Getting The Itch?

Winter still has a firm grip on us here in north-central Alberta.  Although it's been a favorable winter so far with temperatures well above the norm, we still won't be seeing any open lakes for another three months.  There are ways to escape though, fishing Staufer Creek in central Alberta or the Bow River downstream of Calgary looks inviting but for us stillwater guys, it's just a band-aid fix.  Other ways to past the time include tying flies, cleaning and repairing gear, reading and of course watching other people fish on YouTube.  As we get closer to spring, the itch of course gets stronger and to help reach that itch, fly fishing related social gatherings tend to help.  Or do they?  Sometimes, I think they just make the itch worse.  Here are a couple of gatherings you can look forward to in the Edmonton area until spring arrives.

Edmonton Boat & Sportsman Show

March 15th - 18th at the Edmonton Expo Center.  Although not a lot of fly fishing related presentations here, you can look forward to the Pieroway casting demos taking place each day on the casting pond.  And for those that really want to escape, the F3 2012 Fly Fishing Film Tour will be showing up to three times per day in the Hall B - B16 tent.  I recently went to the Internationale Fly Fishing Film Festival (IF4) that showed at the Garneau Theatre on Edmonton's south side and I tell ya, I if I thought I was itchy before, watching those fly fishing movies was like sitting in seats made of Poison Ivy.  The movies were very entertaining though and I really enjoyed them (even got some free swag).

Edmonton Trout Club

On march 20th at 7:30pm, you can come on down to Queen Mary Park Hall @ 10844 - 117St. in Edmonton for a fly tying presentation by... well, me.  I'll be presenting four of my KISS (keep it simple stupid) fly patterns.  I tell people that I come up with patterns that are fast and simple to tie because I don't enjoy tying.  That's actually not true.  What I really don't enjoy is the back ache I get after tying up about four flies.  Pain can make people adapt quickly to make things easier.  The trick is to make it easier but still productive.  The flies I'll be sharing are four of my most productive flies that I use consistently.  If you've been considering getting involved with a local fishing club, this will be a great chance to get a feel for what a club is all about.  The Edmonton Trout Club even has it's own property on Spring Lake with keys to the gate available to it's members.  Hope to see you there.

AF3 Muir Lake Clean-Up & BBQ

On Sunday May 6th, join us at Muir Lake for a clean-up of the parking lot, boat launch and lake shore followed by a BBQ and then some fishing.  We'll be meeting at the lake @ 9am to start the clean-up.  Please bring garbage bags with you.  At 12pm we'll be BBQ'ing up some food.  Condiments will be supplied but bring your own meat and buns.  This is a public area so make sure to bring along non-alcoholic beverages.  After lunch we'll all go fishing, and I'll be offering free casting lessons to any of the clean-up crew that need some help.  I hope you can join us.