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 at Fly-Tying Discovery Center
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.
10am - 4pm
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 conservation 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
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)
9AM
Festival Wristband Required to enter the following morning events
Official Welcome to the 4th Annual Battenkill Fly Fishing Festival - Bill Bullock, Arlington Common and BFFF4 Chair
9-9:45am
The Battenkill’s Trico Hatch - Fishing the White Winged Curse
Doug Lyons, Author of The Fly Fishing Guide to the Battenkill
Performing Arts Center, Arlington Common Campus
10:00 - 12 noon
Hook Yourself a Trout Today!
Come Create Design and Color a native wild trout ornament to take home. All materials are provided
Ages 1-99 - Free to all - Donations are gladly accepted to benefit The Common and the Battenkill Fund
Hosted by longtime Arlingtonian and Fisher Elementary School teacher Valerie Oakland and her daughter Kristin Oakland
10-10:45 am
State of the Battenkill presentation
Jacob Fetterman, TU Battenkill Home Rivers Initiative; NY Project Coordinator, and
Jesse Vadala, TU’s Northeast Coldwater Habitat Team & Engagement Coordinator (NY/CT)
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
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.
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 - What Trout Like to Eat & the Flies to Feed Them
This recently updated video-based presentation includes incredible underwater footage of a variety of aquatic insects, bait fish & crustaceans that trout eat in order to survive.
Tim Flagler is the owner of Tightline Productions, L.L.C., a video production company located in Califon, NJ. Tim is a well-known fly tying instructor. His YouTube videos are some of the best in the business and his YouTube channel, practicalpatterns.com currently has over 120,000 subscribers and 39 million views. Almost every week he produces a new fly tying or “how to” video which appear not only on his YouTube channel but on Midcurrent and the Orvis News fly fishing blog as well. They’re also featured on Trout Unlimited’s national website and in the Orvis Learning Center.
Performing Arts Center, Arlington Common Campus
3:00 pm - 3:45 pm
Come meet Fred Campbell and attend his conference to learn more about his epic adventures fly fishing for Atlantic salmon. Discover his favorite places, gain insights into this iconic wild fish, learn how to fish for them, and watch stunning footage of his most memorable moments on the river. This unique experience offers a deeper understanding of the Atlantic salmon—the fish that inspired the creation of his company, Hooké.
Performing Arts Center, Arlington Common Campus
4:00 pm - 4:45 pm
Rob Heal, co-host of the New Fly Fisher Television Shoow will present on the most memorable places that he’s visited as a TV show host. He'll talk about his experiences as a host and those shoots that really stood out and open it up to questions on the individual experiences.
Rob Heal is a third generation flyfisher from Nova Scotia. He spent the majority of his professional life in outdoor sporting goods and has guided professionally for over 25 years. He is currently a co-host with The New Flyfisher television show and still guides in Ontario.
Performing Arts Center, Arlington Common Campus
5:00 PM - 5:45 pm
John Shaner, Angling Historian, and renowned Catskill fly-tyer.
Trout Flies: A Discussion of their styles and development from Antiquity to Modern Times
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
Steak Tip Dinner with Sauced BBQ
Local grillers, Sauced BBQ, will provide delicious steak tips, macaroni & cheese, corn, 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. $22 per dinner. If you purchase take-out tickets, you can eat on-site; seating is not guaranteed.
6 pm - 7:30PM -
Join us for a special screening of Scale of Change: Together for Wild Salmon, a powerful documentary presented by Hooké & the Atlantic Salmon Federation. This film explores the urgent need to protect wild atlantic salmon, showcasing the dedication and challenges faced by those working to preserve this vital species.
Entrepreneur and avid outdoorsman, Fred Campbell is also the founder of Hooké which has brought him to travel around the world to meet with inspiring people who share a common passion for fly fishing and conservation. Whether he is in a business meeting or fighting a big
Atlantic Salmon in the Gaspé Peninsula, one thing remains: he has always followed his passion for adventure and conservation and has dedicated great efforts in promoting Atlantic Salmon fishing and live release. Atlantic Salmon are precious and have been at the heart of Hooké since day one. Collaborating with the ASF is an opportunity to invite you to join the Wild salmon, Wild rivers movement. May
our actions through this collaboration contribute to Atlantic salmon conservation and pay tribute to the king of our rivers, the Atlantic salmon.” Fred Campbell
7:30 pm-10 pm
LIVE MUSIC | Mixed Roots
Mixed Roots is a genre-blending band that brings a powerful mix of reggae, rock, and AfroBeat to the stage. Led by drummer and vocalist George, who hails from Accra, Ghana, the band fuses traditional African rhythms with reggae grooves for an electrifying sound.
Bassist Brian, an Irishman with deep roots in the upstate New York reggae scene, adds a jam-band flavor influenced by artists like the Grateful Dead. Guitarist Pete, another Irishman, brings decades of passion and experience spanning reggae, rock, and everything in between.
The band’s horn section—featuring Dave and Catherine on trombones and Scott on saxophone—brings a fiery brass energy that elevates every performance. Together, these musicians, from different backgrounds and influences, have found a home in Albany, New York, where they craft a sound that is as diverse as their roots.
