Fishy tales on the menu: Liar’s Club keeps members of the Inland Empire Fly Fishing Club hooked up between official meetings

Something seemed fishy about the group of guys having lunch at Frankie Doodle’s.

Talk of trout, rods, reels and flies flew around the table.

The men belong to the Inland Empire Fly Fishing Club and, in addition to their monthly evening meetings (September through May) at the Airport Ramada, several of them meet for lunch on Tuesdays at Frankie Doodle’s.

“We call ourselves the Liar’s Club, which is certainly appropriate for a group of fishermen,” Jerry McBride said. “It’s a lovely bunch of hardcore people telling fish stories.

Since the beginning of the club, members have met for lunch at a local restaurant at 11 a.m. on Tuesdays.”

Organized in 1956, the purpose of the Inland Empire Fly Fishing Club is to engage in social recreation, education and fellowship with fly fishermen. But equally important, the club supports the conservation and management of fish and fishing waters and is a charter member of the Federation of Fly Fishers.

From Kid’s Fishing Days to the rehabilitation of several area lakes, the IEFFC remains a vital voice for fishing and conservation. The club has just more than 100 members.

The casual Tuesday lunches are more low key than the official evening meetings.

“We typically talk about where we’re fishing and what’s biting,” McBride said. “We fish pretty much year-round.”

Leon Buckles joined the group in 1962. He’s fished all over the world, from Africa to Alaska.

“I like warm, saltwater fishing in the Florida Keys,” he said. “The fish are stronger and fight harder. When I first started, my goal was to collect different species of fish – I’m at 140, so far.”

Jeff Pope is one of the newer members. He heard about the IEFFC two years ago at the Big Horn Show at the Spokane Fair & Expo Center. Members staff a table at the show every year.

“I joined because I needed some buddies to fish with,” Pope said. “I fish for trout – specifically rainbow. They bite the hardest.”

For this group, fishing is all about the challenge.

Pope has been crafting bamboo fly rods since 1995.

“I’ve made 79, so far,” he said. “It’s kind of a lost art.”

Phil Beck’s fishing gear has improved a bit since he was a kid.

“I bought a $2 fly rod at Payless, a horrible reel and a dozen flies,” Beck said.

It might have been cheap, but it worked.

“I brought that same rod and reel on my honeymoon.”

Jim Athearn joined the club in 2005.

“I like the camaraderie,” he said. “Everyone is friends and shares information. New members come, and the club continues to evolve.”

Part of that evolution was the decision to allow women members.

Stephenie Stephens is one of them.

“When I met my husband in 2019, one of our first dates was fishing,” she said. “Then we decided to go backpacking in Montana. Fish in alpine lakes are naive, and that hooked me.”

She’s fished since she was a kid, but fly fishing offered a more enriching experience.

“It’s both serene and active,” Stephens said. “You can’t just sit there.”

Her dad was a member of the IEFFC and invited her husband, Rob.

“He’d come home and tell me about the speakers,” she said. “They allowed women to come on Valentine’s Day, and I enjoyed it.”

Not long afterward, Rob told her the club had passed a proposal allowing women to join.

“I thought, wouldn’t it be cool if I were the first woman to join?”

And in 2023, she was.

She works full time so she can’t attend the Liar’s Club lunches, but said she’s already learned much from the monthly meetings.

That ongoing education is what Leon Buckles enjoys the most.

“What I like about fly fishing is you never stop learning,” he said. “There’s always something new.”

For more information about the Inland Empire Fly Fishing Club, visit ieffc.org.