General Information

Mesilla Valley Flyfishers (MVFF) was founded in April of 1987 by a group of Las Cruces residents who had an interest in fly fishing.  The first president was Norm Mabie.  The Club was incorporated in the state of New Mexico in 1991 as a nonprofit corporation organized under the New Mexico Non-Profit Corporation Act.

Purpose

The purpose of MVFF is to provide an avenue through which members can enjoy the camaraderie of like-minded flyfishers while pursuing goals of conserving, restoring and educating through fly fishing.

Activities

Members are provided with the opportunity to attend informational monthly meetings, purchase fishing access permits to MVFF leased waters on the Rio Peñasco, and participate in other Club activities such as an annual awards banquet, casting clinics, fly tying classes and Club-sponsored fishing trips.

Scholarship

For many years MVFF awarded a scholarship to a student majoring in fisheries or related fields at New Mexico State University (NMSU.)  MVFF officers and board of directors decided in 2004 to name that scholarship the "Norm Mabie Memorial Scholarship" in honor of the Club’s founder and first president.  An endowed scholarship was established at NMSU.  The money is managed by the University with the earnings each year going to the scholarship.  Tax-deductible contributions to the fund can be made to the NMSU Foundation.  Detailed instructions can be found on the ‘Scholarship’ page.

Lady Anglers

The Lady Anglers are a group of women MVFF members who love to fly fish and have a good time doing it.  They organize women-only trips to various fishing destinations.  The group is open to women of all levels of flyfishing skills and offer mentoring to beginners.  Visit the ‘Lady Anglers’ page for more information.

Kids’ Fishing Clinic

Each spring MVFF sponsors a fishing clinic for kids in the area.  The kids are instructed in the various aspects of fishing such as entomology, fish anatomy, fish identification, casting, knot tying and regulations.  Afterwards they are allowed to fish.  The clinics are held at Alumni Pond at NMSU and the NM Dept. of Game & Fish does a special stocking for the event.

Project Healing Waters

MVFF is participating in Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc., a national program dedicated to the physical and emotional rehabilitation of disabled active duty military personnel and veterans through fly fishing and fly tying education and outings.

Club-sponsored Fishing Trips

The Club organizes and sponsors fishing trips to other areas.  Members go as a group and since often one or more are already familiar with the area they act as guides and share their knowledge with the others.  When new waters are fished local guides are utilized.  Recent trips have been to the San Juan River, NM, Green River UT, Rio Conejos, CO, Bighorn River, MT, North Platte, WY and Kodiak Island, AK.

Home Waters

Every fly fishing organization needs a stream which can be called the “home waters”.  MVFF’s home waters are on the Rio Peñasco located east of Mayhill, NM, where the Club leases approximately 1¾ miles of privately owned stream.  To fish this stream you must be a member of MVFF and agree to abide by club rules which require fly fishing only and the use of flies with single barbless hooks.  It is strictly catch-and-release where all fish caught must be immediately returned to the water.  Members are assessed a small fee for each day of fishing.

Meetings

As a rule, the Club has a general membership meeting on the 2^nd Monday of each month, except during summer months, and a board meeting on the 3^rd Monday.  Liars and Tyers meet on the fourth Wednesday of each month.  Meetings are usually held in the conference room at the offices of the New Mexico Dept. of Game and Fish located at 2715 Northrise Dr., Las Cruces, NM.

Web Site/Newsletter

MVFF maintains a web site at mvff.org and publishes a monthly newsletter, Tale Waters, which is posted on the site.  Coming activities along with Club rules and contact points are listed.  Anyone with an interest in the Club is encouraged to browse the site and the newsletters and, if interested, plan on attending one of the activities. 

Membership

Membership is open to anyone who has a love of flyfishing and agrees to abide by Club rules.  There are two categories of membership: individual and family.  A family is defined as a member, spouse and children under 18 years of age.  Memberships run from 1 April through 31 March and correspond with the NM fishing license.  Memberships can be obtained for extended periods of time if wished.  Fees are shown on the ‘Membership’ page.  MVFF welcomes new members.