The Kenai Peninsula Chapter of Trout Unlimited (KPTU) held their third annual Youth Fly Fishing Camp this past summer. This free, weeklong summer day-camp hosts a dozen middle-school participants. Campers give different reasons for signing up each year, ranging from their mothers signing them up, to their love of fishing, to simply wanting to meet other kids and have fun outdoors.
“And that’s the most important part of it,” says Tony Lewis, KPTU Board Member, and the catalyst behind the camp. “The kids, first and foremost, all want to have a lot of fun and they do. But,” he’s quick to add, “it’s so much more. In addition to fishing, it’s about the principles Trout Unlimited holds dear: ethics, ecology, taking care of a dwindling resource. The biggest problem is fitting it all in in a week.”
Fly fishing 101
It is a full schedule indeed. The campers make their own fly rods, try their hand at fly tying, and get casting lessons. In addition to the fundamentals of fly fishing, students learn about the ecosystem, the lifecycles of the fish that live here and the habitat needed to sustain them. They learn about insects, trap and identify juvenile fish and receive instruction on fishing techniques and proper fish handling.
When Lewis joined the KPTU board, there were some initial plans on starting a camp, but the covid pandemic had put those on hold. “For me,” says Lewis, a middle-school science teacher, “it was the perfect fit.” He began laying the groundwork for the camp and was gratified at the outpouring of support he got. Board members Bill Tappen and Roger Sensabaugh spearheaded fly tying, Shayne Pond oversaw rod building, and Ben Meyer and retired professor David Wartinbee taught ecology. This year he even had two previous camp attendees, Ethan Anderson and Truman Dodson, return to help the new crop of aspiring fly fishers and ecologists.
The participants enjoyed every aspect of the camp though some had various highlights throughout the week. One camper said building his own rod was the “coolest,” and he can’t wait to catch a fish on it. Another said his favorite part was learning how to properly use a fly rod; casting frustrated him before actually learned how to cast. Fly tying proved to be a perennial favorite for many.
Students learned how to tie four popular local patterns throughout the week: prince nymph, elk hair caddis, flesh fly, and the wooly bugger. This spurred the kids to begin thinking like true fisherman and ignited a round of important conversation and the question “what would you use if you were fishing right now?” This led to the fan favorite fly of the week: the egg sucking leech. The campers loved how much they could customize this fly with minimal extra steps. By the end of the week their egg sucking leeches ranged from natural olive and black to “fire tiger” with bright red, chartreuse, and green stripes. The leeches came in all shapes and sizes and were as unique as each camper that tied them.
Happy kids, happy parents
The kids weren’t the only ones stoked about the camp. Many parents expressed how happy they were with the whole thing, that their kids were so excited when they came home each day, proud of their flies and wanting to invest in their own gear. Camper Joel Downum took it a step further saying he was planning to use his lawnmowing money to buy a tying vice and tools.
“And that’s the best part,” says Lewis, “they are truly excited and on top of that we’ve been able keep the camp completely free of charge. It’s almost to good to be true.”
The chapter participates in various fundraising efforts to keep this camp free of charge. They host an annual film festival and a raffle with the help of the local Lions Club. They have also received various grants, from the Kenai Peninsula Foundation, the Kenai Watershed Forum, Progressive Insurance Foundation, and an Embrace a Stream Grant from Trout Unlimited’s National Office. There have been numerous in-kind donations, such as The Kenai River Center and Kenai Peninsula College donating the facilities where the camp was held. “It’s been a complete community effort,” says Lewis. “The only issue now is capacity. Our first year it took six weeks to fill the class, this year it filled in two days, and we had an extensive waiting list. But it’s a good problem to have.”
The class has also evolved in other ways. It takes place early in the season and a lot of areas are closed to fishing. The instructors really want the kids to put some of what they’ve learned to use, but in the first years of the camp there was not a lot of catching going on. That was solved this year. The final day was spent on a local lake with a good population of trout. A fleet of volunteers boated the kids around and they all caught numerous fish with their own flies.
Afterwards, the campers and their families enjoyed an afternoon barbeque at one of the board members’ houses on the lake. The day was summed up by one parent who said that before his son was more interested in indoor activities and games but now he loves fishing. This dad appreciated the opportunity to open his son up to other activities, especially since he himself hasn’t been out fishing as much as he’d like to, but now they both will be going out.
Good news apparently spreads fast. With the camp’s success and increased interest, the chapter is now discussing how they might possibly be able to add another week.
Trout Unlimited’s mission is to protect, reconnect and restore North America’s coldwater fisheries and their watersheds. Learn about our work in Alaska at prioritywaters.tu.org/alaska. Dave Atcheson is the Kenai special project assistant and Kevin Duffie is the Kenai Peninsula community engagement coordinator for Trout Unlimited.