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I first learned of Glen Weavers flyfishing
program at Eagle Village last winter when
reading an issue of the Pine River Chapter
of TU newsletter. Glen was teaching fly-casting
to a large group of teenage girls with equipment
donated by Scientific Anglers.
Eagle village was founded in 1968. Located on
683 acres in Hersey, MI., it has gained a
national reputation for its leadership in
Family-Centered Residential Treatment and
Foster Care. It pioneered the use of
Alternative Placement for young adult
non-violent first offenders. The Village
provides growth, love, support and treatment
opportunities for young adults that had to be
removed from their homes and communities due
to behavior problems.
Glen has been a counselor at Eagle Village
for several years. He is a member of the
Pine River Chapter of TU and an ardent fly
fisher.
Ironically and good friend of mine had just
offered his farm pond for some sort of event
this summer. 2 & 1/2 acres, spring fed,
loaded with Blue Gills and nice size Bass
with 3 acres of lawn to practice on.
Needless to say the light came on! I contacted
Glen via e-mail and things were set in motion
to take his students on a flyfishing outing in
June. The Evart Moose Lodge #2452 would cover
the expenses for a picnic lunch and help out
with the supervision of the girls.
Glen and I visited the pond in late May and he
loved it! Plenty of room for 24 new fly fishers,
shade trees and picnic area. He even liked the
narrow border of tall weeds surrounding the pond,
as they would increase the degree of difficulty!
The Date was set for June 25th beginning at 10 am.
until the girls got tired .
I've served as a Junior Achievement advisor, to the
top 10% of the class. I've also worked with the
local 4H club, another group of goal oriented
young people. Now I was dealing with a somewhat
lost group of young people!
The weather forecast for Saturday was Hot, Humid and
Hazy, the dreaded 3 "H's"! Four of us got there at
9 am. And began setting things up. We had laid in
a good supply of bottled water, juices, ice, hot
dogs, potato salad, etc.
Promptly at 10 am. The Big Blue Bus from Eagle
Village arrived and unloaded 24 young ladies
ages 12 to 17, 6 counselors, rods, reels, and
more juice and water.
Glen had them rig up and do some casting practice
on the lawn. For a couple of the new arrivals it
was the very first time fishing much less using a
fly rod. It was also the first time for some of
the counselors so they joined in.
Glen came over and told me the kids really
wanted to start fishing and if I thought it
would be okay. "Turn 'em loose" was all I
could say. You could tell by the way they
kept looking at the pond that lawn practice
was not getting it!
Fortunately Glen had divided them into teams
of 3 rotating the rod after 2 fish. This made
it a lot easier for us to work with the girls,
as we would have been spread a little thin if
they all fished at one time.
Glen had had them tie spiders in the days prior
to the outing so each team tied one on and found
a spot to start fishing.
That's when the fun began! Everyone began
catching fish as well as weeds, themselves,
and the owner's dog! All you could hear were
squeals of delight and calls for help! "Mr.
Hise, help, I've got a knot in my line"! "Mr.
Weaver I'm caught in the weeds"! They had
wind knots that brought tears to my eyes!
They'd have themselves, the rod and the
weeds included.
This was a very determined bunch and by noon,
when we broke for lunch things had pretty much
settled down to catching fish.
They hit the picnic lunch like a swarm of
locusts. Al Eastman, from the Lodge had
grilled 6 doz. Hotdogs for them and along
with 10 lbs. of potato salad, chips and
pickles they ate well. Ate well? There
was not one hotdog left and only a spoonful
of potato salad. Fortunately everyone was
full including the adults. I think the dog
did ok too!
After lunch it was apparent that some of the
girls would rather sit in the shade and relax
and there was no pressure on them to fish.
This was an outing they had earned and the
counselors wanted them to do just that relax.
The dog joined them, he'd also learned the
dangers abounding around the pond!
The rest spread out around the pond and
continued fishing. By now the squeals of
delight were more "I've got another one!"
These girls were now seasoned Blue Gill
fishermen. The counselors where getting
into the action also and one of them caught
her first fish ever and on a fly to boot!
I'd had my float tube out before lunch to
show a different way to fly fish. After
lunch one of the girls (about 12 or 13)
asked if she could put on my waders and
have her picture taken. She had not been
very active and appeared somewhat disinterested
in the whole thing. So of course I said yes.
After she got my size 10 boot foots on I told
her to get a rod and wade out from the small
beach for a picture.
She did this with such ease that I told her
to go ahead and catch some fish, which she
did immediately! She had a great deal of
trouble "catching" the reeds behind her but
soon learned what it means to "Keep Thy Back
Cast Upeth"! She was progressing so well that
I called her ashore and gave her my 7' 3 wgt.
To try out. (They were using 9' 6 wgt' s.)
I'd rigged a hopper and she started slamming
Gill's again!
When she tired and came in another 12 or 13
year old asked if she could try my waders. She
also seemed to want no part of fishing and had
just been hanging out at the beach watching.
So, again, "Yes of course" (Ol' Softie). She
waded out and you could tell she'd been watching
because she started off well. She had quite a
few strikes but no hookups so I told her to just
wiggle the fly to make it look alive and sure
enough she caught one!
By now it was 3:30 in the afternoon. I was
worn out and burnt to a crisp, in our quest
to see that everyone used sunscreen I forgot
to use it! It was time to call it a day. The
girls policed the area better that a squad of
Army recruits! Broke down the rods and loaded
everything into the "Big Blue Bus."
Amid a thousand "Thank you For everything" and hand
shakes, Glen formed them into a circle and asked
questions, "Did everyone have fun"? 100%.
"Did everyone catch a fish"? 80%. "How many
fish did you catch"? Some had lost track.
"Anyone have any comments about today"?
My first wader (AKA "Stanley") stepped out
and stated that she came because she had to
and was not all that interested in flyfishing.
But, Mr. Hise let me use his waders and helped
me catch a lot of fish, then he let me use his
rod and I caught more fish. I had a good time
and learned a lot, I want to come back!
Glen then asked, "Did everyone have a good time?"
Everyone but my second wader raised her hand.
Glen then asked, "Who absolutely detested being
here today"? My second wader was the only one
to raise her hand! Glen asked her "WHY"?
She emphatically answered "I hate the outdoors,
when I leave Eagle Village I'll never go outside
unless I have to!" {Eagle Village encourages
the kids to open up and speak their mind so
this response was ok.}
Glen then asked, "Who wants to come back"? All
hands went up even "I hate the outdoors!"
Glen and I were both take aback by this and
Glen asked her "I thought you hated it here?"
Her response, "I'll come back to see Mr. Jack."
Glen turned to me with a grin and said, "How does
it feel to have that much power?"
Her response had pretty much left me speechless,
so all I could do was grin back; I had this thing
in my throat! They all loaded up in the Big Blue Bus,
waving and shouting "Thank You" as they headed back
to Eagle Village.
I was the last one to leave the pond. As I sat
on the picnic table with a cold bottle of water
(yes, water) reviewing the greatest day of
flyfishing I've ever had it suddenly struck me!
The pond had changed too! Not just the additional
memories it now holds. But it was too darn quiet!
I think a second outing this fall would be in order.
These young ladies are going to be the next 10%. ~ Jack
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