The 2nd annual Fly Fishing' For the Mission tournament webpage and registration is up. The state's premier saltwater fly fishing event will take place the weekend of Saturday-Sunday, April 28-29 at PAC Kayak Rentals in Pointe-aux-Chenes. Saturday is the "fishtival" featuring casting instruction, fly tying, kids casting instruction, kayak and skiff demos, and kids art activities. Sunday is tournament day, with 2-person teams competing for heaviest 2-fish stringer. Divisions include Kayak, Boat, and Overall, assuring at least 9 teams receiving prizes. Also there's a Sheepie Side Pot. Raffles, food and more. With nearly two dozen sponsors, the event is getting interest across the northern Gulf Coast. Proceeds go to benefit the Mission Six non-profit. For more info, go to www.mission6.org.
The Fly Fishing Show ® has announced their 2019 dates and venues. Ben Furimsky, president and CEO of the largest commercial fly fishing expos in the country, is hoping the early announcement will help exhibitors, presenters and attendees set aside those dates. The only venue within 8 hours of Louisiana is the Atlanta Show, held at Infinity Energy Center in Duluth. Dates for that venue are Friday-Saturday, February 1-2, 2019.
Fly Fishers International has officially announced that their 2018 FFI Fair & Fishfest will be held at The Boise Center in Boise, Idaho on August 7-11. The consumer trade show (expo) will be held August 9-11 featuring manufacturers such as Orvis, Rio, Patagonia, Sage, Scientific Anglers, Simms, and others. The event will also feature 100-plus workshops covering all aspects of fly fishing. Demonstrations, seminars, and hands-on sessions are scheduled by Gary Borger, Dave and Emily Whitlock, Molly Semenik, Heather Hodson, Craig Mathews, and Brian O'Keefe. For more Fishfest info, go to the FFI website at www.flyfishersinternational.org.
Little Missouri River update. In a previous update, we stated that the Little Mo tailwater below Greeson Lake - a popular year-round trout fishery with Louisiana fly anglers - has been releasing water through the dam's bunger valves due to very high lake levels. The large volume of water released makes fishing all but impossible. But it does help lower the lake at a fairly fast pace. Yesterday, Jeff Guerin posted on his forum that the lake is currently at 553 feet and falling about 2 feet every 3 days. While this would put the lake back at pool by next week, Jeff cautions that the Corps may lower it even more in anticipation of April and May rains. Regardless, once things are back to normal there should be great dry fly fishing with hatches of March Brown mayflies and early caddis hatches. To keep up with the latest on the Little Mo, go to www.littlemissouriflyfishing.com.