Trips: It Was Time!
After 17 years of the FATC we have grown to 250 members and that is impressive. But it was time to increase the number of instructors to help ”graduate” all these new members. Of course, you want to have guys that genuinely want to be and would be dedicated to becoming instructors. It would mean less fishing time because they will be teaching more than fishing on many trips. As you may remember we selected two FATC members to be instructors, Brian Ellis, and Glenn Haake. Each with their own unique qualities that will enhance the knowledge base of our Fellowship. Each new instructor had to complete the FATC fly fishing class, an extra two hours of classroom “training” and one full day on the water as an instructor before being “FATC certified”!
Brian Ellis is a Fly Fishers International Certified Casting Instructor, certified through their intense casting program. He has been with the FATC since 2020 and had fished all over the United States. Glenn Haake has been with us since 2017 and besides fishing all over Missouri, has taken trips with the FATC to Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, and even Belize. Both of these new instructors have fly fishing knowledge that they are ready and willing to pass along to you. If you see them on one of your trips give them a high five and a congratulations.
This trip was our “certification” trip for Glenn and Brian. Kenny and Jim took the day to go over all that we teach our brand-new guys on the water. Kenny and Jim got to “act” like the “students” on this day. Going over with Brian and Glenn all the things they “might” see when taking out a new guy for the very first time. We did some casting, swinging (flies that is), stripping (still talking about fly fishing!) and dead drifting techniques. I have to say the guys are ready to go!
On this day we were joined by other FATC members to welcome in the new instructors (more so maybe to check them out!). Bill Byington, Jim Franke, Bob Palisch, Ken Welter joined us on this beautiful day to fish. Hey. Let’s talk about the trip. There was a lot of catching on this day. If I am not mistaken, most everyone had at least 7-8 trout in the net. Many different flies were used from olive mohair leech patterns, nymphs, Griffith gnats, cracklebacks, zebra midges, cerise worms and more. Overall, it was a very good day. We finished about 4:30 and celebrated at the Arandas Mexican restaurant in Salem, MO before heading home. Enjoy some of the pictures of the day.
