Literary accounts of fishouts in the recent past,
to make you sorry you didn't go.
Confab 2004
By Dougald Scott
Confab 2004
By Dougald Scott
confab (konfab) Informal-
1. An informal talk-connfabulation.
confabulation.
1. To talk casually; chat
2. To fill in gaps in one's memory with fabrications that one believes to be facts.
More than thirty club members turned out for a gorgeous day of confabulation at the Soquel Grange Hall on Saturday, February 14. In addition to casting, fly tying, and eating, the gathering lived up to the dictionary definition: lots of informal talking and chatting. There were even a few instances where it seemed that gaps in memory were filled in with fabrications, but after all, this was a gathering of fly fishers. The Soquel Grange offered plenty of indoor room for fly tying tables, a kitchen for fixing food, and lots of outdoor open space in the school yard next door for fly casting. Many thanks to Harry Petrakis and his crew for taking care of the set-up and clean up of the Hall.
Fly Tying Masters Elaine Cook and John Steele kept beginning and advanced tiers busy tying flies for upcoming fishouts. Elaine concentrated on the "Zelon caddis," which is "a high floater that never wants to sink." John demonstrated how to tie a glow bug egg pattern, which is a must have fly when fishing for steelhead and trout in rivers where salmon spawn. Several other patterns were also presented.
Casting Master Walt Robinson conducted a casting clinic through the morning. After a scrumptious pot luck lunch, the annual Big Dawg Casting Tournament got underway. Walt set up a challenging course with five stations to test the casters' abilities in distance, accuracy, and finesse. Richard Kline won the Big Dawg prize, and Coleman Segal took the honors in the junior division.
Confab 2004 was a wonderful event. It gave club members a chance to hone their casting and tying skills, catch up with old friends, and make new acquaintances.