Pop Up Fly Fishing Story

Bonjour… my name is Danielle Valade, I am from Montréal, Québec. I cast a fly fishing rod.

It all started the winter of 2018… the passion for fly fishing!

I joined the Club des Moucheurs du Montréal Métropolitain (MMM) to get started in fly fishing, I am still a member in fact. This sport is so technical….I took lots of classes with the fishing club during the long winter months while waiting to have both feet in the water.  Classes in Fly Fishing 101 – Knots – Lake Fishing – Salmon fishing – Fly Tying – Casting 101 – Entomology. A baggage of notions… I was ready!

We get to the river…

Spring at last!! Adrenaline to the roof… finally we’re going fishing!!

Phew… not easy to remember all the information accumulated during my training. Just the knots… And what size leader, tippet to put with my chosen fly. The fly sizes are also not obvious to the untrained eye either. And for trout fishing, all the ‘snack of the day’ info…. I absolutely need a notebook, now!

The Mini Guide is born!

I then made by hand a little guide in a water-repellent notebook, with the relevant information to maximize my fishing. People on the river found my guide really cool and innovative. It got to be so useful to me that I said to myself: “I couldn’t do without it, I’m sure it would be useful to lots of other people too!”

My notebook was bulky in the end, and too many pages to flip through to get my answer.  I then matured my ideas, edited my notebook and decided on the best format. The origami concept was adopted, yielding a compact, business card size guide, to always carry with us while fishing. I tested synthetic papers because waterproofing and resistance are essential in our wet world.

I finally created the Mini Guide – Basic 101 in the spring of 2023, in French, called ‘Hop la Mouche’. But the Mini Guide needs to be all over Canada and more, so it’s English counterpart was born under the name of Pop Up Fly Fishing.

Pop Up Fly Fishing’s Future

I sincerely believe in the concept of the Mini Guide… in the service it can provide to anglers. The information it contains are useful to everyone, beginners, and veterans alike.

Pop Up Fly Fishing has ideas in the pipeline for other Mini Guide. To be continued… 

Thank you to everyone who believes in this project, to everyone who supports Hop la Mouche / Pop Up Fly Fishing. Thank you to everyone who purchased the Mini Guide, the encouragement is appreciated. Blessings to you all.