Since 2007, the Gulf Coast Council has annually recognized individuals and clubs for their accomplishments in education, conservation, service and other areas that promote the goals and ideals of Fly Fishers International. Nominations for 2025 honors are now being accepted. Deadline is June 30th.
FFI members can submit nominations by online form. Qualifications for the nominee should be stated using specific accomplishments. Being concise helps insure the nominee gets strong consideration. For example:
“I think Joe is the best fly caster there is. He finished first in our club’s casting contest. He also taught a few folks how to cast.”
Much better:
“This past year, Joe became an FFI Certified Casting Instructor, taught two workshops, and gave presentations at the Mississippi Outdoors Expo. He also coached several club members on an individual basis.”.
Except for Friend of the Council, nominees must be FFI members affiliated with the Gulf Coast Council. Most awards are for contributions of the past 12 to 18 months, except for the Fly Tying Excellence Award, which is now a lifetime achievement award.
In cases where more than one well qualified nominee exists, we may end up giving up to two persons/entities the award (co-honorees). Please list all accomplishments as in some cases, the nominee could qualify for an alternative award.
Again, deadline is June 30th. Honors are announced sometime late July to August time frame. Honorees will receive a commemorative mug with their name and award (as shown in photo).
For more info, including a complete list of GCC Awards, their qualifications, past winners, and links to the nomination forms, go to the GCC Awards page – CLICK HERE.
Each year, wildlife agencies in each state designate “Free Fishing Days” for the public to fish recreationally in public waters without a fishing license. These events are part of National Fishing and Boating Week, which this year runs June 1st to June 8th.
Launched in 2020, the Tripletail Classic is a fly fishing only tournament in the Mobile Bay area and surrounding waters targeting the Atlantic Tripletail only. In a few short years, it has exploded in popularity, such that the 35 team registration limit is now reached many months before the tournament is held.
Two developments last week in the ongoing efforts to mitigate the proposed Mobile Bay dredging project. FYI, this U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project to deepen and widen the ship channel in the bay for larger ships to use the Port of Mobile calls pumping sediment directly into the bay. The amount of sediment involved – estimated to be 90 million cubic yards over 20 years – threatens to smother seagrasses, oysters, and reduce dissolved oxygen negatively impacting all aquatic species.
Caddo Fly Fishing Expo
A reminder that our 3rd annual Gulf Coast Classic fly fishing festival is next weekend, May 2nd and 3rd, at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores. If you’ve procrastinated about going, or your weekend (or Saturday) is suddenly free, it’s not too late to register. Or sign up for workshops, the Fly Fishing Film Tour on Saturday evening, or register for the Mixed Bag Contest.
This past Wednesday, the Louisiana House Natural Resources Committee met to consider several legislative bills, including HB604. This bill would’ve established a program for purchasing tags to kill red drum over the 27 inch maximum size limit. A limited number of tags would be sold for a fee of $25 each.
The Spring 2025 edition of The Gulf Streamer, the newsletter of the Gulf Coast Council of Fly Fishers International, is now available to the public online.
