The 3rd Annual Gulf Coast Classic Fly Fishing Festival

The Gulf Coast Council (GCC) of Fly Fishers International (FFI) is proud to present our 3rd annual Gulf Coast Classic fly fishing festival, to be held Friday-Saturday, May 2-3, 2025, at the Learning Campus of Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

This unique facility offers state-of-the-art theatre area, several meeting rooms, outside facilities, and much more. The adjacent state park offers miles of hiking trails, bike paths, a large brackish lake with both freshwater and inshore species, bike and kayak rentals, and white sand beaches. Gulf Shores offers something for all!

Activities include:
Seminars on fishing locations, tactics, and species
Exhibitors and vendors
Fly tying demonstrations
Conservation programs
Keynote speaker presentation
Beginner fly casting instruction (free with admission)
Beginner fly-tying instruction (free with admission)
Fly-tying workshops (registration required, cost $20-$50)
Casting workshops (registration required, cost $0-$20)
Fishing Tournament (free with admission, kicks off Thursday a.m.)
Fly Fishing Film Tour (F3T) (ticket purchase required, limited seating)
Raffles & silent auction, offering many one-of-a-kind items

This event will focus on activities and education in the form of fly tying, casting, various methods for catching species on the fly, fly fishing destinations, and conservation. Many of the region’s top fly tyers will be on hand demonstrating their favorite patterns. We’ll have a large raffle and silent auction with many unique items, along with a fly fishing film festival and other cool happenings.

We’ll once again have our Mixed Bag Challenge – a fishing contest where size doesn’t matter, but diversity does. After all, Gulf State Park is a very unique location for fly fishing enthusiasts, with 600-acre Lake Shelby within the park offering a wide variety of both fresh and brackish species. The clear Gulf waters along the park’s beach are home to pompano, Spanish mackerel, bluefish, ladyfish, and numerous other marine species. There is no entry fee. It’s free with admission to the Classic.

In addition to fishing, the park also offers numerous other activities for the entire family. The 6,000-acre park has three-and-a-half miles of beach for swimming, collecting shells, or sunbathing.

The backcountry trail has 28 miles of paved trails to hike or bike. Visitors can explore using the bike share program, free for the first 3 hours, with over 50 bikes available. Or bring your own. There’s kayaking on Lake Shelby, the closest freshwater lake to the Gulf of Mexico. Kayaks can be rented at the Rental Center. Then there’s also the park’s Interpretive Center.

A short 38-minute drive from the park is Pensacola, which has many more things to see and do. One that should be on everyone’s list is the Naval Air Museum.

Of course, back at the Learning Center, fly anglers will find no shortage of activities taking place. Here, the Gulf Coast Council will have a wide variety of seminars, instruction, tying demonstrations, and more across the campus. There’s an on-site restaurant with a special seating area for Classic attendees.

On Saturday evening, we’ll hold our film festival. The 2024 Fly-Fishing Film Tour (F3T) will feature short films of a variety of locations, species, topics. Focused on the joys of fishing with a conservation message. In addition to the numerous door prizes, our showing ONLY will have special guests, and a chance at a very special attendance prize!

For volunteers, presenters, fly tyers, vendors and exhibitors, the Gulf Coast Council has procured the on-campus dormitories for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. This extraordinary facility comes complete with linens, wi-fi, and more.

Registration for these beds will begin March 1 for those who have accepted our invitation as a volunteer, presenter, flyer, etc. Cost will be $50 per night, a bargain compared to hotel rates in the area. On April 1, any open beds will be extended to any attendees who have registered for the event (first-come, first-serve).