High Country Fly Fishers hope to hook some new members through its annual beginner fly fishing clinics.
The Park City chapter of the nonprofit environmental organization Trout Unlimited, which helps to protect cold-water fisheries, holds two clinics — May 14-16 and June 11-13 — and registration is now open, said HCFF President Eric Luna.
“These courses serve as introductions to fly fishing and teach what people need to know to get started,” he said.
The schedules for both sessions are the same, according to Luna.
The first night will be an in-class session from 6-8 p.m. at Keller Williams Real Estate office, 1750 Sun Peak Drive. Participants will learn about tackle, entomology and other essential subjects.
“We’ll start by covering the basics — equipment, techniques for river and lake fishing and then we end with some basic knot tying,” he said. “We keep it simple, and we’ll only teach two or three basic knots, enough to get you out onto the water.”
The second night, which will also run from 6-8 p.m., will consist of casting clinics at the Deer Valley ponds, Luna said.
“We’ll have a casting instructor lead the class, and after the instruction, we’ll have some of our experienced members go one-on-one with the students until they get the hang of things,” he said. “We’ll bring all the gear, but if someone wants to bring their own, they are welcome to do so.”
Deer Valley ponds is a great place to hold these casting clinics, Luna said.
“They are under-utilized resources, so I talk them up constantly,” he said with a laugh. “The ponds are fun, close places where you can work on your casting skills, and because they stock the ponds two or three times throughout the summer, you can work on your catching skills.”
Luna, who lives in Old Town, takes his dog to the ponds during the summer and fall during the evenings to do some casting.
“It’s a nice place to catch fish,” he said. “I don’t know what the regulation is about how many fish you can take, because I release everything I catch, but I’ve caught some really nice fish, upwards of 17 inches.”
The casting clinics also teach the value of having a positive attitude, which is important in fly fishing, Luna said.
“If you go out and what you’re trying isn’t working, you just have to figure out what the fish will bite and how you’re presenting it,” he said.
Speaking of positive attitude, Luna caught one of those 17-inchers on the final cast of the day last October.
“I was on one side of the pond, and I walked around to leave, and when I got to the south end where the parking is, I thought I’d do one more cast,” he said. “And there it was.”
The third day of the classes will be a celebration, Luna said.
“We’ll head out to one of our local spots and pair each participant with an experienced angler,” he said.
The group will rendezvous at 8 a.m. at the Smith’s parking lot at Kimball Junction and carpool to the fishing spot, Luna said.
“This year we’re heading to a private fishing spot, and we try not to publicize it for the sake of the owners,” he said. “As usual, we’ll provide all the equipment, and we’ll also provide lunch with a big barbecue.”
The class plans to return to the Smith’s parking lot around 3 p.m., Luna said.
“That’s the plan, but it can be a little later,” he said.
Luna knows many experienced fly fishers love to help with the beginning fly fishing clinics.
“They enjoy introducing people to the sport and helping them grow,” he said. “We’ve also had a lot of students from the clinics who are now teachers, and we’ve also had beginners who have ended up club president.”
Registration cost for the fishing clinics is $95, and the price also includes a year membership to High Country Fly Fishers, according to Luna.
Memberships help support the nonprofit’s programming, which includes willow planting to help rehabilitate rivers, Trout in the Classroom and other conservation activities and events.
“Memberships also go towards our monthly meetings that are held the first Wednesday of each month at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, as well as club fishing trips that we take from April through September,” Luna said.
Luna’s love for fly fishing started when he was in his 20s.
“I lived in San Diego at the time, and my younger brother lived in L.A..” he said. “We would drive up to the Eastern Sierra.”
Luna found it more difficult to learn how to fly fish back then.
“There were no YouTube videos,” he said laughing. “We only had books.”
Luna said he personally loves fly fishing because it is an exercise in mental wellness.
“People who don’t fish may say it’s boring, but in reality, you have to be focused because when the fish comes up and hits your dry fly, you have to set the hook immediately,” he said. “That focus will take your mind off of everything else in your life. The flipside is you can be so focused on the fishing that you won’t look up and may miss the bald eagle flying overhead or the beauty of your surroundings.”