Community Corner
Fly-Fishing Exhibition Showcases Rods, Reels, Flies, Photos From 1800s
The exhibition opens Aug. 8 at the Forest Preserve District of Will County's Monee Reservoir; fly-fishing programs also will be offered.
If you love fly-fishing, want to know more about this alluring sport or are curious about Chicago-area history, Monee Reservoir Visitor Center will soon host a unique exhibition that ties all these interests together.
The “World's Finest: Fly-Fishing Tackle” exhibition opens Tuesday, Aug. 8, and runs through Tuesday, Oct. 31.
“Fly fishing is truly an art,” said Jessica Prince, the Forest Preserve District of Will County’s facility supervisor for Monee Reservoir. “It’s beautiful, it has a nature element and it’s also outdoor recreation.”
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The exhibition was created specifically for the site by the Manchester, Vermont-based American Museum of Fly Fishing. Museum staff picked items relating to the Chicago area and fly fishing that will appeal to a wide variety of visitors.
Many of the rods, reels, flies, photographs and books that will be on display date back to the 1800s and the Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893. The exhibit also highlights influential anglers, all of whom exhibited at the exposition. The exhibition also will interpret flies and the feathers used to create them.
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“I hope people who come to see this exhibition get a better appreciation of fly fishing,” Prince said. “And maybe some of our anglers will try fly fishing and learn something they didn’t know before. I’m excited and I hope other people get excited about it.”
Q&A With Curator
For more information on the exhibition and the fly-fishing museum, check out thisQ&A story with museum curator Jim Schottenham.
In addition to the exhibition, Monee Reservoir will offer free exhibition-related programs. All programs are listed on the Forest Preserve's Event Calendar.
Monee Reservoir Visitor Center is located at 27341 Ridgeland Avenue, west of Route 50 and south of Pauling Road, in Monee Township.
Exhibition hours are 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays in August; 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays in September; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays in October.
The exhibition is brought to the Forest Preserve through funding provided by The Nature Foundation of Will County.
