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Presidentfs Note for 2004 |  |
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Presidentfs Note for 2004 | |
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Since we had a great time during the WFFJ casting in
the Central Park and fly tying clinics at Urban Angler, I would like to
have them again in 2004. The attendees are starting to cast with tighter
loops and to learn the different casts. One of the casting clinics was
held for a photo shoot for New Yorker Magazine. They took pictures
while we were casting fly lines in the middle of Central Park, New York
City. It was fun when 17 fly fishers cast their fly lines in unison. Many beginners attended the fly tying clinics. We tied mostly trout flies and some members caught trout with them during a day trip to Connetquot River State Preserve, Oakdale, New York. We enjoyed a beautiful fall fishing day with colorful leaves, many kinds of birds, and above all, colorful trout. A couple of children all caught fish that day, including a young boy, who caught a beautiful fish. Letfs hope that we will have such a lovely day next year. The World Fly Fishing Championship and Conservation Symposium (WFFCCS), which has been held yearly since 1980, is like the Olympics of Fly Fishing. It is the biggest and most famous event in the world sport of fly fishing. As the Japanese national team, and as its captain, I accompanied the team to the 22nd WFFCCS in France and the 23rd WFFCCS in Spain. 2003 marked the first time that Team Japan attended the WFFCCS in consecutive years, placing 16th out of 20 countries. The teamfs 2003 results are presented on page 2. At the symposium we learned how each host country was trying to save wild trout. For example, in Aragon, they extended the catch and release area and prohibited fishing one day a week. They are now working on reconstructing rivers using the pictures from 1940fs. The 24th annual WFFCCS will be held in Liptovsky, near Mount Tatry in Slovakia from August 30-September 5, 2004. We welcome you to join Team Japan as guests. You will enjoy fishing during practice sessions, attend an opening and closing ceremony, and dine with national team anglers. In 2002 Mrs. Lesley Crawford, a Highlands guide and author of a book on wild brown trout, was a Team Japan guest. She wrote an article about Team Japan and the WFFCCS for Fish and Fly, an English fly-fishing magazine. In 2003, Dr. and Mrs. Kirk, who were guests, had a wonderful time in Spain meeting anglers from around the world and experiencing the nature of the central Pyrenees. Conservation activities in 2004 will be geared to improving the passages for trout to easily come up to the tributaries in the Catskill rivers. We will plant trees on the banks of the tributaries and reconstruct nearby culverts. Our club has been invited to have a booth at the Forth Annual Fly Fishing Festa, which will be held in Japan in the second weekend of December 2003. It is Japanfs only fly-fishing show. Our members in Japan will gather to introduce WFFJ to Japanese anglers. In the USA, we will have a table with Theodore Gordon Flyfishers at the World Fly Fishing in Danbury, Connecticut on January 2-4, 2004 and at the Fly Fishing Show in Somerset, New Jersey, on January 23-25, 2004. You will be able to obtain interesting information and see your fly-fishing friends. Since I founded World Fly Fishing of Japan, this club has introduced more than twenty men, women and children to fly fishing. We continue to introduce the sport and to do our best to save wild trout. Let us to be a bridge between the anglers of the world. My sincere appreciation for your support and involvement, and best wishes for a Happy New Year! Bright fishing, Misako Ishimura WFFJ President Team Captain |