Grand River Spey Clave

Once again this year we are planning to hold a raffle at the Spey Clave. All proceeds from the raffle as well as any donations will be going directly back to Friends of the Grand River (FOGR) to help fund and support their on going conservation efforts and projects here on the Grand River. If you are interested in contributing a prize to the raffle please contact me.

Donations so far are:

• 4 hours casting instruction (Value $150.00) - Donated by Doug Swift

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

Doug Swift will provide a spey casting demonstration high lighting the versatility of the G.Loomis roaring river switch rod. In combination with the airflo compact skagit, or the new airflo speydicator lines, the demonstration will focus on how effectively this system will allow your presentation to be made in either a "swung fly" or "indicator" style presentation.

Doug grew up in Ontario on the banks of the Grand River near the town of Fergus during the 1950's. Having the opportunity to walk only a few steps to "go fishin" led to a lifetime passion for the sport. About 20 years ago spinning rods were replaced with fly rods and a whole new world of fishing entertainment opened up for him. It soon became apparent that learning how to properly cast and deliver the fly would really make this method of fishing a lot more enjoyable. In 2005 he was able to obtain a certified casting instructor designation through the Federation of Fly Fishers and since that time has been fortunate enough to be able pass his casting and fly fishing knowledge on to other fly fishers. The casting learning curve continues and the next quest is to be successful in reaching the master casting instructor level.

Living in Wasaga Beach on the southern shore of Georgian Bay for the past 35 years has given Doug the opportunity to learn a lot about the waters around him and how to present a fly to the fish that live in them.

Doug is associated with Loomis fly rods www.gloomis.com.

His web site can be viewed at www.swiftflycastinginstruction.com.

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.

Larry will be doing a demo on Dry Line Steelheading.Larry's demo will cover mending & leading/following with the rod to control line speed and will also include fishing with the riffle hitch.

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

Ever since Mike hooked into his first Atlantic Salmon, he has never picked up anything but a fly rod. His passion for the sport has led him to a sponsorship from Maui Jim sunglasses. He also teaches for The Grand River Rafting Company. With this Mike is able to spread his passion for fly fishing to people of all ages.

Mikes demo will concentrate on the Single Spey & Snake Roll cast with a traditional long belly set up. These are two casts that people seem to disregard and Mike wants to show people the importance and fun of throwing these casts.

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.

Rick will be doing a demo on the fishing aspect of two-handed rods - rigging, presentation, and covering the water with an emphasis on Skagit lines and a discussion and demonstration of this style of line for steelhead fishing.

He is pro staff for Scott Fly Rods.

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.

Other then a 5 year stint fumbling around the Rockies in Alberta Mike has spent his entire four decades living along Ontario’s west coast within minutes of his home waters of the Maitland River. In 2003 with over 20 yrs of experience fishing the local waters and his deep passion and appreciation for the sport of fly fishing he decided to start his own guiding business called FlyFitters. Shortly after Mike was introduced to his first spey rod by a couple of fellow Gloomis pro staffers and it didn’t take long for Mike to clearly see the benefit these long rods would have while pursuing steelhead with a fly on some of his favorite pools on the mighty Maitland. Today when guiding, Mike’s favorite passion is introducing people to their first steelhead on a swung fly. Even with nine seasons of guiding and the numerous steelhead landed by “first timers” each one still brings him a great deal of satisfaction and puts a smile on his face, not to mention the smile it puts on his clients face!

Mike is on field staff with Gloomis and Scientific Anglers and this year at the clave he is going to share his full line up of Gloomis spey rods, including a couple of the new NRX models, and they will all be loaded with the new series of SA Spey lines! He will be set up along the river bank which will allow anyone the opportunity for a personal one on one casting session with his gear and his expertise at anytime throughout the day. He insures that when you try his new Gloomis NRX 13’ 8/9 loaded with a new SA Spey Evolution line you will see it has all of the “WOW” factor!!

You can visit his website at www.flyfitters.ca

To see the full line up of Gloomis rods visit www.gloomis.com and to see the new and exciting Scientific Anglers spey lines visit www.saspey.com

In 2003, Larry attended the first spey clave on the Grand River. That started a new journey of swinging flies with a two-handed fly rod. For the past three years he has swung flies exclusively for steelhead throughout the Great Lakes’ watersheds and in British Columbia.

Larry has spent many years improving access and habitat for Ontario’s steelhead. Larry was a director of the Ontario Steelheaders for twenty-eight years. He served as President for the last eighteen years of that tenure.

His contributions have involved assisting in the writing of fisheries regulations; preparing proposals for funding of projects; educating the public, especially school children, about stream restoration and healthy watersheds; improving water quality and quantity; fostering environmental stewardship in communities and individuals; and developing restoration plans for various watersheds throughout Ontario. Larry’s greatest satisfaction comes from working in the stream conducting hands-on aquatic renewal initiatives.

Larry’s passion for fishing comes very naturally and is truly in his blood. Since the age of four, he could be found at his father’s side, on the banks of Big Creek, not only absorbing his dad’s advice and passion of fishing for migrating rainbow trout, but of all outdoors. In the 1950’s and 60’s, Ontario’s outdoor writers referred to his father as “Southern Ontario’s Rainbow Trout King”.

All of these combined efforts provide Larry with the experience and knowledge to understand the needs, characteristics and movement of steelhead and their watersheds.

Larry is going to provide a short review of The Grand River Fisheries Management Plan, which became official in 1998. This plan breaks down the entire Grand River watershed into many reaches. The features and characteristics of each reach are identified. The plan outlines the constraints to fisheries management, opportunities for fisheries management, issues, management strategies and management tactics for each reach. The Grand River Fisheries Management Plan Implementation Committee received the prestigious Canadian National Recreational Fisheries Award for 2009. Larry will also discuss the Exceptional Waters Program for the Paris to Brantford reach of the Grand River.

Larry is a guide and instructor for Grand River Troutfitters. He is field staff for Pro Tubefly System.