In November, 2024 Trout Unlimited Canada rebranded to Freshwater Conservation Canada! This exciting rebranding reflects our continued dedication to protecting Canada’s precious freshwater ecosystems, including our beloved streams, rivers, and lakes. With a fresh look and name, Freshwater Conservation Canada will carry on with the same impactful mission: to conserve, protect, and restore Canada’s freshwater ecosystems and their coldwater resources for generations to come.
Over the coming months, the new brand image will be implemented on the chapter website. 
Freshwater Conservation Canada – Northern Lights Fly Fishers Chapter is a group of dedicated and concerned anglers and cold-water conservationists who meet regularly throughout the year to converse about all things fly tying, fishing, and conservation. Although the groups founding principle was to get together once every week to tie flies, they have since branched out to cover all aspects of the sport.
In 2009, the Northern Lights Fly Fishers made their most bold move to date – merging with the Edmonton Chapter of Trout Unlimited Canada. This merger created one of the largest active TUC Chapters in the country, and set a new tone for both the Northern Lights, and Trout Unlimited Canada with respect to their public offerings and outreach.
 Member Bill G. Teaching a youngster at the FFE |
Each year the club endeavors to get together to go out fly fishing on what are known as “conclaves”. The membership is diverse in talents, and amongst each member’s strength everyone has something unique to offer it’s fellow members. Some are experts in rod-building, while others have practical guiding experience. No matter how diverse we are, all are eager to practice and share their craft of fly-tying along with their passion for the abundant fisheries resources we have.
 Phil Rowley working on the “Feldman Damsel” at FFE |
Through our many associations with local retailers we have helped to promote fly-tying and the sport and ethics of angling in Alberta. Something we are very proud of! In fact, a great many of our members have at one time or another volunteered their personal time to participate in a varying number of fishery enhancement projects, conservation projects and outreach programs.
Each year the club has also been graciously invited to attend the annual Outdoor Sportsman by a local business to showcase their skills. This offers us a tremendous opportunity to attract new members. Some of whom perhaps may have never even tied a fly before, or may be trying to get started on their own, to the more experienced tyers who want to both learn and share the latest patterns.
 Member ‘Scratch’ Tying at the 2006 FFE – Calgary |
No matter what your experience level is, we warmly welcome you to our new on-line home on the Internet, and to our weekly meetings!
Please feel free to have a look around, and should you decide you would like to come out to one of our meetings to get to know us better please know that you are always welcome!
Contact Information
| Position | Volunteer | |
| President | Ken Monk | President @ nlft.org |
| Vice President | Ray Smith | VicePresident @ nlft.org |
| Treasurer | Peter Little | Treasurer @ nlft.org |
| Secretary | Jeff Wilson | Secretary @ nlft.org |
| Internal Programs | Dean Befus | Program @ nlft.org |
| Community Events | Dick Slobodian | Events @ nlft.org |
| Membership | Michael Sambir | Members @ nlft.org |
| Communications | Communications @ nlft.org | |
| Library | Stan Baron | Library @ nlft.org |
| tickets @ nlft.org | ||
| webmaster @ nlft.org | ||
| Telephone | The chapter does not have a dedicated phone number, but messages can be left at the national office. We prefer email messages to the above addresses | 1-800-909-6040 |
| Address |
The club meets at Queen Mary Park community hall alternating Wednesday nights. Please see the schedule to see when we are at the hall. |
10844 117 St NW, Edmonton, AB Please do not send chapter items to this address, as it is a shared community hall. If a parcel needs to be received by us, please contact the above email addresses to arrange a delivery address. |
| National Address | The national office has a physical presence in Calgary Alberta. |
6020 2nd Street SE #8BCalgary, AB T2H-2L8 Please do not send chapter items to this address, as there is no forwarding service. If a parcel needs to be received by us, please contact the above email addresses to arrange a delivery address. |
Club History
THE EVOLUTION OF THE NORTHERN LIGHTS CHAPTER OF TROUT UNLIMITED CANADA:
Trout Unlimited (TU) was founded on the banks of the Au Sable River near Grayling, Michigan in 1959 by a group of trout fishermen who were concerned about the State’s management of wild trout and the habitat in which they lived. Anglers in other States shared similar concerns and Chapters rapidly sprang up across the USA with a guiding principle, grounded in science, that if we “take care of the fish, then the fishing will take care of itself.” www.tu.org/about-tu/history
In 1972 a group of seven Montreal flyfishers, recognizing the success that TU had achieved in the States in freshwater conservation, stream rehabilitation and habitat protection, met together and decided that similar action was need in Canada. That same year they founded Trout Unlimited Canada (TUC) and incorporate it as a not-for-profit organization. Two years later, TUC’s first Chapter, the Toronto Chapter, was formed.
Starting in 1976 Russell Thornberry, Jim McLennan and a few other Edmonton area fly fishers began to explore the possibility of setting up a local Chapter. In 1978, with advice and support from Leigh Perkins, then CEO of Orvis, they founded Trout Unlimited Edmonton, the first Chapter of TUC in Western Canada with Russ Thornberry as President and Barry White as Vice-President. The following year TUC Edmonton held a ‘Cold Water Anglers’ Conference’, the first of its kind in Western Canada, featuring many distinguished angling authorities including Lefty Kreh, Charles Brooks and Bob Scammell. The success of this conference led TUC Edmonton to hold a 2nd Conference with international speakers in 1984. This was one of the factors that prompted some Calgarians to form the Bow River Chapter soon followed by the Central Alberta, Oldman and Crowsnest Chapters.
Meanwhile, a group of local fly fishers, many of them members of TUC, began to meet regularly to share and demonstrate their common passion for the art of fly tying. In 1994 the “Northern Lights Fly Tyers Club” was founded by Roman Scharabun, Barry Wright, Terry Weyts, Bill Robertson, Dale Johnston, Brian Kemper, Ian Russell, Roy Ramdeen and Barry White. Although a few members advocated for affiliating with the international organization, “The Fly Dressers Guild”, the majority rejected this motion and opted to maintain the “Club’s” unique local club atmosphere. In March of 2002 the Membership adopted the additional tag of “Fishers” to further foster the atmosphere of a “Fishing Club.”. It henceforth became recognized as the NLFT&F (Northern Lights Fly Tyers & Fishers).
There was always a strong association between Northern Lights and the Edmonton Chapter of Trout Unlimited Canada. In the spring of 2010, a unanimous decision was made by both the TUC-Edmonton Chapter executive and the NLFT&F executive to merge the two clubs into one entity. Both clubs ratified the merger at the NLFT&F AGM in January, 2010. The combined organization became Northern Lights Fly Tyers – TUC Edmonton, a Trout Unlimited Canada Chapter. In recognition of its focus on all aspects of fly fishing, the membership voted to change the name to Northern Lights Fly Fishers – Trout Unlimited Edmonton in January, 2015. This was further amended to Northern Lights Fly Fishers – Trout Unlimited Canada Edmonton Chapter.
In 2018, in an effort to establish a common set of specific requirements and procedures among all Chapters of the organization, TUC Corporate requested all Chapters to enter into a revised affiliation agreement. This was approved by the Chapter membership on May 2, 2018. As part of this agreement the Chapter was renamed Trout Unlimited Canada – Northern Lights Fly Fishers Chapter.
Since its formation the Chapter has worked actively with the Alberta Conservation Association and others in carrying out a variety of conservation projects, particularly redd counts, streambank restoration and riparian protection on the Raven River system and an ongoing grayling research/monitoring project and stream work on the upper Pembina River for which the Chapter received a National Recreational Fisheries Award in 2014. The Chapter has also maintained its focus on education. Over the years it has presented public seminars with such distinguished anglers as Jack Dennis, AK Best, Brian Chan, Ed Engle, Dave Hughes, Skip Morris, Gary Borger, Dave and Emily Whitlock, Mike Lawson, Jim McLennan, Bob Scammell, Todd Oishi, Jim Schollmeyer, Rick Hafele, Hans Von Klinken, Jason Randall, April Vokey and Phil Rowley – many coming back for repeat performances. As a teaching group the Chapter has provided numerous fly-tying opportunities, especially to youth groups and has helped approximately 6,000 kids tie a ‘wooly bugger’ at the annual Edmonton Boat and Sportsmens’ Shows since 1996. Annual flyfishing classes are often sold out. Weekly meetings, open to anyone interested, frequently feature members and guests demonstrating fly tying, presenting on fly fishing strategies, locations and equipment, fisheries management topics, bear awareness and much more.
The Chapter is also well known to the Alberta Provincial Government for its input on and advocacy for recreational fishing opportunities, conservation and effective fisheries management. It has been represented on the provincial Fisheries Roundtable advisory group since its inception and currently sits on the provincial Fisheries Stakeholder Advisory Committee.