Saturday, March 2nd is the 27th annual “Red Stick Day” fly fishing festival, which this year returns to the LDWF Waddill Outdoors Education Center on 4141 North Flannery Road in Baton Rouge. Time is 8:30am to 3:30pm. Admission is free.
Hosted by the Red Stick Fly Fishers of Baton Rouge, an FFI-GCC affiliate club, Red Stick Day is the largest and longest-running event of its kind in Louisiana. Historically, this event has featured some of the biggest names in fly fishing such as Gary Borger, Jason Borger, Ed Jaworoski, Chrystal Murray, Nick Curcione and others. In recent years, it’s featured several rising experts in our sport, such as Zach Matthews, Bill Laminack, Ed Lash and Ben Roussel.
Red Stick Day also routinely features some of the top fly tiers in the region – even the country – demonstrating their skills at the vise.
The casting sessions have featured headliners as well as Fly Fishers International Masters and Governors level instructors.
This year’s lineup of speakers include: trophy speckled trout master Vic Tedesco, Tennessee tailwater trout guide Jim Davis, and Orvis travel expert Ian Huang. Conducting the casting clinic is Jay Clark, an FFI Master Instructor, member of the U.S. Casting Team, and world casting competitor.
Among the tiers listed on the agenda are: Marc Pinsel, Peter Allen, Ray Boudreaux, Kevin “MusicDoc” Andry, Kyle Moppert, Mike Jackson, Lee Robinson and Ron Foreman.
While the programs, fly tying demos, and casting sessions appeal to both beginners and experts, many attendees enjoy the great food, comradery, and fishing on premises. There’s also one of the largest raffles of any event in the Southeast, which raises money for the club’s various educational and conservation projects.
For more info, including a schedule of activities, go to the Red Stick Fly Fishers website at www.rsff.org and click on “Red Stick Day”.
