On June 18, 2019 three signs were installed at Rocky Ford Creek near Soap Lake, WA.

This project got its start in March 2018. Byron Jones of the Wenatchee Valley Fly Fishers (WVFF) watched in frustration as a person at Rocky Ford badly mishandled the release of a fish. He talked with Harry Lane, president of their club and they decided that some signs with educational information on how to properly release a fish would be helpful. Harry contacted our club and asked if we would be interested in partnering with them on some signs.

The IEFFC board of directors was supportive of the project and in addition to our club and the WVFF we managed to bring in the Dry Side Fly Fishers and the Washington State Council of Fly Fishers International (WSCFFI) as partners.
We agreed on a final concept. The clubs would construct three 4’x4’ signs mounted in angle iron frames, one for each parking lot. Information on the signs included WDFW rules for Rocky Ford, information on how to properly play and release a fish and a link to a video from KEEPEMWET that shows how to play and release a fish. WDFW approved the concept, the WSCFFI gave us permission to use their written information on playing and releasing a fish and KEEPEMWET gave us permission to reference their video and use their logo.

Our club took the lead on providing the signs. The frames were made in Floyd Holmes’ shop. Floyd did the welding and painting. After that the signs were mounted in the frames and the completed assemblies loaded in Jim Athearn’s trailer for transport to Rocky Ford. The following members helped at various stages in this project:
Jim Athearn, Phil Beck, Scott Fink, Lee Funkhouser, Floyd Holmes, Bob Johnson and Jerry McBride.
Each of the partners put in $615 to fund the $2460 cost of the project. The three fly clubs installed the sign they sponsored on June 18. The IEFFC provided lunch for all of the participants.

This project was well supported by individuals we worked with at several organizations.
Chris Donley, Chad Jackson and Mike Schmuck at WDFW, Bill Wheeler, President of the WSCFFI, Virgil Redwine, President of the Dry Side Fly Fishers, Harry Lane, President of the Wenatchee Valley Fly Fishers, and Bryan Huskey, KEEPEMWET Fishing.