The History of the Club
The Edmonton Trout Fishing Club, founded in 1953, is a group of people who enjoy learning about the sport of fly fishing and angling for the elusive trout. Since its inception, the club's members have been involved in numerous conservation and educational projects.
Our Goals
- To foster, instruct and promote the art of fly tying, and casting.
- The betterment of trout fishing among its members, and all other activities of a similar nature which may be deemed desirable for the benefit of its members.
Our History
Below is a history of establishment of our club and was recently retrieved from our archives. Some of what is mentioned below has been changed since the time that it was written. Concurrently the writing below completely captures the spirit of the club and its members; a spirit that we hold to this day.
Our Special People
Starting in 1967, the club began to recognize its members who had made major contributions to the club and its services by designating “Life Members”, or memberships for life with the waiver of annual dues. The following are life members of the club: R. Campbell, Fred Turnbull, W. Bissell, D. Clayton, Andy McNally, Gordon Gould, Lyall MacLagan, Doug Kilburn, Loftus Goodall, Cal Keyes, Eric Sohnle, Carl Schroder, Ed (Buzz) Hunter, Art Graham, Ron Tucker, Gordon Raymond, Clary Wilson, Roy Fitzsimmons, Malcolm MacCrimmon, Martin Paetz, Bill Miller, Lloyd Shea, Ed Lefebvre, George Ainsley, Wally Warawa, Tak Shimizu and Peter Mappleback.
In 1992 the club established the Distinguished Service Award, named in honour of Eric C. Sohnle, a long-time life member who had passed away earlier that year. This award is presented to a member who is judged to have made the most significant contribution to the betterment of the Edmonton Trout Fishing Club. The following are the recipients of this award: Lloyd Shea, Ed Lefebvre, Terry Leskiw, Peter and Darolyn Mapplebeck, Dick Slobodian, Ray Kelsey, Bill Miller, George Ainsley, and Tak Shimizu.
The provincial government recognized Lloyd Shea for his many contributions to conservation by presenting him with the Order of the Bighorn Award in 1985.
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Also, ackowledged by the provincial government for his lifetime of dedication to the outdoors is the late Martin Paetz. He also received the Order of the Bighorn award in 1998.
Martin was Alberta's first provincial fisheries biologist and was known as the dean of fisheries management in Alberta. He deserves credit for Alberta's pothole stocking program and for developing a series of fully integrated fish hatcheries and brood stations. He co-authored the landmark book The Fishes of Alberta with Dr. Joseph Nelson the first such book about the fishes of Alberta which was later reprinted. He ended his career as the Director of the Alberta Fisheries Branch working the better part of his life to conserve the province's fish resources. Following his retirement, he continued to support the conservation of Alberta fisheries as a member of the Edmonton Trout Fishing Club. He received his Bighorn Award following his retirement from the government of Alberta.
Martin Paetz
Presidents of the Edmonton Trout Fishing Club include H.McDermott, 1953-54; R.Thurston, 1954-55; F. Turnbull, 1955-56; L. MacLagan, 1956-57; C. Keys, 1957-58; A. Graham, 1958-59; B. Kuechler, 1959-60; D. Kilburn, 1960-61; E. Sohnle, 1961-62; W. Jeandron, 1962-63; N. Blakey, 1963-64; R. Nelson, 1964-65; L. MacLagan, 1965-66; L. Shea, 1966-67; W. Warawa, 1967-68; T. Wagler, 1968-69; A. Butt, 1969-70; G. Kent, 1970-71; C. Tebby, 1971-72; G. Raymond, 1972-73; L. Shea, 1973-74; B. Miller, 1974-75; B. Gillyean, 1975-76; E. Sohnle, 1976-77; G. Ainsley, 1977-78; R. Cramp, 1978-79; F. Cramp, 1979-80; B. White, 1980-81; P. Bentley, 1981-82; L. Shea, 1982-83; B. White, 1983-85; L. Stefanyk, 1985-87; R. Kelsey, 1987-88; J. Van Veen, 1988-89; T. Leskiw, 1989-91; M. Knopp, 1991-93; T. Leskiw, 1993-95; B. Miller, 1995-96; L. Campbell, 1996-97; D. Slobodian, 1997-99; R. Kelsey, 1999-2001; E. Lefebvre, 2001-03; T. Doskoch, 2003-05; A. Sopczak, 2005-07; R. Sohnle, 2007-08.
Tim Doskoch recieved a national Recreational Fishing Award from the Department of Fisheries & Oceans in 2007 for his work spearheading the Muir Lake project.
