From TexasFlyFishers.org

Texas Fly Fishers would like to invite you to attend the 19th Annual Dr. Ed Rizzolo Fly Tying Festival, to be held at Bethany Christian Church, located at 3223 Westheimer on February 5 , 2011. The doors will open at 9:00 am the event will run until 4:00 pm. Admission is $10.00 for Adults, $5.00 for Students (with valid I.D.) and Seniors (62+) and, $15.00 for Families. Children under 12 get in for Free. This year the featured fly tyer is Tim Borski.

We anticipate having in excess of 50 tiers from Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas , Arkansas, and New Mexico present, tying every type of fly imaginable. This is your opportunity to come watch, and question the masters of the art. There will be six one-hour special presentations, a casting area will be set up in the church parking lot and the ever popular Danish casting games will be conducted under the able supervision of our illustrious President, Dave Lemke, on the front lawn of Lamar High School, which is directly across the street from the church. Numerous vendors will also be present demonstrating and selling their products.

Can someone provide a name for this beautiful bird of prey?

File this one under; “… life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna’ get.” – Forrest Gump

I found this bird perched calmly over the Airstream in my driveway late this morning. When it comes to identifying birds, I am at a distinct disadvantage to Leslie, who is on her way to being a Texas Master Naturalist. She had a couple of ideas about what this beautiful raptor is, but perhaps one of the many visitors to Texas Fly Caster can name that bird, and eliminate the guesswork.

Just before takeoff, it leans back and starts flapping to depart backwards instead of toward me.

It lets go, and with a single full wing flap, is away.

If you find yourself with the instant opportunity to catch a photograph of something like this, here are a few tips:
1) You’re better off using your longest lens to prevent frightening the subject.
2) Bump up your ISO if you find your shutter speeds are too slow to a) stop camera shake, or b) freeze wing or foot motion. A shutter speed of 1/500th. second is minimum to stop motion like this. There is a simple mathematical formula to tell your shutter speed for stopping handheld camera shake.
3) Move slow and smooth.
4) Put your camera on its highest frame rate (ie. machine gun it).
5) If you find a position comfortable for yourself and the subject, switch to manual focus.
6) Fill the frame as much as possible.
7) Always try to get everything right the first time! Don’t rely on software to bail you out.

I don’t know anyone interested, but I do one-on-one live photo lessons at LivePhotoLessons.com.There are a whole lot of answers on that blog as well.

I pulled up the IFA Redfish Tour website the other day, and found the new tournament calendar for 2011. If you ever thought about doing a saltwater kayak fishing tournament, this one would be a good way to get your feet wet (pun intended). I did the Rockport, Texas, tournament last year, and learned a whole lot about how it’s done. It was more learning than catching, and although I thought I posted something on it, I guess some secrets were kept?
I was fishing the tournament with a fellow Texas fly fisher who is much more versed in conventional fishing methods and proved it by winning back his expenses with the large speckled trout of the tournament – a $200 “windfall.”

The kayak tournament is part of the IFA Fishing Tour and is in the same place as the tour on a different day. There winner of a division is eligible to go on and compete for the championship – if you find you ARE the competitive type.

Stay tuned for more IFA Redfish Tour Kayak Fishing Tournament information.

Florida East Coast Division
Jacksonville, Fl. March 5th – W/Kayak Event on March 6th, 2011
Titusville FL. June 18th – W/Kayak Event on June 19th, 2011
Fernandina, FL. October 8th – W/Kayak Event on Oct. 9th, 2011

Florida West Coast Division
Punta Gorda, Fl. Feb. 26th – W/Kayak Event on Feb. 27th, 2011
Sarasota FL. April 30th – W/Kayak Event on May 1st, 2011
Ruskin, FL. October 1st – W/Kayak Event on October 2nd, 2011

Atlantic Division
Savannah, GA. March 12th – W/Kayak Event on March 13th, 2011
Charleston, S.C. June 4th – W/Kayak Event on June 5th, 2011
Surf City, N.C. Sept. 17th – W/Kayak Event on Sept. 18th, 2011

Gulf Coast Division
Destin, FL. March 26th – W/Kayak Event on March 27th, 2011
Panama City Beach, FL. June 11th – W/Kayak Event on June 12th, 2011
Orange Beach, AL. Oct. 15th – W/Kayak Event on Oct. 16th, 2011

Louisiana Division
Empire, LA. April 9th – W/Kayak Event on April 10th, 2011
Venice, LA. May 21st – W/Kayak Event on May 22nd, 2011
Grand Isle, LA. August 27th – W/Kayak Event on August 28th, 2011

Texas Division
Port Aransas, TX. April 2nd – W/Kayak Event on April 3rd, 2011
Rockport, TX. May 14th – W/Kayak Event on May 15th, 2011
Corpus Christi, TX. Sept. 3rd – W/Kayak Event on Sept. 4th, 2011

2011 Championship Details
November 4-5, 2011