Historical Perspectives of the IAFFV

The concept of having veterinary continuing education at fly fishing destinations was spawned in the mid 90’s while I was working as coordinator of CVM Outreach (CE and alumni) programs at Michigan State University. Being a fly fishing addict, I just thought it was a great thing to do but couldn’t convince anyone at MSU that this would really be a successful venture.  So when I left the college in ’97, I started putting the pieces together by calling veterinarians who fly fished and asked them to call a colleague who fly fished, etc. By early 1998, that became the nucleus of fly fishing veterinarians and thus the IAFFV was born. Bob Frey, a veterinarian from Bozeman, Montana, offered to help get this off the ground by serving as treasurer and also became the first newsletter editor. With a great deal of work, expertise and perseverance, Bob assembled all of the necessary documents to be submitted to the IRS and state of Montana.  In December 1998, the IAFFV was incorporated as an IRS 501 C3 non-profit education association initially based in Bozeman. The goal was to offer 4 to 5 trips each year and we have stayed on target with an average of 4.7 programs per year from 1999 through 2006.

The Florida Keys program was the 32nd program hosted by the IAFFV. As noted, only 6 of the 38 programs offered through 2006 have been cancelled do to lack of interest because of a short time-line, been there done that, 911 or who knows? Two other destinations, Labrador, New Foundland and Kamchatka, Russia, were advertised to check interest levels, but there were no takers. Patagonia, Argentina was held in ’05 and Tasmania looks like a possibility for December 2007. We will do about anything to keep from canceling a program. However, with a success ratio of 6 to 1, we have made good progress, learned a lot along the way, enjoyed some great fly fishing destinations and met many new friends. Membership support has been outstanding and we have a reasonably high repeat rate! Those who attend once usually sign up again. This is the list of past programs:

1999

   March/April: Spring Creeks, Blue Winged Olive B & B, Paradise Valley, Montana

   August: Upper Slough Creek, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

   October: Colorado River at Lees Ferry, Marble Canyon, Arizona

2000

   January: El Pescador Lodge, Ambergris Caye, Belize

  *April: Spring Steelhead, Schmidt’s Lodge, Wellston, Michigan

   March/April: Spring Creeks, Blue Winged Olive B & B, Paradise Valley, Montana

   August: Upper Slough Creek, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

   October: Colorado River at Lees Ferry, Marble Canyon, Arizona

2001

   February: El Pescador Lodge, Ambergris Caye, Belize

   March: Spring Creeks, Blue Winged Olive B & B, Paradise Valley, Montana

   July: Best Western Motel, Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

   August: Captain Cook Hotel, Christmas Island, Pacific Ocean

   October: Weatherby’s, The Fisherman’s Resort, Grand Lake Stream, Maine

2002

   April: Spring Creeks, Blue Winged Olive B& B, Paradise Valley, Montana

   *May/June: Fishing and Rafting the Colorado River, Grand Canyon, Arizona

   July: Upper Slough Creek, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

   August: Thomas Fishing Lodge, Crooked Creek, Alaska

   October: Kingfisher Lodge, Big Horn River, Ft. Smith, Montana

2003

   January: Captain Cook Hotel, Christmas Island, Pacific Ocean

   April: Spring Creeks, Blue Winged Olive B& B, Paradise Valley, Montana

   *July: Payne River Fishing Camp, Quebec, Canada

   *August: Dana Inn, Makos on the Fly, San Diego, California

   September: Silver Salmon Creek Lodge, Coastal Lake National Park, Alaska

   November: Harker’s Island, North Carolina

   November: Colorado River at Lees Ferry, Marble Canyon, Arizona

2004

   January: El Pescador Lodge, Punta Gorda, Belize

   *April: Spring Creeks, Paradise Valley, Montana

   May: Fishing and Rafting the Colorado River, Grand Canyon, Arizona

   August: Silver Salmon Creek Lodge, Coastal Lake National Park, Alaska

   October: Kingfisher Lodge, Big Horn River, Ft. Smith, Montana

2005

   March: Patagonia Region, Esquel, Argentina

   *June: White River, Arkansas

   August: Silver Salmon Creek Lodge, Coastal Lake National Park, Alaska

   September: North Bow Lodge, Bow River, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

2006

   April: Kingfisher Lodge, Big Horn River, Ft. Smith, Montana

   May: Fishing and Rafting the Colorado River, Grand Canyon, Arizona

   August: Silver Salmon Creek Lodge, Coastal Lake National Park, Alaska

   September: Cheeca Lodge and Spa, Islamorada, Florida Keys.

*Cancelled

All of the completed programs were approved by RACE (Registry of Approved Continuing Education), a division of the American Association of Veterinary State Boards. Continuing education topics have varied but almost all programs have been small animal oriented. In all cases, speakers have done an outstanding job, sometimes with little or no audiovisual support. In recent years, steps have been taken to do improve that situation providing quality equipment even at somewhat isolated destinations. Listed below are speakers who have given their time as faculty for these programs along with their specialty area:

Dr. Darryl Biery, Radiology

Dr. Steve Birchard, Soft Tissue Surgery

Dr. Steve Budsberg, Orthopedic Surgery

Dr. Brent Calhoun, Practice Management

Dr. Jon Dee, Orthopedic Surgery

Dr. Bob Frey, Financial Investment Programs

Dr. Steve Fox, Pain Management

Dr. Gordie Jones, Dairy Practice Management

Dr. Jim Karstimas, Planning for Retirement

Dr. Bob Kennis, Dermatology

Dr. Bob Rosenthal, Oncology

Dr. Jim Ross, Cardiology

Dr. Don Sawyer, Anesthesiology and Pain Management

Bob Smith, Life Insurance/Retirement Planning

Dr. Walt Weirich, Thoracic Surgery and Cardiology

Dr. George White, Emergency Medicine

FUTURE PROGRAM PLANNING

With 32 trips completed through 2006 and Michigan Steelhead on the schedule for April 07, we will have held 33 programs at some really outstanding fly fishing destinations. So where do we go from here? I really would like your input as we begin to think about trips for 2008 and beyond.  Most of the IAFFV membership is comprised of small animal veterinarians and we just haven’t sparked much interest for large animal programs. We have a few equine veterinarians but not enough to support an equine program. Instead they attend small animal topics and being well informed about the veterinary profession is a good thing. If anyone would like to organize a program, please contact me. A detailed set of organizer guidelines is available with two initial requirements. One is that you have been to the destination and the other is that you have attended at least one of the IAFFV programs. Officers and organizers are fully insured through the association liability policy.

Tight Lines,

Don Sawyer

01/07