AvidMax's Coffee Break Features CTU Camp

Coffee Break is an ongoing series at AvidMax where they talk about fly fishing, which sometimes includes supporting local fishing communities. In this episode, Noah sits down with TU member Barbara Luneau to learn more about the annual youth event, Camp, hosted by CTU. Camp is an amazing event for high school students that takes place here in Colorado and aims to teach students conservation and fly fishing. If you are interested in helping support the event or know a student between the ages of 14-18 interested in attending, please visit the CTU Camp Webpage.

We would like to thank AvidMax for their continued support of Colorado Trout Unlimited.

CTU Youth Programs Update

First off, thank you to everyone who donated and supported CTU Youth during our Colorado Gives Day campaign! We accomplished our goal and then some, for a grand total of $7,675! Thank also to Barbara Luneau and Mark Rayman for offering a matching incentive and helping to double our donor’s donations by $2,500.

2023 is looking bright for CTU’s Headwaters Programs. We are beginning to plan out our 2023 STREAM
Girls and STREAM Keepers schedule. If you are interested in offering a STREAM Girls or STREAM Keepers program in 2023 fill out the forms below.

• 2023 STREAM Girls Inquiry Form

• 2023 STREAM Keepers Inquiry Form

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Trout in the Classroom (TIC) is looking forward to 2023, as well. We will be installing a new TIC Community Tank at the CSU Spur Hydro Building in late December or early January. We hope to have the tank working and fish swimming by the time The National Western Stock Show is running. If you are going to the Stock Show be sure to visit the new CSU Spur Hydro Building and TIC Community Tank on the second floor.

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We are excited to announce our 2023 River Conservation & Fly Fishing Camp will be June 11 - 17, 2023. Registration is now open for Camper applications and Camp Counselor applications. Visit our Camp website for more information.

Want to help CTU’s 2023 River Conservation & Fly Fishing Camp? Below are some great ways to show your support.

• Help us spread the word!

  • Download and share our 2023 River Conservation & Fly Fishing Camp Flyer.

• Sponsor a Camper!

  • Camp Registration is $600 per camper. If you would like to sponsor a camper please email Barbara Luneau or Natalie Flowers.

• Volunteer!

  • Camp Counselor applications are now open. Click here to apply to be a CTU Camp Counselor.

Thank you for all the support in 2022. We can’t wait to continue fostering the next generation of conservations and anglers in 2023!

If you would like to increase your impact, please contact Natalie Flowers and/or visit our Supporting CTU Youth page to see our greatest needs, sponsorship opportunities, and more.

2019 Summer Youth Camp Video features youth learning about rivers and fly fishing

Greenback and CTU volunteer, Emma Brown, put together a great feature about the 2019 CTU River Conservation and Fly Fishing Youth Camp in Almont, CO. Check out the great video she filmed above!

The River Conservation and Fly Fishing Camp is a week long camp designed to educate 14 to 18 year old students on the importance of cold water conservation and provide hands-on fly fishing instruction. Approximately 20 students are selected each year based on their qualifications and a written essay on why they would like to attend the camp.

Camp classes include: Principles of Ecology, Hydrogeology, Aquatic Vertebrate and Invertebrate Sampling, Hydrology, Trout Behavior, Trout Stream Entomology, The Biology of Pollution, Acid Deposition, and Politics of Conservation and Human Effects on the Rocky Mountain.

In addition, the camp will include hands-on instruction on Fly Tying, Fly Casting, Stream-side Ethics, Angling Literature, Stream-side Botany, Wader Safety and Survival, and The Evolution of an
Angler. The campers will also participate in a watershed project to repair habitat in a nearby stream.

Youth get outdoors at the river conservation and fly fishing camp

ALMONT, CO – Have you ever wanted to learn more about the lifecycles of aquatic insects? Or new techniques for fly tying and casting? Perhaps you have always wanted to tour a fish hatchery, or learn more about river conservation. Well, sixteen youth had that very opportunity this past month. From June 10 to June 16, teens from across Colorado came together at the Silent Spring Resort in Almont, CO, for the 10th Annual Colorado TU Youth Conservation and Fly Fishing Camp.

Organized by CTU staff and volunteers, the week-long camp offers unique, hands-on opportunities to learn about bugs, hydrology, fly-tying, casting, knots, reading water, and safe wading techniques. This year, campers also enjoyed presentations from outside speakers that included: water law, the Natural Resource Conservation Service, a tour of ranch land near Gothic, CO by the Crested Butte Land Trust, and a walk-through of the Roaring Judy Fish Hatchery. The week was capped off with a willow-planting project on the Gunnison River, some great fishing, and a private screening of the Fly Fishing Film Tour, made possible by Mayfly Media.

In addition to becoming better anglers, these young adults learned the importance of conservation and the impact it has on their favorite waters. Campers also made life-long friends and connected with a whole new watershed. The CTU Youth Conservation and Fly Fishing Camp has now completed a decade of getting youth out on the water and teaching the next generation of anglers. We are proud to see so many students returning year after year as counselors, sharing what they learned and inspiring their peers.

This camp would not be possible without the generous support of our chapters and partners. We would especially like to thank the Silent Spring Resort and staff for your amazing hospitality and great venue, the Colorado Rod Makers Reunion, the CTU River Stewardship Council, the Sharon Lance Youth Fund, and Mayfly Media. You can see more pictures from the camp by visiting: https://coloradotu.org/youth-conservation-and-fly-fishing-camp

For more information about the 2019 CTU Youth Conversation and Fly Fishing Camp, please contact Dan Omasta, domasta@tu.org.