One of the greatest things about agreeing to compete in the Canadian Fly Fishing Championships was the opportunity to get to know other anglers who would become my teammates that had enormous knowledge they could teach me. Arron is one such angler. An amazing man, all round - both in his excitement, dedication, and willingness to share information.

Arron Varga Fighting A Nice Fish

In fact, Arron tied for fourth overall in the 4th annual Canadian Fly Fishing Championships - not bad at all for a guy that is probably younger in years than many of the so-called "best" anglers have been fishing for. And when it came to encouragement and pep talks for me, I really appreciated what Arron had to say during the competition when he was one of my teamemates.

For some folks, they might say that Arron had an advantage in this year's competition where he tied for fourth place. He grew up fishing the Grand River, long before brown trout were ever stocked in and around Fergus, where he calls home. But advantage or not, he's still an awesome fly angler!

He's been fishing since he was 5 years old, and took up fly fishing when he was about 20 years old and has continued to learn and experiment over the past 15 years. Which of course puts Arron at 35 years of age. Not bad for a fourth place in the Canadian Championships! He spends most of his time in the hunt for the brown trout of the Grand River, but also spends time in pursuit of smallmouth bass, pike, and more recently, carp. Living on the doorstep of the Grand River makes it an obvious choice for Arron to spend most of his time fly fishing, but he also enjoys the Saugeen and Credit Rivers.

Arron doesn't think of himself as much of a fly tier, but I have in my possession some Arron Varga tied flies that are both very well tied, functional, and that catch fish. A real team player, he spent several hours tying up flies for me during the evenings of the competition dates.

Arron considers himself a "self taught" fly fisher but also points to two anglers who have helped him along the way: His Uncle Derek and Wally Ward. As well, for a time Arron lived in South Carolina and had the opportunity to fish with Joe Humphries. Goes to show you that some good mentors can be good for your fly fishing skills. When in South Carolina, Arron spent a lot of time on the Davidson River.

I personally am looking forward to doing some more fishing with Arron - I appreciate his excitement and his knowledge, as well as his openness to new ideas. He is one of those rare folk that can teach others without even trying to teach. I have no idea if he is single or not, but if he is, he'd make a great catch for any woman fly angler that wanted to share a bit of life with someone that was enthusiastic, willing to learn, communicate, and spend "zen" moments on the water with.

Related:

Meet The Captain - Ernie Kalwa

Previous Features

From The Bench: The Muncher is a favorite of Ian James for carp, smallies, more.    Tie This!

The Doc's Rx: Thoughts of a Chicken Rancher. Doc tells it like it is.    The Doc's Rx