It’s a Monday night, and the members of the Colorado College Fly Fishing Club congregate in what is known to many as the infamous Poptart House. It’s all business tonight, however, as the group gathers to converse about the future and welcome up-and-coming members.
The present group is not Colorado College’s first fly fishing club but was resurrected back in 2011 with the intention of uniting fishermen and women and making the sport more accessible to the student body. It is currently under the senior leadership of Brooks Pinnick, Kevin Coleman, and Sawyer Connelly. “The goal was to bring anglers together and create a community of fishermen that we know exist here at CC,” said Pinnick.
Getting into fly fishing can be difficult if one lacks experience and especially gear. The club seeks to bridge this gap by providing both mentors and equipment. Trips go out once or twice a semester and are led by club members through the Outdoor Recreation Committee. Most trip leaders spend their summers guiding professionally, but the trips attract a variety of students with a range of experience. From old pros to first-timers, the fly fishing club is working to create a community where everyone can get excited about adventuring out on the river.
Colorado has access to great fly fishing thanks to its high elevation and host of tailwaters. Blockages in the river increase water depth, which help to maintain colder water temperatures and allows fish a greater opportunity to spawn and maintain populations year round. The club fishes mostly on the South Platte and Arkansas River. The South Platte snakes through the impressive geologic features of Eleven Mile Canyon, a frequented fly fishing destination. Coleman shared that he has found traveling for fishing as one of the best ways to explore the state of Colorado.
The group members and trip participants primarily reel in when their flies hit the water. Colorado has a variety of trout species, which include browns, rainbows and cutthroats. Some of the CC angler’s latest catches of strikingly colored rainbows and meaty king salmon can be seen on the fly fishing club’s Instagram account, CC_FLYFISHING.
Advocating for the health of fish populations and educating anglers about fly-fishing etiquette is central to the club’s mission and philosophy. Trip leaders stress the importance of practicing catch and release and using barbless hooks when possible, especially since Colorado is a heavily fished state. Group members are eager to get more involved in conservation efforts in the future. Coleman sees the club as being a potential “workhorse for major trout conservation groups,” by assisting in restoration projects throughout the region.
A handful of club members recently returned from the Second Annual Intercollegiate Fly Fishing Tournament in Steamboat Springs, Colo. The event was sponsored in part by the national trout conservation group, Trout Unlimited.
“It’s a great opportunity to meet up with other passionate college anglers and to really just have a good time, because that’s what it comes down to,” said sophomore member and back-to-back tournament champion Greg Sayles.
Hoping to generate more funding in the future, the club recently initiated a crowd-funding campaign. These contributions will be put towards increasing trip size and purchasing more equipment such as rods, reels, and fly-tying supplies. Having a full inventory of gear will help to make trips more accessible to students and ensure that no one is shorted a pair of waders. Better gear will also extend the fishing season, as it will allow students to keep warm in the water when the weather turns cold.
As senior members prepare to graduate, they emphasize the importance of upholding the club’s mission statement to younger members: attracting, educating, and uniting anglers across the CC community. “And hookin’ hogs,” Sayles added. As the group’s fourth consecutive year winds down, the club continues to forge “tight lines” amongst the growing Colorado College community of anglers.
Information and sign-ups for future CC Fly Fishing Club trips can be found on Summit.