Fly Fishers International Awards Announced

The Fly Fishers International (FFI) Awards and Nominations Committee announced the recipients of the 2020 FFI awards last night via an online awards ceremony and awarded the prestigious Roderick Haig-Brown Award to Aaron Reed, author of The Local Angler Fly Fishing Austin & Central Texas.  Presented annually to a fly-fishing author whose work embodies the philosophy and spirit of Roderick Haig-Brown, the award recognizes particularly a respect for the ethics and traditions of fly fishing and an understanding of rivers, the inhabitants, and their environments.

In his acceptance speech, Reed said “I am tremendously humbled to receive this award. To see my name alongside giants of sporting literature like Nick Lyons, John Gierach, and Tom McGuane is a little surreal. 2020 has been full of surprises. This is by far the happiest of them all.”  He continued “the fact that I am just one of several Texans who are being recognized this year says something, I think, about the tremendous growth of fly fishing in the Lone Star State and the vitality of our angling community here. It is impossible to overstate the debt my book owes to friends within the Central Texas fly fishing community, including the members of my two home clubs, San Gabriel Fly Fishers and Austin Fly Fishers.”

Fly Fishing Austin & Central Texas, which was published in May 2020 by Imbrifex Books as part of their The Local Angler series, was the #1 New Release for both fishing and travel guides on Amazon and received wide acclaim from media and readers alike. Kirk Deeter from Trout Unlimited Magazine called Aaron “a darn fine writer with a great eye for detail” and said about the book “…it is wonderfully produced with color imagery, directions, and advice for all skill levels and ages. It is one of the best region-focused resources on fly fishing I’ve seen in a long time” Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine boasted: “Whether you’re a first-time fly fisher or veteran angler, you’re certain to leave this book with new knowledge and hopeful surprises.”

Aaron Reed is an award-winning outdoor writer and Army veteran. He currently splits his time between his native Texas Gulf coast, where he drives a tugboat, and his home near the banks of the San Gabriel River in Georgetown, Texas. He is a founding member of the Texas Streams Coalition and has worked for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. When he is not working, chances are you can find him knee-deep in a stream somewhere around Austin, often with his wife and one or more of his three boys, trying like heck to become a better fly fisherman.