Wow, 2010 already. Time just keeps moving faster and faster. I have one daughter who`s turning 20 in February and another that just turned 11. Seams like yesterday they were learning to walk and talk. Hell, seams like yesterday I was playing cops and robbers with my childhood friend Gary Reynolds or going fishing with my dad in his 12ft aluminum car topper. And 2009 blew by way to fast, never did get up north to Swan Lake like I promised myself or to the Little Smokey River last fall. We did however see some positive things happen like the new Wholesale Sports store open on the south side of Edmonton featuring a fanstastic fly fishing department. The Northern Lights Fly Tyers and Fishers Club merged with the Edmonton Chapter of Trout Unlimited opening a door for a whole new world of fund-raising and conservation projects. The new Northern Lights chapter of Trout Unlimited brought in Dave and Emily Whitlock on April 25 & 26 for a fly fishing presentation and then an intermediate fly tying presentation on November 21 with Leroy Hyatt, the popular PBS TV show host of Anglers Art. And we saw a new stillwater fly rod appear on the scene. The Amundson "Wind Warrior" which I can`t say enough about. It`s a high end rod with a mid level price and it shoots line like a canon. But there were some negatives in 2009 also. The biggest one for the Edmonton area was the lack of precipitation. We needed rain and bad but didn't get anywhere near enough. All the local lakes around Edmonton are very low and need a real good topping up. None as much as our pride and joy however, Muir Lake. Muir is not deep to begin with and if these low water levels continue over the 2010 season, our trout will be in for some trouble. A lot of volunteers have put a lot of time and effort into making Muir the great fishery it is is but Mother Nature may have other plans. When we fist stocked Muir, you could sit on the end of the dock and just get the tips of your toes wet. Now, the supporting barrels under the dock aren't even in the water. Let`s hope for a real wet summer this year.
So what does 2010 have in store for us? If I could tell you that, I`d be picking up more than a few cheques from the Lotto649 office. I can tell you that NL/TU are presenting a Gary Borger / Mike Lawson fly fishing seminar on Saturday & Sunday, Jan. 16th & 17th at the main campus of Grant McEwan University. Tickets are $50.00 for the two days. Go to the Northern Lights / TU website for more information. Also coming up is the 2010 Western Canadian Fly Fishing Exposition in Calgary. The exposition runs from Jan 22 - Jan 24 at Spruce Meadows. You can expect some big names in fly fishing there with many workshops to choose from, some of them free. And of course 2010 will see my online fly shop start up with good quality products at affordable prices.
I hope you have a great 2010 and I hope to see you on the water.
