Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center to Host Fly Fish Texas March 3

Media Contact: Barry St. Clair (903) 670-2222 icle__media__contact">Media Contact: Barry St. Clair (903) 670-2222 or barry.stclair@tpwd.texas.gov

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ATHENS, Texas—Somewhere out there—in Texas, or Colorado, or Alaska, or the Florida Keys or Patagonia—a fish is waiting for you to present a fly to be engulfed.

Are you ready?

The first step in your fly fishing adventure should be attending Fly Fish Texas at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center the first Saturday in March.

There you will learn to cast, tie flies and even build your own fly rod. And you will do it all under the supervision of expert fly fishers from Texas and beyond.

Fly fishers will converge on Athens for the eighth annual Fly Fish Texas event to share tips and techniques during seminars and hands-on demonstrations.

Seminars will cover fly fishing for redfish, trout, tuna, stripers, bass and carp; kayak fishing; teaching youngsters to fly fish and choosing a guide. Demonstrations and classes will teach building a fly rod, knot tying, salt-water fly-tying, dry-fly tying, spinning deer hair, casting using long (spey) rods, accuracy casting and Dutch oven cooking.

Speakers scheduled to appear include Mark Marmon, a member of Texas Fly Fishers in Houston and urban fly fishing guide; Ronnie Ray, founder of Tejas Outfitters, a fly fishing and outdoor adventure service based in Austin; Steve Watson and Jared Satterwhite, members of Pineywoods Fly Fishers in Lufkin and kayaking addicts; Allen Crise, owner of Hawk Ridge Tackle and Flycasting School in Glen Rose; Steve Hollensed, past president of the Red River Fly Fishers in the Sherman/Denison area and a specialist in catching Lake Texoma stripers on the fly; Bob Cappallo, a member of the Brazos Valley Fly Fishers and handcrafted rod builder; Mark Eskew, a member of the Dallas Fly Fishers and a well-known fly-tier; and Ken Bohannon, who specializes in tying deer-hair flies for both saltwater and freshwater fishing.

No prior experience in fly fishing is needed. Beginning and intermediate fly fishing classes will be offered. Students of all ages will learn what makes good fish habitat and collect and identify bugs from TFFC streams and ponds. Then they will learn how to tie flies that mimic those bugs and use them to catch fish using fly fishing gear provided on-site.

Vendors will display and sell the latest fly fishing gear.

Admission to the day-long event is included with regular admission to TFFC: $5.50 for adults, $4.50 for seniors and $3.50 for children ages 4-12. TFFC is open 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and is located at 5550 F.M. 2495, three miles east of Athens. Athens is 75 miles southeast of Dallas.

Sponsors and vendors for the event include Orvis; Dwight Cooley Foods; Boy Scout Troop 1299; Temple Fork Outfitters; Chris Dukeminier, Mariner Sails; Dave Speer, Trash on the Fly; Derrick Stratton, American Fish and Game Club; Brandon Shuler, Getaway Adventures Lodge; Barkley Souders, Epoch Marketing; Gary Davison, CND Custom Design; and Dan Edwards, Flatstalker.

For more information and a schedule of events and seminars, visit tpwd.texas.gov/tffc and click on Fly Fish Texas in the Quick Links box or call (903) 670-2222 or (903) 676-2277.