Learning about trout in the Smoky Mountains is the focus of the 10th annual Great Smoky Mountain Trout Adventure Camp for middle school girls and boys, sponsored by the Tennessee Council of Trout Unlimited.
Camper holds trout; image courtesy of GSMIT |
Registration is open now for this year’s camp, June 15-20 at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Trout Camp is designed to give campers an appreciation of conservation of our aquatic resources through fly fishing.
Participants learn about stream ecology, stream physics and water chemistry along with aquatic entomology and diversity of fish species in Smokies streams. Experienced mountain anglers teach the campers fly casting, fly tying, stream etiquette and knot tying, and guide them as they fish streams in and near the national park. Other activities include swimming and snorkeling in Little River.
Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont is a private, nonprofit environmental learning center on the Middle Prong of Little River. Facilities include dining hall, classrooms, outdoor meeting shelters, bookstore/gift shop and full-time professional staff.
Girls and boys who are interested in fishing and science and who will be 12 to 15 years old on June 15, 2020, are eligible to attend the camp - Tennessee residency is not required. Applications are being accepted until June 1; selections will begin April 1. Slots fill quickly, so apply early. Only 14 campers will be accepted, but others can be placed on a waiting list in case selected campers aren’t able to attend. For girls to participate, at least two must be accepted.
To ensure that campers are physically able to wade in streams and hike to fishing areas, they must have had a complete physical examination within the past two years.
Tuition for the 2020 camp is $540. Financial assistance may be available through a camper’s area Trout Unlimited chapter—contact information for TU chapters in Tennessee is available on the Tennessee Council website, http://tctu.org/tn-chapters.html
For more information and to apply, visit the Trout Camp website or contact camp director Steve Young at steve_y@earthlink.net or (832) 256-3228, or assistant director Sean Fagan, sp220f@aol.com or (719) 332-4486.