Fly Fishing Fest May 2-3 at Gulf State Park Learning Campus

Fly Fishing Fest May 2-3 at Gulf State Park Learning Campus

Around 400 aficionados of the sport are expected to attend the 3rd Annual Gulf Coast Classic Fly Fishing Festival scheduled May 2-3 at the Learning Campus of Gulf State Park.
Entry to the exhibitors hall and fly tyers row in the Learning Campus’ Conservation Hall is $15 per person or $20 per family per day. Kids under 16 are admitted free.
Friday’s festivities will close with a conservation keynote presentation by William Strickland, executive director of Mobile Baykeeper. His talk will include a report on the recent battle against federal mud dumping in the bay and other Mobile Bay watershed initiatives.
More tourney info: FFIGulfCoastClassic.com.
Hosted by the Coast Council of Fly Fishers International, the event is poised to take another step forward this year, according to coordinator Chris Williams.
“This should be our best showing yet. We saw around 100 in 2023 and between 200 to 225 last year,’’ Williams said. “It has taken a few years, but we’re finally beginning to see the regional-level interest that was our goal when we started. We’ve added a number of well known tyers to our Fly Tyer Row with folks traveling from as far as Colorado, South Dakota and New York to share their skills at the vise.
“We’ve also filled out this year’s exhibitor hall with more than a dozen fly shops, artisans, brands and NPOs,’’ he added.
The classic includes roughly a dozen free seminars on a variety of topics ranging from fly tying tutorials to species specific lectures on everything from Bluegill to Tarpon. There is a registration fee for 11 of the seminars and workshops. Free introductory casting classes will be hosted each day by FFI certified instructors. Paid intermediate & advanced casting classes will also be available
The multi-species Mixed Bag Classic Fly Fishing Tournament is a catch-photo-release fly fishing tournament running from sunrise on Thursday, May 1 until noon on Saturday, May 3. Entry is free to all participants and features adult and youth divisions. Cheeky Fly Rods, RepYourWater, Bajio Sunglass and TFO Fly Rods are among companies providing prize packages.
This year’s event also includes a pair of fly tying contests open to all participants. The Iron Fly Tyer will challenge tyers to create a unique design utilizing all materials provided, and The Blind Tie will prove a trust test of skill as blindfolded tyers attempt to complete a common pattern by sense of feel along. Raffles & silent auctions will be hosted each day of the event. And the 2nd annual 4Corners x GCC FFI Costa Rica trip raffle valued at $6000. Tickets are $50 each and only 100 will be sold.