High Country Fly Fishers, the Park City chapter of the nonprofit environmental organization Trout Unlimited, wants to reel in attendees to the annual Wasatch Fly Tying and Fly Fishing Expo.
This year’s event will run April 10-11 at the Mountain America Expo Center in Sandy, and registration is now open at wasatchexpo.com.
The expo, which is organized by four Trout Unlimited Chapters, including High Country Fly Fishers, and six chapters of the Federation of Fly Fishers International, will feature an array of workshops and demonstrations, as well as vendors and family fun, said William Quapp, past president and director of High Country Fly Fishers.
Fly-casting classes will be led by Utahns Mickey Anderson, Audrey Wilson and Nick Teynor, and Wyoming resident, Jack Dennis.
“Each of those people are notable casters, and Jack is the most famous of the group,” Quapp said. “He’s the host of the expo and started his fishing career before the 1970s. In 1976, I bought my first fly-tying book that was authored by him. He has been a fly-fishing guide for many years and is still active in the sport.”
Dennis and Anderson will also lead some fly-casting demonstrations with fellow fisher Marty Howard, who will also join other fly-tyers from the western United States to lead tying workshops, Quapp said.
“Marty is also the key organizer in the expo’s fly-tying program, and he is an author of specialty books about fly tying for steelhead,” he said.
Other participants are signature fly-tyers for brands such as Umpqua and Fulling Mill, Semperfi, Norvise, Regal and Renzetti, according to Quapp.
“I believe we have somewhere around 50 fly-tyers who will participate, and that number grows,” he said. “Like Mickey, Audrey and Nick, Marty is a Utah resident.”
The expo will feature a line of gear exhibitions and distributors, as well as hands-on experiences that include on-water classes and indoor casting and fly-tying, Quapp said.
“There are six different on-the-water classes where highly skilled individuals offer some type of specialty class,” he said.
Registration and information for those experiences are listed at wasatchexpo.com/workshops-onthewater. And registration for the other workshops can also be found at wasatchexpo.com, according to Quapp.
“We have close to 30 workshops, including a large-number that cover different topics from fly tying to fishing in certain areas of the western United States and other interests,” he said.
The floor will also include a Fly Tying Theater, Quapp said.
“Three well-known specialty fly-tyers will demonstrate their skills to a subset of expo attendees,” he said. “We set up between 20 to 25 chairs, and the fly-tyers are known around the state and sometimes around the country for their skills.”
In addition to free workshops for beginners and other workshops for intermediate and advanced fly fishers, the expo will host programs specifically for women, Quapp said.
“Historically the number of women active in fly fishing 50 years ago was a small fraction, but over the years, more and more women have been drawn to the sport,” he said. “High Country Fly Fishers memberships are more than 30% women, and some of them are our most active members.”
The Iron Fly Competition will make its Wasatch Expo debut this year, Quapp said.
“Other expos around the country have been doing this event, which is more for entertainment, for a while,” he said. “We have 11 tyers who have signed up, and they will each be given a bag of materials — hooks, thread, feathers or other things — and they will have 15 minutes to create a fly from those materials.”
The materials for the bags have been selected by key organizer and award-winning fly tyer, Clark “Uncle Cheech” Pierce.
“Cheech is the one who actually suggested we add the competition to the expo, and the contestants won’t know what the materials are going to be until they get the bags,” Quapp said. “Once that first competition is done, Cheech and other judges will decide which of the 11 will go on to the next phase, until there is only one winner. And the winner will get a nice prize.”
One of the activities Quapp always looks forward to is the induction of nominees into the Utah Fly Fishing Hall of Fame.
“Nominees are usually senior attendees, men and women, of the expo who have made significant contributions to different aspects of fly fishing in Utah,” he said. “Some of them are biologists who are focused on conservation. Some are people who promote fly fishing to the general population and youths and some focus on veterans programs. Right now, I’m certain there are three, but there could be a fourth inductee.”
As a prelude to the expo, organizers will host a fundraising banquet on April 9 at the Hilton Garden Inn.
The evening will feature live and silent auctions, Quapp said.
“The silent auction will offer a variety of items — typically fly rods to high-quality flies tied by some of our donors,” he said. “We’ll have some clothing and ice coolers, almost everything outdoors people would enjoy having.”
The live auction will typically include a large number of fly-fishing trips and getaways, Quapp said.
“This year our featured trip is for two to Patagonia,” he said. “One of our donors has offered up a stay at a lodge, and that trip value is about $9,000.”
Live auction items will also include local trips and experiences on the Green River and other fishing spots, as well as some artwork, Quapp said.
“The money raised will help us put on the expo, which is a very expensive operation to conduct,” he said. “At the end of the day, if we have some money left over, we’ll divide it up among the six organizing sponsors.”
The organizations use the money to support their various conservation and social programs, according to Quapp.
“At High Country, we host one or two events for veterans, and we also support fly-fishing classes for youths,” he said. “We also have conservation projects such as Trout in the Classroom where we need revenue to run throughout the year.”
Engaging the youth is important to sustaining the sport of fly fishing, so organizers make sure the expo features something for all ages, Quapp said.
“We see kids who are as young as 5 who come, so we even have a youth tying table,” he said. “The kids can sit down for how long their attention span lets them and learn the basics of fly tying.”
Quapp is also grateful for the connections he’s made with other fly fishers through the expo.
“The camaraderie associated with meeting some of the newcomers in both the fly-tying and fly-fishing population as well as vendors is always enjoyable,” he said. “These are people who, in some cases, I end up fishing with. It’s a great social experience where I get to enjoy and share with others my knowledge of fly fishing that I have accumulated for more than 50 years.”
Wasatch Fly Tying & Fly Fishing Expo
- When: April 10-11
- Where: Mountain America Expo Center, 9575 S. State St. in Sandy
- Web: wasatchexpo.com
Also:
Wasatch Fly Tying & Fly Fishing Expo Fundraising Banquet
- When: April 9
- Where: Hilton Garden Inn, 277 West Sego Lily Drive, Sandy
- Web: wasatchexpo.com