SBF monthly meeting
We generally meet on the first Tuesday of each month. Always check our calendar for accurate information and/or special events that might have a date change.
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NEW MEETING LOCATION
Meeting Location: MacKenzie Center
3111 State St, Santa Barbara, CA 93105
The MacKenzie Park Center is located off of Las Positas Road, across from McCaw Road and the Municiple golf course. | Google Maps Link
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Tuesday - January 7, 2025
David Paul Williams - Fishing for Western Small Mouth Bass
Smallmouth bass and fly fishing are made for each other. Unlike the often persnickety trout, the distracted salmon or the timid grayling, the smallmouth will shoot up from the depths to attack a fly that is no more than a chunk of yellow foam with a red marabou tail. In a race to attack prey, the smallmouth will easily outpace its largemouth cousin. Throw in some spectacular jumps with headshakes like a tarpon, and you have a fish that pound for pound is the toughest that hunts in freshwater.
Nor will this feisty fish come easily to the net. As renowned smallmouth guide the late Tim Holschlag said, “a five pound smallie can drag a five pound brown trout around a lake all day without getting tired.” More prevalent in the Midwest and Northeast, there are still plenty of opportunities to chase these remarkable fish in Western waters. The Lower Kern, Lake Arrowhead and Lake Pyramid hold decent specimens within driving distance. Our presenter, David Paul Williams, will walk us through the locations, tactics and gear we need to tackle this exciting fish.
DAVID PAUL WILLIAMS
A family fishing outing on Oregon’s South Fork McKenzie River at the age of 10 started him on a fly fishing life. His family built a house 40 yards from the McKenzie River. There he caught everything that swam in the river. Starting with trout he soon moved on to smallmouth, largemouth, crappie, yellow perch, bluegill, rock bass (fresh and saltwater), four species of Pacific salmon, sea-run cutthroat, bull trout (fresh and saltwater), steelhead, carp, channel catfish, walleye and more. All provided a tug and put a smile on his face.
Growing up in Oregon, he played sports, fished, picked strawberries, cherries, and beans each summer to earn money for school clothes. After high school, he worked in a plywood mill before the Navy called him to active duty. He lived in the Bay Area after the Navy, got transferred to Seattle when everyone else was leaving, finally went to college and ended up with a law degree from the University of Washington. He is now mostly retired after four decades of business litigation.
Twenty years ago, he started freelance magazine writing and wrote for regional and national trout and bass fishing magazines. At the same time, he started speaking and tying flies at fly clubs, fly fishing expos, and industry trade shows. He soon became known as “the smallmouth guy.” That lead to writing Fly Fishing for Western Smallmouth which received critical acclaim. In addition to freelancing, he was the Field Editor of Game & Fish, a Department Editor for Flyfishing & Tying Journal where he wrote the Good-Gear Guide, and Editor-In-Chief of Flyfisher magazine. David now lives in the Seattle area.
He has served as President of Northwest Fly Anglers, VP-Membership Washington State Council FFI, and FFI national board member. Sometimes, he even finds time to fish.
SPEAKER & AUTHOR/WRITER:
David Paul Williams has written numerous articles on fly fishing for smallmouth bass in American Angler, Northwest Fly Fishing, Bassmaster, Fly Fusion, and Bass Angler magazines.
He is also a monthly columnist for Washington-Oregon Game & Fish magazine. In addition to his fishing articles, Williams has written for Backpacker, Seattle Magazine, Seattle Metropolitan, Northwest Travel, and Northwest Palate.
He was Business Topics editor for ArrowTrade, and his blog on northwest fly fishing for theseattlepi.com was included in the 50 Best Fishing Blogs by Zen College Life. He lives in smallmouth country, the Pacific Northwest.
You can purchase his book on Amazon.com