Past, Present and Future

1. Past, Present and Future

2. BCFFF - Beginnings • 1972 -The idea was hatched - Bill Yonge & Rex Schofield (Totem FF); John Bokstrom & Ken Ruddick (Dogwood FF); Granville Airton & Pete Caverhill (Osprey FF of BC) • 1973 -Actually began (incorporated under Societies Act in 1979) • 2003 - 30 year Anniversary Bill Yonge – Coquihalla R.- ’70s BCFFF Past, Present & Future

3. BCFFF – Reasons for Being • Fisheries conservation/Quality angling (we attend to issues related to these) • Formation of new fly fishing clubs (we assist) • BC’s rich fly fishing heritage (we collect, preserve, display and promote. “Knowing where we’ve been gives a clearer path into the future”.) BCFFF Past, Present & Future

4. Good healthy fish, caught in a challenging way “BCFFF – Quality Angling & Quality Angling Waters In BC- 2003” – available website Angling in pleasing, un-crowded places BCFFF Past, Present & Future

5. BCFFF - Membership • 600 to 700 members (2007/08) • Several member “classes” ( club; direct; lifetime; honorary; supporting) • Club member 95%/ Direct member 5% • Annual Dues: Club Member ($15/club and $10/member); Direct Member ($20) • Other classes = no cost BCFFF Past, Present & Future

6. BCFFF – Member Clubs • 17 clubs (2008) = # member clubs increasing • Spread throughout the province % of Total Membership Coast/Lower Mainland -21% Vancouver Island - 46% Okanagan - 18% Kamloops - 14% Other - 1% With this geographic spread the angling and issue interests of the membership are extremely varied !! BCFFF Past, Present & Future

7. People Who... BCFFF Past, Present & Future

8. Who will look after all of the things that need to be done? Who will run the show? Who will attend the important meetings? Who will represent the membership? Who will speak out for the fish? Who will be concerned about the places where fish live? Who will ensure the future of all the beautiful places? Who will clean up after the less caring? Who will build the habitat? Who will write the letters and take the notes and produce the newsletters? Who will run the meetings? Who will negotiate access to our waters? Who will make the coffee? BCFFF Past, Present & Future

9. BCFFF - Structure Committees - 8 Direct Members Clubs Executive – Pres./VP #1; VP #2, Sec’y; Treas. ; Membership --Plus 6 Directors BCFFF Past, Present & Future

10. BCFFF –Membership Benefits • Affordable liability insurance • Affordable membership • Advocacy on behalf of members and BC fly anglers in general • Access to BCFFF “Gilly Fund” for projects • Newsletter (4X/yr) and website • Assistance with club formation • Assistance with local issues BCFFF Past, Present & Future

11. BCFFF –Membership Benefits(cont’d) • But…. Perhaps the most important “benefit” is ….membership in BCFFF provides you with an established, credible and structured avenue to work on behalf of the resource, upon which so much of your life’s enjoyment is founded!!! BCFFF Past, Present & Future

12. The BCFFF Gilly Book Project • Alf Davy conceived project in 1985 • 12 volunteer authors and an artist • Canadian best seller many times over (between 1985 and present) • 11 printings (was the last; now out of print) • Proceeds and royalties over the years have created the “Gilly Fund” (now over $130,000) “The Gilly” – trade and LE versions BCFFF Past, Present & Future

13. BCFFF Funded Habitat/Education Projects 2004 to 2007 Gilly Fund • Penticton Fly Fishers - $10K (Penticton Crk) • Lonely Loons Fly Fishers Club - $3.5K (Spring Lake aerator) • Island Waters Fly Fishers Society - $1K ( Jingle Pot Marsh viewing platform) • Upper Squamish R. bank stabilization - $5K (’07) BCFFF Operations • Mid Island Castaways Fly Fishing Club - $4K ( Fanny Bay- habitat work on Wilfred Crk.) • Nicola Watershed Community Roundtable - $1K ( WUMP for Nicola/Coldwater (Thompson steelhead recovery) BCFFF Past, Present & Future

14. BCFFF Operations (cont’d) • Youth fly fishing camp (Sooke) - $1.5K • Jack Shaw diary project - $2.4K • Kamloops City Museum - $1.5K (fly fishing history exhibit) • Hatchery Forum (BCIT, Bby) – $.5K (with BCFDF and others) BCFFF Past, Present & Future

15. BCFFF – Club Projects(funded by the Gilly Fund) We aren’t very good at getting pictures from the various projects!? It’s definitely a work in progress. BCFFF Past, Present & Future

16. BCFFF - Communications • Newsletter – “Fly Lines” (4/yr) • Website – www.bcfff.bc.ca • BCFFF “Club Contacts” • Annual AGM (changes locations) • Considering how the internet can play an effective role for BCFFF???? (BCFFF now a ‘player’ on fly.bc = 2008) (communications are a constant Challenge!) BCFFF Past, Present & Future

17. BCFFF – Fisheries “Issues” Skagit R. – Lower 10 Km saved! From looking like… Present Ross Reservoirdrawdown “They are in our hands” BCFFF Past, Present & Future

18. “Issues” – what are issues?? Issues are those pesky items that keep coming up and interfering with our fishing. They are events and developments that put our personal and BCFFF core values at risk. They threaten what we love to do. They therefore need to be attended to. Issues are always there, they always seem to get more complicated and they will never go away, no matter how hard we work on them (behind the present issue is another, then another and another and so on).. Issues are probably the most important thing that BCFFF does as an organization that is concerned with quality angling waters, quality fish and access to waters that deeply interest fly anglers. BCFFF Past, Present & Future

19. Those BCFFF members and clubs that work on issues are truly the unsung heroes of our organization. Their work is often tedious, frustrating, time consuming and stressful. In today’s world, issue work usually means sitting on planning and advisory committees established by government. However -------- this is probably the best way to express the concerns and positions of BCFFF and to ultimately influence the decisions of government. BCFFF Past, Present & Future

20. Past Skagit flooding Kemano II Quinsam coal Stein & Dean logging Hat Creek Skeena SH kill fishery Rec site closures Stewardship panel review Recent AG/Classified waters/Quality waters Thompson SH recov GGB SH recovery (SCSC) Declining angler participation SH Stream Classification Prov hatchery program/quality small lake fisheries Cheakamus R. toxic spill BCFFF Issue Involvement BCFFF Past, Present & Future

21. Fighting.. Overharvest Pollution Habitat Loss The good fight !! Apathy BCFFF Past, Present & Future

22. Issues – Yes… but You gotta get out a bit more!!! BCFFF Past, Present & Future

23. Where are the “warriors”?? BCFFF Past, Present & Future

24. The challenge of finding people to take on BCFFF ‘jobs’ • Our geographic distribution of membership works against finding volunteers (Interior = happy; Coast = unhappy = all the issues) • Our ‘club’ structure (90% club members; 10% direct members) also works against finding volunteers (our 17 member clubs are involved with their own things, therefore little time for BCFFF) BCFFF Past, Present & Future

25. BCFFF – Age Matters Hey Kid! Good to see you out here. Why don’t you get your friends to join you? The problem of declining angler participation and youth involvement in angling!! BCFFF Past, Present & Future

26. Typical BCFFF Gathering Where will our future come from??? BCFFF Past, Present & Future

27. BCFFF Booth at the 2004 and 2005 Western Canadian Fly Fishing Show – Lower Mainland, BC “Tie a Fly – Catch a Kid” Danie Erasmus –BCFFF Education Director, presents a special certificate to a young tier for her “Wooley Bugger” BCFFF Past, Present & Future

28. BCFFF/Superfly – Tradex 2008 The older guard and the new-bring on the young !! BCFFF Past, Present & Future

29. Earle Anderson – Harrison River William Nation Tommy Brayshaw BCFFF BC’s FlyFishingHistory Bill Cunliff Rod Haig-Brown BCFFF Past, Present & Future

30. Bill Cunliffe Fly Box (1930’s) Cliff Welch built cane Fly Rod (1940’s) BCFFF Past, Present & Future

31. BCFFF – “Publications” • Vancouver Island’s Fly Fishing Heritage (A.Lingren – May 2004) • Quality Angling and Quality Angling Waters in BC (2003) • A History of BCFFF (A.Lingren 2003) • Angling Ethics Brochure • Guidelines on How to Establish a Fly Fishing Club • Angling Closures on Wild Steelhead Streams (BCFFF Position Paper – Sept. 2004) • Hatchery Culture of Steelhead & Trout in BC (BCFFF Draft Position Paper – Sept. 2004) BCFFF Past, Present & Future

32. Kamloops City Museum – BCFFF Fly Fishing History Section Spring 2008 – Display Opens Location of Fly Fishing Gallery in model Gary Cutler photos BCFFF Past, Present & Future

33. BCFFF – Future (What about it??) • Convince volunteers to work for the cause • Join forces with others • Work on youth involvement • Find efficient & effective ways to provide our concerns to government • Find ways to better ensure internal stability (extinction always lurks in the shadows) BCFFF Past, Present & Future

34. THE END THANK YOU! Upstream dry flies in storm water The Future of Fishing ---- hopefully Not!!! BCFFF Past, Present & Future

35. BC Federation of Fly Fishers Website www.bcfff.bc.ca Look for a revamped website this spring - 2008 BCFFF Past, Present & Future