FFI Chairman Tom Logan (l) presented Keith Richard (r) with the 2019 Jay Gammel Award on Wednesday. Photo courtesy of Keith Richard.
At this week’s annual FFI Fly Fishing Expo in Bozeman, Montana, Keith Richard of Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, was recognized by Fly Fishers International with the 2019 Jay Gammel Casting Award for “his lasting contributions to the teaching of fly casting instruction”.
The Jay Gammel Award recognizes individuals who have developed instructional materials that advance fly casting instruction. These can be books, videos, websites, pamplets, etc.. The award is named after Jay Gammel, who co-authored the The Essentials of Fly Casting. That book is recognized as the first to analyze fly casting from the instructor’s perspective.
Keith is an FFI Master Casting Instructor (MCI) and one of less than 50 Masters in the world who have earned Level 2 status. This qualifies him to test candidates for Casting Instructor (CI) certification and the MCI certification.
He has served on the FFI Casting Board of Governors, and as an officer in the FFI Gulf Coast Council, and currently as president of the Acadiana Fly Rodders. He is owner of The Camp Fly Fishing School in Breaux Bridge, and works with AHERO promoting fly fishing for veterans. He has conducted workshops at FFI events and has authored articles on fly casting.
Much of Keith’s fly casting instructional material can be found on his website at www.thecampflyfishingschool.com.
