Students receive the equipment, knowledge and field training to create a strong foundation, for a lifetime of successful fly fishing and fisheries conservation.
All your fly fishing tackle will be provided.
The academy is co-educational for ages 12-16
Dorm style lodging and on-site cook serving three great meals and snacks each day.
Male and Female Ghillies aka Counselors
Covid 19 vaccinations and boosters for students are recommended
In addition to food and lodging, the academy fee includes:
* Redington 5 wt. Rod Kit
* Box of flies
* A Sling pack loaded with tools and equipment
* Knot Tying and Bug ID Card Packs
* Two classic fly fishing books
The students are given all of this on their first day and are responsible for their gear throughout the academy. Additionally they’ll receive fly fishing information that would take the average fly fisher years to accumulate, hours to fish and practice their newly learned skills but most importantly an appreciation of the true meaning of what’s required to maintain and hopefully, improve the planets fisheries.
In addition to getting good at the basic overhead cast, you’ll also be given instruction about more advanced casts such as the roll cast, haul and double haul casts.
All the tools, materials and equipment are provided. After classes, instructors will be available to assist everyone in creating at least four effective fly patterns to take home. Camper tied or from our store room, we’ll insure that every camper always has a full fly box.
What’s the difference between a 3 wt. and a 9 wt. rod? Is a soft action rod better than a fast one? Some fly lines sink and others float, why? What’s stronger a 5X or 3X tippet? Join us in June and find out.
Learn about your quarry from professionals. Is that trout a female or a male? What’s a lateral line? Why are fish slimy? And then get messy while dissecting a few fish and learn more fishy facts.
Guaranteed no Latin names, just plain English. You’ll discover what fish eat, you know – fish food and learn where and how bugs live, then enjoy a field trip to collect and identify some local fish food in a nearby stream. Use that hands on knowledge and some help in the tying room, to tie matching flies, or at least something close. Fear not, we have plenty of pre-made flies, if needed.
You’ll learn the basic connection knots needed to set up your fly gear from attaching line to the reel all the way to tying on a fly. There will be camp time to work on getting these twisty things mastered. But to help you enjoy your fishing time on the water, everyone gets a pack of “Knot Tying Reference Cards” to keep in your sling pack. It’ll help you remember how to tie that perfect knot, post academy.
Do you think the fish will last forever? Discover how you can help keep fish in our lakes and the rivers. The effects of Fish Passage Barriers and the chemical make up of fisheries water.
After you learn how to cast and tie flies you’ll eventually ask – WHAT FLY DO I TIE ON ? Join us and discover.
We’ll talk about what clothing you should wear to camouflage yourself. How should you approach and wade in fishable waters? What’s the difference between an emerger and a pupa. How do I present my fly, dead drift or swing? What size, how deep or shallow? Can a trout see me on the shore?
There are critters and plants we don’t want in our waters. What and where are they? Why are they a problem ? You can help fix it and learn more about them when playing the Invasive Archery game.
A fish just rose and ate a bug, but which stage of what insect is it eating? From where do I cast and how do I present and retrieve my fly? Where do the fish hang out in rivers and lakes? Learn the answers.
A lake offers a large area of water to fish. Where do I cast? How do I retrieve the fly? How deep? What food lives there and where does it grow? Where do the fish hang out? And why. Fly camp provide the answers.
How can I be safe when wearing waders or floating on a lake? What is the correct type and fit for a Life Vest?
What is an ethical way to fish? When fishing near others what are the basic rules of fair play.
