Reeling in the Future

Reeling in the Future: The High School Fly Fishing Tournament Story

By Jonathan Haas, Southern Colorado Greenback Chapter

The Southern Colorado Greenback Chapter of Trout Unlimited is preparing to host the inaugural High School Fly Fishing Tournament on October 11, 2025, in Cañon City, Colorado. Designed to inspire the next generation of anglers and conservationists, the event will pair skill-building with river stewardship on one of the state’s most iconic trout streams, the Arkansas River. Details and registration are available at fishcanoncity.com.

A Vision Born on the Riverbank

The idea for the tournament took shape earlier this year along the Arkansas River. Despite the river’s popularity with anglers, there was a noticeable absence of young people casting a line. Recognizing the importance of engaging youth in both the sport and conservation, the chapter set out to create an event that would bring high school students to the water to learn the art of fly fishing and the value of protecting natural resources.

Support that Made It Possible

A Colorado Trout Unlimited Leo Gomolchak (Gomo) Grant provided the momentum to make the vision a reality. The tournament is open to students ages 14 to 18 and combines competitive fishing with conservation education, offering a hands-on approach to building a lifelong connection to coldwater habitats.

What to Expect on Tournament Day

Set against the backdrop of Cañon City’s fall scenery, the tournament will begin with check-in at 7:15 a.m. Fishing will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. along designated beats on public stretches of the Arkansas River. High school teams, each paired with an adult mentor such as a parent, guardian, or coach, will compete for awards recognizing the largest brown and rainbow trout, caught and released in a conservation-minded manner.

The day will also feature stream cleanups and educational sessions focused on the river’s ecosystem, giving participants the opportunity to deepen their skills while learning how to protect the waters they fish.

Why Youth Are at the Center

The tournament focuses on high school students because this age group is ready to master casting techniques, explore river ecosystems, and participate in hands-on conservation. By involving young anglers in projects such as cleanups and habitat awareness, the event seeks to cultivate future stewards of Colorado’s rivers.

Expanding the Invitation

While based in Cañon City, the tournament welcomes teams from across the West. Trout Unlimited chapters and youth clubs are encouraged to recruit students and mentors from their communities. The format is designed to be inclusive and supportive, with opportunities for newcomers to learn alongside experienced anglers.

Looking Ahead

Planning for the tournament has involved careful coordination of logistics, beats, and mentorship opportunities. As October approaches, organizers are focused on creating an event that celebrates the Arkansas River, its trout fishery, and the young anglers who will carry its protection forward.

Join the Experience

TU members, families, and river advocates are invited to be part of the tournament on October 11. Visit fishcanoncity.com for registration information, rules, and updates. This event is about more than catching fish. It is about sparking a lifelong passion for fly fishing and building a commitment to protecting our rivers for generations to come.

Learn About Our New CTU STREAM Program Opportunities

We are excited to expand our STREAM Program offerings into a spectrum of river conservation, outdoor exploration, and angling STREAM programs. Traditionally CTU has been successful in hosting several STREAM Girl and STREAM Keeper program and we now have the ability to expand, adapt, and create unique STREAM programs to fit your TU Chapter area, Partner Organization, age demographic, diverse audience, and community. Check out our updated web pages below and our new program resources page.

We are also offering a STREAM Programs Rendezvous session on Saturday, Oct. 21st at 4 pm in Glenwood Springs on the Colorado River! Click here for more information about this session and others at our upcoming CTU Rendezvous.

STREAM Girls & STREAM Keepers Volunteer Opportunities

CTU has some awesome STREAM Keeper and STREAM Girl events and volunteer opportunities!  We are needing fly tiers, fly casters, fly fishers, macroinvertebrate lovers, and helpful volunteers to support these kids, families, and STREAM programs!  To sum it all up....WE NEED YOU!

Event Dates

STREAM Keepers

• Date/Times/Locations:

  • 6/03/23 - 10:30 am - 3:00 pm - Walking Mountain - Eagle Valley Outdoor Movement - 318 Walking Mountains Lane, Avon

  • 6/28/23 - 10:00 am - 3:00 pm - Lincoln Hills Cares - 655 Pactolus Lake Rd, Black Hawk, CO 80422

  • 8/1/23 - 9:30 am - 1:30 pm - The Nature Connection - Confluence Park in Delta: 531 Palmer St, Delta, CO 81416

  • 8/1/23 - 9:30 am - 1:30 pm - The Nature Connection - Delta Fairgrounds, 403 Fair Grounds, Hotchkiss, CO 81419

STREAM Girls 

• Date/Time/Locations:

  • STREAM Girl 1.0 Dates and Locations

    • 8/19/23 – Hubbard Cabin, Routt Co Road 18, Steamboat Springs, CO

    • 9/9/2023 - Kassler Center & Waterton Canyon, 11338 Waterton Rd, Littleton, CO 80125

    • 9/16/23 - CSU Environmental Learning Center, Natural Resources Building, #223, Fort Collins, CO 80523

  • STREAM Girl 2.0 Dates and Locations

    • 9/10/23 – Lake Lehow, 11250 Waterton Rd., Littleton CO

  • STREAM Girl Day Camp Dates and Locations

    • 7/25/23 - Cherry Creek State Park, 4201 S Parker Rd, Aurora, CO 80014

    • 7/26/23 - Cherry Creek State Park, 4201 S Parker Rd, Aurora, CO 80014

    • 7/27/23 - Cherry Creek State Park, 4201 S Parker Rd, Aurora, CO 80014

Event Description:

STREAM Keepers Description: Join Colorado Trout Unlimited, local Chapters, and local Organizations for STREAM Keepers.  Kids and Families will participate in a variety of activities which might include, stream observation, sampling macroinvertebrates, tying flies, learning fly casting, and fishing at a local stream.  

Volunteer Needs: 

• Fly tying

• Fly Casting

• Macroinvertebrates

• Fly fishing

STREAM Girls 1.0 Description: Join Colorado Trout Unlimited and Girls Scouts of Colorado for STREAM Girls and learn about your local watershed!   This full day program intended for girls from 4th – 8th grades, empowers girls to explore a local stream, collect flow data, sample macroinvertebrates, tie flies, and learn fly casting. Sign up as an individual or a whole troop and if you aren't a Girl Scout no worries -- you can join in the fun too. Please note STREAM Girls 1.0 does not include fly fishing due to our limited time, that comes in STREAM Girls 2.0.  

Volunteer Needs: 

• 7:30 am - 5:00 pm:

  • Event Leader Volunteer (2 needed)

• 7:30 am - 12:00 pm:

  • STREAM Walk & Macroinvertebrate Volunteer (4 needed)

  • STREAM Walk & Go With The Flow Volunteer (4 needed)

  • Photographer (1 needed)

• 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm:

  • Fly Tying & Stream Scavenger Hunt (4 needed)

  • Fly Casting & Stream Scavenger Hunt (4 needed)

  • Photographer (1 needed)

STREAM Girls 2.0 Description: This half-day program, intended for girl’s 5th grade or older, empowers novice anglers to build upon their already learned casting skills and grow into confident anglers and river conservationists. It is highly recommended that you have already taken STREAM Girls 1.0 before enrolling in this event.

Volunteer Needs: 

• 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

  • Event Leader Volunteer (2 needed)

  • Support Volunteer - Knots, Fly Casting, & Fly Fishing (8 needed)

  • Photographer (2 needed)

STREAM Girls Day Camp Description: We will be offering STREAM programming for Girl Scout Day Camp at Cherry Creek State Park this summer!  Join us as we teach 50 Girl Scout campers about river conservation and explore the Cherry Creek watershed!

Volunteer Needs: 

• 9:30 am - 12:00 pm

  • Event Leader Volunteer (2 needed)

  • Support Volunteer (4 - 10 needed)

  • Photographer (2 needed)

Volunteer capacity for each event is limited. Please be sure to register ASAP, if you are interested in supporting these impactful events. Thank you to those of you who have already signed up!

For more information, contact Natalie Flowers at natalie.flowers@tu.org

GoPro Mountain Games Introduce New Youth Activities

NEW IN 2023, the GoPro Mountain Games are putting an emphasis and opening categories for the youth by creating “grom” divisions for ages 12-18 in almost every event to create a more fair, competitive field for the next generation of Mountain Gamers.

One of these divisions is the Orvis 2 Fly X-Stream Casting Competition. Groups of 4+ are eligible for a 20% discount. If you are interested in registering a group contact punruh@vvf.org.

New TIC Community Tank at the CSU Spur Hydro Building

Attending the National Western Stock Show in Denver this month? Then you can come see our new Trout In The Classroom (TIC) Community Tank at the CSU Spur Hydro building. Located at 4817 National Western Dr, Denver, CO 80216, the Hydro building is the newest addition to the CSU Spur campus.

Our Community Tank, with the help of the Denver Trout Unlimited Chapter, currently holds three-month old trout who are actively feeding, swimming, and growing. Come learn more about Trout In The Classroom and the other amazing programs and opportunities the CSU Spur has to offer!

CTU will have a table next to the tank on Saturday, January 14th for CSU Spur Day at the Stock Show and Monday, January 16th for Martin Luther King Day.

CTU Youth Programs Update

First off, thank you to everyone who donated and supported CTU Youth during our Colorado Gives Day campaign! We accomplished our goal and then some, for a grand total of $7,675! Thank also to Barbara Luneau and Mark Rayman for offering a matching incentive and helping to double our donor’s donations by $2,500.

2023 is looking bright for CTU’s Headwaters Programs. We are beginning to plan out our 2023 STREAM
Girls and STREAM Keepers schedule. If you are interested in offering a STREAM Girls or STREAM Keepers program in 2023 fill out the forms below.

• 2023 STREAM Girls Inquiry Form

• 2023 STREAM Keepers Inquiry Form

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Trout in the Classroom (TIC) is looking forward to 2023, as well. We will be installing a new TIC Community Tank at the CSU Spur Hydro Building in late December or early January. We hope to have the tank working and fish swimming by the time The National Western Stock Show is running. If you are going to the Stock Show be sure to visit the new CSU Spur Hydro Building and TIC Community Tank on the second floor.

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We are excited to announce our 2023 River Conservation & Fly Fishing Camp will be June 11 - 17, 2023. Registration is now open for Camper applications and Camp Counselor applications. Visit our Camp website for more information.

Want to help CTU’s 2023 River Conservation & Fly Fishing Camp? Below are some great ways to show your support.

• Help us spread the word!

  • Download and share our 2023 River Conservation & Fly Fishing Camp Flyer.

• Sponsor a Camper!

  • Camp Registration is $600 per camper. If you would like to sponsor a camper please email Barbara Luneau or Natalie Flowers.

• Volunteer!

  • Camp Counselor applications are now open. Click here to apply to be a CTU Camp Counselor.

Thank you for all the support in 2022. We can’t wait to continue fostering the next generation of conservations and anglers in 2023!

If you would like to increase your impact, please contact Natalie Flowers and/or visit our Supporting CTU Youth page to see our greatest needs, sponsorship opportunities, and more.

The CURRENT Podcast | Episode 5 featuring CTU's Trout in the Classroom

The CURRENT is a low-key, light-hearted fly fishing podcast hosted by Will Rice. With some recently found free time, Will will be thumbing through his Rolodex of accomplished anglers and friends in the fly fishing industry to talk about what's going on in their neck of the woods.

After visiting with friends from a variety of fisheries across the US, host Will Rice welcomes Bianca McGrath-Martinez from CTU, Bill Gilmore and Guy Grace from Littleton Public Schools to talk about the Trout in the Classroom program.

This environmental education program allows for elementary, middle, and high school students to raise rainbow trout eggs to fry as a vehicle to understand ecosystems. At the end of the program, the students typically release the fry into a local fishery with help from CPW. Will explores the fate of these trout with the recent shutdown of schools.

For more on the CTU Trout In The Classroom Program: CLICK HERE

You can find the podcast on Apple Music, Spotify & Stitcher. If you enjoy what Will is putting together with The CURRENT podcast, we ask that you please rate it and leave it a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify! Thanks for listening!

2019 Summer Youth Camp Video features youth learning about rivers and fly fishing

Greenback and CTU volunteer, Emma Brown, put together a great feature about the 2019 CTU River Conservation and Fly Fishing Youth Camp in Almont, CO. Check out the great video she filmed above!

The River Conservation and Fly Fishing Camp is a week long camp designed to educate 14 to 18 year old students on the importance of cold water conservation and provide hands-on fly fishing instruction. Approximately 20 students are selected each year based on their qualifications and a written essay on why they would like to attend the camp.

Camp classes include: Principles of Ecology, Hydrogeology, Aquatic Vertebrate and Invertebrate Sampling, Hydrology, Trout Behavior, Trout Stream Entomology, The Biology of Pollution, Acid Deposition, and Politics of Conservation and Human Effects on the Rocky Mountain.

In addition, the camp will include hands-on instruction on Fly Tying, Fly Casting, Stream-side Ethics, Angling Literature, Stream-side Botany, Wader Safety and Survival, and The Evolution of an
Angler. The campers will also participate in a watershed project to repair habitat in a nearby stream.

Over 300 trout released in this year's Trout in the Classroom Release!

Trout in the Classroom (TIC) is a conservation-oriented, environmental education program for elementary, middle and high school students. Throughout the school year students raise their trout from egg to fry, monitor tank water quality, engage in stream habitat study, learn to appreciate water resources, grow to understand ecosystems and begin to foster a conservation ethic. At the end of each school year, TIC classrooms release their trout into a state approved stream.

In the state of Colorado, there are 12 schools that take part in this program with a total of 17 tanks. Each program is led by educators dedicated to growing the next generation of environmental stewards.

On May 28th, Vanessa Grenader, a 5th grade teacher from Blackhawk, brought her students to Mayhem Gulch to release their 170 pet rainbow trout. Vanessa was accompanied by volunteers from the West Denver Chapter who talked with the students about water quality. Read more here.

On May 24th, Mike Sanchez’s high school class was joined by Bianca McGrath-Martinez of Colorado Trout Unlimited and Emma Brown of the Greenbacks for a release field trip at the Carson Nature Center in Littleton. The students were able to stock the South Platte with their trout, explore native plant species, and go on a nature walk.

On May 23rd, Todd Johnson set out on his first release field trip accompanied by the Denver Trout Unlimited chapter. Todd’s 3rd graders were able to release 60 trout — most of which have names.

ELK and CTU partner up to teach Denver youth fly fishing

CTU Youth Outreach Intern, Nicholas Krishnan helps students with attaching their leaders to their fly lines. Photo credit: CTU/Annie Smith

On August 8th, 2018 a group of 10 Environmental Learning for Kids (ELK) Urban Rangers - youth leaders who help teach ELK programs for other kids- along with Colorado Trout Unlimited volunteers headed up to Clear Creek in Jefferson County to spend the day learning about trout and fly fishing. All of this was put together by CTU's Youth Outreach Intern, Nicholas Krishnan. He has been working with this summer to identify and organize a collaborative program to provide Denver youth an opportunity to get outside and learn all about fly fishing. ELK graciously agreed to participate in this collaborative effort and without them it wouldn't have been possible. A huge thank you to them for helping make this a success. Please consider checking out ELK as they are empowering Denver's youth through outdoor learning. 

The day consisted of a little bit of everything to maximize our time on the water. Students learned all about trout including the different species, biology, diseases, and invasives that affect their habitat. From there, gear was distributed to each of the students including a fly rod, reel, fly line, leader, tippet, and a stocked fly box. Gear was generously donated by Eagle Claw Fishing Tackle, Orvis Park Meadows, Cabela's Lone Tree, Anglers Accessories, Denver Angler and CTU. Flies were tied by Liz Smith, Dick Shinton, Ryan Riley-Buttram from the Greenbacks, Dr. Jacob Kinnard and Will McDonough. Professional photography services that day were provided by Catherine Belme and Shaw Taylor. 

After a full day of learning and fishing, the students enjoyed wading in to cool off! Photo credit: CTU/Annie Smith

The students practiced their casting, knot tying, and setting up their fly rod before hitting the water. Each student was paired up with one of our volunteers providing one-on-one teaching. Everyone enjoyed wading out into the river and one of the students caught two fish! Towards the end of the day, many of the students decided to cool off by wading in waist deep to the middle of Clear Creek. You could overhear one of the students exclaim, "I feel like a kid out here". Check out some of the pictures from the day below. Again a huge thank you to all the volunteers, ELK students and staff, donors, and most of all, CTU Intern Nicholas Krishnan for organizing the whole thing. Great job everyone!

Photo credit: CTU/Annie Smith