Southwest Council Fly Fishers International
Who or What is the Southwest Council ?
The Southwest Council of Fly Fishers International represents all of Southern California and Nevada. Fly Fishers International is a 54 year old international non-profit organization dedicated to the betterment of the sport of fly fishing through Conservation, Restoration and Education. Fly Fishers International and its Councils are the only organized advocate for fly fishers on an national and regional level.
What Has the Southwest Council done for me ?
It does nothing for you personnaly, unless you take into consideration what it has done and is still doing to promote conservation and fly fishing.
- Volunteers from several SWC clubs work with disabled veterans and wounded active duty military personnel in VA hospitals and clinics, as well as military hospitals, as part of Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing. On-going classes teach fly fishing basics, fly tying, fly casting and rod building, and participants go on local day fishing trips as well as overnight trips. Everything is provided to the participants at no cost. The camaraderie and relationship-building that occurs in PHWFF make it truly unique. The SWC has supported PHWFF since its beginnings in 2007.
- Council members are continually teaching young and old a like; fly tying, fly casting and fishing techniques, through its member clubs.
- Council members regularly volunteer to work with the US Forest Service, through FRVC*.
- SWCmembers volunteered over 6,000 hours. Contacting over 5,000 forest visitors, educating them about fishing regulations and the care of our Southern California trout streams. In the Angeles National Forest alone,
- SWC members working with the FRVC*, removed over 10,200 pounds of trash from our streams. All of this was in one year. Continually removes graffiti along numerous streams in our Southern California mountains.
- Working with the California Fish and Game in the Southern California and the eastern sierras, on stream surveys, allowing better management of our fisheries. Maintains angler survey boxes in the Angeles and San Bernardino National Forest.
- SWC members are continually working to remove invasive plants from our southern California streams.
- SWC volunteers are continually removing dams along our streams, built by forest visitors. These dams allow silt to build up behind them. This reduces the spawning areas for trout and prohibits their movement up and down stream.
- SWC volunteers installed a new informational kiosk in Kernville. The kiosk promotes a better understanding of our native fish and state fish, the Golden Trout.
- The council placed educational signs on Hot Creek in the eastern sierras.
- SWC volunteers are currently working to rehabilitate the Hot Creek information kiosk.
- SWC volunteers have gone into the Golden Trout Wilderness with the USFS and DFG. They have done restoration projects, such the rehab on Templeton Meadows. This is an area that had been over grazed by cattle for 100 years. Willows were replanted in order restore the river bank for the native Golden Trout.
- SWC volunteers have installed mono filament recycle receptacles.
The list goes on and on, there just isn’t room for it all.
Now the question for you is, Has the council done anything for you, in any way ?
DO YOU WANT TO BECOME PART OF THIS ON GOING PROGRAM ?