Fork's Foundation Class

Welcome to the Fork’s Foundation Class! This course is designed to lay a strong foundation in fly fishing, specifically curated for 12-15 year olds. Students will enjoy a full day of fun, hands-on instruction, led by Headwaters’ experienced and licensed fly fishing guides. Diving into basic entomology, casting lessons, fish identification and fish handling ethics, gear overview, rigging and more. Students will leave the day with a solid grasp of fly fishing “101’s” and be on their way to becoming an independent angler.

The Fork’s Foundation Class will be held on June 5th and 19th, July 10th and 24th, and August 7th.

The class is $150 per student.

Students will meet at 9am at Headwaters’ fly shop. After everyone is checked in, students will then proceed to the hands on, outdoor course. Parents are welcome to drop the student(s) off, or hang around if you’d like! A flowing schedule (listed below) will keep students engaged throughout the day until 3pm pickup time.

Any equipment needed for the day will be provided.

A packed lunch from our friends from local food trucks will be provided as well.

Upon completion of the course, students will receive a voucher for discounted retail available at Headwaters Outfitters that can be put to use for rods, reels, and other essential fishing gear.

With this being a mostly outdoor course, students should be pepared with clothing/shoes that can get wet, sunscreen, bug spray and anything else to keep them comfortable while outside for the day.

Timeline of Class:

9:00: Meet at Headwaters Outfitters Fly Shop, Introduce Classmates, settle in for the day

9:15-9:45: An overview of the day will be presented to students as well as an intro to “what is fly fishing?”

9:45-10:45: Gear Overview (Rod, Reel, Fly Line, Leader, Tippet)

-Explain rod weights, reel sizes etc

-Identify fly line, Leader, tippet sizes and what their purpose

-Rigging the rod; putting rod together, reel on rod, selecting and putting on leader

10:45-12:00: Casting & Line Management Lesson

-Casting Accuracy

-Single Haul and Roll Casting

12:00-12:30: Break For Lunch

12:30-1:15: Entomology Lesson

-Overview of mayfly, caddis and stonefly

-Find them in the river, ID Them

-Match the hatch with guide fly boxes, explain why and how the flies match and why you would choose that fly to fish with

-Identify the differences between dry flies, nymphs and streamers

1:15-2:00: Rigging Lesson/Knots

-Dive into how to appropriately set up different rigs

-Show students how to tie essential knots for rigging.

-Students will set up their rod to fish before moving to the next station using knowledge from previous station on fly selection

2:00-3:00: Final On water lesson: Fish Identification, fish handling and ethics, applying skills while fishing

3:00: Student Pick Up