BETHEL — Fishing habitat restoration projects and river access in Western Maine will get a boost on March 24 when the Western Maine Fly Fishing Expo debuts.
It will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Bethel Inn Resort Conference Center in Bethel. The Expo is sponsored by the Mollyockett Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance. Admission is $5 for adults and free for youth 15 and under.
Anglers can learn the latest fishing techniques and visit with guides, sporting camps and a variety of angling exhibitors.
“We’re really blessed to be able to fish in this area of Western Maine, which provides the perfect environment for catching trout,” Scott Stone, president of the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance and TU member, said.
“We hope that anglers of all ages and abilities will attend and leave with a greater understanding of the sport, and lots of fishing goodies, too.”
The Expo will be highlighted by a fly-tying contest for all ages. It will be sponsored by HMH Vises.
Tyers must tie either a black ghost or a grey ghost — two classic Western Maine streamer flies.
“There seems to be a rejuvenation in this type of activity,” Stone said by email on Friday.
“We have seen a big increase in the number of kids involved at our TU fly-tying programs in the grade schools.”
Contest preliminaries will be open from 9:30 to 11 a.m., with the finals from noon to 2 p.m. North Country Angler and Featherside Flies will supply materials for the finals.
An HMH Vise will be presented to the winners of the youth, 15 and under age division, and the open age division of 16 and older. Complete rules for the contest are available online at www.westernmaineflyfishingexpo.com.
The expo will also feature 40 exhibitors, rod-building and fly-tying instruction, entomology seminars, and fly-casting techniques and strategies.
Exhibitors include Maine and New Hampshire outfitters and guide services, sporting camps, wildlife artists and authors, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the University of Maine 4-H Camp, and boat and gear manufacturers.
Attendees can additionally learn the art of fly tying, rod building and wildlife photography. There will also be educational seminars on ecology and entomology, and instruction in strategies and techniques in fishing for trout, salmon and bass.
Sponsors and exhibiting vendors are giving away dozens of door prizes every hour.
Proceeds from an auction of items including guided trips, sporting-camp vacations and fly-fishing gear will go toward fishing habitat restoration projects and river access in Western Maine.
For more information, call the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance at 824-3694 or write fish@upperandro.com. Online information is also available at www.westernmaineflyfishingexpo.com.
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- Angler Joanne Hicks proudly displays a brown trout after catching it from the Upper Androscoggin River.
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- This photograph from the Trout Unlimited booth at the Fryeburg Fair illustrates how interested people of all ages are now doing fly tying.
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