Bill Rose Memorial Fly-Fishing Clinic hosts fishermen of all ages

Oct. 22, 2020 | Amy Porter
amyporter@thewestfieldnews.com

Carrie, Ava and Aaron Banks get a lesson on tying flies from Western Mass Fly Fishermen president Harold Norman.
Reminder Publishing photo by Amy Porter

HUNTINGTON – The Bill Rose Memorial Fly-Fishing Clinic, co-sponsored by the Westfield River Watershed Association and the Western Mass Fly Fishermen Club, took place on Oct. 17 across from the Huntington Health Center.

A couple of dozen people of all ages dropped in throughout the morning to the annual event that had long been organized by Bill Rose, an avid fisherman and former president of both co-sponsoring organizations, at his favorite spot along the Westfield River. The annual clinic will continue as a memorial to Rose, who passed away in 2019.

Activities included a collection of river larvae and invertebrates by Westfield State University Biology Professor Mark Damon, vice president of the Watershed Association, with the help of WSU students. Damon said crayfish, stone flies and midge larvae were among the samples collected in the river that morning, which was fast flowing after Friday’s rainstorm.

At another table Harold Norman, president of the Western Mass Fly Fishermen, was demonstrating how to tie flies to match the hatch in the river.

Visitors were also taught how to cast a fly rod and not scare away the fish with its shadow, or lose the flies or the tip of the rod.

The Westfield River Watershed Association was established in 1953 to protect and improve the natural resources of the watershed, as well as to expand recreational and other land use opportunities for people’s enjoyment and for sound ecology. To learn more, visit www.westfieldriver.org.

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