Conclave XLV Program Detail | Conclave XLV |
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DOWNLOAD APPLICATION FORM HERE
A Brief History of the Conclave The Conclave has been the flagship event for the "Salty" Flyrodders of New York since the club's inception. It started in 1966 as Shelter Island Weakfish Tournament for Saltys members and moved to Soundview Inn to accommodate more guests and exand the fishing area to the entire North Fork from Mattituck to Orient. In 2010, a format change was implemented from single invited guest host (like “Lefty” Kreh, Lou Tabory, Bob Popovics, Nick Curccion, Ed Mitchell, Alan Caolo, David Skok and more) who made a slide presentation and casting demonstration to an “on the water” experience (and still evolving to include additional learning opportunities). Fishing the North Fork and Shelter Island The Conclave headquarters at the Soundview Inn is centrally located on Long Island's North fork providing access to both Peconic bays and the Long Island Sound. These are prime Striped Bass locations with diverse structure and terrain available in close proximity to the hotel (pristine flats, estuaries, salt creeks, sand beaches, pebble beaches, boulder fields and deep channels). Town of Southold parking permits and a detailed fishing map developed by Joe Blados (renowned guide native to the North Fork) will be provided to weekend program attendees. The Shelter Island ferry extends access to some less traveled beaches and estuaries and opens unique angling opportunities to the adventurous angler.
Abbreviated Schedule Friday June 8th
Saturday June 9th
Sunday June 10th
Note that the Hospitality Suite is open 24 hours and fully stocked with snacks and beverages. It's also a great place to get the latest fishing reports to plan your next stop! For a list of suggested items to pack in preparation for the conclave CLICK HERE. For those who do not yet own a fly rod and reel, a limited number of setups will be available for rent for the weekend through a club member. If needed, please contact us about the rental ASAP by sending email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Guide Program The centerpiece of this weekend's agenda is the guided fishing experience all day Saturday June 9th. Four top rated guides who all fish the Peconic bays will lead four sessions to share their experience reading the water for features that produce fish (structure, rips, bottom contour changes and color changes). Fish for striped bass with the foremost East End Guides such as: ROBIN CALITRI: professional Long Island guide and motivational speaker who is also a retired teacher with 30 years experience helping people learn new things; Joe Blados: renowned for his CREASE FLY (used world wide) and has guided on the North Fork more than 25 years; David Blinken: fished Peconic Bay, Montauk, the Keys and Andros his whole life, his secret fish-catching flies will be unveiled; Paul Dixon: helped pioneer flats fishing in the North East, and plies his trade from Montauk and Orient, to the Keys; Bill Cox: a Long Island native and life–long international angler guiding on the flats and back waters of the Peconic’s North & South Forks for many years. The principle goal of the program is to familiarize anglers with observation, evaluation and fishing techniques that will improve their rate of success in locating and catching fish with a fly rod in saltwater. Some knowledge of fly fishing equipment, rigging and casting will be assumed, so if you are lacking in these areas you should strongly consider enrollment in the beginners program that will be conducted that same morning and join the guides for the afternoon part of the program. The guides will address the collective group for the first 15 minutes of the session and then set everyone loose fishing while they attempt to provide as much individual assistance to each angler as possible. The guides will have experienced Saltys members as assistants to ensure that every gets their questions answered. Anglers will need to attend sessions with their own gear and flies. Subjects covered by the guides during the session will include:
By becoming familiar with the areas highlighted during the guide sessions, the angler will be more intimately familiar with the area and where to concentrate their efforts if they choose to return in the dark of the night for more fishing. Daytime reconnaissance is a routinely employed strategy for the wise night time angler. Finally, there will be a round table question and answer session with guides during an indoor lunch at Soundview Inn between the morning and afternoon sessions. Get more questions answered and hear questions from your fellow anglers that you hadn't considered yet. The guides will share their knowledge and expand on things they discussed during the morning sessions.
Beginners Casting Program The beginners casting program is a new feature of the Conclave this year. It is intended for Conclave attendees who have never made a cast a fly rod before or those who are inexperienced in casting in prevailing saltwater conditions (wind, obstructions, surf, etc.). We also welcome attendees to this program who merely want to add more distance to their cast! All three categories of attendee will get the same emphasis on practical casting techniques to achieve more distance, accuracy and consistency in their fly cast. Jim Valle (an FFF Master Certified Fly Rod Casting Instructor) will lead the instruction and will be assisted (for individual instruction) by additional experienced instructors. We will maintain small group sizes to enable more one on one instruction which will be conducted both on grass and on the water (both walking distance from the Soundview Inn. The session will cover an overview of knots and rigging as well as essential gear and their purpose. The casting instruction will be conducted on the morning of June 9th so that attendees may join the afternoon guide sessions for angling instruction with more confidence in their casting performance. Participation in this program requires RSVP by June 1st for registered Conclave weekend or Saturday program attendees. Send email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to enroll. Kayak Program There will be two opportunities to experience fly fishing from a kayak: Friday morning June 8th and Sunday morning June 10th. The Friday kayak session will begin with a meet up at 7am in front of the Soundview Inn office. We will caravan to a launch location (to be determined just prior to that day) and aim to have the kayaks in the water by 8am. We will provide some basic instruction to those who have never used a kayak before and accompany beginners at all times through the experience. Instruction will be given using "sit on top" kayaks which are VERY stable and the preferred style of kayak for angling. All safety equipment will be supplied including a Personal Floatation Device and waterproof walkie talkie. We will come off the water by 1pm so as to allow everyone to comfortably return to the Soundview Inn for check in that afternoon. Kayak rentals will be arranged for those who make such a request in their RSVP. Email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to RSVP for this event. On Sunday morning after breakfast, more experienced kayak anglers will have the opportunity to spend the rest of the day fishing from their own kayaks until they decide to go home. Kayaks provide a great way to explore areas that cannot be accessed easily (or at all) on foot and also allow anglers to get out into the deeper water areas where fish may congregate but which are also out of fly casting range from shore. Two-handed and Spey Casting Clinic Use of a two handed rod for angling in saltwater has become immensely popular. By reducing the effort needed to make very long casts, this tool opens a new world of opportunity for anglers with physical challenges aggravated by heavy rods or excessive false casting. We will have the benefit of professional instrcution from Andrew Moy of Tight Lines fly shop in Pinebrook, NJ. Andrew conducted this session very successfully last year and was able to spend lots of individual instruction time with the large turnout. In this session, the angler will learn the fundamental principles of two-handed casting (including spey and overhead) and how to apply them in saltwater. The session will be conducted Saturday morning after breakfast on the water right behind the Soundview Inn. Equipment will be provided for casting instruction. Please RSVP by sending email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Banquet Dinner and Raffle At the conclusion of the Saturday program, Conclave attendees gather for a night of revelry and camaraderie over cocktails and a sumptuous dinner. While dining, we conduct drawings for dozens of raffle prizes donated by our sponsors. These prizes include fly rods and reels, guided fishing trips, fly lines, books, magazine subscriptions, fly tying materials, boxes of flies and more! This part of the event represents the only major fundraiser for the Saltys annually. The revenue obtained from the raffle is used to operate other club meetings, events and to subsidize member benefits. Hospitality Suite As our event is weekend long and some choose to fish by night AND day, we maintain a hospitality suite that is open 24 hours a day from Friday afternoon through Sunday morning. The hospitality suite has all the amenities of a standard room except a bed. It is fully stocked with snacks and beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and provides a great location for making a pit stop when traveling between fishing locations. A whiteboard will be present with the latest fishing reports to help you decide your next fishing destination. Club members will demonstrate tying techniques and produce patterns that work. At all times, you will find a helpful club member or reference that will enhance your weekend experience. Fishing Contest The Fly Masters Tournament is a friendly competition among weekend Conclave attendees for the largest Striped Bass caught. It is a catch and release tournament that requires a witness for the catch to encourage people to fish together and preserve the precious resource of fish for future generations. Qualifying fish must be caught when wading and with a fly rod. Hence, catches from a kayak may not be entered. The winner of the competition will be honored with a plaque at the conclusion of Sunday breakfast after all the fishing reports have been collected.
Area Family Atrractions While the Conclave program agenda is focused almost entirely on the angler, there are many attractions for the rest of the family should they decide to attend. The North Fork is noted for its fine dining, world class vineyards with wine tasting, golf courses, art galleries, museums, shops, boat tours, cinema, miniature golf and arcades. The Soundview Inn provides and on premises restaurant, private beach, pool, and tennis courts as well as telephone, television and wifi internet access in every room.
DOWNLOAD APPLICATION FORM HERE
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