News and Updates

Beginning Fly Tying Classes

The SJRVFF teaches a seven-week class on tying proven fly patterns for the local area and beyond. Classes are once a week for seven weeks starting the first Thursday of February. The cost for nonmembers of SJRVFF is $30.00. For members, the class cost is $5.00. The class is limited to 30 people. SJRVFF will supply all the vises, tools and materials to tie during the class.

For more information or to sign up please contact Jeff Stanifer at janar3@sbcglobal.net or Dustin New at dustinnew@sbcglobal.net.

SJRVFF Welcomes Captain Jon Ray

Captain Jon Ray has been fly fishing for the past 23 years and has guided fly anglers in  Michigan with Hawkins Outfitters for the past 12 years. Jon’s first love is chasing trout, steelhead, small-mouth bass and muskie with streamers. Jon guides anglers with single or two-handed rods with a variety of techniques. He is an expert angler, employing his skills of observation to fly fishing and thinking “out of the box”, creating new, innovative methods to catch fish.

The Upper & Lower Manistee, Pere Marquette, and many unknown and unspoken locations in northern Michigan are among Jon Ray’s favorite spots.

Jon Ray brings all this experience to your fishing day with an enthusiasm that is contagious. Jon is totally focused on helping his clients land that trophy chrome steelhead or large wary brown trout of their dreams. His love for photography can be viewed at Mangled Fly, as he tries to capture the many memories that the river provides.

Follow Mangled Fly’s blog for additional video’s and photo’s. Jon Ray is a nationally published photographer and also co-authored the DVD, Big Appetite Smallmouth.

 

SJRVFF Welcomes Jack Dennis

Jack Dennis is one of the Fly fishing professionals who really has done it all. Jack founded sporting stores, ski shops, fly fishing guiding operations, and a book and video company during 47 years in the business in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. First as a guide, then an author of the best selling Fly tying books ever (over 600,000 books) which led to a video and DVD collection of over 50 titles. Jack has hosted TV shows on

First as a guide, then an author of the best selling Fly tying books ever (over 600,000 books) which led to a video and DVD collection of over 50 titles. Jack has hosted TV shows on

Jack has hosted TV shows on ESPN, FOXsports, Outdoor Life and ABC. He has coached the USA fly fishing team in world competition, lectured at sports shows, fly fishing clubs, and was an advisor for fly fishing travel development for the governments of Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, and Canada for over 35 years. He has literally fished around the world in every continent except Antarctica.

Jack founded the Jackson One Fly event some 29 years ago, which has donated over 10 million dollars to stream restoration. As Chairman of the successful US Wild and Scenic Headwaters Bill, Jack created a legacy beyond fly fishing, providing environmental protection to over 25 wild trout streams and rivers. Federation of Fly Fishermen awards including “Legend of Fly Fishing” and “International Ambassador “ and Outside magazine named his fly fishing outfitters the best of the best.

He taught and has taken fishing US presidents, prime ministers, Senators, Supreme Court justices, movie stars, sports figures, musicians and a host of foreign dignitaries, authors and people from all walks of life.

As a lover of the fly cast, Jack has helped in developing many fly fishing products from flies, waders, clothing, float boats, leaders, fly lines and especially his first love, fly rods.

SJRVFF WELCOMES ANN MILLER

Ann Miller is an outdoor writer and fly fishing fanatic. While teaching beginning and intermediate fly fishing schools through the years, she became frustrated with the lack of comprehensive Midwest information on insect hatches, taxonomy, behavior, and flies to match them. Armed with her background in aquatic biology, she decided to tackle the world of bugs head on, and the result is the Hatch Guide for Upper Midwest Streams. Her field guide was published in January, 2012 (FrankAmato Publications).

annmillerIn addition to writing, Ann is a founder and current president of Flygirls, an organization whose purpose is to help women become involved in fly fishing. The club was founded in 1996 and continues in its purpose to teach women to fly fish as well as provide fly fishing and fly tying outings in Michigan and beyond. More information on Flygirls can be found at http://flygirls.ws.

Ann will have books available for sale at the meeting; the cost is $30 (cash appreciated!).