in-school fly fishing programs
Hi,
The 8th or 9th year of fly fishing here is under way, and I just wanted to share what's up with the middle school kids.
As schools go, things change (for all sorts of reasons), so re-invention is a tool of the trade.
This year, I thought it would be a good experiment to have the 7th and 8th graders brainstorm what they wanted to cover. None of these kids has had this enrichment activity before, and a good third are kids who find school pretty challenging.
Look at the list they created:
how to play a fish
hook removal
better casting
laws and the regulations book
tying flies
places in Maine to fish, maps
all the kinds of fish in Maine
where the fish are in a lake
different types of flies
what to use for flies at different places
reading the water
different types of rods
where to put your fly in the water
loons, turtles, and sea gulls
releasing a fish
leaders and tippet
pond cleanup, fixing banks
insect identification
hatches
parts of a fish
becoming a Maine Guide
I was impressed!
And, a few years into this or not, I'd still love to hear about any other programs out there. .... shared ideas always welcomed!
A work in progress always,
Kat
in-school fly fishing program
Hi,
Thanks for the kind words and support - I would have replied earlier, but this was my day to skip lunch to have the FF group.
And what a day! Who would have thought that a couple dozen photos borrowed- grin- from fly fishing magazines could create so much good talk? I'd cut out and mounted any pic I could find of an angler looking at a stream (to teach that first), then pics of a wide variety of streams, and we looked them all over to see where we'd put a fly (lies and lanes, shelter - food - resting concepts), and took off from there. Taught them who Gary Borger is with 3 minutes of video that illustrated lies and lanes in pocket water.
Wrapped up with two ways to get a barbed hook out of a hot dog and thoughts on why we'll be pinching barbs in class :-)
I asked, and none are in the Boy Scouts, but I told them about the merit badge.
They do all hunt, and could see that "sneaking up" on fish quietly, looking for signs, all that, generalizes over to fishing.
Trout in the Classroom might work for us next year. My TU has one site going - nothing like yours, congratulations!
Phys Ed is a great place for fly fishing. I team teach casting there to all 8th graders, and they have the option to fish a local pond in the spring. I hope your people look at it; it falls right into that lifelong curricula. If they ever need any "handouts" - you know, the permission forms, etc, I have some.
Anyway, still embracing new ideas if you have them, and appreciate this support.
Next time, we're developing a web forum for our in-school use, and blogs for fishing journals, and then picking up the rods.
Kat