Conclave -- New Mexico Trout

NMT Conclaive '10
01/30/2010

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New Mexico Trout Conclave 2010
Presidents letter
By Rudy Rios

This month is the event we have all been waiting for.

The New Mexico Trout conclave is fast approaching and this year some very special guests have been invited to share their experiences, knowledge, and skills with our fraternity of fellow fly fishers. This year we have duo duets Dave and Emily Whitlock along with Rick Takahashi and Jerry Hubka.

Dave and Emily Whitlock have decades of experience between them both either teaching fly fishing, tying skills, fording rivers in Argentina, or having a great time at events like our conclave. Dave is world famous (and I do mean WORLD famous) for his fly tying and fly fishing books and he has taught thousands of fly fishers how to tie flies based on foods fish eat, how to become a Master of the dry fly or a perennial coach from LL Bean. Dave has revolutionized trout fishing by writing about new techniques in fly fishing magazines and sport publications. Dave also demonstrates his fly fishing and teaching skill in eight videos and through guest appearances on televised fly fishing programs.

Daves experience and great outlook on the whole spectrum of fly fishing have earned him the reputation of being one of the top if not the top professional fly fishers in the sport. Dave has received the Buz Buzeck Flytyers Award which is the highest honor in the fly tying world. This award was bestowed on Dave for his innovation in fly tying patterns and his fly fishing/tying conservation activities.

I could go on for days about Dave but I mustn’t forget about Emily.
Emily Whitlock has degrees in botany and biology and is a conservationist in the true sense, willing to work for preservation of the natural world. Honored as Woman of the Year by the Federation of Fly Fishers Southern Council, she has also received conservation awards from the Sierra Club and Wildlife Federation.

Emily is passionate about getting more women into fly fishing because she feels it's such a perfect sport for women and teaches women's casting at events throughout the year. She's an excellent lecturer whose programs include fly-fishing travels to New Zealand and other great destinations; getting started right in fly fishing; natural and imitation fish foods; and streamside wildflowers. As a photographer, her work has appeared in several national publications and on the cover of Fly Fisherman Magazine. Emily is also Dave's partner in all of his writing, art and video projects.

A unique fly-fishing team, Dave and Emily are devoted to the world of fly fishing and conservation, both professionally and personally.

Duo two!

Rick Takahashi is a frequent contributor to Fly Fisherman magazine and designer for Umpqua Feather Merchants. Rick lives in Fort Collins, Colorado. Jerry Hubka is a commercial artist and lives in Fort Collins, Colorado.

This duo started fishing together on the South Platte River near Deckers, Colorado, never thought that the tiny but abundant midge was going to become such an important part of our fly-fishing lives.

But as Rick and Jerry gained experience on the Frying Pan, San Juan, and other Rocky Mountain tailwaters, they became immersed in all aspects of midge fishing. Rick and Jerry dedicated more than 20 years and many hours and days to learn as much as possible about the techniques, equipment, presentation strategies, and fly patterns of the diminutive world of midges and the trout that eat them.

The study of chironomid entomology led to years of experimentation at the vise, and together they developed more than 100 innovative patterns that represented the various stages of the midge life cycle. Rick and Jerry soon realized that many other midge anglers were on the same quest, and discussions with fellow midge fishers soon became one of the main avenues of discovering new patterns. Over the years, many friends have shared with them their most exciting cutting-edge larva, pupa, and adult midge imitations.

Years of parking-lot networking—with fly boxes flung open—were enjoyable but didn’t seem the best way to share the combined knowledge of midge fishing. So, a few years ago they decided to write a book and began contacting like-minded friends, as well as fly tiers they met online, or have read or heard about. Fellow midge anglers gladly obliged, sharing samples and recipes of their favorite midge patterns. This duo soon amassed more than 1,000 fly patterns, along with detailed information on how to tie them, from some of the world’s best tiers in Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Croatia, Slovakia, England, the U.S., and elsewhere.

Don’t miss out on this years Conclave raffle either. Eric Collins has done an awesome job of having some of the prizes vying for your attention. Reels, lines, flies, books, fly tying kits, rods, guided trips, clothes, youth only raffle, and many goodies for your fly fishing repertoire.

The conclave will be held at our perennial location at SANDIA PREP on Osuna Blvd. This year the event starts exactly at 8:00am and runs through the whole day. In this issue there is a calendar of events, so bring it along and figure out which is the best show to attend. Look for the sign’s for the NEW MEXICO TROUT CONCLAVE.