Scarborough Fly & Bait Casting Association

We’re a little late with the August bulletin because Sheila and I were ‘representing’ our club in the 2007 National Casting Championships in Cincinnati last week. I wish I could say we brought home a fist-full of medals but the truth is the terribly hot weather and a number of other misfortunes took their toll on these two cool-weather accustomed Canadians. I believe it’s the first time in many years that we came home empty-handed - other than a fine time and another bag full of fond memories and renewed friendships.

Oh well............wait until next year in beautiful and COOL San Francisco. God willing, I promise everyone that we’ll be back and not giving an inch to our being another year older. I can’t speak completely for Sheila’s mind and thought processes, but obviously my present health condition with the up-coming very dangerous operation that I’ll be undergoing in a few weeks has been on both our minds to such an extent that it has been difficult for some time now to concentrate on even simple matters, let alone hitting targets and casting to our potential on the distance field.

To make matters easier for our tiny Canadian contingent (Sheila and I) from Scarborough, we have already begun a plan to conscript several of our club’s other casters into joining us for the hike to the beautiful Golden Gate Club next August for the 100^th anniversary of the North American Casting Championships. We have been told and know that the folks in the G.G.C.C. and their buddies across the bridge in the Oakland club will be putting on a tremendous show for all of those who will be lucky enough to make the effort to attend this one.

We are hoping to raise sufficient sponsorship funding so that our casters won’t have to hit their piggybanks, which should remove the usual primary reason, the expense, from their objections to participating in the National. Our goal is to raise between five and ten thousand dollars and that drive will begin as soon as I’m out of the hospital in September.

With only two more evenings scheduled for our outdoor summer casting program at Milliken Park, we are reminding our members that our shop program will begin again in September on Tuesday the 18th, with casting starting in the gym on the 20th. I’ll be sending out an exact list of nights as soon as we receive our permit from the school authorities. As in the last couple years, the shop will be a weekly go every Tuesday, with the casting evenings every second Thursday. However, both of these programs will be adjusted if we find insufficient attendance and participation. It is rather discouraging (and expensive) to run the club if we don’t see the returns in interest accordingly.

Unfortunately I have no fishing news to report. Either our folks are too ‘busy’ to take a moment and send us the information, or, most unlikely, no one in the club has caught anything or being out there on the water the last few weeks. I know that situation will change considerably once summer ends and the wonderful fall fishing season begins in September. Our own spare time has been spent mainly in practicing casting, although I do have one tidbit for you: good buddy and member, Brian Farugia, has been working over the Red River Stretch of the Ganny quite a bit in his spare moments. He lives less than a half an hour from the river and I’m hoping to get a full report from him for the next bulletin in a couple of weeks.

The September Reel Thing bulletin will also be a little late because, Paul K, Jurgen, Ray and I will be leaving for a week of fishing heaven on the Broadback River in Northern Quebec on the 24^th and won’t return until Labour Day, September 3^rd, just before I go into the hospital.

It would be nice if some of you anglers out there would take a moment to send your best wishes and prayers along to our old friend, Rick Matusiak who had to back out of this year’s trip to Quebec with us. Rick is without a doubt the best trout fisherman I have ever had the privilege of wetting a line with. It would have been his sixth, but unfortunately he has been besieged with a variety of serious heart, stomach and other medical problems lately and needs the kind of help I received from all of you a couple of years ago when I was shot down with pancreatitis. The Prayer Circle must have been a huge factor in my survival as there were messages and prayers sent to me and my family from all over the world and I made it.

Soon we will have to start planning our club’s FALL FISHING TRIP. We’re open to all suggestions: camping, cottages or whatever, so please start thinking about that one folks and send your ideas along. Maybe we should just put the squeeze on Tas or Sharon to have the fall trip at their cottage……they’re both situated on great fishing waters.

Still tired from the trip back from Cincinnati folks, so that’s all there is for now…..except one more thing: best of luck to those gentlemen who are representing us on this side of the planet in the World Senior Casting Championships in Europe next week.