After 15 years of operation, a youth fly fishing camp called Rivercourse, held annually in the heart of North Carolina’s mountains, continues to inspire 13- to 15-year olds to pick up a fly rod, and explore the natural world around them.
The camp itself is a four-day event organized by North Carolina’s Trout Unlimited, where instructors stress the concepts of conservation and resource stewardship, as much as they do fly fishing techniques.
“The objective of the camp is not to make fly fishermen,” 75-year old founder Bob Doubert said. “The objective of the camp is to help kids appreciate cold mountain streams and hopefully in the future they’ll work to protect them.”
A story from Smoky Mountain News says that last week, campers convened and while some cut their teeth of the waters of Big East Fork, others stayed behind and refined their fly-tying skills.
“It’s fun to tie your own fly and catch fish because you get really happy,” 12-year old Sarah Anderson of Georgia said. “Because of all the work you put into it, and you get something good out of it.”
For more information on the camp, it’s curriculum, and the experiences young anglers have had over the rears, read the entire article here. For more information about the camp in general, visit the Rivercourse website.
