My intention was inspired by my short interaction with legendary fly-casting instructor Lefty Kreh during my FFF graduation-ceremony. He spoke about  the dilemma of the fly-fishing industry. Simply put, there is not enough new-generation participation. So I thought, why not bring the spark of fly fishing to our youth, and specifically to youth in urban environments that are looking for meaningful ways to connect to their local environment? 

So off I went, intention clear, doing my best to plant the seed of fly-fishing in these young men. We began with some on the ground casting basics, and then one-by-one, I took them out onto the river via canoe and we put our practice to the test – cruising around in canoes provided by Living Classrooms. The landscape was surprisingly quiet and serene, despite it’s urban surroundings. We saw Egrets and Great Blue Herons while we rolled a cast out to just about anything we saw move in the water. Watching the young men be still and practice tuning into the environment was very rewarding. I found them very attentive and eager to perfect their casting skills and to learn more about the eco-system to perfect their fly fishing skills. At the end of the day during their reflection circle some of the boys shared that fly fishing taught them perseverance and patience! What amazing insights after only a few hours on the river! That is the power of fly fishing. That is the power of spending time in the outdoors.

After our day together, LPTM created paintings using their signature art style – all are collective creations that use scraps of painted canvas sewn together to create their images. Really cool stuff! Check out some of the paintings they made about our day together!  What amazing young men! Spending that day together inspired a lot in me and I’m looking forward to more opportunities in the future.