GCC board welcomes Lisa Lowman

Posted on July 20, 2025 by Catch Cormier

The FFI Gulf Coast Council is excited to announce the addition of Lisa Lowman to the GCC Board of Directors. Lisa brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and passion for fly fishing to the board. She has also agreed to serve as our liaison for the FFI Women Connect program.

Born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida, Lisa currently lives just outside New Orleans in Slidell, Louisiana with her husband and daughter. She picked up a fly rod in 2012 and never looked back. What started as a curiosity quickly turned into a lifelong passion for chasing fish, exploring wild places, and sharing the joy of fly fishing with others.

Since joining the U.S. Coast Guard in 2014, she has balanced military service with a strong commitment to community and conservation. Lisa has been an active FFI member since 2015 and a dedicated volunteer with Casting for Recovery since 2017 —supporting women in their recovery journeys through the healing power of fly fishing.

Whether helping lead co-ed or women’s-only casting clinics, Lisa brings patience, positivity, and a genuine love for teaching. She is especially passionate about making the sport more inclusive and creating welcoming spaces on the water for anglers of all backgrounds.

Let’s join in welcoming Lisa to our council leadership!

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New book features familiar fly tiers

Posted on July 13, 2025 by Catch Cormier

The Fly Tying Group (FTG) of Fly Fishers International (FFI) has published a new book, “Fly Tying for All Fish All Waters”. This hardcover book features over 100 patterns, including tips on tying, historical info, and more from some of the most noted names currently in fly tying.

Most of the contributions to the book came from featured tiers at the FTG’s show in Dallas, TX, in September of last year. The photos of selected patterns are of high quality, and each has a story behind it, written by the tier, which gives the reader insight to the origin of the fly, and it’s most effective use.

Included in the list of contributors are several members of the Gulf Coast Council. Realistic tying guru Fred Hannie of Lake Charles, LA, is an FFI Buz Buzsek Award honoree – the highest recognition in the world of fly tying. In addition to his featured patterns, his artwork graces the cover of the book. Other GCC tiers who are featured include Kenneth Breaux, Ron Braud, and Catch Cormier. Kenneth, Ron, and several other tiers featured in the book have demonstrated at our annual Gulf Coast Classic. Those include Patty Luekin, Dutch Baughmann, Barry Webster, Jerry Coviello, and Jack Gillis.

In addition to featured patterns, there’s a section on how to become a better tier, with articles and photos from tying gurus like Charlie Craven, Hans van Klinken, Skip Morris, Davy Wotton, Al Ritt, Kelly Galloup, Tim Flagler, Jerry Coviello, Tom Rosenbauer, and more.

A “Looking Back” chapter features tiers from FFF conclaves of the past thirty years. Wayne Luallen, Craig Mathews, Bruce Staples, Scott Sanchez, Masao Sakaguchi, and Al & Gretchen Beatty revisit their patterns and experiences.

“Fly Tying for All Fish All Waters” is currently shipping. Cost is $75. For more details, or to purchase, click here .

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New saltwater limits for Alabama

Posted on June 28, 2025 by Catch Cormier

Last week, Alabama Department of Consrvation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) Commissioner Chris Blankenship signed off on several regulations proposed by the Marine Resources Division and approved by the ADCNR Commission at their last meeting.

The species of greatest concern to fly anglers were redfish, sheepshead, and snook. All three will benefit from conservation-directed changes in creel and bag limits. These changes were proposed by MRD with support from several conservation groups including the FFI Gulf Coast Council.

Redfish. Anglers will no longer be allowed to possess red drum over the slot limit of 16-26 inches total length. The bag limit will remain three (3) per person. In excluding mature fish from harvest, Alabama joins several states, including Louisiana and Florida, that protect the vital spawning population.

Sheepshead. The recreational bag limit has been reduced from 10 fish to eight (8) fish. This in response to increased popularity and increased fishing pressure since previous regulations were set. (To be exact, the number of saltwater anglers went from 140,000 in 2019 to 214,000 in 2023).

Common snook. This species has been historically very rare in Alabama waters, but has seen a dramatic rise in numbers in recent years. There were no regulations until now. The new limit is one (1) fish per day with a minimum size limit of 28 inches.

MRD Director Scott Bannon, one of our presenters at the Gulf Coast Classic in May, stated, “These changes were made to balance the need to conserve our saltwater resources with our commitment to provide anglers with abundant access to fishing opportunities in Alabama’s coastal waters.”.

FFI-GCC Conservation Director Glen “Catch” Cormier stated that this was a major win for conservation. “Once again, we’re grateful to our members, the fly fishing community in general, and our conservation partners in Alabama for their emails and phone calls to commission members.  Their response was fantastic!”.

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Flip Siragusa, former GCC Tying Chair, passes

Posted on June 11, 2025 by Catch Cormier

It is with deep sadness that we share that Flip Siragusa passed away this Monday, June 9th, after a courageous bout with leukemia and several associated complications. Flip was president of Acadiana Fly Rodders of Lafayette, LA, and a prolific fly tier who had demonstrated at various events, as well as taught tying workshops through Pack & Paddle and at FFI events. He also served as Fly Tying Director for the FFI Gulf Coast Council up to last year when he was diagnosed with cancer.

Flip began flyfishing and tying flies as a youngster. He would make rudimentary popping bugs with cork bottle tops, chicken feathers, and paint. During his 30 year career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, he renewed his interest in fly fishing, expanding his tying skills and even began making his own rods.  His repertoire of over a hundred fly patterns ranged from dry flies to deer hair bugs to offshore flies, but his favorites were foam bugs and his variation of the Waldner Spoon Fly.   He also created the Zatarian Shrimp, the Pont Breaux Crawfish, and several other flies.

Flip was equally delighted with catching bream in local ponds as he was sightcasting to redfish in skinny water. The best part of being around him was hearing his many outdoors stories, both from his personal experience in the field as well as those shared to him by the “old timers”, which told the little known history of Louisiana localities and outdoor traditions.

A memorial service is being planned for later this summer. We ask that you please keep Janese and the rest of the Siragusa family in your prayers.

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June 30th deadline for GCC Awards

Posted on May 30, 2025 by Catch Cormier

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.

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Free Fishing Days coming in June

Posted on May 27, 2025 by Catch Cormier

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.

Free fishing days are the perfect opportunity to try out fishing for the first time, or introduce a beginner to the sport.  For experienced anglers willing to travel, it’s a chance to partake of fishing in another state without having to purchase a license.  Some states may have certain restrictions, so please check before making plans.

Although anglers are not required to have a recreational license for Free Fishing Days, they must still adhere to all other regulations, including size and possession limits.

Here are the free fishing days in Gulf Coast Council states:
– Alabama – Sat., June 7 (fresh, salt) *
– Florida – Sat-Sun, June 7-8 (fresh), June 14-15 (salt)
– Louisiana – Sat-Sun, June 7-8 (fresh, salt)
– Mississippi – Sat-Sun, June 7-8, July 4th (fresh, salt) **

* AL State Fishing Lakes still require a permit
** MS State Fishing Lakes require a permit on the July 4th date

Note: Free fishing days are a great opportunity to destination fish for species in the GCC Suncatch Challenge

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GCC to participate in 6th annual Tripletail Classic

Posted on May 24, 2025 by Catch Cormier

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.

The tournament format is Catch-Tag-Photo-Release (CTPR). Participants use dart tagging kits and the Fishing Chaos app to log and submit their catches. The purpose is to tag and release a significant quantity of fish to benefit species research conducted by the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Lab. Funds raised at the Awards Event go to GCRL conservation efforts.

This year, the Tripletail Classic has been moved to a much earlier date – Saturday, June 7th. While this isn’t the peak time for tripletail activity, there have been numerous reports of blackfish inside boundary waters.

There is much more to this event than the fishing. Sponsors and conservation organizations will be on hand during the afternoon leading up to the awards banquet that evening. The FFI Gulf Coast Council will again be participating in the Conservation Causeway. The Causeway was created as an outreach opportunity for organizations with a stewardship mission to connect with attendees. With nearly 200 folks on hand, this is a great opportunity to share our involvement in conservation issues.

For more on the Tripletail Classic, go to www.tripletailclassic.com.

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Update on Mobile Bay dredging project

Posted on May 21, 2025 by Catch Cormier

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.

On Thursday, Mobile Baykeeper held a town hall in Theodore, led by William Strickland, Executive Director of MB.  Nearly 180 folks attended. Revealed was a two-part plan to stop the dumping. One involves legislation which hopefully puts the sediment to use in coastal restoration. Failure of that, plan two involves litigation against USACE.

On Friday, in an interview on Mobile radio station 106.5, Alabama U.S. Senator Katie Britt stated that while she supports deepening and widening the port, “we want to do it in a responsible way”. She stated she is committed to “ensuring that the sediment is responsibly disposed of. We want to make sure that wildlife thrives and our coastline maintains its beauty… and we believe that both of these things can be done.”.

The FFI Gulf Coast Council has been a supporting partner of Mobile Baykeeper in its efforts to protect and restore Mobile Bay.

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