Tuesday with…

The city of Bangor will reel in a big catch come May 11-12, 1991. The Northeastern Council, Federation of Fly Fishers has chosen this city to be the site of its 1991 Conclave.

The president of the Northeastern Council, Martin Redcay of Wallkill, N.Y., following an inspection visit to Bangor, made the announcement that Bangor was selected to be the meeting site because of its closeness to the most renowned Atlantic salmon river in the United States, the Penobscot, and in addition, its easy access to area lakes, ponds and streams.

The Conclave marks the first time the Federation of Fly Fishers has held a gathering in the state of Maine.

Redcay’s announcement noted that the Bangor Motor Inn in the Bangor Mall area, with it well-appointed, 300-person dining room facilities and ground-level exhibition area, will be the Conclave headquarters. The two-day gathering will be concluded with a dinner and a keynote “speaker widely known and respected by the nation’s fly fishing anglers.”

This is the Silver Anniversary year for the Federation of Fly Fishers, The 1991 Conclave in Bangor marks the 26th year of the national organization. All the money raised in the ’91 Conclave gathering is committed to the federation’s conservation and educational programs.

The ’91 Conclave in Bangor, Redcay says, will be a very special occasion and no efforts will be spared to make this one a memorable and enjoyable event for all who attend. He says council members are lining up a contingent of talented fly tyers who will exhibit and lecture in a modern convention facility and in surroundings close by the famed Atlantic salmon waters of the Penobscot.

Redcay asserts Bangor was selected for its ’91 Conclave because it offers many notable recreational assets which a vacationing family may enjoy. “On my first visit to Bangor, I found the city has a wide range of artistic and cultural resources. And, of course, our members are ardent fishers. I found there will be many opportunities for those members who will arrive early or continue their vacations in Maine after the Conclave.”

He says the two-day meeting will be of great benefit to the public. An unspecified number of exhibits of the fly-fishing industry – rods, reels, lines, accessories, etc. – will be on public display in the daylight hours.

“There will be a team of expert speakers who will talk and discuss fly fishing, emphasizing catch-and-release as an integral part of the fly-fishing ethic. Catch-and-release signifies the FFF philosophically, a conservationist and a protector of America’s sport fisheries,” added Redcay.

He asserted that most FFF members tie their own flies, using feathers, fur, yarn and synthetic materials. Many prefer to catch saltwater species and tie streamers to simulate bait fish. The artificial fly is tied to a fine, almost invisible leader, long enough to avoid frightening a smart Eastern brook trout, supposedly fooling one into thinking that the retread offering is the real thing, food for the tummy. Not so with saltwater flies, claims Redcay.

“You can get by rodding a fly that looks like something out of Rube Goldberg’s fly box. And, usually during a feeding period, a dog-eared-looking saltwter fly will work on striped bass and sometimes, bluefish. Anyway, we’ll have exhibits and experts talking and instructing on fly-rodding saltwater.”

The two-day Conclave will not be without a pleasant form of early spring entertainment. Lecturers will conduct programs on fishing Alaska, New Zealand and other far-off hot spots. There will be intensive hands-on instruction in rod-building and fly-tying – much devoting instruction on spinning deer hair, designing and constructing artificial fly plates and, since the Penobscot River practically flows past the front door of the Bangor Motor Inn, festival attendees can expect a full measure of Atlantic and landlocked salmon fly-making.

Redcay, the Northeastern Council representative behind the ’91 Conclave, says the Bangor meeting will honor the Federation of Fly Fishers’ past and reaffirm another quarter-century commitment to further practice catch-and-release angling as a revolutionary means of maintaining and enhancing sport-fishing resources in Maine and elsewhere in the U.S. in the mid-1990s.

Within the next fortnight, Redcay will invite several well-known Eastern Maine anglers to act as a steering committee leading up to the ’91 Conclave. Invitations to participate in the planning will be extended to Dorothy Douglass, Penobscot Salmon Club; Walter Dickson, Edington Salmon Club; Richard McCleod, Penobscot Conservation Association; Francis Montville, Old Town; Claude Westfall, Orono; Earl Eastwood, Sunkhaze Chapter of Trout Unlimited; Dr. Jean Guerin, Veazie Salmon Club; Ray Stout of Bangor and Gayland Hachey of Veazie.

Exhibitors and organizations will wish to participate in the two-day affair may get additional information by writing: Federation of Fly Fishers, Northeastern Council, Box 70, RD 1, Wallkill, N.Y., 12589, or call (914) 895-2895.

Bangor has reeled in a big catch.