by John Dowd
Saturday, May 31, was the culmination of a seven-week fly fishing program, hosted for youth by Bitterroot Trout Unlimited (TU). Known as the “Bitterroot Buggers,” the program has been going since 1998. Greg Chester has been in charge of the class since 2004, and he said that since he has been with Bitterroot Buggers the program has graduated 1,200 participants. He is especially proud that at least three of these young people have gone on to become fisheries biologists, which means the program is having a direct impact on the environment and fulfillment of the Trout Unlimited mission.
Chester has been fly fishing since 1979, and was part of a club in California before he moved to the valley. He loves teaching and helping people get into the sport and said, “I just like to help people.” He is a board member of Bitterroot TU as well as the secretary and a past president. He says these programs are profoundly important as they “get kids out in the woods and they introduce them to conservation.”
Greg Chester stands with Lindsay Laird and her son Austin, as they watch Lindsay’s other son, Zander, fish. Photo by John Dowd.
According to Chester, Bitterroot TU is dedicated to protecting and restoring the watershed of the Bitterroot and that translates into these lessons for kids, to help keep both fishing culture, and the fisheries they enjoy, alive. Every lesson he and others teach with this program can mean pushing someone who’s on the fence over into the world of fisheries conservation, whether it is a small part, or a large part, of their lives.
The Bitterroot Buggers program is taught by all volunteers from Bitterroot TU, and the program is open to youth ages 9 to 14. Many will take the class multiple times, and they allow advanced participants. It is a free class and Bitterroot TU provides all the supplies. Over seven weeks, with one class session a week, participants take lessons that range from casting and fish identification, to stream ecology and the tying of five to six flies. These flies include the Wooly Bugger, Grey Hackle Peacock, Parachute Adams and other classic flies.
The May 31 get-together was the official end of the course, and included a picnic and a day of fishing on a private pond. Access to the pond was provided by Bitterroot TU member and pond owner, Lane Larson. This was Larson’s second year doing so and he said, “I will keep doing so as long as this place is mine.” For him, and others with Bitterroot TU, this is too great of an opportunity for the youth, though fishing this year was sparse. Larson said he mostly has pike minnows in his pond, but everyone enjoyed seeing the youth try their hands anyway. At the end of the day, the angler who landed the biggest fish was recognized, as was the catcher of the most fish.
One family to participate in the day of fishing was Lindsay Laird and her sons Austin and Zander. According to Laird, this was Zander’s first time ever fly fishing. She said, “He has loved every minute of it.” Laird said she heard about the program through a friend, and Zander was always overjoyed to go to the Tuesday evening classes. They even purchased a rod for him, and now he hopes to fish more with his father and brother.
According to Chester, each season the class takes on 30 beginners and 10 advanced students. Chester said Bitterroot TU gets rod outfits donated by TFO. These kits normally cost around $300, but the company sells them to TU for a huge discount at $90, and the group then offers families the option to buy these outfits at $30. They also have tying kits families can buy, which are heavily discounted as well. These are Dr. Slick brand. However, Chester added that they provide all the equipment students can use for free, so, “It can be truly free, if they wish,” said Chester.
There are around 370 members of Bitterroot TU, all of whom are volunteers; none are paid, which Chester is proud of. For him, it is a real accomplishment that they do so much with no one being paid a dime. Speaking of some of those youth programs, Dave Ward, the current Bitterroot TU president, spoke highly of the “Trout in the Classroom” program. This program provides a tank and equipment to classrooms throughout the valley. The organization then delivers 100 fertilized rainbow trout eggs from the Arlee hatchery to each class that participates. Classes then care for the young fish, monitoring PH levels, temperature and more. Finally, after about five months or so, the kids release them into various approved locations when the fish are of the right age. This program is available to all seven schools in the valley.
The Bitterroot Buggers classes are hosted at Hamilton Middle School, and though most participants are from Hamilton, the option is open to anyone interested. Interested participants can reach out to Bitterroot TU via their website, bitterroottu.org, for more information.