Tuesday, March 31, 2020

COVID-19 update: April activities cancelled or postponed

Yesterday, President Trump and members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force met with reporters and announced that federal guidelines such as social distancing will be extended across the country until at least April 30th.

Later, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced that he is extending the state's stay-at-home order through the end of the month. He also hinted that they could remain in place into May unless the state turns the numbers on reducing the infections of coronavirus.

Needless to say, all regional fly fishing activities for April involving groups is cancelled or postponed.  The events that are postponed have been tentatively rescheduled for Fall dates.

The list of cancellations includes:
- our club meeting scheduled for April 16th
- Lafayette Kayak Fishing Club meeting
- Pack & Paddle fly tying and Fundamentals workshops
- Fly Fish Texas
- the Fly Fishers International Expo set for July (MT)

The list of postponed events includes:
- Reel Recovery retreat to White Lake
- Lake Athens Fly Fishing Festival  (TX)
- Mission 6 Fly Fishing Tournament (Pointe-aux-Chenes)
- Cenla Fly Fishing 101 (Kisatchie club, Forest Hill)

March events that were cancelled include: Sowbug Roundup (AR), Texas Fly Fishing & Brew Festival (TX), New Orleans City Park Big Bass Rodeo.

Monday, March 9, 2020

Inaugural Gulf Coast Sweetwater Classic this weekend!

The Fly Fishers International (FFI) Gulf Coast Council (GCC) will host their first-ever "Gulf Coast Sweetwater Classic" fly fishing tournament and festival this Friday and Saturday at Percy Quin State Park just five miles from McComb, Mississippi. 

The event marks a departure from the routine conclaves of past years, and joins the growing number of fly fishing tournaments, or events with a tournament component, that have become popular across the country.  Lake Tangipahoa inside Percy Quin offers fly anglers an opportunity for a trophy bass, as well as crappie over 2 pounds during March and April. 

Classic activities include: casting instruction and casting skills challenge, fly tying demos, Big Bream Contest (Friday afternoon) and the Sweetwater Classic Tournament (Saturday morning). The festival is FREE and admission to the park is free for attendees.

The Big Bream Contest entry fee is $5 cash (winner take all), and the Classic Tournament entry fee is $25 (register via iAngler). There’s also a “One Feather Fly Tying Contest” on Friday evening, and an “Iron Fly Tying” contest on Saturday afternoon.  Also, there's a fundraiser on Saturday with many great and one-of-a-kind items!

Anyone who registers for the tournament before Wednesday 11:59pm via the iAngler links is eligible for a drawing for $100 cash, to be drawn at the weigh-in. Must be present to win!

For complete details, including schedule, tournament rules, local lodging and restaurants, go to www.gulfcoastcouncilffi.org and click on the “Classic” page or any of the submenu items.

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Big weekend ahead at Pack & Paddle

Pack & Paddle Beer & Gear Social
Friday, March 6th
5:30pm - 8:00pm

Demo Day at Vermillionville
Saturday, March 7th
10am - 2pm

Our friends at Pack & Paddle have a big weekend coming up! It kicks off Friday evening with their annual Beer & Gear Social at the store on 601 East Pinhook. Enjoy local brews provided by industry reps, talk paddling with reps and local paddlers, also fly casting with some of the fly fishing reps from TFO, Scott, Airflo, Freefly.

On Saturday, it's the big Spring Demo Day. Now expanded to include fly rod testing from Scott and TFO. Folks can also try out kayak and paddleboard models from Jackson, Hobie, Native, Bonafide, Hurricane, Swift, NuCanoe, Wenonah, BOTE and others. It's all FREE. There's also deals on selected boats at the demo.

For more info, go to www.packpaddle.com.