence fully restored. 2005 is just going to be a warm up for when I retire in January of 2006. After that, you have to shoot me to keep me off Patterson. I am also looking forward to fishing Twin Lake. I have not done tigers for a while. They are a ball.

[Dale Martens]

Hi Bob,

Welcome here...

I'm from Winkler (only about 10 minutes north of the border). Do you every go out locally for largemouths?

[bobmorenski]

Hi Dale,

I live in Parshall which is about 42 miles west and 18 miles south of Minot. We do not have any bass locally. I use to fish bass in the winter if we had some warm days at Nelson Lake near Center, ND. The lake has a warm water discharge from a power plant flowing into it. Largemouths to 8 pounds have been caught there. It is also not too bad for bluegill and crappie. In the summer, Northgate which is just south of the border use to be good.

[caddisguy]

Well if it wasn't for Bob Sheedy,Ken Kannsas and the South of the Bordr gang i don't think we would have as great a Trout fishery as we have in the Parkland area. It all started with the Oakburn Fish and Game pushing to keep Toukaryk lake stolkings going. I think we really got Trout fever after that. I first met you in the 80's in the Turtle's when William was so hot. The Bass fishing in there is getting quite good.

[bobmorenski]

Hi Caddisguy,

You have me at a disadvantage. I think I know who this is but I am not quite sure.

At any rate, Bob Sheedy and I use to talk about the great trout fishery that was right under everyone's nose. The local residents hardly knew that it existed. We both were smart enough to know that if we wanted to keep it going that we had to promote it. I needed no arm twisting. I love having a place to fish for trophy trout within 5 hours of my house. At the Canadian Nationals there a few years ago, I related my story of my first trip to the Parkland region. I will relate it if someone wants to hear it. To go from that type of awareness to hosting the Canadian Nationals in such a short time is mind boggling. All I can say is, "Keep it up"! With about 5 more lakes added to spread people out, the area will be a lake fly fisherman's paradise.

[fishinmusican]

Welcome aboard Bob,I've seen you around at the trout festival but never introduced myself. Its nice to have others from other places sharing their thoughts ect ect. Love fishing the Parklnds area, my two bro's and I have a little place not far from the Ducks. This past year focused on warmwater species and had a hoot catching big Carp and Cats on the Red. Man are there ever alot of fish out there to explore. Watch out for Caddis and Stu and the pie thing.......Kim

[Deleted]

Bob:
One more Manitoba welcome. If you ever are interested in smallmouth bass fishing in eastern Manitoba, we have great opportunities and could probably help you out.
(Just out of curiosity, do any ffers in ND go after goldeye. I grew up dry-ffing for them on the Winnipeg River, and have caught them on the Missouri River while fishing for walleye.)
I was particularly interested in your comments re: supporting the aeration of Patterson. That will be a wonderful - and strategic - show of support for the project, especially if it goes directly to the rural municipality that is covering the cost - it will be a direct reminder of how these projects bring in economic activity from outside the area. I think that Ken Kansas would agree that building the aeration infrastructure is the easy part; keeping them running is the real challenge...TIM
PS. my brother, Robert Sopuck, lives out that way and is heavily involved with FLIPPR.

[darrellmyskiw]

hey Bob - I'll throw my 2 cents and a sincere 'Weclome aboard'

the more the merrier. Seeing as it sounds like you know a couple in here .... could get interesting ....


darrell,

[bobmorenski]

Thanks Fishinmusician,

I will be definiely be up at the trout festival this year. Make sure that you introduce yourself. We should have a fair size crew from the Dakota Fly Fishers and the Missouri River Valley Fly Fishers there this year.

[bobmorenski]

Hi Tim,

We do catch goldeye but they are rarely our selected targets. The McKlusky canal has some huge goldeye. About 10 years ago, what I know would have been the North Dakota State record goldeye there. It was 25 inches long.

While we are looking at funding Patterson this year, we are working on a long term fund raising project which I hope will allow us to fund the operation of several aeration systems per year. I think that we are also going to see some funding coming up our sister club, the Missouri River Valley FF. I personally would like to see the 25/25 club take on a new meaning. If we could get 25 people to donate $25 a year, that is basically what it would cost to fund an aerator for a winter.

I know who your brother is. He probably does not remember me but I have met him at one of the FLIPPR banquets.

[bobmorenski]

Hi Darrell,

Yes, I do know a few of you on here. The more interesting this gets, the better I will like it.

[Robert Burton]

well has got to be the hottest fastest thread we have ever had 2 pages long in less than 12 hours...some kind of record.

Glad to have you aboard Bob (and any of your group that wants in) I know we are all very interested in the fly fishing in your neck of the woods.

[bobmorenski]

Hi Robert,

I am glad to be aboard. I am going to have to introduce a few of our members to this site. I think that they will enjoy it. A love of your trout lakes runs very deep through our membership. There are many like me that have been fishing in Manitoba since the late eighties.

[Deleted]

25" Goldeye!!!

A 16" fish is an awesome fish here. All of a sudden, I'm experiencing a litte "goldeye-envy"!

Your thoughts on where you want to take the aeration fundraising shows real leadership. I think it's time to start hitting some of us penny-pinching Manitobans. We need to belly (boat) up to the bar, too!....TIM

[bobmorenski]

With all the money we lay out for tackle, gas, lodging, etc., whatever we can do to offset the costs of aeration is well worth it. With the trophy lakes that FLIPPR is creating, it is within all of our best interests to support the effort in anyway that we can. Nothing else matters if there are no fish to fish for. I just love what they are doing. Patterson Lake is going to make us all forget about Silver Beach in a hurry because it is going to be better than Silver Beach. Just imagine what it would be like to have another 3 to 5 trout lakes of that caliber on line in that region. (Build it and they will come!)

[caddisguy]

Hi Bob
Nice idea to give the 25/25 a more creative meaning. I'm sure the local goverment would really encourage that !!!!!!!! We have a stamp as part of our licences. This stamp has a seperate fee and is supposed to go back into the fisherey. There is about 300,000 dolars generated by this stamp. Guess what??? About half the money gets diverted into general funds which means it can be used by the goverment as it sees fit? Pension funding maybe??? We already lobbied for the special Fish Stamp so there would be money going straight back into the fishery. I'm already bleeding money out of every orfice and paying for things twice. Lets just get the money thats already there to do what it is supposed to do. Go back into the fisheries. Tourisim is a 150 million plus buisness in this province where is their commitment back to the fishery ? It's honourable of you guys to donate and spend money in the Parklands but in the long run I think you guys should be funding a large pumping station at Devils Lake. The Missouri needs th water far more than we do. We'll send you all the power you need to keep it running. ;D If you where even more creative you would bottle the dam stuff and sell it to California. We already have the money here to keep the aerators going if Fisheries and Tourism think it's important enough.

[Deleted]

John!??

Don't tell me you begrudge seeing your fishing license impost money going to an increase in nurses' salaries? How downright unsociable (ist?) of you!

Sorry but I have to go back to the importance of what Bob wants to do from the perspective of demonstrating the value of these fisheries to the local governments that help to carry some of the freight on these projects.

Down the road, we would like to see special regulations for some of those lakes - ie no-kill. But it won't happen unless local communities come on side. The local b**t crowd carries alot of weight when it comes to those kinds of regulatory changes. As good as Patterson has become, and even with a one-fish, artificials-only, regulation, my local sources tell me that the local ice-fishing crowd is pretty excited by the catches, and are hitting it pretty hard. When our U.S. friends dig deep to put their money where the bubbles are, these communities will start to see the economic value and, maybe, will stick their necks out a bit on some the the regulatory adjustments that could really produce awesome fisheries.

John, you're dead right about hitting the goverment hard and getting all the license impost money back to supporting fishery development, but I don't think it should end there. That amounts to $5.00/angler/year. If fanatics like us can't target a few more personal shekels to a couple of premier fisheries, who will?...TIM

[speyistheway]

I had a long chat with Bob- or rather Bob had a long chat with me:)- he,s an amazing lad:)) on the Red one evening- he left hs wife in the vehicle and Adler on hold - when he saw Kim and I Cattin at the gates- what struck me then and strikes me now- is the isssue of if successfull in re-claiming the fisheries monies- where is that monies being lobbied to go?. I appreciate and understand the Parkland trout/lake excitment but that is only a narrow part of the picture and only serves those who have an interest/stake in the Parkland/trout/lake/5 year/new lake experience.

Bob M,s 25/25 donation sounds more targeted in that those who have an interest in supporting and partaking off the Parkland experience have an opportunnity to directly and specificly donate

WIll

welcome to the board Bob M:))))))

[bobmorenski]

First off, the government is not paying juice to the aeration systems that are going in. I am sure that there are people on this list that can back me up on that fact. Second, if you are waiting for any government to do what it said it is going to do, you are in for a very long wait. What I am talking about is taking the bull by the horns and directly supporting those waters for which we have an interest. The Dakota Fly Fishers are going to continue to support FLIPPR and raise money to power the generators with or without the support of other individuals or clubs. I just thought that there are other like minded individuals out there that would like to contribute. The idea of a 25/25 club (it realy should be 26/25 to come up with an even $750) is just an idea for a vehicle that would allow individuals to do so, as well.

These new FLIPPR Lakes are going in with special regulations. These are the type of lakes that you folks are looking to fish. It seems logical to me that anyone who was truely committed to these fisheries would support it. The 25/25 club is just an idea and a tool that I am passing along to support it. If every individual threw 15 cents into a jar every day from now to the Trout Festival, you would have enough money to run an aerator for the year. Before this gets too much further a long, I am going to bring this up as a new thread.

[caddisguy]

First off Bob I'm not belittling the grassroots effort or moneys. They are what drives the rest of the money. I mearly wanted to shake the tree a little and see what fell out ;D Thanks Ken for enlightening us to the real costs of these aeration systems and the on going cost of running them. They are the life blood of any fishery that is being developed in these very marginal lakes. The Trout would not survive in most of these lakes without it. I have contributed the FLPPR festival since the beginning and will continue to do so. My point still is that half the monies raised by us fisherman is not going back into the fisheries which was it's intended sole use. I find it interesting that no one here seems to want to put a cork in the leaking Stamp fund monies which should certainly be used for the ongoing costs of these projects. No sense giving someone a car if they don't have the noney to put the gass in is there. There is a board being set up with 6 people representing 6 diffrent interest groups to take control of the stamp monies and administrate these monies so they do go back into the fisheries. Hopefully that will get our support as well and intern will free up some bigger change for the Parklands prodjects. I thought that in a Democracy that we are the goverment but I could be wrong about that to. ;D

[speyistheway]

I for one would be inerested in hearing who the 6 interest groups are?- if MFFA is one, i wonder how they came to assume the mantle of spokesperson for anyone other than their membership. Strikes me they should in the interest of integrity change their name to the Winnipeg Fly Fishing Club and a more balanced and less self- justifying lobby group with a more balanced makeup be formed that speaks from a broader perspective .

Will

[caddisguy]

The players are FLPPR, Intermountain, SwanVally, Fish Futures, MFFA and another group who's name escapes me right now. The group with the longest track record is the MFFA ( since 1968). The only two groups that are not regional are Fish Futures and the MFFA. I have been a member and past president of the MFFA since 1980 so I think I have some experience here. I have never fellt at any time that I belonged to the "Winnipeg" Fly fishers but I have always felt that I belonged to the Manitoba Fly Fishers. I guess that what makes us think that we can speak for all fisherman across the province is that we have been involved with projects in all regions of the province. There is no other Fishing organization in the province that can say that. As a fishing organization we have probably moved or influenced monies in excess of 500,00 dollars over those years directly into the Sport fisheries across this province and at no time was this done with just the Fly fishing community in mind but for better fishing for all anglers in the province. Yes the MFFA is based out of Winnipeg but it's membership is from all around the province. I guess Will you did not take in the power point presentation tha Brian Joynt gave at the FLPPR Festival last year. Maybe I'll ask him to run it again. The MFFA is still the sole organization in this province that promotes and teaches the sport of Fly Fishing.

[speyistheway]

As a spokesperson for all Manitoba fly fishers perhaps MFFA could provide a means for input outside of the current requirement to take out a membership when it comes to matters in which they are speaking on everyones behalf.

[Deleted]

re: MFFA representation:

It will be impossible to get the representation on this fedgling fisheries initiative perfect, but it will still be a massive step forward in "democratizing" the allocation of fishing license funds.

The MFFA, Fish Futures and other groups have been working on this one for a long time and Fish Futures has put up lots of its hard-earned dollars to build a rationale that says a) the recreational fishery is a major economic engine that requires ongoing investments and b) anglers should be making fundamental decisions about how/where license fees are spent.

The key thing now is to ensure that this initiative gets broad support, because government hates to give away control of of "its" money...TIM

PS. I'm still happy to see special efforts to fund specific activities, like aeration operation, because, as Will indicated earlier, there's a long list of needs and interests when it comes to fisheries management.