No Day For Fly Fishing!

Blowing snow, whiteout conditions, slick roads and an air temperature of just one degree! Not a day to go fly fishing for sure. But a great day to go to school and talk fly fishing! On Thursday, January 11th (the day the arctic cold front roared into town) FVTU returned to the H.E. Robinson Agriculture Education Center in Kalispell to talk all things fly fishing. Khrista Corpron teaches their Natural Resources class and asked us to put on a program.

You may recall we did a full blown fly fishing class for them last May, where we had the opportunity to visit on several days and go into a lot of detail, including teaching fly casting. Unfortunately this year we only got one shot with the students so we made the best of our time with an overview of the sport of fly fishing followed by some fly tying and a discussion about our local fishery and the importance of native fish, specifically westslope cutthroats and bull trout.

The weather and driving conditions were harsh and our class size suffered as a result but the students who did attend were engaged and actively participated. Tying your first fly is both rewarding and a challenge. Fortunately FVTU board member Lucky Sultz has long taught our beginner fly tying courses and success was achieved by everyone.

Naturally Lucky had them tie that classic beginner fly, the woolly bugger. Not only is it a great fly to start with, but it’s really effective too and every fly tied was a fish catcher. FVTU Past President Dan Short and yours truly assisted where we could with the tying and facilitated the discussions on native species.

Our time with the class was short, but well spent. It’s always a privilege to engage with our youth and introduce them to both the sport of fishing and the importance of cold, clean, connected waters that provide a home for our precious native fish.

A big FVTU “Thanks” to Khrista Corpron and the H.E. Robinson Agriculture Education Center for inviting us in. Hopefully we’ll be able to return again next school year. In the mean time we’ll tie some flies, try to stay warm, and dream about next season…….