Club Mission Statement
Golden State Flycasters supports the conservation and restoration of fisheries, and education in the sport and art of fly fishing. Origins of the Club
GSF was founded by Pat Case and Helen Condict-Case and friends in 2002 to serve fly fishers in north San Diego County, south Orange County and Camp Pendleton; the club founding was enthusiastically supported by the San Diego
Fly Fishers club. Several founding GSF members provided substantial financial support and were awarded GSF lifetime memberships. The first club meeting was in November 2002 at Skyline Elementary School in Solana Beach with speakers Gary and Wanda Taylor. GSF eventually shifted to several restaurant venues before settling on Tio Leo’s Mexican Restaurant in Carmel Valley in recent years. Past boards and chairmen are listed on the GSF website. In the summer of 2004, GSF became a chapter of Trout Unlimited, and in 2010 it established a formal affiliation with the International Federation of Fly Fishers. Club Affiliations
GSF has been a chapter of Trout Unlimited (http://www.tu.org/) since the summer of 2004. Approximately 800 TU members are affiliated with GSF by virtue of living in San Diego and adjoining areas. In addition, GSF established a formal affiliation with the International Federation of Fly Fishers in 2010 and is a member of the Southwest Council of the IFFF (http://www.southwestcouncilfff.org).
[Trout Unlimited (TU) was founded in 1959 in Michigan and has grown to 150,000 members and 4300 chapters in the U.S. The International Federation of Fly Fishers (IFFF) was founded in Oregon in 1964 and currently comprises 15 Regional Councils and 120 clubs]
Club Website (http://www.goldenstateflycasters.org/)
Check the website for contact information, a calendar of upcoming events, an archive of club newsletters and articles, flies of the month, reports from club trips, conservation projects, and more. Contact the Website Manager or a board member with questions or comments about the website. Club Newsletter
The monthly club newsletter is emailed to members near the beginning of the month. The newsletter editor would love to receive your fishing report with photos, or a story about something else fly fishing related you are passionate about. Monthly Meetings
GSF is part of a Southern California eight club speaker consortium that allows us to share costs to obtain some of the best fly fishing speakers in the U.S. Past speakers have included Mike Lawson, Charles Jardine, Gary Borger, Rick Hafele, David Lambroughton, and many others. Club meetings are held from 6:30-9 pm at Tio Leo’s Mexican Restaurant in Carmel Valley. We meet on the Monday before the 3rd Thursday of the month (don’t ask, but if you learn this, you will be a rare member) except in March (April has a meeting and our Annual Fundraiser), August (members are out fishing, plus we have the beach breakfast near the end of the month), September (Members Present Night), and December (Holiday Party). Club Education & Outreach
Club education activities include fly tying classes, rod building classes, and occasional casting clinics taught by local and national casting instructors as available. Plus there are classes and clinics on surf and bay fishing as well as other various “how to” type seminars, covering topics like rigging and flies for the Eastern Sierra. There have also been classes on targeting our local warm water species. Some of the best activities and classes have been suggested by members. Please contact a board member with any suggestions you may have. Outreach has come in the form of our members promoting the sport and GSF with the public every March at the Fred Hall Fishing and Boat Show, as well as and teaching fly tying and fly casting to Boy and Girl Scouts with the occasional fly fishing outing on Lake Cuyamaca when the opportunities arise. Club Trips and Local Outings
Trips vary from year to year but have included Bishop/Lower Owens (February), Christmas Island (Bill Gibbs), western Montana (September, Rod Hendrickson), Deschutes (October, Clive Furrows), Green River, Alaska, Baja, and more. Annually the club has also had a team of guys participate in the Kern River Fly Fishing Tournament hosted by the Southwest Council of the IFFF. However this year the GSF ladies will also field a team. Check the website, newsletters, and email announcements for trips. If you have a suggestion for a good trip or questions about trips, please contact the Trips Chairman. Breakers, “Beans” and Breakfast (BBB)
GSF has an annual beach get-together on the 3rd or 4th Saturday in August at Torrey Pines State Beach. Crack of dawn fly fishing is followed by breakfast prepared by members and by a mini-surf fly fishing clinic. (“Bean” is a nickname for the much sought after corbina). Casting for Recovery
A recent club project is our support of the newly formed Southern California chapter of Casting for Recovery (http://castingforrecovery.org/). CFR provides an opportunity for women whose lives have been profoundly affected by breast cancer to gather in a natural setting and learn the sport of fly fishing. Just as importantly, the retreats offer an opportunity to meet new friends, network, exchange information, and have fun. GSF is helping to fund the retreats as well as provide volunteers. Conservation Projects
GSF has been involved in conservation projects on several watersheds. Currently, we do water quality monitoring on the San Luis Rey River and are awaiting final results of a remarkable project involving fin clipping and genetic testing of trout in watersheds across Southern California. The club also has secured an “Embrace a Stream” grant from Trout Unlimited to help with the restoration of native Lahontan Cutthroat Trout in Silver Creek, which is part of the Walker River Watershed in the Eastern Sierra. The club has also contributed significant funding to the San Diego River Park Foundation to help secure the purchase of parcels along Boulder Creek. Contact the Conservation Chairmen if you would like to get involved with any of the conservation activities. Annual Raffle and Silent Auction
This fundraiser occurs on the last Saturday of April each year. This is our main activity of the year to support club education and conservation projects. It's a fun event that includes a live auction, raffle, and silent auction. Contact the raffle chairman if you would like to make a donation, help solicit prizes, or help out at the fundraiser. Holiday Party and Club Awards
The holiday party includes a great dinner and holiday festivities and usually occurs on the first Sunday of December. The party also doubles as our annual awards banquet where members are honored for service to the club. The Pat Case and Skip Price Memorial Awards are given for exceptional service to the club and conservation respectively. Pat Case was the club’s founding president and long-time newsletter editor and passed away in 2009. Skip Price was a gung-ho member and board member who passed away as a result of a rattlesnake bite while serving a conservation project in October 2010. The first award recipients included John Wohlfiel (Pat Case Award, 2009) and Sandi Jacobson (Skip Price award, 2010). In addition, Gary Kutz who now resides near Sisters, Oregon, was awarded an honorary lifetime membership in 2006 for exceptional service to the club in many capacities. Others have now followed suit to secure these awards for their much appreciated contributions to GSF. If you would like to nominate a member for an award, please contact a board member. Membership
Memberships are available for both individuals and families and are for the calendar year. We do also provide a free membership to any local active member of the U.S. military. Memberships can now be purchased through the club website as well as at meetings. Annual membership dues pay for the bulk of our monthly speaker fees. Current club membership is about 160 paid and lifetime members. Lifetime members of GSF are listed on the website. Board of Directors and Club Chairmen
The board consists of 7 members with 1 year terms that run from October 1 to September 30. If you would like to serve on the board or in another position, please contact the President. Email addresses are listed on the club website. Board of Directors (Oct 2013-Sep 2014)
President: Wayne Johnson
Vice President: Mark Turner
Secretary: Steve Piper
Treasurer: John Wohlfiel
Director: Mike McClain
Director: Kevin McClain
Director: Tim Hunt
Other Club Officers/Positions:
Newsletter Editor: Tiffany Smith
