Stanislaus Fly Fishers
A Charter Club of fly Fishers International and Member Northern California Council of Fly Fishers International
Community
Stanislaus Fly Fishers is a community-based organization and as such we are committed to providing service to the community beyond our membership with projects that align with the general goals and purposes of our charter. Listed below our some of our ongoing efforts to be a positive contributor to our community.
Rivers of Recovery
Rivers of Recovery is a national organization providing outdoor recreational rehabilitative therapy for combat veterans. The ROR program impacts the current rehabilitation landscape—changing the way PTS is treated for hundreds of thousands of active-duty military and veterans. Their goal is to provide a crucial step in maximizing participants’ reintegration and contributions to their families, communities, and society.
Outdoor programming like the fly-fishing outings conducted by Rivers of Recovery offer the potential to emphasize both social and physical environments and the role each plays in fostering health and resilience. The connections between healthy ecology and healthy humans are articulated by eco-psychologists who argue that what we need as people to be mentally healthy is much the same as our planet needs. Contact with nature, and acts of caring for nature, can therefore inform efforts to address the risk and adversity some veterans may face, as has been discovered by participants through the Rivers of Recovery program.
Locally, the Stanislaus Fly Fishers host an annual fundraiser for ROR via a showing of the Fly Fishing Film Tour at the historic State Theater in Modesto, CA. 100% of funds raised go toward providing veterans opportunities to benefit from ROR sponsored and organized activities.
Salmon Festival @ Knights Ferry
We annually attend the Stanislaus River Salmon Festival at KnightsFerry, CA, a free family-friendly educational event
(albeit with $10 parking) with lots of hands-on activities for the youth, such as calendar art contest with awards, scavenger hunts, and t-shirt painting, along with a variety of other educational and food booths. We provide opportunities for youth attendees to cast a fly rod and learn about salmon migration, their contribution to the ecosystem, and the best responsible practices for anglers when engaged with salmon in sport fishing.
Salmon in the Classroom
We have participated in several salmon fry release days wherein classes of students release salmon they have raised from eggs into area rivers (Tuolumne or Stanislaus) by providing fly casting and fly tying activities. This year some of our members were involved in the preparation and delivery of salmon eggs to area classrooms to be hatched and raised, and then later in March released into the Tuolumne or Stanislaus Rivers. Members John Driver and Paul Wallace aided in the gathering of eggs into cheesecloth bundles of 30 eggs each. These eggs were then delivered via volunteers to 19 area schools and 37 classrooms. Members making deliveries were John, Bob Bullock, Janice Rinehart and Mike Hewitt. Meeting in Snelling early Thursday morning, drivers were given strict instructions on the handling of the eggs and procedures for depositing them into the classroom aquariums. Egg bundles were distributed to the drivers and placed into ice chests on layers of river water-wet paper towels over bags of ice to keep them wet and cool, and then were transported to the assigned schools and classes. Several SFF members will be participating in at least one salmon release day this spring by providing fly casting demonstrations to the students releasing the salmon fry. Brief video links below showing egg bundling and classroom delivery.
• Bundling Eggs (Narrated)
• Bundling Eggs 2
• Eggs Delivery (larger file … slower load time)
Fishing Regulations signs
Perhaps you have been fishing on the Tuolumne River around La Grange and noticed new fishing regulation signs. Stanislaus Fly Fishers working with California Fish & Wildlife wardens developed very needed new signs. It’s easy to be confused about current regulations, and these signs help everyone to be informed and in compliance. The success of the Tuolumne signs led to requests for signs on the Stanislaus River. So, you soon should start seeing new regulation signs on the Stanislaus River.