NEW BRAUNFELS FLYFISHERS EDUCATION PROGRAM
Introduction to Fly Fishing and Introduction to Aquatic Insect Entomology are also classes presented during the year. In the intro class to flyfishing, we cover the fundamentals of fly fishing tackle to include rods, reels, lines, tippets and additional equipment needed for fly fishing. Knots, fly selection, casting and flyfishing strategies for trout and other game fish are also included. In the Entomology class we focus on the life cycles of the four major aquatic insects that are associated with trout (mayfly, stonefly, caddis and midges) and get practical experience in identifying the different species by examining specimens caught in local streams and lakes.
FLYCASTING CLASSES are also on the education agenda this year with classes on Introduction to Fly Casting and Advanced Fly Casting. The introduction classes include grip, stances, basics of the casting stroke and lots of practice. Hopefully you will come out of this class with the knowledge and practical experience to do the 4-part cast, the roll cast, false casting and shooting line. The advanced casting class focus is on all the required “fishing” casts and of course the “double haul”. We also give attention to casting heavy lines and drift boat etiquette.
FLYTYING CLASSES are also scheduled and include introduction to fly tying and advanced classes. All material is provided for the Introduction classes to include vises, lights, thread, etc. In these classes you learn the basics of fly tying, to include proportion, thread control, hook sizes, tying material and tying different types of flies. Techniques for tying wings, posts, palmering, tails, bodies and dubbing will also be covered. The advanced classes cover alternative materials and the tying of numerous high skill flies and we will have some guest tiers this year for the advanced class.
Last but not least are the EDUCATION/TRAINING OUTINGSwe schedule throughout the year. These are the classes where we put to use the things we learned in the other classes plus we get in some great fishing on some of the well-known trout streams in central Texas. We go to the Guadalupe, Llano, Bushy Creek, San Marcos and the Salt. These are great outings where those who are old hands just fish and help other newcomers to the sport plus we have on stream clinics on how to read the water and demonstrations of fishing with dry flies, nymphs and streamers.
The classes and outings are available to club members and their guests with minimal cost to the students ($5-$10 per class) which is used for printing material and other costs).
Sign up for the classes at the meetings or get in contact with the education director as soon as possible. Some classes are limited in number of attendees and the earlier you sign up, the better your chances for participation.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AT ONE OF OUR CLASSES OR OUTINGS!!!!!!!!!!!
CONSULT OUR TRAINING SCHEDULE FOR TIMES AND DATES
Community | TROUT Magazine | Voices from the river | Youth
Lessons from Trout in the Classroom
The volunteers, partners and staff of Trout Unlimited believe in a future where native fish swim in cold, clean headwaters. This vision benefits fish, of course, but it also provides a vital resource for every living thing that depends on water. Which, last time I checked, is every living thing.
While the benefits of what TU does with on-the-ground projects and at statehouses across the country can, and do, have an immediate impact on protecting our country’s resources, the greatest benefactors will be future generations.
Our goal is to make things better than they are now so the children of today, and those born in the decades to come, will know the wonder of wild places, the thrill of watching migrating salmon and the joy of helping someone catch their first fish, among other things.
The importance of the TU mission is always on my mind, but each spring the significance of our goal is driven home when I head to local waters with elementary students to release trout they raised in their classroom.
Most people familiar with TU know about the conservation work we do on landscapes across the country to restore and protect habitat. A fair number know TU works with government officials on local, state and federal levels to form land and wildlife management policies and address environmental issues.
Fewer still are aware of our determined efforts to connect youth with the outdoors on a personal, recreational, and environmental level. The Headwaters Youth Program provides programs for students from kindergarten to college to help them discover, enjoy and learn how to help protect nature.
I help coordinate Trout Unlimited’s Trout in the Classroom program in my home state of Utah. Each January I gather with other TU volunteers at the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources offices to pick up trout eggs. We then head off to schools in our communities and are quickly mobbed by students when we arrive with the eggs. The eggs are placed in a specially prepared aquarium that will become home to the hatched trout for the next four months.
Volunteers stick around after the delivery and are often joined by state fisheries biologists to talk about what the students can expect during their time with the trout and to answer questions. Volunteers handle tank maintenance and teachers use curriculum provided by Trout Unlimited to educate students about the life cycle of wild trout and the challenges the fish face – natural and human-caused.
Near the end of the school year classes schedule a field trip to a state-designated fishery for the release.
The class I volunteer with in Salt Lake City released their fish this week. I have always found the naming of the fish and the farewells at the release touching, but this year I picked up on something else.
As I watched the students gather to watch the release I realized Trout in the Classroom had bonded these students in a way that may not have happened without the program.
“We did it,” one of the students yelled in celebration after all the trout swam out of the cooler and into the pond.
They did do it. Sure, they lost plenty of fish along the way – that’s part of learning how nature works. They checked the water temperature and quality daily and worried about the fish over long holiday weekends. These were their fish and they celebrated this success as a team.
There’s a lesson there for Trout Unlimited. One I feel our organization already understands.
Together “we” can do it too.
Brett Prettyman is the Intermountain Communications Director for Trout Unlimited. He is based out of Salt Lake City and is currently making plans to help get a straggler left behind in the classroom when the trout were taken for release to the pond so it can join its buddies.