By Tom Taylor, Shasta Trinity Fly Fishers, & Marsha Caranci, Shasta Mayflies
In order to fullfill our mission of spreading fly fishing knowledge and enjoyment to the next generation, as well as helping them learn to appreciate our local streams, rivers, and lakes, the Shasta Mayflies and the Shasta Trinity Fly Fishers will sponsor four youth who want to spend a week this summer learning to fly fish.
For the past ten years, The Fly Shop in Redding has run the Fish Camp at its private preserve, Antelope Creek Lodge, near Weed. The pros at this camp teach youth various casting techniques, as well as how to select and tie on dry flies and underwater nymphs, how to read the waters, and how to land and safely release the fish they catch. Other elements of the camp experience include great meals, nightly campfires, fly tying classes, and group games.
These scholarships will be for camp sessions held in June or July of 2009. Each session is limited to 16 campers. The full $750 cost of the five-day / 4-night program, including accommodations, meals, and equipment, will be covered for four 10-15 year-old youth by the Shasta Mayflies’ and the Shasta Trinity Fly Fishers’ scholarships.
After camp is over, scholarship campers are encouraged to attend a regular meeting of their sponsoring club and do a brief presentation about their Fish Camp adventure.
Although youth from all over the United States attend these summer sessions of Fish Camp, only those from Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama and Trinity counties are eligible to participate in the contest to win one of the four scholarships.
Any youth – age 10 through 15 – who would like to apply for a scholarship, is asked to complete a one-page application available via the web at (http://www.flyfishcamp.com/), or by mail through a call to Tom Taylor of the Shasta Trinity Fly Fishers at 530 549-3529.
For complete information about Fish Camp, go to http://www.flyfishcamp.com/.com and click on “Kids Camp”. Completed applications should be sent to:
Fish Camp Scholarships, P.O. Box 990002, Redding, CA 96099-0002.
All submissions must be received by April 1, 2009. Winners and alternates will be announced and notified by April 15.
