Weekly Meetings

This season we will be meeting on scheduled Tuesday evenings from September through May. Please see schedule below. Tuesday nights are the opportunity to learn something new! Typically, one of our members will teach us how to tie a new fly pattern...or demonstrate a new technique. Several times a year, "celebrity" fly tyers and other fly fishing experts join us to share their knowledge and expertise. Past guests have included prominent tyers such as A.K. Best, Bob Clouser, Oliver Edwards, April Volkey and Pat Cohen. We also welcome speakers of local interest; in fact, you just might learn how to find Muskies on the Fox River (yes, our Fox River)! If you are interested in joining us, please fill out an application and return to: DRiFT P.O. Box 5028 Wheaton, IL 60189.

Tuesday January 31, 2023 - 7:00 PM (In person and on Zoom)

Dustan Harley - Fishing through the Dog Days of Summer

Professional guide and owner/founder of Ripple Guide Service in South Bend, Indiana, Dustan Harley is an encyclopedia of knowledge that spans everything from Great Lakes steelhead to fly fishing warm Midwest rivers. Tonight he'll focus on the warm side and how to target the fish found in our local waters.

With so many steelhead, salmon, and trout in the Great Lakes region, many anglers put their fly rods away when the dog days of summer approach. With this approach, anglers miss out on some of the most exciting and productive fishing of the year. Smallmouth bass are without a doubt one of the most exciting fish for the fly fisher to chase. To keep anglers busy between the salmon and steelhead runs, pike and gar fishing is a great filler for those big fish addicts who need to hear their drags screaming and see their backing every once in a while. Lastly, the farm ponds of the Midwest filled with bluegill and bass can offer some of the most productive fishing of the year. This program discusses timing, equipment, flies, and techniques to keep you fishing all summer long.

http://www.rippleguides.com/

Tuesday February 7, 2023 - 7:00 PM (In person and on Zoom)

PJ Smith with new opportunities: Driftless Float Trips for Trout!

Tonight long time DRiFT member and Driftless Guide PJ Smith will be sharing a new opportunity for all anglers. Whether you are challenged by walk and wade fishing or want to take a float trip, but aren't up for a small mouth trip with a heavier weight rod. Come and catch trout in the Driftless Area of Wisconsin in a drift boat!

PJ is one of the pioneers for the very limited opportunities to fish the driftless rivers in a drift boat.

Tuesday February 14, 2023 - 7:00 PM (In person and on Zoom)

An evening with Wayne Bernahl

Wayne will present a PowerPoint Presentation titled "Photographing Flys and Fishing Trips".

The description of the presentation is, "Images are all around us. They are so common that we almost never examine them critically. Why do we unconsciously like some images and totally forget others? What is the difference between a snapshot and a photograph? How do images enhance our enjoyment of our fly tying and fishing"?

Weekly Meeting Schedule