Why this P.E.I. man is excited for angling season

The recreational angling season on P.E.I. opens April 15, and few people will be more excited than Chris Edmunds.

Edmunds, the owner of Winter River Fly Shop, spends all year tying flies in a mini barn next to his home. About 6,000 a year, he estimates.

"I guess it's more obsession now than anything," he said in an interview on CBC Radio's Island Morning.

Edmunds, 35, said he's been tying flies for ever since he was boy living in New Brunswick.

"I caught my first salmon on my own fly," he said. "That was a big bonus for me."

Edmunds moved to P.E.I. about two years agoand he brought his passion for fly fishing with him.

"Now I'm big time into trout, brookies especially," he said.

'Every piece is different'

Tying flies takes a lot of practice, Edmunds said. He uses deer hair, saddle hackles, feather dusters, turkey quills and "anything UV coloured." His flies range in price from about $2 to $50.

"A lot of technique involved, a lot of patience," he said, "especially when you're playing around with natural feathers and fibres and all that stuff because every piece is different."

Recreational anglers over 16 years of age must purchase a licence to fish on P.E.I. However, each year, the May long weekend marks Free Family Fishing weekend. During this four-day period, angling licences are not required but anglers must abide by all regulations and rules, according to the Department of Communities, Land and Environment.

The department also said Little Miminegash River, Hyde Creek in Cornwall and Campbellton Creek are closed to all angling in 2018 to allow fish stocks to recover following recent fish kills.

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