FVTU Goes to School

When Kaitlin Trutzel contacted us to ask if FVTU would be interested in teaching her class about fly fishing we jumped at the chance. Kaitlin teaches Natural Resources at the H.E. Robinson Agriculture Education Center in Kalispell. The Ag Center provides juniors and seniors from both Kalispell and Glacier high schools with the opportunity to focus their education on agricultural related subjects. Since natural resources and the mission of FVTU go hand in hand, a day spent talking fish and fishing fit right into their curriculum. On Friday morning the 19th of May, Kaitlin turned her class over to us at 9 a.m. and we didn’t return them to her until 3 p.m.!

After a brief discussion on the importance of cold water fisheries and FVTU’s role in protecting them, we dove right into fly tying. Long time beginning fly tying instructor Lucky Sultz took them through the steps to tie both a Woolly Bugger and an Elk Hair Caddis. It was the first time behind a vise for most of the students and the end results were not just acceptable, they were darn good.

Kim Short then led a discussion on fly fishing gear. Since we only had them for six hours we couldn’t cover ALL of the gear some of us carry but they got a good overview of the necessities. As a fun sidebar, Tim Joern did a presentation on jungle fishing. Tim is one of our most well-traveled members and certainly has fished more exotic and off-the-grid places than anyone else we know. His stories of encountering everything from Peacock Bass to Piranha drove home the fact that fly fishing is about a lot more than just Westslope Cutthroats and Mountain Whitefish.

Following lunch, Dan Short led a knot tying session focusing on the two most commonly used fly fishing knots, the clinch knot and the double surgeons.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent outside teaching the kids how to cast a fly. This being Montana, a few of the students brought their own fly rods with them to class. We were fortunate to have two FFI certified fly casting instructors volunteering that day, Mike Carpenter and Carol Northcut. Mike’s passion for fly casting knows no bounds and he served as lead instructor.

The students were engaged all day and that showed in the quality of the flies they tied and how quickly they picked up the art of fly casting. It was a fun day for them and for us. Of course, you can’t become a great tier or an accomplished fly caster after just one lesson. Hopefully our day with the Ag students will inspire them to continue to learn more about the sport and the value of maintaining cold, clean, connected waterways capable of supporting native wild trout for many generations to come.

A big thanks to all of the FVTU volunteers that helped out and especially to the H.E. Robinson Agriculture Education Center and Kaitlin Trutzel and her class for inviting us in for the day.

Hope to see them, and you, on the river this summer!