Fly Fish Texas is an event for Texas fly fishing enthusiasts as well as novice anglers. The annual event takes place March 12 at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center.
Show hours are 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. All Fly Fish Texas activities are free with regular paid admission to the center.
“Fly Fish Texas is a great show and the only event of its kind,” said Walter McLendon of Lufkin, who has organized the show since its beginning. “Other shows cater to people who are already fly-fishers, but we try to introduce people to fly-fishing.”
Fly Fish Texas emphasizes hands-on learning and immediate application of newly acquired skills. Visitors can collect aquatic insects from the center’s streams, tie a fly to imitate one of those insects under the supervision of a skilled tier, learn to cast it from a certified fly-casting instructor, then use it to catch a rainbow trout from one of TFFC’s stocked ponds or streams.
Vendors will be displaying and selling fly-fishing gear, and seminars will brief visitors on where and how to fly-fish in Texas fresh and salt waters for a variety of species. The program will include presentations on fly-fishing locations such as the Devils River, the Texas Hill Country, tailwaters below dams and urban waters.
Speakers will also detail where fish are and how to fish for them in both salt and fresh water. In addition, instruction will be available on rigging a kayak for fly-fishing, leader making and Spey rod casting.
For a complete schedule of activities and seminars plus a video of the event, visit http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/visitorcenters/tffc/ and click on the Fly Fish Texas link.
The Dallas Fly Fishers will teach classes for beginning fly-fishers; pre-registration is required and is available by calling Craig Brooks at (903) 670-2222. Instruction will lead to basic fly-fisher certification by TPWD and will focus onlearning about fly-fishing equipment, performing the basic four-part cast, sampling aquatic insects to see what fish eat, discussing freshwater ecology, how to tie useful fishing knots, learning about safety and ethics issues associated with fly-fishing and fly-tying.
source: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department