Spring is a really busy time in the Bitterroot for almost any kind of work, but if I had my choice, I’d rather go fishing. Some lucky kids get a chance to do just that. The kids taking the Bitterroot Buggers’ after school fly fishing program at the Hamilton Middle School for instance, get to do just that. After eight weeks of classes on fly tying, casting, fish identification, riparian restoration and, yes, entomology, these kids get to go fishing at the Bitterroot Stock Farm for their graduation party. The Bitterroot Buggers Fishing Day is scheduled for April 27.
Sponsored by Bitterroot Trout Unlimited and the Keystone Discovery Enrichment Program, the classes are held in the evening, 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Westview School. The Bitterroot Buggers learning sessions are open to any child in the Bitterroot Valley ages 9 through 14.
The classes are taught by volunteers and there seem to be plenty of them. They are people interested in passing on a tradition that, as Norman Maclean, author of “A River Runs Through It”, put it, is kind of a religion for some of us.
Bitterroot Trout Unlimited member, Geoff FitzGerald, is the Bitterroot Buggers’ go-to guy for identifying fish food, that is the myriad of macroinvertebrates that fish generally feed upon. He brought two big plastic pans full of water and bugs that he dredged up from Skalkaho Creek to the last class and engaged the kids in a bit of macroinvertebrate identification. The kids identified Golden Stoneflies, Mayflies, midges and other small creatures including an aquatic worm. All are tasty little morsels for a hungry trout.
The kids learned to tie flies that imitate these bugs, using special knots that every fisherperson should know. They learned about the different kinds of fish and how to handle them. They learned about the fish’s habits and their habitat. They learned about their equipment and how to use and care for it. They learned something about the tradition and the ethics of fly fishing.
For more information about the classes contact Joe Byrne of the Keystone Program at 363-5996 or call Greg Chester at (406) 363-0033 or email gchester55@aol.com.