Jim Range National Casting Call
Save the Date for next year's JRNCC
Thursday April 14, 2011
Sponsored By
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The Jim Range National Casting Call is an annual fishing event at Fletcher's Cove in the C&O Canal National Historical Park in Washington, DC. The event is intended to provide government decision makers with the opportunity to fish for shad in the Potomac River and learn about the importance of collaborative fisheries conservation. Nearly ten years ago, the concept of the event was developed by conservation visionary, Jim Range. After Jim passed away in 2009 the event was renamed in his honor.
Hosted by the American Fly Fishing Trade Association, the Jim Range National Casting Call provides the perfect venue to spend time on the water to experience first-hand the benefits of collaboration in fisheries management. The event celebrates a precious natural resource and the country’s recreational fishing heritage at a location used by our forefathers and Native Americans for the same purpose – fishing for American Shad. Shad served as a food resource for many generations, but the fishery faced substantial declines due to overfishing and loss of spawning habitat. The abundance of shad that Jim Range National Casting Call participants will find provides a model of conservation success through partnerships that can be used in fisheries nationwide.
The event spotlights AFFTA’s strategic and core partner, the National Fish Habitat Action Plan (NFHAP), a public/private collaboration working to protect, restore and enhance our waterways and fisheries across the country. The Jim Range National Casting Call provides the venue for NFHAP to honor exceptional individuals or partners who have demonstrated a commitment to fish habitat conservation, science, or education with the National Fish Habitat Annual Awards. During the event’s luncheon, NFHAP Board members will be presenting the nation’s “10 Waters to Watch,” some of the nation’s most promising aquatic habitat projects demonstrating the results of conservation efforts under the National Fish Habitat Action Plan.
The Jim Range National Casting Call starts with a morning on the Potomac with top fly fishing guides fishing for spawning shad. Onshore activities throughout the day include fly tying demonstrations, displays from some of the nation’s top conservation organizations and recognition of local students who have participated in shad restoration on the Potomac.