Forward Rising Fly Fishing Camp

Written by: Heather Sees, president of the GreenbacksPhotos by: Emma Brown

Colorado TU, with help from The Greenbacks of Trout Unlimited, strive to educate, connect with, and influence the next generation to become conservation stewards and active participants in the fly fishing community. We recently had the opportunity to partner with a new camp, Forward Rising to accomplish just this.

Forward Rising Inc, the creator of Forward Rising camp, is a new organization that focuses on engaging inner city girls through conservation, fishing, and the great outdoors. The organization hopes to use these activities to offer the girls outlets to the challenges they face.

The weekend kicked off when the Girls, Inc. of Metro Denver van arrived at Lynwood Park in Bailey, CO with six young ladies who were eager, yet a bit hesitant, for the jam packed weekend! As the young ladies got off the van there was a bit of a buzz about what the weekend had in store for them. We kicked off the weekend Friday evening by having a team building exercise where the girls worked together to set up their tents and sleeping bags. After “home” was established the girls were introduced to the amazing team of volunteers and we all participated in ice-breaker games to get to know each other a bit better.

Saturday morning started out pretty chilly so everyone was moving a bit slower, but you could sense the excitement in the air! We kicked off our day with a session on wilderness survival from Mary Margaret Sweeney, PhD – Director at Way of the Wild. Mary spoke about the basics of wilderness survival, emergency shelter construction (with participation and help from the girls) and instruction on how to build a one minute fire. Overall, the young ladies walked away with knowledge on what to do in an emergency if they find themselves in that situation. Following the wilderness survival presentation, we had the pleasure of having Luke Caudillo, UFC fighter, speak to the group about overcoming challenges and following your dreams.

After a short lunch break we kicked off the rest of the afternoon focused on entomology, fly tying and fly fishing. The girls suited up in waders and boots and headed to North Fork of the South Platte River to search for bugs. After turning over rocks and doing the “San Juan shuffle” in front of the bug seines we came away with a few bugs that would later be identified as mayflies, small craw-fish and a couple worms.  After a lesson in entomology and discussions around the importance of healthy rivers we tied up some San Juan worms in hopes of tricking the fish!

The time had come – rods were rigged up, safety and catch and release practices were discussed and each young lady was paired up with a volunteer to try their hand at fly fishing.  Shortly after we hit the pond there were screams of excitement – missed fish!  After switching up bugs we heard the words that any angler wants to hear “FISH ON!”  For the next couple hours we saw several fish to the net – some girls got it on their own, some with a little help, but the end result was the same.  After a few hours of catching fish we had a quick dinner and ended the night with a campfire, s’mores, stargazing, a quick visit from Fraser the Fish and reflection on the past couple days!

Sunday morning came faster than we expected and the weekend was coming to an end.  The weekend contained many firsts – 1^st time being in the river, 1^st time putting up a tent and sleeping outside, 1^st time catching a fish, 1^st time making s’mores, 1^st time seeing the stars and for some, 1^st time being out of Denver.  As we cleaned up camp and packed up the van there was still a lot of excitement about the weekend!

The 1^st annual Forward Rising camp was a huge success, a GREAT time was had by all and we had the opportunity to share our passion and knowledge with the next generation!

A special thanks goes to the sponsors of the camp: Bass Pro Shops, Colorado Parks & Wildlife, SaraBella Fishing, Urban Anglers, Pig Farm Ink. The camp couldn't have been done without their generous support and donations to CTU, The Greenbacks, Forward Rising, and Girls Inc of Metro Denver.

Fly Fishing Field Trip

On September 15, Colorado TU joined Mountain Range High School of the Adams 12 School District for a fishing event on Hunters Glenn Lake in Thornton. About 30 students of all grades came to fish- some for the first time. The event is the capstone field trip to their Fly Fishing unit during a Physical Education course. Led by teacher, John Marquez, the students learned how to cast, select flies, handle fish, and how to be stewards of our natural resources. The program is part of the National Fishing in Schools Program (NFSP) that "educates students about fish, insects, aquatic environment, resource stewardship and conservation using fishing, and learning the skill of casting, as the instructional tool."

Trout Unlimited and Colorado Parks and Wildlife helped teach the kids about conversation efforts in the state and how students and anglers can be more involved. "Trout Unlimited has been a very valuable partner to us because it puts our students in touch a with an organization that is responsible for preserving our cold water fisheries.  TU helps us paint a larger picture to our students in our fly fishing unit that includes conservation as well as the skills necessary to enjoy our natural resources," said Marquez. "We could not do our day on the water without our partnership with Trout Unlimited."

At the event, about half the students caught a fish and when asked how many students would go fishing again, all said that they would like to continue fishing in the future.

CTU and MRHS, with help from the NSFP, students are being introduced into conservation and fly fishing at an early age. These students are the future of fishing and the next generation of environmental stewards.

Behind the Fin: George Franklin

• Name: George Franklin
• Conservation Director for Cutthroat Chapter
• TU Member for 5 years
• Retired high school teacher
• “My buddy is busy with family now, and both my father and the dog have passed on.  When the Hayman Fire roared through the area it broke my heart.  Now the river is recovering with the help of our efforts, those of CUSP, and others.  I am honoring the memories of those times I have spent on that river when I do my share to preserve its health and beauty."

How long have you been a TU member?

Five years, but I have been fly fishing for 47 years.

Why did you become a member and what chapter are you involved with?

I became a member to find some fishing partners and to improve my fishing skills.  I stay a member to help give back in some small way.  I am currently on the board of the Cutthroat Chapter, but I like to hang out with the Cherry Creek Angler folks as well.

What made you want to become involved with TU?

I had heard about the good work that TU does, and I knew we had local chapters, so it seemed a logical choice.

What is your favorite activity or project that you have done with TU? Our chapter's ongoing conservation work on the South Platte River near Deckers strikes a chord with me.  One of my earliest memories of being outdoors with my Dad is when he would take me there with his buddy and I would play in the shallows at the edge of the river.  Later my good fishing buddy/college roommate and I spent many a pleasant weekend camping there and fishing those waters.  Later on I had a great dog, a lab mix, and he would love to go along.  We would do our best to keep him out of the water to avoid scaring fish, but he always managed to come home soaked, muddy, and contented.  My buddy is busy with family now, and both my father and the dog have passed on.  When the Hayman Fire roared through the area it broke my heart.  Now the river is recovering with the help of our efforts, those of CUSP, and others.  I am honoring the memories of those times I have spent on that river when I do my share to preserve its health and beauty.

I know you won’t tell me your top spot, so what is your second favorite fishing spot or favorite fishing story?

I once caught a fish on six flies.  On winter day I was fishing the tailwaters of Pueblo Reservoir on the Arkansas River with a three fly rig.  Pink San Juan worm, Soft Hackle, and midge.  The indicator twitched, I set, and the fight was on.  The fish never rose and never jumped, so I figured it was a brown.  When it got closer it flashed golden, but an odd sort of gold.  So then I wasn't sure it was a brown.  When it got really close I saw scales the size of quarters.  It was a carp.  When I finally got the in the net after a fine fight I reached down to remove the fly and saw he was hooked on the midge, but not the midge I had tied on.  With my forceps I removed the midge and lifted the rig up.  There was the second fly, but it wasn't my Soft Hackle.  I lifted further up and there was a tan San Juan worm, not the color worm that I had tied on.  It was a whole separate three fly rig.  Latched onto the tan worm was my midge, followed by my Soft Hackle, my SJ worm, and my leader.  Apparently this carp had been hooked on someone else's three fly rig and had broken that rig off at the leader, only to be trailing the rig around until my rig snagged that rig.  It took six flies for me to catch that carp!  I'm sure he was relieved not to be towing that old rig any more as I released him and he swam away.

What does being a part of TU mean to you?

It means learning more about a sport I love, meeting new people with similar passion, and giving back to that sport and to our environment.

What else do you do in your spare time or for work?

I am a retired high school science teacher and I tutor science for Aurora Community College students.  I am also a gear head.  I am restoring a 1956 Chevy and I substitute teach in the Auto Collision Program at Emily Griffith Technical College.  I am also a cyclist, and I love to ride my Trek around town as well as in our beautiful Colorado mountains.