Welcome to the First Cast Fly Shop and Fly Fishing Guide Service
Welcome to Ontario’s favourite fly fishing outfitter, The First Cast Fly Shop and guide service, located in Guelph Ontario, Canada.
Centrally positioned 1 hr. from Toronto and 1 hour from London just off the hwy 401. We are a leader in fly fishing instruction and guiding in the area. We target Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout and Small mouth Bass primarily and concentrate our guiding and lessons on the Grand River,the Credit River, and the Conestogo River.
Our shop is located just minutes from the world famous Tailwater Fishery – The Grand River.
Being centrally located between Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Georgian Bay and Lake Huron, we guide for migratory King Salmon and Steelhead on the tributaries of these Great Lakes. The Ontario Rivers that we guide on include: the Lower Grand River, the Big Head River, The Saugeen River, the Nottawasaga River, the Maitland river, the Lower Credit and the Niagara River and a few other less known lakes and streams.
Learn tying techniques from Don Bastian
"Patterns and Tying Tactics for Hatches"
Friday Sept 6th 2013 - 6 to 10pm.$79.99 per person.
Students will need to provide their own vise and tools – All other materials will be provided.
Seating Limited to Maximum 6 persons so call to book your seat TODAY !!
Class Patterns will include:Don's Floating Caddis / Mayfly Emerger, Don's BXB Bastian Extended Body Mayfly dun & spinner patterns, and a few of his original nymph patterns including the Hare E. Rooster, the Goose Quill Nymph, & Hatching Caddis Pupa.
Coming to HLS / TFC - Tying with Adrienne Comeau
(Step By Step Instruction On Tying West Coast Intruder Style Steelhead Flies)
Friday October 4th 2013 - 6-10pm - $74.99 per person
Students will need to provide their own vise and tools – All other materials will be provided.
Seating Limited so call to book your seat TODAY !!
Adrienne Comeau - Intruders Tying Lesson
New TFC Swim Tank
Only TFC provides you the opportunity to field test your fly designs prior to fishing them. There is no charge for this service and it is simply amazing how seasoned anglers / tyers have already started tweaking their flies to enhance/optimize desired performance.
There is no doubt that most flies catch fish, but you can see firsthand that simple things, such as:
How modifying hook size and gauge will help you to understand and appreciate that your fly will track differently than you expected.
How the hydrodynamics of a fly changes due to a cone head and how much more sparse you can tie a fly due to the cone’s flare.
New to TFC – Airflo Line Welding Machine
10-12 years ago Bruce Kurk taught Rick Whorwood how to take a section of floating line and a section of sinking line (T-10 etc.) and using a sewing needle, glue, and shrink wrap, marry them together (to make what is now called a M.O.W. tip), pretty Awesome!
Last January at the Calgary Fly-Fishing Symposium Tim Rajeff demonstrated how to take a floating section of fly line and a sinking section of fly and “welding” them together. He also demonstrated making loops, etc., using this welder!.
If you need to; Repair a damaged loop, make a custom length sink tip, optimize a factory built line for any particular rod or simply just “cut and paste” some old lines visit the shop for a demo.
Have a Fly Reel sitting idle due to a river mishap?
From the re-manufacture of a reel foot from a vintage Hardy that might be too large for your Spey Rod, a bearing change or upgrade, we can customize or manufacture to your specifications.
Please call the shop for details.
New to TFC - Expanded Selection of Atlantic Salmon Wets and Dries in several sizes.
HLS/ TFC License Plate Frames now available at the shop!
What a great way to display that you are a proud angler and supporter of the store!
Open Vice Nights Begin Every Wednesday evening from 6 to 8PM all winter
Guests will be demonstrating specific flies or techniques. Bring your own vise or just show up and shoot the breeze.
Best Local selection of Spey Flies & Steelhead Patterns
Custom tied by local tiers as well as popular companies.
New!!!! - Come in and Balance Your Spey Rod - Spey Line Loaner Program
Joe Penich - Tying lessons
is an award-winning tier who teaches genre or technique specific classes in private or semi private format. Class maximum size is three. Joe specializes in Classic Atlantic Salmon flies, Bombers, and salt-water patterns. Participants in these classes need to be intermediate or advanced level in order to participate. Each class is approximately 4 hours. Call the shop for details.
Go to our Fly Tying Lessons page for more details
New Gift Cards now available
You can now get the perfect gift for the fly fisher in your life. Cards come in several unique designs and can be re-filled.
Guest Tiers and Presentations
Every Saturday - Fly Tying demonstrations Begin again November. Go to our Events page to see our schedule of fly tyers.
Runs November to April
Go to the Fishing Articles and Stories page to read all of the the presentations from our past guests.
Store Hours:
Tuesday - Friday: 10am to 8pm
Saturday: 9am to 4pm
Sunday & Monday: Gone Fishing
