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experiences that young people crave and if
we can coax them towards picking up a fly
rod, they will find what they are looking for.
So how do we help them get started?
GETTING HOOKED
There’s certainly a learning curve to fly-fish-
ing due to the nature of fly-casting itself, and
becoming competent at this first piece of the
puzzle is a major hurdle. Getting children out
on the water, learning to cast and catch fish
all has to happen quite quickly if newcomers
are to remain ‘hooked’. Failure to tick those
boxes early on will result in a hefty dropout
rate, believe me. The ideal place to start is
a small, stocked stillwater and many fisher-
ies are now rising to this challenge, offering
great incentives and tuition to help get more
youngsters out onto their lakes.
At the Sportfish Game Fishing Centre in
Berkshire, for example, the team of instruc-
tors has been proactive in seeking a way to
make this first task more manageable. Work
to create the new Kingfisher Pond next to the
main fishery was completed in time for the
Sportfish Show in May. At this year’s show,
and at no cost, youngsters had the opportu-
nity to cast a fly under supervision and hook
and land their first trout, hopefully rather
quickly. This is exactly the sort of experience
children need if we are to hold their atten-
tion and welcome them to the sport. Once
they have got a grasp of the basics on King-
fisher Pond, they can move onto the main
fishery where under 16s fish for free when
accompanied by an adult.
This isn’t the first time that the Sportfish
team has undertaken an initiative to supportyoung rods. If you haven’t seen the short
film shot last year starring young angler
James Penwright, make sure you look it up.
Penwright is a true ambassador to the sport
as well as a darn good fly-fisher.
Twelve-year-old Penwright is one of a
number of young rods documenting their
exploits on Instagram, competing with the
England Youth Fly Fishing Team and help-
ing to rejuvenate fly-fishing’s image. With
companies such as Sportfish supporting
and promoting these keen youngsters in this
social media age, we can hope that more are
encouraged to take the plunge. One of the
great things about fly-fishing is that kitting
out a youngster for his or her first fishing trip
can be relatively easy. All he or she needs to
get started is a rod, reel, line, some leader
and flies, and sunglasses for safety.