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Hello Everyone,

Just a reminder that this coming Wednesday, January 21st, 2026 we will be holding our monthly General Membership meeting at the Classic Cafe Catering and Event Center, located on Hillegas Road in Ft. Wayne, IN. Start time is 7:00 pm, doors open at 6:30 pm.

We will welcome our newest guest speaker, Chad Robinson, who will be doing a program on the intricacies of tying those fascinating, fun and mind boggling deer hair bugs. Always a crowd pleaser, deer hair flies just seem to leave people inspired and asking – ” how the heck do they do that?”

Following is Chad’s bio:

Chad Robinson hails from Celeryville, OH. He is the proprietor and chief tyer at Red Eye Predator Flies.

Chad has fished most of his life, but discovered a love for fly fishing in 2020. In 2022 he began tying flies at The Land of Legends Fly Fishers Club. He acquired the skill and knowledge to tie one of the toughest and most challenging materials in fly tying – deer hair.

In late 2023 he discovered he had the talent, confidence and conviction to tie with deer hair, and it soon became his love and passion. In early 2024, Chad sold his first Bass Bug, and was somewhat overwhelmed that someone actually wanted to buy one of his flies. Through social media, he has become very popular, and in demand, and has been selling his deer hair bugs ever since. Chad will also work one on one with customers who want him to design and tie personalized custom bugs. You can purchase Chad’s flies online at the Red Eye Etsy Shop.

Red Eye Predator Flies was formed in 2024 by Chad with the purpose of introducing and tying these highly customized deer hair bugs. You can check out Chad’s work on his website at:  redeyepredatorflies.com   Also find his latest creations on Instagram:  @redeyepredatorflies   Follow Chad as well on his Facebook page. 

We hope you will join us Wednesday evening for a fun night of fellowship, camaraderie and a chance to witness some wonderful deer hair creations by Chad Robinson of Red Eye Predator Flies. See you all there.

We’d like to make you aware also that the Fly Tying Workshops hosted again this year by Eckhart Public Library in Auburn, IN and sponsored by Three Rivers Fly Fishers, are already a great success. All of the classes through February are completely booked and have individuals on a waiting list as well. Brent Walchuk, our coordinator for the program and lead tying instructor, reports that the first classes went extremely well, with lots of enthusiasm, questions and participation. Students have really enjoyed the program and one person had taken one of the classes last year. Thanks so much Brent for all your efforts and time in putting this wonderful community outreach program together. This is great PR for both Eckhart Public Library and Three Rivers Fly Fishers. Brent is also working toward the goal of providing fly casting clinics in the spring or summer months. Stay tuned for more information on that.

Tie-A-Thon tiers, keep on tying, and remember it won’t be long before we wrap this program up as well for another year. Thanks to all who have participated again this year , and thanks again to Don Privett for being our 3RFF Tie-A-Thon coordinator and liaison for the club.

We will be announcing soon the details of yet another community outreach program that we feel the membership will be passionate about and will want to be a part of. But this warrants its own conversation, so be on the lookout for more details coming soon. 

In closing, as a reminder your 2026 membership dues are now due. Please submit those in a timely manner. Thank you.  And as always, thank you for your continued support of Three Rivers Fly Fishers.

Most Respectfully and Tight Lines,

Kevin Curtis – President
Three Rivers Fly Fishers – 3RFF
Ft. Wayne, IN  

Hello Everyone and Happy New Year to all,

Just a courtesy reminder to all that we will continue to have our monthly General Membership Meetings on the  “THIRD”  Wednesday of the month, starting this month, January 21st, 2026 at the Classic Cafe Exhibition Hall on Hillegas Rd, in Ft. Wayne, IN. Starting at 7:00 pm, doors open at 6:30 pm.

Our Board of Directors Meetings will continue on the “FIRST” Wednesday of the month starting this Wednesday the 7th of January 2026. Directors meet at 7:00 pm.

We are excited to announce that our first guest speaker for the new year, presenting at the upcoming monthly membership meeting on the 21st, will be Chad Robison. We will have a bio out on Chad soon, and more details on his presentation, but in the meantime you can check out and follow Chad on the social media pages. If you’re not familiar with Chad, you can usually find him tying and speaking at some of the larger fly shows throughout the midwest, and again via social media. He ties some absolutely incredible/insane deer hair bugs and big bass flies. So check him out, and mark your calendars for his event. 

Also mark your calendars for the special Fly Tying Workshops being hosted again by the Eckhart Public Library in Auburn, IN and sponsored by Three Rivers Fly Fishers. Classes will start on Monday, January 12th, 2026 at 5:00 pm, through Monday, February 16th, 2026. There is no charge for these workshops and they are open to the public. Tools and materials are provided by Three Rivers Fly Fishers and are intended to introduce beginners and novice tiers to the wonderful world of fly tying. Classes are limited to 6 students per class, and you must sign up and pre register through the library website. For more information and an agenda please visit the Eckhart Public Library website. The lead fly tying instructor for this event will be our own Brent Walchuk. Brent is also planning on introductory Fly Casting Clinics/Workshops to be held this coming spring/summer in partnership with Eckhart Library. More to follow. 3RFF Members, these opportunities are for your benefit as well, please take advantage of these great programs.

The 3RFF Tuesday Night Fly Tying evenings will be back in full swing for the new year every Tuesday night through the winter and continue until March. From approximately 6:30 until 8:30 pm at the Coyote Creek Bar & Grill (Coyote Creek Golf Club) on Hillegas Road in Ft. Wayne, IN. This is an open event and you do not have to be a Three Rivers Fly Fishers member to participate. We encourage beginners, those who have questions and are curious, or those who  just want to watch. Everyone is welcome to come out and enjoy a great evening of fellowship, comradery, conversation, fly tying and great food and drink. Hope to see you there. If you don’t want to tie, just come and hang out.

For those that are tying flies for the upcoming annual Tie-A-Thon event, keep up the good work for a most worthy cause. I know there are a bunch of flies being tied by our members and it won’t be long before we’ll be wrapping this event up for another year and collecting flies to donate. Again our point of contact and liaison for the club is Don Privett. Thanks again Don. By the way, the new Tie-A-Thon logo for the swag this year looks pretty darn cool, so be sure you don’t forget to provide your contact info with your flies so you don’t miss out on yours.

We are working on the schedules and ideas for our upcoming outings and gatherings that historically begin in June and go through the summer/fall months. More on those events, along with a very worthy community outreach program to follow. Agendas and dates forthcoming ASAP.

Don’t forget that with the start of the new year, it’s time to pay your membership dues. Remember, dues are due January 1st of each year. If you have not already sent your’s in, then your 2026 dues are now due. You may also pay them by stopping by at the upcoming Board of Directors meeting, or stopping by the Tuesday night fly tying event, or at the January Membership meeting. Thank you. Speaking of members and memberships, we had 16 new members join the ranks in 2025. Awesome, again welcome and  Thank You for your support!! Enjoy your club.

It is that time of year to also be thinking about the direction and long term future of the organization. With elections on the horizon, I would ask all of you to give conscious consideration as to where you may want your club to go. Annually, there are Officer and Director positions whose terms expire or are renewed. The Board can always use additional or new Directors on a recurring basis. The need for new Officers, Directors and overall leadership changes, with new and fresh visions for the future, should always be welcomed, promoted, and embraced as part of a healthy, vibrant and sustainable organization. We will, as happens annually and by-annually, have Officer and Board members whose terms are expiring. This is the natural course of any organization, and the way the system and By-Laws are designed to work. That being said, please engage with your fellow members about who you may want to see fill positions and pave the way forward. What skill sets do you want to see in an individual, or do you have those tools needed for your club? Who would you like to see nominated, or would you yourself wish to be nominated. What vision do you have for your club? Ask yourselves, what ideas can I bring to the table and how can “I” make them come to fruition. Three Rivers Fly Fishers is now in its 31st year. We have a wonderful group of people and an outstanding community with so much to offer and a bright future ahead. Please see where you may be able to fit in to help take your club to 31 more. Thanks for your support. And thanks for your consideration to step up, help out and to get involved so we keep your club moving forward into the future. 

In closing, We will be getting additional information and agendas out as we move forward, but wanted to at least get a jump start on the new year and try to keep you folks informed and updated. “Thanks So Much” for your continued support and for being a part of Three Rivers Fly Fishers. 

Until next time…get out there, get involved, make a difference, and enjoy your club. Hope to see you on the water!

Most Respectfully and Tight Lines,

Kevin Curtis – President
Three Rivers Fly Fishers – 3RFF
Ft. Wayne, IN 

Hello Everyone,

This is to inform our membership that the “Pre-Registration and Pre Pay” process for the Davy Wotton Fly Tying Classes scheduled for Saturday, February 21st 2026, are “now open to the non-member public”. 

Anyone who is not a paid member of Three Rivers Fly Fishers, and would like to take advantage of this unique opportunity to be part of one or both of the private fly tying classes being taught by Davy Wotton, one of the icons of our sport, is now eligible to do so.

We have 3 morning classes and 1 afternoon class left available for “any” interested persons. Classes are limited to 10 participants each. You may sign up for an individual class, or both classes, if spots are still open. These remaining slots will be filled on “a first come – first served basis” as we receive your registration and payment. The cost is $50.00 per class. Pre-Registered slots will be filled as we receive them – however – slots “will not” be held or secured without payment. Class participants must provide their own tying vises and all appropriate tying tools. Davy Wotton will provide all materials and personal, professional tying instruction. You will be tying his signature flies for the morning session, geared more toward the Trout fly fisher; and tying flies geared more toward the Bass fly fisher for the afternoon session. You will need at the least, basic to intermediate fly tying skills and experience. These are not introductory or basic 101 type tying classes. For additional information about our special – “A Day With Davy Wotton” – event and private tying classes, please visit our website at  3rff.org  and click on the events tab or calendar. Once classes are filled registration will be closed. 

To Pre-Register send an email to Kevin Curtis at  kscurtis3@gmail.com  or to Ron Dixon at  grizznhi@frontier.com  Simply request that you are pre registering and would like a spot for the Davy Wotton tying class on Saturday February 21st, 2026. You must tell us which session you want, morning or afternoon. Also, please include your contact information should we need to get a hold of you. Thank you. You will be notified prior to the event day of the final agenda and start times for each tying session.

To Pre Pay, “you must send a check” , we do not have PayPal, Venmo, etc at this time. You must make your check out to: Three Rivers Fly Fishers. In the for/memo line please simply write “Davy Wotton class”. Cost is $50.00 per class. 

Checks must be mailed to and received at the following address: Three Rivers Fly Fishers – c/o Ron Dixon – 3714 Green Road – New Haven, IN 46774.

We are excited to offer this wonderful opportunity to share and to learn from one of the greats of our fly fishing community. We hope you will take advantage of this special event and join us for a great day of fellowship with Davy Wotton. Thank You!

Most Respectfully and Tight Lines,

Kevin Curtis – President
Three Rivers Fly Fishers – 3RFF
Ft, Wayne, IN

Hello all,

As a courtesy reminder to everyone, especially our newest members, we ” will not” be having a General Membership meeting on the third Wednesday for the month of December. This continues our past practice for December. Again, NO meeting for tomorrow, December 17th, 2025.

Also as a reminder, we still have a few private fly tying class spots left with Davy Wotton. Those being offered in conjunction with the -“A Day With Davy Wotton”- program to be held on Saturday, February 21st, 2026. These are open for 3RFF Members only at this time, however, they will open to anyone in the non-member general public arena coming soon. If you are a 3RFF member, and are still considering signing up for one or both of Davy’s classes, now is the time to do so. This is a “Pre-Register – Prepay” event. For an overview of the day’s agenda, sign up criteria for classes and additional information, please go to our 3rff.org website and review the “A Day With Davy Wotton” announcement.

Don Privett will be our official point of contact for Three Rivers Fly Fishers again this year for the upcoming annual Tie-A-Thon event. More information to follow as we move forward. I hear there are lots of flies being tied. Looks like Don will be busy. Thanks again to everyone tieing for this worthy cause.

We are now in full swing, and on going, with our “Tuesday Night Fly Tying” at Coyote Creek Bar and Grill located on Hillegas Road in Ft. Wayne, IN. We have had excellent turnout and continue to grow with each passing week. Come on out and enjoy a night of great fellowship and tying fun. Great food too. 

As we close out 2025 and move toward the new year, we will be following up with additional information on upcoming events, outings, casting and fly tying programs, club opportunities and community outreach sponsorships and more. Think about where you as a member can get plugged in to better enjoy and participate and be involved with your club. Thank You.

In closing, I would like to take a moment, on behalf of the Board of Directors, to personally say “Thank You” to each and everyone of you, the membership, for your ongoing support, help and dedication, and to being a continued part of Three Rivers Fly Fishers. What a great group to be a part of. Thanks again.

It is my hope that all of you will have a safe and wonderful time together with family and friends at this time of year. I wish you all a very Merry and Blessed Christmas and a Happy, Joyful and Prosperous New Year. May God Bless and take care. See you in 2026.

Most Respectfully and Tight Lines,

Kevin Curtis – President
Three Rivers Fly Fishers – 3RFF
Ft. Wayne, IN