Saturday 5/3/24
FLY FISHING FESTIVITIES
MORNING
9am- 7pm
“Celebrating the Wilderness of the Last 250 Years,” Art Exhibit
Watkins House, Arlington Common Campus
9 am-5 pm
Fly-Tyers Under the Tent (Open to the public and does not require a wristband purchase to enter)
The BFFF4 will feature some of the best fly-tyers in the Northeast, focusing on the classic patterns of Maine, the Catskills, and the Battenkill. During the day, they'll be set up in the main tent, and hourly presentations and seminars will be held in the Fly-Tying Discovery Center, with projection and audio to follow along.
FLY TYERS Tent, Arlington Common Campus
9am - 5pm
Vendor Village (Open to the public and does not require a wristband purchase to enter.)
The Village features both bamboo and graphite rod makers, antique rod and tackle sellers, antique book sellers, fly fishing artists, destination lodges, and fly fishing organizations from all over the US. Many other vendors, too!
Vendor Village, Arlington Common Campus
9 AM -11 AM and 3-5 PM
The First Annual Battenkill Cup Fly Casting Championship
Compete for bragging rights on the Battenkill. We have room for 25 participants to compete in an accuracy, distance, and combined event. The winner of each will receive an Orvis Fly Rod and a coveted Battenkill Cup Trophy
10 am (Festival Wrist Band Required to enter following morning events)
Official Welcome to the 3rd Annual BFFF - Bill Bullock and Jared Carpenter
Official Welcome to the Battenkill Fly Fishing Festival and TU Regional Meeting - Bill Bullock, Arlington Common Treasurer and BFFF Chair and Jared Carpenter, VT TU Council Chair
9-11 AM - Pickleball Courts, Arlington Common
3-5 PM - Arlington Rec Park Casting Pond
*Limited to 1st 25 participants (sign up at Will Call when purchasing tickets)
(Festival Wrist Band Required to enter following events at the Arlington Recreational Park)
10-10:45 am
State of the Battenkill presentation
Jacob Fetterman, TU Battenkill Home Rivers Initiative; NY Project Coordinator
Performing Arts Center, Arlington Common Campus
10 AM
Family Trout River Ecology Workshop with Declan McCabe, St. Michaels College Professor of Biology.
Join Professor McCabe in a family-friendly exploration of the Battenkill’s bug life. You’ll take water and bug samples from the Battenkill and then identify them in an open-field lab
Rec. Park
10 am (Festival Wrist Band Required to enter following morning events)
Official Welcome to the Battenkill Fly Fishing Festival - Bill Bullock, Arlington Common Board and BFFF Chair
10-10:45 am
State of the Battenkill presentation
Jacob Fetterman, TU Battenkill Home Rivers Initiative; NY Project Coordinator
Performing Arts Center, Arlington Common Campus
10am
American Fly Fishing Tours (festival wristband will give you entrance to the American Museum of Fly Fishing)
Guided Tour of the American Museum of Fly Fishing (located at 4070 Main Street, Manchester, VT – 8 miles north of Arlington)
AMFF is home to the world’s largest collection of angling and angling-related items, numbering in the thousands. The collections and exhibits thoroughly document the evolution of fly fishing as a sport, art form, craft, and industry in the United States and abroad, dating as far back as the sixteenth century.
American Fly Fishing Museum, Manchester
10 am-3 pm
Casting Lessons & Demonstrations (Festival Wrist Band Required to enter)
Join a dream team of certified fly fishing instructors from Fly Fishers International, Orvis Professionals, and local Battenkill Anglers for free casting lessons and troubleshooting expertise on common fly casting mistakes.
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Tom Rosenbauer
Chief Enthusiast, Orvis
Finding Trout - Taking Your Trout Fishing to the Next Level.
FLY FISHING FESTIVITIES AFTERNOON
12:00 PM - 5 PM
FOOD & BEVERAGE
Lawson’s Microbrew Tent
Often regarded as Vermont's finest brewery, Lawson’s will be the exclusive beer provider for the BFFF4. Chat with the brewers, taste their award-winning beers, and enjoy a fantastic weekend in southwestern Vermont.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages are available for purchase. We recommend purchasing dinner tickets in advance.
Lunch: Hound Dogs, The best local food truck, is back with a wide range of tasty grilled items, including Philly Cheesesteaks, Burgers, Sausages, and more.
Tent, Arlington Common Campus
Fish Fry offered by the Arlington Lions will be presented at the Arlington Recreational Park (copy to come). Tickets must be purchased in person, first come, first serve.
Arlington Recreational Park
1:00 - 5:00 pm
(Festival Wrist Band Required to enter following events)
Fly-Tyer Discovery Center
Hour-long presentations with renowned fly-tyers. The hourly presentations and seminars will be held with projection and audio to follow along.
Fitness Center Studio, Arlington Common
1:00 pm - 1:45 pm
Monte Burke - Author Lords of the Flies
Monte Burke is the New York Times bestselling author of Lords of the Fly, Saban, 4th and Goal, and Sowbelly, and the co-editor of Atlantic Salmon Treasury, 75th Anniversary Edition and Leaper. Rivers Always Reach the Sea, his new collection of angling stories, will be released in June 2025. Burke has been the recipient of Barnes & Noble’s Discover Great New Writers award and an Axiom Award for biography. His books have been named “Best of the Year” by Sports Illustrated, Outdoor Life, Field & Stream, and Amazon.com. He is a contributing editor at Forbes, Garden & Gun, and The Drake, and has also written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Esquire, Outside, and The Daily Beast. Burke graduated from Middlebury College with a BA in religion. He grew up in New Hampshire, Vermont, North Carolina, Virginia and Alabama, and now lives in Brooklyn with his family.
2:00pm - 2:45pm
Tim Flagler
Performing Arts Center, Arlington Common Campus
3:00 pm - 3:45 pm
Fred Campbell - Hooke and
Performing Arts Center, Arlington Common Campus
4:00 pm - 4:45 pm
Mark Melnyk, Executive Producer, The New Fly Fisher
Performing Arts Center, Arlington Common Campus
5:00 PM - 5:45 pm
John Shaner, Angling Historian, and renowned Catskill fly-tyer.
Traditional British fly tying and how it inspired American trout fly design.
Performing Arts Center, Arlington Common Campus
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Biking Tour of the Battenkill
Gather at the Gardens at Yellow Barn Farm on the north bank of the Battenkill.
Bring your bike for a family-friendly, 12-mile, mostly flat, guided ride along River Road adjacent to the Battenkill. Learn the merits of reaching Battenkill fishing spots on two wheels with someone who knows the river’s access points. See the sights of West Arlington at a casual pace. Experience first-hand why bike tourism featuring Arlington’s gravel roads is growing more popular by the year. Hear about this newly conserved and improved river access before heading out.
Meet at the Yellow Barn off 313 West
5 pm - 9 pm
BBQ Chicken Dinner with Sauced BBQ
Local grillers, Sauced BBQ, will provide delicious BBQ chicken, coleslaw, baked potato, and a roll. A vegetarian option is available. Tickets purchased in advance guarantee seating in the dinner tent. Take-out is available for pick-up. $19 per dinner. If you purchase take-out tickets, you can eat on-site; seating is not guaranteed.
7:30 pm-10 pm
LIVE MUSIC | Mixed Roots - Funky Reggae Party
