It’s hard to keep a dedicated angler off the water on a Saturday morning, but this weekend provides the perfect escape to stay on land and still enjoy fly fishing.
The 2016 Fly Fishing Festival has a schedule loaded with two days of events Friday and Saturday, coinciding with the Fly Fishing Film Tour, which will be shown at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday at the Durango Art Center.
Events also will be held Friday at the Double Tree Hotel and Saturday at Duranglers Flies and Supplies and Santa Rita Park.
But the big feature of the weekend are the nine short films showcased in the tour, which is in its 10th year.
“Luckily for us fans of fishing flicks, the guys and gals that make these movies keep raising the bar,” Doug Powell of Mayfly Media said in a news release. “This was the most competitive submission season we’ve ever had, and we had to say no to several films that we really liked. The quality of the best films we received this year is simply a cut above anything we’ve ever seen before.”
The film will feature locations from all over the globe, ranging from Montana and Virginia to Bolivia, Patagonia, Saskatchewan and the Seychelles.
“From the hunt for the world’s largest brook trout to the pursuit of billfish on the fly, gargantuan pike, acrobatic golden dorado, ferocious GTs and herculean BC steelhead, these films showcase remarkable places, larger than life characters and fish that will haunt your dreams,” Powell said.
Tickets for the show cost $16 online or $14 at Duranglers. The 8 p.m. show is expected to sell out, but tickets should be available up until show time for the 4 p.m. showing.
Action will kick off at 7 p.m. Friday at the Double Tree Hotel with a presentation by Taylor Edrington of Royal Gorge Anglers titled “The Arkansas: North America’s Longest Gold Medal River.” Edrington has fished the Arkansas his entire life and will provide information on the best times to fish the mighty river with tips on the best ways to haul in big fish.
Doors will open at Duranglers at 8 a.m. Saturday with the first 30 people through the door receiving a swag bag. Van Rollo of Sage will give a presentation on his products beginning at 9 a.m, and Mike Sulkoski will give a fly tying demonstration from 9 to 11 a.m.
Beginning at 10:30 a.m. Saturday is a presentation from Scott Harkins of Simms. He will provide expert advice on wading equipment.
Action will shift to Santa Rita Park at noon Saturday for a lunch and casting demonstration with Rollo and Frank Smethurst. Also beginning at noon, Harkins will provide anglers a chance to demo Simms wading boots. Anyone taking advantage of the boot demo is asked to bring waders because of cold water temperatures in the Animas River.
The final event before the film festival will begin at 2:30 p.m. back at Duranglers. Smethurst will give a presentation on precision rigging in Southwest Colorado, providing some new ideas to help anglers of every skill level become better at their craft in this region.
Raffle tickets will be awarded at each event, and a drawing will be held at 4 p.m. with the grand prize drawing for a guided float trip on the Rio Grande.
Durango fly fishing fanatics unite, because it’s going to be a jam-packed weekend to get excited about this year’s fishing season.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
