The Show—Chance encounters III
By Chris Chin
Saturday, I went to the Quebec-Maritimes Fly Fishing Forum in
Granby Quebec. I hadn't been to a show in over a decade. I guess
I had stopped going to shows because there were very few events
specifically for fly fishing. The Granby show is 100% fly fishing.
This event is organized by 2 non-profit groups: The Estrie Hunting and
Fishing Association, as well as the Fly Fishers of the Upper Yamaska.
They did a fine job!
The usual combination of shops and rod manufacturers were present,
as well as a few outfitters and reps of many of the Salmon rivers.
The Gals from CFF were also present
I had a very special interest to come down to the event, as I finally figured
out the one of our own, (Chris from Canada) is in real life C. Wodja, who
was one of the many tyers who would be present.
Chris From Canada at the Show (nice Hat!!)
Some of the other tyers who were giving demos and work shops were: Claude
Bédard, Denis Blanchette, Serge Brunelle, Benoit Deslandes, Richard
Lauzon, Michel Leblanc, Michel Lemay, Stéphan Maillot, Javier
Melgarejo, Bernard Parisien, Dany Pilon, Lyne Trudeau and Sylvain Vigeant.
Some of the creations were quite original – (Tyer: Michel Lemay)
Bernard Parisien showing us some of the finer arts of making a Bug
The organisation of the show includes workshops on fishing, cooking and
tying. As the weather announced a bit of freezing rain, I had to head home
early to not get caught in that, so I missed the workshops. Maybe next year.
A fine initiative at the event was of course the tying table for newcomers.
The fly fishing community is quite small in Quebec. By pure chance, I
ran into a fellow forester Gaetan, who had been to school with me in
the 80's. I finally got formal introductions to a good friend of his. Jacques
Auger was responsible for introducing Gaetan to fly fishing.
As it turns out, Jacques is the son of Fernand Auger, who many of
you know as the artist whom I had met a decade ago on my home
waters:
Fernand Auger - Chance Encounters II.
The 2009 edition of the Forum wrapped up yesterday. It seems to
have been a fine success. Many thanks to the organizers, the different
Reps, the Tyers, the two organizing groups and the especially the
volunteers who helped make it all happen.
Me, I finally got to meet Chris From Canada and we promised to
hook up this August for some Sea Trout! ~ Christopher Chin, Three Rivers Quebec.
About Chris:
Chris Chin is originally from Kamloops,
British Columbia. He has been fly fishing
on and off ever since he was 10 years old.
Chris became serious about the sport within
the last 10 years.
"I'm a forest engineer by day and part time
guide on the Ste-Marguerite River here in
central Quebec. I've been fishing this river
for about 10 years now and started guiding
about 5 years ago when the local guide's
association sort of stopped functioning."
Chris guides mostly for sea run brook trout
and about 30% of the time for Atlantic Salmon.
"I often don't even charge service fees, as
I'm more interested in promoting the river
than making cash. I like to get new comers
to realize that salmon fishing is REALLY for
anyone who cares to try it. Tradition around
here makes some of the old clan see Salmon
fishing as a sport for the rich. Today our
shore lunches are less on the cucumber sandwich
side and more toward chicken pot pie and Jack
Daniel's."
Chris is 44 years old as of this writing. He
is of Chinese origin although his parents were
born and raised in Jamaica.
To learn more about the Ste-Marguerite River,
visit Christopher's
website. You can email Chis at: Flyfishing.christopher@gmail.com.
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