Western Maine Fly Fishing expo is March 17 in Bethel

BETHEL — This year’s theme for the seventh annual Western Maine Fly Fishing Expo, hosted by Mollyockett Chapter of Trout Unlimited, is “Women in Fly Fishing.”
The event will take place from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Saturday, March 17, at the Farnsworth Field House, Gould Academy, 39 Church St.

There will be an expanded exhibition hall with more than 50 exhibitors, including fly shops, guides and outfitters; sporting camps, fly tiers, rod builders, artists, authors, fishing and conservation organizations; and camp and fishing related accessories and services.
Special guest Carrie Stevens will be appearing at the Upper Dam Fishing Camp, demonstrating her in-hand method of tying Rangeley’s favorite trout and salmon flies and discussing life at Upper Dam. This year, the group has expanded its seminar and presentation program to include a panel discussion and Q&A period with several prominent Maine fly-fisher women discussing their own involvement in the sport, explaining why they believe more women should become involved, and answering questions from the audience.
There also will be presentations on the effects of climate change on brook trout in the Western Mountains of Maine, a history of fly rods in America, Maine’s mythical blue back trout/Arctic char, fishing high pressure waters, fly fishing in our neighboring Canadian provinces, and much more.
New this year will be an indoor casting area where you can “test drive” new rods. Fly shops and rod reps will have a selection of rods available to try out.
Master casting instructor Macauley Lord will be presenting a “Fly Casting Tuneup — Casting Instruction from Beginner to Expert,” and there will be other casting instructions and demonstrations scheduled throughout the day.
As always, there will bee a kids’ fly-tying bench, and each child who ties a fly will be entered in a raffle for beginners fly-tying kits. A large selection of fishing related items will be included in the silent auction, and there will be many raffles held on the exhibition floor.
The expo is Mollyockett Chapter of Trout Unlimited’s primary annual fundraiser and allows the organization to conduct cold water conservation, preservation and restoration projects as well as many youth education, adult education and veteran’s fly fishing, fly tying and conservation programs.
For more information, call 207-432-1910 or email cemcginley@hotmail.com.