For the 3rd year, we had several FATC brothers step up to help out our youth at the Angler Education Day for the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts in our area. Mike Bisaga, Jim Craig, Mike Oldani, Miles Meyer, Ken Fleischmann, Al Angiocchi, Bill Lowry, Gabby, Tim Welsh, Dave Beerbower, Jeff Layton and Bob Aslin gave a good portion of their Saturday to work this event. The Angler Education Day event educates and exposes youth to the various aspects of fishing. Kids and their families have the opportunity to explore and learn about basic fishing skills, aquatic ecosystems, and water/boating safety. More than 30 interactive stations were setup for the participants to explore at their own pace. Cub Scouts earned requirements toward advancements and Boy Scouts/Venturers earned requirements toward merit badges. The FATC was primarily responsible for the fly casting area but occasionally, we were asked to help in other areas. This year we also helped out in the fly tying area.
When Scouts came to our areas, we worked with them to teach the basics of fly casting and tying. For Cub Scouts, they are required to simply try casting or tying. The idea is to get the boys exposed to something new. For the Boy Scouts that attended, many of them were working on their Fly Fishing Merit Badge, and were looking to complete a few of their requirements. For these boys, we worked on basic casting technique, and also signed off completion of requirements. For the Fly Fishing Merit Badge, the boys are required to demonstrate a 35′ cast as well as a roll cast. Some picked this up rather quickly, and many of them had some pretty good looking casts. For the fly tying area, the boys were required to tie a fly that they will fish with.
Other highlights were lunch that included fish tacos that were prepared from a large striped bass that was used for a fish cleaning demonstration.
This is always a great event, and all of our guys had a great time working with the youth. If you are interested in learning more about other Scout fishing events, feel free to contact Mike Bisaga or just keep an eye out for future email announcements.
