Minister Byrne Announces Details of Year of the Salmon Fly Competition

  • Fisheries and Land Resources

March 6, 2019

The Honourable Gerry Byrne, Minister of Fisheries and Land Resources, today announced details of the Year of the Salmon Fly Competition including a panel of some of the province’s finest fly-tying enthusiasts chosen to select the definitive Newfoundland and Labrador salmon fly.

Bruce Andrews of Grand Falls-Windsor, Colin Burridge of Corner Brook, Judith Guy of Mount Pearl, and Darryl Reardon of Happy Valley-Goose Bay will oversee Newfoundland and Labrador’s International Year of the Salmon Fly Competition.

The competition will have two streams: Angler’s Choice, to name the province’s favourite existing fly design; and Designer’s Choice, to select the province’s best original salmon fly design. More details on the judging panel members and the Angler’s and Designer’s Choice competitions are available in the backgrounder below.

International Year of the Salmon highlights the importance of salmon and how people can help ensure the conservation and restoration of salmon and salmon habitats, especially in light of increasing environmental change. These ideas are reflected in the theme, “Salmon and people in a changing world,” with international events planned for 2019 and continuing into 2022.

Along with the salmon fly competition, other activities planned for Newfoundland and Labrador in 2019 include:

  • Five youth angling and salmon conservation education events;
  • Youth essay and poster contests focusing on the importance of salmon to Newfoundland and Labrador;
  • Creation of a salmon ecology exhibit at Salmonier Nature Park; and
  • A mobile salmon conservation vehicle that will travel and attend public events.

Quotes
“Newfoundland and Labrador is rarely recognized as the place where more wild Atlantic salmon are produced than all other rivers in North America combined, and yet it is an unquestionable fact. We boast many of the world’s finest salmon rivers and angling opportunities and we will celebrate this shared resource by leading the International Year of the Salmon activities in the Northwest Atlantic. Our provincial salmon fly competition is one of the pillars of this celebration – one that will create a legacy to this special year. Our panel of jurists represents some of the most knowledgeable fly-tying enthusiasts the province has to offer. I would encourage all of our province’s fly tiers to open their imaginations and their vises for the bragging rights as the creator of the province’s Year of the Salmon provincial salmon fly.”
Honourable Gerry Byrne
Minister of Fisheries and Land Resources

“As an avid angler and fly tier, it is an honour to be invited to take part in the Newfoundland and Labrador Year of the Salmon Fly Competition judging panel, and I’m especially proud to do so as a representative of the Becoming an Outdoors Woman Program. I’m always happy to meet like-minded fly tying experts and enthusiasts from across the province. I expect my fellow judges and I will be surprised by the creativity of the submissions, and I look forward to examining the variety of salmon flies that comes forward.”
Judith Guy
Newfoundland and Labrador Year of the Salmon Fly Competition Judging Panel

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Learn more
International Year of the Salmon external link icon

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Media contact
Linda Skinner
Fisheries and Land Resources
709-637-2284, 632-8167
lindaskinner@gov.nl.ca

BACKGROUNDER

Newfoundland and Labrador Year of the Salmon Fly-tying Competition Judging Panel

Bruce Andrews
Bruce Andrews of Grand Falls-Windsor has been fishing wild Atlantic salmon for food and pleasure since 1975, and started tying flies in 1978. He is the owner of Andrews’ Flies and has tied and sold more than 100,000 flies at a rate of approximately 2,500 per year. He is president of Environmental Resource Management Association (ERMA) in Grand Falls-Windsor, a conservation organization focused in on tourism and salmonid interpretation and research.

Colin Burridge
Colin Burridge of Corner Brook is a passionate angler and fly tier who enjoys sharing his work with others as an active member of several popular Facebook groups focusing on salmon anglers and fly tying. He was introduced to fly fishing in 2004, which soon led to fly tying. To improve his skills, he began recording fly-tying videos, which evolved into instructional online videos on fly tying that have been well received on social media.

Judith Guy
Judith Guy of Mount Pearl is a lifetime angler, a licensed fishing guide, and an instructor in the Provincial Government’s Becoming an Outdoors Woman (BOW) Program delivering fly casting, fishing basics and fly-tying courses. She is a former board member of Salmonid Association of Eastern Newfoundland (SAEN) and a past member of the Atlantic Salmon Association. She started salmon angling on the Terra Nova River in 1985, and learned basic fly tying, casting techniques, and reading the water from her father on the Pinware River.

Darryl Reardon
Darryl Reardon of Happy Valley-Goose Bay is an avid outdoorsman and angler, licensed guide, and director with the Labrador Hunting and Fishing Association. He started tying flies for trout as a young boy on the Great Northern Peninsula, and became interested in tying salmon flies and salmon fishing as a teenager. In 2001, while working as a pilot with Labrador Grenfell Health, he caught his first salmon and was instantly “hooked.”

Competition Details

Angler’s Choice: The judging panel will identify a list of known salmon fly designs commonly used in Newfoundland and Labrador. From this pool, they will select a short list of candidates for Angler’s Choice. Voting will open on the Engage NL website on April 2 for the public to choose their favourite fly from the list, or make their own suggestion. The design that lands the most votes will be designated Provincial Salmon Fly. The winning fly will be announced May 1.

Designer’s Choice: Individual fly designers/tiers will have the opportunity to create an original fly design that best illustrates the theme of Salmon Conservation and Angling in Newfoundland and Labrador. The fly must be accompanied by a brief description explaining its design features and the significance of the design to its creator. Entries for Designer’s Choice will be accepted until April 19. The winner will be announced May 31 and will receive an angler’s package. Entries may be submitted to:

Year of the Salmon Fly Competition
30 Strawberry Marsh Road
PO Box 8700
St. John’s, NL
A1B 4J6

Email: lindsayoates@gov.nl.ca for specific questions for the contest.

2019 03 06 2:40 pm