By: Ameen Hosain For the past two weeks, the Cheyenne Mountain chapter of Trout Unlimited teamed up with members of The Greenbacks to hold two, two-day fly fishing classes for the summer camp students at the Atlas Preparatory school in Colorado Springs.
The goal of the class was to give students a new perspective on the outdoors, and to introduce them to the basics of all aspects of fly fishing; including casting, knots, fish handling, and fly tying, as well as to give them an opportunity to catch fish themselves.
The first day began with a basic entomology class on bugs and their life cycles. Volunteers and camp leaders also showed the students what fish eat, and the flies that represent these species and phases. All of this was don in order to give students a better understanding of what the term “fly” fishing actually means.
The afternoon was then spent teaching the campers how to cast a fly rod. With contests being held for both accuracy and distance, the students were all engaged and enjoyed the casting lessons. To complete the day, a fly tying class was taught- allowing each of the campers to tie three easy, yet effective flies that they could use the next day on the water.
The following morning, volunteers and campers loaded onto the bus to take a voyage to the Lost Dutchman resort- a private trout ranch stocked with high numbers of hungry trout. The kids then put to test what they had learned, casting the flies they had tied with high hopes. Many kids were able to hook up with and land their first ever trout! It was a great time for campers and volunteers alike, with smiles on faces all around.
