5th FFC NATIONAL FLY FISHING CHAMPIONSHIP & CONSERVATION SYMPOSIUM
by Todd Oishi
The 2007 FFC National Fly Fishing Championship and Conservation Symposium (NFFC) was held during the third week of September in the Grande Prairie region of northern Alberta. The City of Grande Prairie, which lies just north of the 55th Parallel, played gracious host to 65 competitors who gathered from across Canada.
Grande Prairie is situated within the southernmost boundaries of the Peace River Country. Its picturesque fields of wheat, barley, oats and canola extend seemingly without end toward the east, while to the north, rich boreal forests and blankets of muskeg extend well into the Northwest Territories. To the west and south, dense forests of lodgepole pine, black spruce, tamarack and aspen provide some relief from unsettled prairie winds.
With an enormous network of rivers and lakes, the Peace River Country’s 300,000 square kilometres of pristine wilderness remain virtually unspoiled by the hands of man. As a result, the rivers in this region possess some of the healthiest populations of grayling and whitefish found in our great nation. It also offers world-class angling for introduced brown trout and native bull trout. For those who prefer casting a fly on stillwaters, the lakes offer a wide variety of species that are second to none for targeting pike and walleyes, plus rainbow, brown, brook and lake trout.
It is the environmental diversity and natural beauty these lands possess that truly makes this a unique and wondrous place to visit with a fly rod in hand, which made it a perfect setting for last year’s 5th NFFC.
CONSERVATION SYMPOSIUM
The event opened with a well-attended Conservation Symposium. These play such an important role that in order to be considered as a host, the area must be actively involved with conservation projects such as habitat reclamation, water preservation, and fish stock rehabilitation. The common theme at this year’s symposium was the concerns over declining numbers of anglers that are actively participating in sport fishing, and the positive steps, such as classroom programs, which will inevitably help turn these statistics around. The guest speakers also revealed some very positive plans for preserving the dwindling fish stocks and protecting and enhancing their habitat.
THE TEAMS
Thirteen teams were entered in the 5th NFFC, resulting in a record-breaking 65 competitors competing for the individual and team medals. Along with several well-experienced and proven teams, three teams of Alberta’s finest fly fishers also rose to the challenge of partaking in the event. Team Henderson, an enthusiastic group from Grande Prairie, consisted of five members of the Henderson family: brothers Dwight and Hugh, Dwight’s sons Greg and Cory, and Hugh’s son, Tanner who, at age 11 set a new record for being the youngest fly fisher to ever compete at a NFFC (and proved to be a real inspiration to the other competitors).
In addition to the regular teams, this year’s NFFC also attracted three of Canada’s fly-fishing legends: Brian Chan, Phil Rowley and Kathy Ruddick, who competed as members of the newly-formed Team Stillwater Solutions. The participation of these celebrity fly fishers generated some additional public interest and awareness of these national competitions. It was felt that their willingness to step out of their individual “comfort-zones” to enter the 5th NFFC may have altered public perception of competitive fly fishing as a whole, which might tempt other fly fishers to consider participating at future events.
THE VENUES
The competition was held at three locations. Four loch-style sessions, each lasting three hours, were held on Spring Lake and Moonshine Lake, and a single bank-style session on the grassy banks of Kakut Pond lasted two hours.
The first morning of competition saw clear skies with fairly light winds, which made lake fishing sessions a pleasant experience for all. The trees surrounding both lakes provided competitors with some relief from the constant wind. Since the lakes were to be fished “loch-style” (casting ahead of a free-drifting boat with the wind at the angler’s back), the winds allowed the boats to drift seemingly without effort along the shorelines.
Spring Lake was the largest and, as its name implies, being spring-fed lake its waters were cool. It possessed large rainbow and brook trout (up to five pounds) that eagerly pursued properly presented flies in those gin-clear waters. Numerous beaver lodges dotting the shoreline provided excellent structure and habitat for aquatic insects and small forage fish, and for the trout that prey on them. Its gradual transition from shallow, weed-covered shoals to a maximum depth of nearly 70 feet required a wide selection of fly lines and tactics to cover the various depths and zones effectively.
With a maximum water depth of only 14 feet, Moonshine Lake is at the opposite end of the spectrum. Due to this severe lack of depth and the prolonged hours of daylight during the summer months, it was highly prone to algae blooms that left the competitor’s flies and tippet knots coated with vibrant shades of emerald green. Similar to Spring Lake, the beaver lodges seemed to act as a magnet for the lake’s trout. Although Moonshine possessed slightly smaller-sized rainbows than Spring, what they lacked in size they more than made up for with sheer numbers, for it consistently produced the largest number of catches per sessions.
Both Spring and Moonshine fished very well during the entire competition. Many trout were landed and scored on both, and every competitor caught fish at one time or the other. Kakut Pond, on the other hand, was an extremely challenging venue, as it offered the competitors little or no protection from those occasionally harsh prairie winds.
Kakut Pond (roughly translates to “mud lake” from the Cree language) is a Wetland Conservation Project that was built and funded by Ducks Unlimited Canada. An extremely small body of water, due to safety concerns over its muddy, unstable bottom it was designated as a “bank-style” venue, meaning that wading was strictly forbidden. Due to heavy weeds that choked the shoreline, the no wading rule made landing the pond’s medium-sized rainbow trout an extremely challenging proposition. With the competitors fishing in tight quarters and in such windy conditions, Kakut was also designated as a “single-fly-only” venue to minimize concerns over the safety of competitors and their controllers.
At the halfway point during the bank-fishing sessions on Kakut Pond, the competitors rotated positions to allow each one equal time and opportunity to cast with the wind to their side or back. After fighting a strong headwind for nearly an hour, I eagerly awaited my opportunity to cast with more favourable winds, as the first half of my session on Kakut resulted in zero fish scored. Luckily, the second half was kinder as I had the wind to my back, and I managed to score four rainbows that took a very small dry fly.
As the competition progressed and the waters saw increased angling pressure, the overall number of competitors experiencing blanks (zero fish scored) was also on a slight increase. Rapid barometric pressure changes and constantly changing weather patterns also affected fishing during the latter part of the competition.
THE FINAL RESULTS
Although fly fishing is generally perceived as being an individual sport, competing as a member of a team at a national or international competition is all about teamwork. Being presented with a Team Medal that resulted from the efforts of the entire team is one of the most gratifying and rewarding experiences that any competitive fly fisher can ever achieve. In the end, Team Double Hauls received the Team Bronze Medals, Team Equipe Airflo the Team Silver, and Team Stillwater Solutions the Team Gold Medals.
The Individual Bronze Medal was awarded to Randy Taylor of Kanata, Ontario (Equipe Airflo), Individual Silver Medal to Brian Chan of Kamloops, British Columbia (Stillwater Solutions), and Individual Gold Medal and the prestigious Doug Austin Memorial Trophy (awarded to the “Top Rod” of each NFFC) went to Norman Rupprecht of Edmonton, Alberta (Stillwater Solutions).
EPILOGUE
Overall, it was considered a very successful event that everyone appeared to enjoy tremendously. Several first-time competitors with whom I spoke afterwards, told me that the knowledge they gained during the competition was invaluable, which will add a few new techniques and tactics to their lake fly fishing arsenal for both recreational fishing and future competitions.
During the closing ceremonies, as the teams celebrated their victories and the individual triumphs of each team member, many were already busy discussing and making plans for next year’s FFC National Fly Fishing Championship and Conservation Symposium, which will be held at Mont Tremblant, Quebec, on 6-13 September 2008.
THE WINNING TEAMS
STILLWATER SOLUTIONS: GOLD
Todd Oishi (Captain): BC
Brian Chan: BC
Phil Rowley: Alta.
Kathy Ruddick: BC
Norman Rupprecht: Alta.
EQUIPE AIRFLO: SILVER
Randy Taylor (Captain): Ont.
Mark Anderson: Ont.
John Beaven: BC
John Huff: Que.
Donald Thom: Que.
DOUBLE HAULS: BRONZE
Byron Shepherd (Captain): Ont.
Sorin Comsa: Ont.
Brian Duffy: Nfld.
Matt Major: BC
Tyler Mason: Alta.
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