Michigan’s Regular Trout Season had a cold, chilly start on April 26, but that means our local Paint Creek is now open for fishing. It also means the 2014 Paint Creek Fly for Hope Trout Tournament and the Ryan Rocks Bluegill Fly Fishing Event are approaching soon. Both events will happen on Saturday, May 31 at the Rochester Municipal Park.
This is an enormously popular one-day event founded on the motto “Fly Fishing, Friendship, Good Humor, Good Times.” Anglers may donate $25 per person ($50 per Team) to enter the Paint Creek Fly for Hope trout tournament. All proceeds this year benefit Reeling & Healing Midwest, a volunteer staffed, fully-licensed charitable, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that relies solely on donations to provide Michigan based fly-fishing retreat programs to men and women cancer survivors every year. After the trout tournament stick around for the Castapalooza Fly Casting Championship.
Also, folk singer, songwriter Alan Cayn will be with us again this year entertaining with his unique brand of fly fishing inspired traditional folk music. If you like fly fishing and helping raise funds for super-wonderful causes, then this day is for you.
What will make the 2014 trout tournament different from prior years are the vast improvements to Paint Creek’s trout habitat due to the Paint Creek Restoration Project. The project altered the creek’s structure and beautified its shorelines from Dinosaur Hill Nature Preserve to the Paint Creek Bridge on Main Street. Needless to say this is a whopper of a game changer for the trout tournament and it’s a whole new ball-game!
Good food, prizes and good company with an opportunity to network with local fly fishers and fly fishing clubs make it a great way to fill a Saturday. Some participants even come from out-of-state to attend. And, don’t forget, the day also makes a great, albeit slightly early, Father’s Day gift. The Paint Creek Fly for Hope begins at 8 a.m. and goes to 5 p.m. Team registration begins at 8 a.m. and the trout tournament begins promptly at 8:45 a.m. For complete information go to the Paint Creek Fly for Hope 2014 website.