Polson Park Pond Photo From Greater Vernon Museum and Archives
A brief history of the Kalamalka Fly Fishers Society
The Kalamalka Fly Fishers were spawned in a little pet food / tackle shop in the early 80’s. A like minded diverse group of Fly Fishers met at Ed Walkers store for coffee and fish stories. They decided to form a fly-fishing Club. The original name they came up with was the North Okanagan Fly Fishers. In April of 1986 they put an ad in the local paper asking those interested to come to a meeting. That meeting had 37 prospective members, a very good start. The formal club started that year and officially became the Kalamalka Flyfishers Society (KFF). The aim of the KFF instantly became apparent; conservation, education and sharing of the information among its members.
Over the years the KFF has been involved in numerous endeavors. The largest project has been the enhancement of Cold Stream Creek near Vernon. The first and biggest project was in Cold Stream Creek Park. Several hundred yards of creek bed were enhanced with ripraps, several weirs were built with tires to create pools and the stream bed was covered with fresh gravel. An interpretive sign was erected on site and every fall school children are bused to the site to observe Kokanee Salmon during their spawning season. To date the KFF have expanded their efforts to two other locations on the creek as an ongoing project that’s revisited regularly for maintenance.
Other projects include graveling a small feeder creek into Hidden Lake near Enderby and the installation of outhouses on Campbell Lake, Scuitto Lake and Grizzly Swamp. These were greatly appreciated by the fishing public.
In 1989 the North West Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers presented the KFF with a club of the year award. In 1993 and again in 2008 the KFF received an award from the British Columbia Federation of Fly Fishers (BCFFF) for conservation and enhancement of the Cold Stream Creek. In 1996 the Penticton Fly Fishers presented the KFF with their President’s Award. In 2011 the KFF received the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC Service Award. The efforts of KFF members have been recognized by several parent organizations. These awards show the KFF commitment to the preservation and enhancement of our waters and environment.
The KFF presents service awards to members for their outstanding contributions to the KFF and community. These awards are named after deceased members who went above and beyond with their participation and contributions to the KFF. Len Wiengerchuk, Morris Dean, Bob Munk and Glen Ferguson lend their names to these much covenanted awards which are presented to deserving members each year.
Submitted by P Cavanagh (founding member)