Seated on a gymnasium floor at a suburban elementary school, more than a hundred sixth-graders heard the secrets of an activity that can lead them along a path to happiness.
“Whatever you do, you’ll need a passion, a recreation to last a lifetime,” Pat Dorsey said. “Fly-fishing is mine.”
Then Dorsey showed photos of trout and trout flies, spun word pictures about the beautiful places trout live and all the wonderful things one sees when going there.
You could have heard a fin drop.
Dorsey, head of guide services for Blue Quill Angler in Evergreen, was the inaugural speaker Monday in what will be an innovative six-week program to teach the graduating class at Acres Green Elementary School in Douglas County the basics of fly-fishing.
“We want to make this a rite of passage, to give every sixth-grader an exposure to fly-fishing on the way to junior high,” explained Warren Dennis, a school physical education teacher who, with associate George Boser, laid the groundwork.
As one might suppose, both Dennis and Boser are avid fly-fishers and therefore very happy men. With Dorsey, the guest lecturers to follow and a battery of volunteers from the Federation of Fly Fishermen, they share the conviction that a society sprinkled liberally with anglers will be a better place.
“When I saw the grant advertised in the National Physical Education Association Bulletin, I knew I had to go for it,” said Dennis, a fly-fisher for nearly three decades who works summers as a guide. “It was right up my alley.”
Making perhaps the best cast of his life, Dennis landed the $4,800 stipend provided by the Future Fisherman Foundation. Then the real work began.
Rallying the local fly-fishing community, he found an immediate friend in the Federation of Fly Fishermen, which will provide volunteer instructors at more than 30 sessions.
Then another long list of contributors lined up with gear and personnel: L.L. Bean, Gander Mountain, Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Charlie’s Fly Box, ArkAnglers, Whiting Farms, Keogh Farms, Dr. Slick, Rocky Mountain Angling Club, Whiteman Rod Racks, Sylvan Dale Ranch, Silver Valley Lake, Fly Tyer Plus, Johnson Books, Wapsi and Blue Quill Angler.
Dorsey, who grew up in Denver fishing with his father, tailored a power point address precisely for youngsters in his stirring kickoff presentation. Landon Mayer will deliver the excitement of big trout when he completes the program May 3. Charlie Craven will take the podium Monday and also direct the fly-tying aspect of the instruction throughout. Other local authorities will round out the speakers’ gallery.
“We discovered resources we hadn’t realized,” Dennis said of a land rush to join.
Denise Nichols, head of day care, used her contacts with Trout Unlimited to flesh out the instructional crew. Art teacher Judy Ahlbrecht will include fly-tying among her class projects.
Kids who have last-period recess can elect to use the time for casting or tying enhancement. Further, Dennis and Boser will stay after school for extra casting practice when requested.
Highlight of the program will be a field trip for a live trout-catching session.
In the aftermath of all this, Dennis has developed a most pleasant problem.
“We’ll wind up with a surplus,” Dennis said, brain spinning at the prospect of more money to spend spreading the fly-fishing gospel.
After all, there will be another sixth-grade class next year at Acres Green.
Charlie Meyers can be reached at 303-954-1609 or cmeyers@denverpost.com.
