Todd Oishi, pictured here competing at the nationals in Quebec, has immersed himself in the science/sport/hobby of fly fishing. Photograph by Ken Hum
There are fishermen, then there are enthusiasts like longtime Maple Ridge resident Todd Oishi. For the past decade, the married father of four has taken the hobby/sport/science of fly fishing to a new stratosphere.
A multi-time Canadian national team member, Oishi has fished for a wide variety of species in more than a dozen countries and six Canadian provinces, and his photography and fly fishing articles have been featured and published in BC Outdoors, Outdoors Canada, The Canadian Fly Fisher magazine, and on several websites.
"A lot of people who fly fish kind of frown upon it being [called] a competitive sport because to them it's a recreational event," said Oishi, who stressed that fly fishing is a somewhat "fish-friendly" venture, in that all competitions adhere to a strict, barbless-hook and "catch and release" policy/rule, thus ensuring that the fish aren't permanently injured or killed.
Fly fishing as a sport is a fairly new phenomenon in North America, Oishi said. But for close to a century, it's been hugely popular in Europe. "They have quite a competitive mind-set on fly fishing over there," Oishi said.
Canada's original selection process for its national team was quite simple: send in a resume and hope to get chosen. The process changed drastically in 2003 when Fly Fishing Canada began hosting the Canadian national championships. "It was to select the team based on performance," Oishi said.
The owner and manager of Classic Image Auto Body has had a near lifelong affection for fishing. Oishi remembers as a sevenyear-old boy, lazing his summer days away fishing at the Katzie Slough, using worms as bait. "I used to spend all of my summer days down there," he said. "I just loved fishing in general. Then I would fish with my parents at Okanagan Lake every summer for two weeks."
The fly fishing worm turned for Oishi in the final days of 1993, when he received lessons and rod as a Christmas present from his wife, kids, and extended family. Once he took the lessons, and realized there was a science behind the sport ("there's a lot of studying bugs and entomology that goes with it," he said), Oishi was hooked.
"It was really [about] getting involved in your whole environment, be it on a river or a lake," Oishi said. "For me it was a challenge of not just sticking the same old worm on every time. Now I had hundreds of different fly patterns to pick through and it became more of a skill. You had to 'match the hatch.' It was pushing fishing to a different level. It had a lot to do with technique."
A great fly fisherman, Oishi believes, is someone who is observant and willing to adapt. He should know because through the years, Oishi has become well-versed in what he and others consider to be the "science" of fly fishing.
Oishi presents an ongoing series of lectures on fly fishing-related topics at various seminars, clinics, and symposiums, and headlined as a featured "fly-tyer" and presenter at B.C.'s largest outdoors and fishing show.
Fly fishing has also made him a frequent flier. Oishi has made several trips to Europe and the U.K. to train and study the techniques currently being used by the top-ranked competitors within those countries. As well, Oishi volunteers as an assistant coach with Canada's national youth fly fishing teams and helped found a fly fishing club for students and teachers at Samuel Robertson Technical Secondary.
At the competitive level, Oishi - who started formally competing in 2002 when he entered the Trojan Pond Fly Fishing Tournament - has twice taken part in the Lexus European Fly Fishing Championships in the United Kingdom and has travelled the globe as a member of the Canadian national team.
He has competed in a pair of Commonwealth and five world championships, in Sweden (2005), Portugal ('06), Finland ('07), New Zealand ('08), and Scotland ('09). Oishi skipped the 2010 event to attend his son's graduation, and missed this year's event because he was hosting the B.C. Loch-Style Fly Fishing Championships, held near Merritt in June.
Closer to home, Oishi has tested his skills at seven Canadian national events and three U.S. championships, and has taken home seven gold and three bronze medals (team and individual combined).
What Oishi considers to be his greatest international achievement was winning a team gold medal and cup at the 2011 America Cup International Fly Fishing Tournament, held in Vail, Colo. from Sept. 20-23. "The team included myself, and fishermen from Ireland, Italy, Poland, and the U.S.," Oishi said. "It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke!"
Oishi said his most fulfilling role was serving as a competitor and captain for Team Canada at the 2009 Commonwealth championships in Scotland, where Team Canada achieved its personal-best finish at an international championship (fourth place) and sat in third for almost half of the competition.
WANT TO FISH FOR CANADA?
Oishi and the Canadian national youth fly fishing team, is searching for avid fly fishers between the ages of 13 and 18 who are interested in trying out for a spot on the national team.
Oishi is currently accepting applications and taking registration for the youth team's competitive fly fishing clinic and regional tryouts being held at Hatch Match'r Fly & Tackle in Maple Ridge on the weekend of March 31, 2012.
Applicants are asked to write a short essay that highlights:
. their fly fishing experiences on rivers and lakes
. species of fish they've caught on a fly
. fly fishing techniques they're familiar with
. fly tying abilities
. and years of experience as a fly fisher
The essay must also include each participant's birth date, email address, and parent or guardian's contact information. You can email your essay to Oishi at: todd@bcflyfishingadventures.com
The 2012 Canadian youth team will be competing at the world youth championships in the Lozčre region of France, the Canadian national championships in Calgary, and the America Cup in Vail, Colo.
tlandreville@mrtimes.com © Copyright (c) Maple Ridge Times
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by Todd Oishi
By Troy Landreville, The Times December 9, 2011
Todd Oishi's zeal for fly fishing takes him around the globe
Aficionado big fish on national scene...