Grand River Spey Clave

I am in the process of procuring donations for the raffle.If anyone has an item they wish to donate please contact me.

Donations so far are:

• A fly box containing one dozen Great Lakes Steelhead patterns (Value $125.00) - Donated by Larry Mellors
• Winners choice Spey rod Combo; choice of rod -ECHO "TR" 13'0"-7wt, 13'6"-8wt, 14'-9wt or DECHO 13'-7wt, 13'3"-8wt, 13'6"-9wt or DEER CREEK 13'-7/8, 13'6"-8/9, 14'-7/8, 15'-89 - with Complete with Ross CLA Reel,Spey line,running line etc. (Value $900.00) - Donated by Red Shed Fly Shop
• Black Walnut Fly Box fully loaded with flies (Value $150) - Donated by reelflies.ca
• 4 hours casting instruction (Value $150.00) - Donated by Doug Swift
• Winston Boron Spey Rod (Value $1,000.00) - Donated by Grand River Troutfitters
• Loop Opti Switch Rod 10'7", 6wt. (app.value $800.00) - Donated by Loop Canada/Outdoor Sports Canada
• Loop Opti Switch Rod 10'7", 8wt. (app.value $800.00) - Donated by Loop Canada/Outdoor Sports Canada
• $50.00 gift certificate - Donated by Rainbow Sports
• Snowbee Prestige 10' #7 4 piece fly rod,Snowbee XS780 C asette Fly Reel with 4 extra spools,Beulah Elixir 295 Switch Line and Beulah 320 Tonic Head,Snowbee Hi Vis Running Line and 4 Snowbee Poly Tips(Value $1200.00) - Donated by Snowbee Canada & Beulahflyrods Canada
• Set of 5 sink tips (Value $100.00) - Donated by The Spey Co.

You just never know who you might bump into on the Waterways of Canada,Rivers,Lakes and and Ocean(s) alike."Born in Moncton,New Brunswick...Courtney Ogilvie from an early age attempted to outfish his Grandmother at every chance, "How can my Grandmother possibly outfish me,"I'm 10!" perhaps this is what drives this passionate flyfisher and creative fly tyer.

Now living on Vancouver Island with his wife Val,also a fly fisher and tyer,Courtney is always in search of better techniques,flies,lines and rods.A student of nearly 50 years with fly rod in hand has led him across Canada,the U.S.A.,Europe and into the North.Weened on Dry Fly Fishing for Atlantics on the mighty Mirimachi an automatic comparison has moved his interests to Pacific Steelhead znd Salt Water Fly-caught Salmon since 1994. In 2006 Snowbee Canada via Ogilvie Outfitting was brought into the mainstream fly fishing community in Western Canada.

In 2007,Nile Creek Fly Shop was created out of demand for a real fly shop on Vancouver Island,serving both the Salt Water and Fresh Water components.Of course Spey Casting has widely become a special interest,often you will find Courtney instructing at many Spey Gatherings across Canada.An avid outdoor writer,photographer and guide is this man.

Click Here to Visit Courtney's Site

Fly-fishing has always been Neil Houlding's life long pursuit. By 18 years of age, Neil's passion for a two-hand rod had already begun to coalesce. He spent many hours honing his skills on rivers such as the Lune and Ribble not far from his home in Lancashire, England.

Moving to Canada, he continued his pursuit of fishing the fly. His travels have taken him as far as the Gaula River in Norway and the River Spey in Scotland.

Neil is an accomplished Guide, who is also a certified casting instructor with the Fly Fishing Federation. Attaining the CI and THCI certification, and furthermore, coached the inaugural "World Youth Fly-Fishing Championships" in Wales.

Neil has applied his enthusiasm and ability as a teacher. His talents haven't gone unnoticed in the industry. Neil has worked closely with the G. Loomis focus group on the design of their Roaring River Two-hand rod project.

Click Here to Email Neil

Peter has been fishing since the age of six (a long, long time ago) and bought his first fly rod in 1969. He has been fishing for trout, bass, and steelhead in this area since moving here in 1988. Currently he is a member of Guideline's Power Team.

He will be bringing a suite of Guideline rods, reels, and lines for people to try, plus he will be conducting a demonstration on the Underhand cast and how it's best employed to fish our waters. This casting approach is also quite useful for people with physical ailments such as bad shoulders, that might otherwise interfere with their casting. He will demonstrate a couple of styles of Underhand casting plus demonstrate how to lift sinktip and full sinking lines. He will be available all day to answer your questions and assist you with your fishing gear.

Click Here to Visit Peter's Site

Born in Speyside, where he still lives, fished the river Spey for the last 30 years and worked on the River Spey for 13 yrs full time, taught single handed flycasting for 20 years , featured in Mag's in the UK , US and Japan as well as being a member of SANA and former member of the Spey Ghillie's assocation, member of the Institute of fisheriers Management. worked for a couple of companies on Trout rod design and he designed a couple of Trout fisheries.

He has been lucky enough to have been involved in fly fishing and teaching for the last 30 years in one way or another, Trout and Salmon.

Originally from Quebec, Francois Blanchet is fluent in both English and French.

Despite his young age, Frank has 7 years guiding experience in the Whistler area and has been a fulltime guide for about 4 years. He is an incredibly skilled flycaster and is a certified casting instructor with the FFF. An accomplished speycaster, Frank is very much a student of technique. It is with the discipline of his martial arts background that Frankie has approached speycasting and the result is he is considered one of the cleanest casters around.

Frank has the ability to make anyone laugh and is a truly awesome guide and instructor. Frank spent the summer of 2004 and 2005 guiding on the famous Cascapedia River in Quebec where he opened many eyes with our western technique and modern approach to casting and fishing two handed rods.

He has been competing many times at the spey-o-rama in San Francisco and is renowned for the"spey dance" at the dance clubs.

He now is the representative for Loop across America and is working on a video filmed by the Trout Bums. This new video will be about the underhand casting in America and its application for steelhead fishing.

Rick Kustich is co-author of the acclaimed book Fly Fishing for Great Lakes Steelhead and has fly fished for steelhead in the Great Lakes region for almost thirty years. He is a writer, photographer, and fly tyer. He has written three other fly fishing books, is a regular contributor to both national and regional publications, and recently introduced his first DVD. For nearly ten years Rick owned and operated the Oak Orchard Fly Shop in Williamsville, New York. He lives on the banks of the Niagara River in Grand Island, New York.

Larry has landed hundreds of steelhead since his first one in 1969, but he remembers every one taken on a swinging fly like it was yesterday. A fly fisher since the age of 15, he left the family farm a few years later to earn Bachelor's and Master's degrees in aquatic ecology. Prior to his current position as a stewardship coordinator, Larry was the MNR biologist responsible for the introduction of brown trout to the Grand River tailwater. As the senior management biologist for the MNR Lake Erie Unit, he chaired an international panel that developed a management policy for Lake Erie steelhead.

Despite the concerted efforts of some of the best instructors around, Larry considers himself an average spey caster at best. That doesn't stop him from getting his share of steelhead while fishing behind those same instructors in rotation. Experiences gained while at the forefront of the fisheries management, stream restoration, and spey casting frontiers in Ontario and beyond have given Larry lots of observations to share during his talk on river etiquette and river stewardship.

Larry is a Pro-Staff for the First Cast Fly Shop.

Mike Barrand has been fishing all his life but considers the last 7 years the most exciting. This is when he picked up his first fly rod. The single/double hand rod has brought him to many beautiful destinations including Vancouver Island and Newfoundland. Not only has it taken him to some great places, it has also allowed him to work with world class companies such as Loop and Eumer. Currently Mike is honing his teaching skills, working towards his FFF (Federation of Fly Fishers) CI and THCI certifications.

During Randy’s Clave, Mike will be tying Eumer tube flies and answering questions about Loop and Eumer products. He will also be available for one on one help for anyone who is having issues with their casting.

Aside from this, don’t be afraid to come say hello as Mike loves to talk about fishing!

An ardent angler for over 50 Years, I am a relative newcomer to fly-fishing. For the past 20 years, I have concentrated on developing as a competent fly caster. To that end, I am a Master Certified Casting Instructor with the FFF and I am currently challenging myself as I pursue the THCI. Regularly, I teach fly-casting to groups and individuals. Providing fishing and casting instruction while on wilderness canoe trips is my passion. The Nottawasaga River is close to my home and I am addicted to pursuing the wild strain of steelhead that it produces. My other passion is instructing whitewater paddling and wilderness canoe tripping. Being around moving water seems to be a theme with me.

Retired from the health care field, I’m able to devote much of my time to outdoor pursuits. I am associated with G-Loomis and Airflo as a member of their Pro Staff.

Larry’s passion for our rivers and helping others share these incredible waters is seen through his volunteer efforts as president of Friends of the Grand River a position where his leadership has helped this organization thrive since 1997. Larry is also a professional guide and fly tyer with Grand River Troutfitters where he has shared experiences with many clients in waders or drift boat. He has been a regular on the Great Lakes rivers for over the past two decades and fishes regularly throughout North America and the United Kingdom.

Friends of the Grand River

The Friends of the Grand River (FOGR) is volunteer driven non-profit organization incorporated in 1995. This conservation organization with over 150 members develops, promotes and implements projects that preserve, conserve and enhance the ecology of upper Grand River watersheds. FOGR is action-oriented with activities centred on the Grand River tailwater area in Centre Wellington and on the Conestogo River tailwater in Wellington and Waterloo. FOGR is known for its river access program, fish stocking, fisheries studies, stream rehabilitation, tree planting, River Watch, road clean-ups, fisheries education, and many other projects. These projects enrich appreciation of the Grand and Conestogo Rivers. FOGR presents an educated voice that is part of the decision-making process on issues surrounding these two high profile fisheries. Funding for FOGR projects is raised through membership fees, donations, sponsorship and fund raising events.

Doug grew up on the banks of the Grand river, just outside Fergus. He has been a fishing fanatic for over 50 years and turned to fly fishing exclusively for the past 16 years.

His early years on the river were spent chasing the wild browns and rainbows that were in the Grand at that time.

Doug enjoys the casting side of the sport as much as the fishing. He spends the available fishing seasons fly roding for trout, steelhead,bass,pike,walleye and just about any other worthy species. He has recently taken up the challenge of the two handed rod and now spends the steelhead season swinging flies for these silver beauties up and down the lower Nottawasaga River near his home in Wasaga Beach. When not chasing steelhead Doug spends his summers fly fishing at his cottage near Temagami in northern Ontario.

Doug is a FFF certified casting instructor and is working toward the masters level of the instructor program. He is prostaff for Loomis fly rods.

Click Here to visit Doug's site