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about the PFIGA
In the late 1980's there weren't many
professional fishing guides in Australia, yet the fledgling industry
was getting a bad reputation due to poor experiences some people
were having with "amateur" fishing guides.
The late Mike Spry in Khancoban, along with Bill Bourke from Alexandra were the prime movers in getting together a small group of guides to form an association. Other founding members were John Killip, Evan Mathews, and Ron Vise. One of the earliest "meetings" of the association was around a fire on the frosty banks of the Eucumbene River when the lake trout were running upstream in early winter. Eventually, the Australian Professional Fly Fishing Instructors and Guides Association was formed in 1990 with an emphasis on fly fishing training activities. The name was changed to its present form at the 1992 Annual General Meeting when it was decided that the association would embrace all methods of recreational fishing, with guiding and instructing getting equal emphasis. For a few years membership of the PFIGA remained very small, until Rod Barford took over as secretary and started working hard to recruit members. The numbers increased to nearly fifty before the severe drought during the late 90's and early 2000's began to affect participation in freshwater angling throughout South East Australia. As a result, a number of members dropped out of the industry, going back to their "day jobs" in many cases. |
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executive committee The executive committee of the PFIGA are all active professional fishing guides of many years standing.
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