Biography

Jacques Héroux is a fly fisherman born in 1957 in Cabano, Québec. He started fly fishing for trout at the early age of 10 in and around the streams and lakes of the Témiscouata region. Now living in New Brunswick for the better part of 35 years, he has a passion for Atlantic salmon fly fishing and tying.

Jacques is well known in New Brunswick and beyond for his active contribution in the world of Atlantic salmon fly fishing. Over the years, he has had a few of his salmon flies published in magazines, books and on websites, written magazine and website articles, and won some International Fly tying contests.

Jacques started tying as a professional in the 1980's. He learned a lot from master salmon hairwing fly tier, Warren Duncan who taught him four major principles as a commercial tier: speed, consistency, helping others and having fun. The "Rusty Rat" is his favourite hairwing to tie.

Since 2003, Jacques has developed a new corporative marketing strategy to create new innovative and personalized products for large corporations. Several companies have approached him to create a featherwing/traditional salmon flies representing their corporate image and the history of the company. These companies then present them in a nice shadowbox to privileged customers or to very well known personalities. He created Featherwing Corporate salmon flies for companies like Assomption-life, Apex Industries, Lounsbury, La Laprade, The Museum, Groupe Savoie, Phoenix SPI, Bobby Orr, NB Premier Bernard Lord, Southwestern Energy and Pizza Delight.

He also created salmon flies for International competition like the FQSA and Mustad Scandinavia World Fly Tying Championship. In 1999, he won the Atlantic Provinces fly tying Championship. For the last 15 years, Jacques has been invited as a guest tier to some of the major Fly Fishing show in Canada (Granby, Montréal, Toronto and Calgary).

In 1998, Jacques started the Dieppe Fly Tying Club which has grown to 100 members. An average of 30 to 40 tyers meet every Tuesday night to tie and learn the tricks of the trades. Most of them are beginners and he is proud to say that teaching them to tie flies has given him the opportunity to make new friends.

Being an educator by profession, teaching fly fishing and tying is natural for Jacques. For the last 10 years, every winter, he teaches courses to newcomers in the sport.

He is also the founder of the Fly Fishing Forum held in Dieppe, New Brunswick every spring. It has grown to be the biggest Fly Fishing show eastern Canada. The principal objective of the Forum is to promote the sport of fly fishing in general, and to attract under represented demographic groups like women and youth to this activity. While this continues to be its goal, the Forum has become the harbinger of spring for fly fishing enthusiasts throughout the Maritimes. Since the beginning of the Dieppe Fly
Fishing Forum, more than $135,000 of profits raised has been given to different conservation and river associations of NB.

In 2009, Jacques was inducted into the Atlantic Salmon Hall of Fame at the New Brunswick Atlantic salmon Museum in Doaktown as a Fly Tier. Last year, the Executive Director of the Atlantic Salmon Museum, Linda Gaston has asked Jacques to create a salmon fly to represent the Museum. The "Museum Salmon fly" was created and now sells at the Museum as a collectable salmon fly or as a gold plated brooch pin.

Jacques is also pro staff and national brand ambassador for many major fly fishing and tying products . He is also an active member of the NB Salmon Council and the NB Wildlife association. In 2007, the Minister of Natural Resources of New Brunswick appointed Jacques as a member of the New Brunswick Wildlife Trust funds council. In 2010, the Atlantic Salmon Museum nominated him as a honorary member of the board of directors.

In 2011, Jacques was also the editor of a Atlantic Canada best seller book -Salmon Country: great Atlantic salmon Rivers from NB-

In 2015, Jacques received the Roderick Haig-Brown award from the Canada Wildlfe Federation awarded to individuals for their contribution to conservation and wise use of recreational fisheries in Canada.

Last year, Jacques was active with a group of researchers from the University of Moncton to teach fly tying, casting and conservation to a group of men with Mental health disability. It was a national pilot project with social development NB and Canada. This project will continue this winter.

He also chairs of the Atlantic Salmon Fly International (ASFI) a large event who was held in the City of Miramichi last June 2018. ASFI hosted 90 of the best world’s Atlantic Salmon Fly Tiers, hook makers, seminars, exhibitors with a big component of youth tiers.

Two years ago, Jacques has produced a new book on Tying Salmon Flies with seven skills tiers. The bilingual book ‘’Atlantic Salmon Flies’’ is now a best seller in Eastern Canada.

The bad news for the New Brunswick Community College, is that, after 35 years, Jacques has retired, the good news for our Club, the salmon conservation and its rivers is that he plans to spend more time developing and promoting initiatives directed to conservation and the pleasure found in responsibly enjoying it.

New Brunswick is very fortunate that Jacques decided to become one of its residents. He has given much to his adopted province and with his passion and unflagging persistence will do much more.

Jacques is a dedicated volunteer and tireless supporter of the wild Atlantic salmon.  He lives and breathes salmon fishing and salmon conservation. He is not been afraid to roll up his sleeves in pursuing the common goal of saving our wild Atlantic salmon here in NB.  His great contributions to the health and vitality of wild Atlantic salmon and local organizations around the province who pour their hearts into protecting this precious natural resource is precious. Jacques has gone above and beyond the call of duty to make significant and lasting contributions to the conservation of wild Atlantic salmon in the province of NB.

For the last 30 years, his involvement and time spend in the conservation of Atlantic salmon is volunteer work. He spent numerous hours being the president of the Dieppe Fly Tying Club, chairing the Fly-fishing Forum, being involve in the executive of NB Salmon Council, chairing the Programs committee with the NBSC, member of the ASF (more than 25 years) and MSA (15 years) Moncton Dinner committee, starting new projects every year, etc…