NCCFFF Conclave Fun
October 15 – 16, 2004

by

February 2005

The Peninsula Fly Fishers is an affiliate of a larger umbrella organization called the Federation of Fly Fishers, a national fly fishing organization founded in the 60's to be the voice of organized fly fishers. The Northern California Council (the "NCC" part) is the portion of the federation that represents the interests of fly fishers in Northern California, Nevada, Hawaii and Guam. The NCCFFF has a membership of approximately 30 area clubs and, in conjunction with CalTrout and Trout Unlimited, is an important advocate for preserving and improving fishing and fish habitat.

The two big annual events sponsored by the NCCFFF are the Conclave and the Hall of Fame (which is upcoming on February 19 this year). I've always found the name "Conclave" a bit strange. According to the dictionary, a conclave is a secret meeting where church officials pick the next pope. For a while, this fly fishing meeting might have well been secret for it used to be held at Kings Beach on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. Two years ago only 125 fly fishers showed up for the festivities. Taking a risk that paid off handsomely, this year the NCCFFF moved the venue to the Redding Convention Center, within a 45 minute drive of a lifetime of beautiful trout streams. The change worked wonders, with over 500 attendees and 48 exhibitors, even in a down economy.

Fly tiers in the middle, exhibitors on the side, and silent auction on the stage.

The event has a bit of everything: education, outreach, conservation fundraising (raffles and auctions), speeches, socializing, fish tales, and scores of seminars covering fishing destinations, techniques, fly tying, and more. Not surprisingly, many of the PFF members also contribute significant amounts of time and effort volunteering and working with the NCCFFF. It is all in the spirit of giving back to a sport that we all enjoy.

In recognition of their contributions, this year two prominent PFF'ers won accolades at this year's conclave. Congratulations to Sheree Kajiwara and Harold Patterson. Sheree was awarded the President's Award for Distinguished Service for her volunteer work and Harold was named the 2004 Fly Tier of the Year! Way to go gals and guys!

Sheree Kajiwara with the President's Award

Harold Patterson, NCCFFF Fly Tier of the Year

The rest of the photos are candid shots I took while wandering the show. It is scheduled to be held again in Redding this Oct 15 – 17, 2005 so if you want to mix a great show with some prime fishing, consider a trip to the Conclave. If the last show is any indicator of its popularity, it will soon become the major meeting place for California fly fishers. And if you get bored, you can always don your waders and fish the Posse Ground riffle (quickly becoming known as the Sundial riffle, see last photo) about 100 yards away from the show!