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Cambridge Angler First Canadian To Win global Recognition
ROBERT REID
RECORD STAFF
CAMBRIDGE
A Cambridge angler is the first Canadian to earn a medal in an international fly fishing competition.
Chris Pfohl won silver in the individual category of the 2008 Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championships, in New Zealand.
Pfohl was one of five anglers on the Canadian team, which included Arron Varga of Fergus.
Team Canada competed against New Zealand, Australia (two teams each) and Scotland (men's and women's teams), in addition to Wales, England and South Africa.
Canada placed fifth in the overall team competition.
"It feels good, I worked hard for it," the 35-year-old angler says in response to his individual achievement. "No one's ever done it before."
Pfohl believes his success is a first step for Canadian fly fishers.
"We have something to work with, we need to get better."
Although he has competed for only two years, Pfohl has already represented his country in Colorado, Alberta and Tasmania, in addition to New Zealand.
His first taste of competition came when a team from British Columbia invited him on board for the Canadian Fly Fishing Championship, held on the Grand and Conestogo rivers.
"A member dropped out and they thought it would be worthwhile to have an angler familiar with local waters," he recalled.
Pfohl is a lifelong angler.
While neither of his parents were interested in the outdoors, he started fishing when he was three.
"I was born with the itch to fish. I spent all my time on the Grand while growing up in Preston."
At the age of 14 he used money from cutting grass to buy his first fly rod at the Toronto Sportsmen's Show.
"I had to dicker for a better price because I didn't have enough money."
Two years later he was tying his own flies.
Pfohl isn't a fly fishing snob.
He still fishes with all types of tackle. In fact, he was ice fishing two weeks before competing earlier this month in New Zealand.
"All fishing is understanding fish," he notes succinctly.
Nonetheless, fly fishing is special.
"Nothing beats matching Mother Nature by mimicking the food trout love to eat."
Pfohl is a self-taught angler.
"None of my friends fly fished. I had no teacher or mentor. I learned the hard way through trial and error."
His own experience leads him to encourage aspiring fly fishers to take lessons from an instructor or hire a guide to accelerate the learning process.
Pfohl fishes twice a week, but his involvement with nature is vocation as well as avocation.
A graduate of Sir Sanford Fleming College, he's an aquatics resources specialist for an environmental and engineering firm.
As well he became a pro staffer and guide for Jay's Fly Shop, in London, after developing the fly fishing section for First Choice Fishing Tackle in Guelph.
As pleased as he is to place in the Commonwealth competition, Pfohl is grateful for the opportunity to visit one of the world's fly fishing hot spots.
"It's the best place I've ever fished," asserts Pfohl, who has visited such celebrated waters as British Columbia's Skeena and New Brunswick's Miramichi, not to mention untouched rivers draining into James Bay.
"You don't go there for numbers, but quality of fish.
"Pristine rivers are cold and clear. Trophy-sized trout play harder than anywhere else I've ever fished."
Pfohl doesn't hesitate when asked to describe the experience.
"Most people would call it euphoria."
Competition aside, Pfohl enjoys fly fishing because "it gets back to the roots of fishing.
"Wading a river, using a single, barbless hook and releasing all the fish you catch, leaves the smallest footprint on the environment."
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