Bringing “Every River Needs a Champion” to Life: The 2nd Annual Cañon City High School Fly Fishing Tournament
By Jonathan Haas, Interim President of the Bighorn Canyon Chapter of Trout Unlimited
On a bright October weekend along the Arkansas River, high school anglers did more than compete. They stepped into the current of a tradition still being built, measured not only in inches of trout but in the steady handoff of a river from one generation to the next.
The 2nd Annual Cañon City High School Fly Fishing Tournament, held October 9–10, 2026, brought 15 student teams to the banks of the Arkansas River for two days of catch-and-release fly fishing and conservation learning. Hosted by the emerging Bighorn Canyon Chapter of Trout Unlimited, the event showed what's possible when a local community makes developing the next generation of conservationists a priority.
Friday set a different tone than a typical competition morning. Students spent the day fishing open water, then gathered at Observer Ranch for dinner, stories, and a program that connected the weekend’s fishing to the longer work of caring for the Arkansas River and its tributaries. Natalie Flowers, Director of Education for Colorado Trout Unlimited, spoke with the students about TU opportunities for young adults and handed out TU swag. Trevor Tuck of Trout Unlimited shared his own path, which began in Cañon City and led to his work with TU National. Once again this year, every student also received a raffle prize Friday night before the competition began. The ranch’s lodging partnership, which directs a portion of bookings back to the chapter, turned even the practical details of where people slept into quiet support for what comes next.
Saturday belonged to the river and a live leaderboard. Teams drew from 15 beats, fished two sessions under clear catch-and-release rules, and tracked their results through an AI scoring system. Between sessions, they ate together at Centennial Park. At the end of the day, they stood for awards, surrounded by the sponsors, volunteers, and families who had made the larger weekend possible.
For the adults who make the tournament happen, the weekend means more than logistics. Taylor Edrington, owner of Royal Gorge Anglers and the event’s title sponsor, grew up fishing the Arkansas River and has spent his life sharing that fishery with others. His shop’s support reflects a deeper commitment to helping the next generation learn the river he knows so well. Debbie Betts, who also calls the Arkansas River her home water, has spent much of her life championing the river. She was instrumental in securing the sponsorships that helped expand the tournament while continuing to advocate for the water she loves. Paul Vertrees has sponsored the Cañon City High School Tiger Fly Fishing Club, an official Trout Unlimited Fly Fishing Club, for the past 16 years. His long-term investment in the school’s anglers helped build the foundation this tournament now stands on. Together with the other volunteers who marked the beats the night before, trained on the scoring system, and kept the day moving, they turned an idea into a weekend the students will remember.
When the scores were final, Michael Porter and Hugh Jacobs finished in first place. For Porter, the win marked back-to-back titles after he and Michael Stickley took the inaugural event in 2025. Finn Van Meter claimed both the largest brown trout and the largest rainbow trout, a rare double that underscored the quality of fish moving through the beats. Their success, and the effort of every team on the water, gave the weekend its clearest measure.
What expanded this year was not only the field of 15 teams and beats or the addition of a full Friday program. It was the sense that the tournament now sits inside something larger. As the Bighorn Canyon Chapter takes root, focusing on the Arkansas River through Bighorn Sheep Canyon and the waters that feed it, the high school event has become one of its clearest expressions: a place where students learn to read water, handle fish with care, and understand why those habits matter. The sponsors who wrote checks and donated prizes proved again that people are willing to invest in this stretch of river and its future anglers.
This tournament puts Trout Unlimited’s “every river needs a champion” tagline into action. The students who fished these beats are already learning what it means to care for the Arkansas River, and the adults who organized, sponsored, and volunteered are helping raise the next group of champions. None of it is guaranteed to continue. Youth events succeed only when enough people decide they are worth the effort. This October, enough people did. The students fished. The community showed up. A new chapter took another concrete step on its home water. And somewhere between the first session and the final awards, it became clear that the Arkansas River will have another group of young anglers who already know how to leave it better than they found it.
The tournament will return next October. The adults who organized, sponsored, volunteered, and coached are already looking forward to it with the same energy the students bring to the water. That shared anticipation, as much as any result from this year, is what will carry the event forward.
