Our Man In Canada
August 23rd, 2004

Editorial by Chris Marshall
Publisher, Canadian Fly Fisher Magazine

Chris Marshall

Last September, Fly Fishing Canada organised the first ever Canadian National Fly Fishing Championship in the parkland area of western Manitoba around Roblin. Despite a few teething problems and uncooperative weather, the event was a great success.

This year, the second FFC National Championship will be held at the world famous Fairmont Kenauk Lakes Preserve at Montebello, Quebec from October 17 - 20, and the organisers are enthusiastically inviting fly fishers from across Canada to participate.

While nationally organised competitive fly fishing is extremely popular in Europe, it's relatively unknown in Canada and the USA. In fact, most North American fly fishers tend to shy away from anything other than local, fun tournaments, and most of us have a tendency to shy away from anything competitive, preferring to fish for relaxation and escape from the stress of the daily round.

However, we would be wrong to saddle the FFC National Championship with the kind of frenetic activity typical of the tournament bass circuit and fishing derbies. There is no comparison between the two. For instance, there's no money or gadgets to be won. Sure there's competition, but it's friendly and fun. Just ask any of those who took part in last year's competition.

Current Issue Canadian Fly Fisher

If you join us at Kenauk in October, you'll get to mingle and make new friends with fly fishers from across the country (most of whom will be as inexperienced as you at competition), sharing techniques and experiences, relaxing together in the evenings to tie flies and swap tall tales. You'll also be able attend the Conservation Symposium (a major component of all competitions, both national and international), which, this year, will focus on Kenauk's successful management programme to restore native species to the Preserve. And, last but not least, you'll enjoy some friendly fly fishing competition—you might even rank as one of the top three individuals in the tournament, which will qualify you as a member of our national team for the World Competition in 2005.

Moreover, the fishing in Kenauk's many lakes and rivers is among the best in the province, and at the end of October, the trout will be active and the biting bugs long gone. For a detailed description of the fishing, check out Duane Radford's feature in the January/March 2004 issue of The Canadian Fly Fisher.

Fly fishers can enter the FFC National Competition either as individuals or part of a team. Last year, only one team arrived as such, from the NWT. Manitoba put together a provincial team from competitors who had signed up individually, while others were made up from scratch from competitors from across the country—one, which named itself the Double Hauls was a mix of Newfoundland and BC. While scratch teams are definitely a possibility for 2004, we hope that there will be more team entries. These need not be from the same geographical region. For instance, The Canadian Fly Fisher will be entering at least one team made up of fly fishers connected with the magazine. In fact, I'll most likely join it myself, even though I've always shied away from competitive fishing in the past, for this competition involves so much more than merely trying to catch more fish than the other guy—it's a unique opportunity to fish with and learn from and relax with fellow Canadian fly fishers. I'm hoping that I'll meet many of you there.

You'll find all the necessary details about Kenauk, the competition and how to enter on page 48 of this issue and the Fly Fishing Canada Web-site at www.canflyfish.com ~ Chris Marshall

Credits: This article is from the Canadian Fly Fisher magazine. We appreciate use permission!

Our Man In Canada Archives


[ HOME ]

[ Search ] [ Contact FAOL ] [ Media Kit ]

FlyAnglersOnline.com © Notice