in-school fly fishing programs

[Kathy Scott]

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

[JohnScott]

Kathy -

Kudos to you for your work with the kids.

John

[Stan Wright]

How many of the Boy Scouts in your class take acvantage of the program to get their Fly Fishing Merit Badge?

Except for catching 2 kinds of fish, releasing one and cooking the other, your program more than covers the requirements. Great program, the kids are lucky to have you.

[alra195]

Good going Kathy!

I just wish they had had something like this back in the dark ages when I was in school. We could have had Isaac Walton as a guest speaker!

Anyway, keep up the good work. I couldn't be more pleased to hear about your success.

[Uncle Jesse]

Thanks, I have been talking with one of our youth minister about doing a fishing - bible related training for a group of boys. You just gave me the points to cover on the fishing side and the age group to target.

[Grn Mt Man]

Kathy,

Our local TU Chapter helped out with the TIC (Trout in the Classroom) projects at three middle schools last year. For the coming year we've had requests from 13 more middle schools and are already listing schools as alternates. We have initiated a committee to raise funds for these additional programs. The coordinator for our chapter and one of the school teachers presented a nice power point presentation at our Jan. meeting and the "projects" the kids created to go along with the TIC in-class program were very good. The three middle schools are going to be releasing the trout fingerlings they raised in a local stream in April. This is considered an educational project and not a stocking program. Permission of the VA Dept. Game & Inland Fisheries is necessary for the trout release. One of the state fish hatcheries provides the trout eggs. If you'd be interested in this program there are plenty of folks willing to share info. Send me a PM if you'd like some contact info or more about the program.

[briney dave]

Pretty cool Kathy,

I will have to give our PE teachers a hard time for not having Fly fishing as a chapter.

It would be great to add a "for life" sport instead of some of the other things they do.

[Kathy Scott]

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

[SonOfMartin]

I was involved with this type of program for 4 years at a residential school. Last weekend I found an envelope of pictures from the last year I was involved and we had taken the kids to a local stream and got them all into trout. What a day that was!

The only thing I see 'missing' from your list is more hardware related. How to care for your rod, reel, line. Maybe have them create their own lanyard or an over-the-shoulder bag for their gear? Could be a neat project or something they could do as take-home? Innovate ideas as to how to cut cost (fingernail clippers, safety-pins, etc)...

Just an idea.

[Mike Ormsby]

Kathy
Great to see what you're trying to do with school kids -- best of luck indeed -- definitely worth while as kids are the future of our sport
Mike