Last week’s Greatwaters Fly Fishing Expo at Pheasant Run, St. Charles, Ill was a great success. Casters casted, and tiers tied.  People came, and talked and bought and learned. The authors and the artists spoke and signed and carved and painted. The presentations were informative and covered topics from Montana to Muskie’s, Smallmouth to Sailfish, Wisconsin to Water quality,  and Cooking to Conservation. The Young Anglers Trail sponsored by TU was big hit, challenging the youth to partake in learning activities involving both angling and conservation. There was a lot going on. There was investment in each other.

The Greatwaters Fly Fishing Expo is a place to gather and invest in the future of our natural resources and our youth. The Expo is a Pow Wow of groups and individuals who laugh, listen and share stories about what they have seen. Topics of conservation and technique are discussed by people who can still agree to disagree……..for the most part. Greatwaters is where the tangled web of fly angling and resource protection melt together. At the center of it all lies the single most important resource controlling our existence. Our last and most vital resource, still thought of as “unlimited” by the masses. That resource is Water. Just a looking at the situation in Haiti should drive home the point about the importance of water. Without fresh water none of us exist.

The Greatwaters Fly Fishing Expo in Minnesota will be held on March26-28. There is one man who is responsible for the vision of Greatwaters. His name is Tom Helgeson. Tom has provided fly anglers as well as conservation groups with a forum in Midwest Fly Fishing Magazine as well as at his Expos, to spread their message for over 20 years. He has worked tirelessly to inform and educate all ages and walks of life about the important connections between man, water and life through his love of fly fishing. Support him at Greatwaters Expo and look for the bigger picture inside the little stream.

I’ll see ya there.