Fly Fishing Canada has announced the 2018 Canadian National Fly Fishing Championship will be based in Fergus/Elora.
The 16th annual event, to be held June 6 to 8, will include four river sessions and one pond bankfishing session to be held on the Grand River in Centre Wellington, the Conestogo River in Mapleton, and the Upper Credit Trout Club near Alton.
“This promises to be an exciting event, bringing together competitive anglers and spectators from across Canada to share in and experience the fine waters of the area,” states a press release from organizers.
The release notes the Grand and Conestogo rivers “are tailwater fisheries, stocked annually each spring with up to 40,000 brown trout, many of which hold over from year to year, producing some of North America’s best trophy brown trout approaching the 30-inch size (76cm).”
The Upper Credit Trout Club, which has operated as a private club for over 40 years, “features a pond large enough … for rotational bank-fishing, and is stocked with trophy rainbow trout and brook trout,” officials add.
The event will kick off with an opening ceremony on June 3 at 6pm and feature practice days on June 3 and 4. The official competition runs from June 6 to 8.
The championship will benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Centre Wellington (BBBS) through entry fees, silent and live auctions, raffles and more.
Registration, which opened on Dec. 28 and closes on Feb. 1, will be limited to 10 teams of five anglers (50 participants maximum at a cost of $450 per angler, with $100 going towards BBBS).
Organizers are looking for volunteers to serve as controllers on riverbank sessions, as sector judges, and in non-fishing-related roles.
For more information on registration or volunteering contact organizing committee chair Ernie Kalwa at nffc2018@gmail.com or visit flyfishingcanada.net or www.facebook.com/2018nffc.
