Black Canyon Fly Fishing

On Saturday, March 6, the Black Canyon Fly Fishing Show, hosted by the Gunnison Gorge Anglers, will feature a free program for all youth ages 6-16.

Uriah Higgs  Ties a fly for an avid student.

The youth program will start with participants registering for free raffle prizes that include complete fly fishing outfits that include rod, reel and fly line, and a guided fishing trip to Sunshine Springs where you will catch some trophy size trout.

There will be five educational stations that will first demonstrate fly fishing skills and then let the youth practice those skills. The first station will cover the basic knots used by fly fishers. The second station will have experienced youth fly tiers demonstrating how to tie a fly and then assisting the participants while they tie their own fly. Participants get to keep any flies they tie. The third station covers entomology which is the science of bugs. It will have illustrations and actual samples of the bugs trout eat. The fourth station will have adult fly casters demonstrating the art of casting. This will take place indoors at two casting ponds.

After watching the adults, the participants will get to cast and practice for the final station, which is a casting competition where the winners will get valuable prizes. Some of the prizes are a complete fly fishing outfit with rod, reel and line or a baseball hat with the Gunnison Gorge Anglers logo. Five fly fishing outfits will be awarded.

After the youth program, the young adults can join their parents in the other free attractions featured at the show. These include: more than 40 expert adult fly tiers and two expert youth fly tiers who will be tying their favorite patterns and demonstrating their special skills. There will be a DVD player door prize awarded to some lucky person entering the show. There will also be hourly seminars that cover a variety of subjects of interest to anyone interested in fly fishing. There will be numerous booths displaying the latest equipment and educational booths staffed by the Division of Wildlife and the BLM.

Jeff Hatton will have his fantastic bamboo fly rod display and will be on hand to evaluate the value of your bamboo fly rod. There will also be fly casting demonstrations and opportunity for guests to cast some of the new fly rods.

This year there will be two indoor weatherproof casting ponds. There will be raffle tickets sold throughout the day for great prizes including a bamboo fly rod and a huge fly box with 48 dozen — 576 — flies tied by local experts for local streams and fish. The raffle tickets are $5 for the fly rod and $3 for the flies. There will be something for everyone interested in fly fishing, so young adults bring your parents and come to the show. In the evening there will be a banquet and program. There will be silent and live auctions for fly fishing equipment, fishing trips and art work.

The show and banquet will be held Saturday, March 6, at the Montrose Freedom Hall located at the Montrose County Fair Grounds, 1001 N. 2nd, Montrose. The show goes from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The banquet and evening activities will begin at 6 p.m. There will be a door prize at the banquet for a fly rod. There is a charge for the banquet of $20 for adults and $8 for children. Please come and join the fun. All are welcome.