Texas Parks & Wildlife:
ATHENS (KYTX) — Fly Fish Texas returns to the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center March
9 with the goal of teaching visitors to tie a fly, cast a fly and catch a fish
with it all in one day.
Show hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. All Fly Fish Texas activities are free
with regular paid admission to the center.
Fly Fish Texas emphasizes hands-on learning and immediate application of
newly acquired skills. Visitors can collect aquatic insects from the center's
streams, tie a fly to imitate one of those insects under the supervision of a
skilled tier, learn to cast it from a casting instructor certified by the
Federation of Fly Fishers, then use it to catch a rainbow trout, catfish or
sunfish from one of TFFC's stocked ponds or streams.
Throughout the day, experienced fly-tiers will be demonstrating and teaching
fly-tying in the Anglers Pavilion on a one-on-one basis. In addition, group
instruction in beginning fly-tying will be offered in the Hart-Morris
Conservation Center. Both are offered on a walk-up basis.
Beginning casting instruction will take place all day in the Conservation
Center parking lot, again on a walk-up basis. Other sessions will teach
single-hand and Spey rod casting at scheduled times.
Vendors will be displaying and selling fly-fishing gear, and seminars will
brief visitors on where and how to fly-fish in Texas fresh and salt waters for a
variety of species.
Featured presentations include fly-fishing the Llano River in Texas, trout
fishing in Colorado, fly-fishing urban creeks in the Dallas/Fort Worth
Metroplex, fly-fishing for carp, flies and tactics for spring bass and
fly-fishing Texas bays for red drum and speckled seatrout.
While most activities at Fly Fish Texas are offered on a walk-up basis,
others are scheduled. For a complete schedule of activities and seminars plus a
video of the event, visit www.tpwd.state.tx.us/tffc
and click on the Fly Fish Texas link.
Food service will be available onsite, or attendees may bring a picnic.
Event sponsors include Sabine River Authority, Best Western-Royal Mountain
Inn, Holiday Inn Express-Athens, Super 8-Athens, Temple Fork Outfitters,
Orvis-Dallas, Cripple Creek Bar-B-Que, First State Bank, Red Hat Rentals, Wulf
Outdoor Sports and Friends of TFFC.
Bruce Sublett of Lufkin will teach a session on flies and tactics for spring bass at Fly Fish Texas March 9 at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center. He also enjoys catching rainbow trout from TFFC’s ponds. CREDIT TPWD Photo © 2011, Larry D. Hodge
