Submitted by rochelle on Wed, 2014-10-01 18:17 TU Teens Youth Camps & Academies Vote Up Down +12 + TU Essay Winner Abby.jpg Every summer, TU Camp and Academy graduates are invited to enter the TU Teen essay contest, in which they share their camp experiences. This year we have four winners, and we'll be sharing the winning essays and a litte bit about the writers throughout the month of October. Our first honorable mention to share is the essay by Abby Brooks. You can read her essay and more about her below. We appreciated Abby's entry for the vivid stories she shared. --- My TU chapter: Rocky Mountain Flycasters My favorite stream: The Cache la Poudre is very special to me because my Dad started teaching me how to fly fish on this river, and I caught my first trout on a fly rod there as well. What I like most about being outside and fishing: I love standing in a river and feeling a tug on the end of my line. Each fish is so different, you never know exactly what it will look like until you bring it to hand. I also like hiking up the canyon and seeing wildlife, moose, bears, deer, etc. I like being with my family, taking a picnic lunch and fishing with my dad and sister. TU Camp Is . . . by Abby Fish have always fascinated me. One time when I was little, we bought some fish for our aquarium. I got to carry the bag with the fish in it out to the car. I was so intrigued with the algae-eater that I tipped the bag so that the fish was on one side and all of the water on the other! As I’ve gotten older, my love for fishing has increased. About three years ago, my dad started teaching me the basics of fly fishing, but I could never seem to keep my knots from coming undone, or my line from piling up at the end of my rod after a cast. But I never gave up trying to hook that fish that I knew must be there. I was very excited to learn about the TU fly fishing youth camp. It would be wonderful to get help with my casting and knot tying, but also learn some new things about river habitat, conservation, and entomology. I was not disappointed! On my favorite day of camp, we went to fish the Cache La Poudre, my home river. It was an unusually cold and rainy July day, and I could see low, foggy clouds around the tops of the mountains. A mentor was assigned to each camper as their own personal guide and my guide, Bruce, and I rigged my rod and set out to fish. The first time out I didn’t catch anything (except for the trees behind me!), but Bruce gave me some great advice on how to choose what fly to tie on, where to fish, and more casting techniques. I was pretty disappointed about not having caught anything, but Bruce said we were sure to catch a fish after we took a break for lunch. Then I discovered that I had forgotten to bring my lunch! In my head, I pictured my lunch sitting on the kitchen table back at home, instead of in my bag where it should have been! After Bruce had finished his lunch, we met up again and went to fish a different spot. I tied on a Parachute Adams and was fishing a really nice little seam, right in the foam line where my guide had said to cast…and it happened! I saw a trout rise and attack my fly! The thrill that I felt to have that fish on the end of my line is indescribable, and all the while Bruce was coaching me with, “Keep your rod tip up!” My hands were barely working, red and tingling with numbness, but I managed to angle the trout over to Bruce’s net. Some things never change! All I could do was admire the unique pattern of black spots, the pale pink stripe on the trout’s side and the red slash under its jaw. With a picture taken, we released the fish back into its home water. After that, we waded upstream to fish the undercut bank of a little pool. On the first cast, I saw a silvery flash and set the hook! Aside from the undesirable drizzling rain and the gnawing in my stomach, this day had been a blast! As I learned with Bruce, tying on the right fly is very important. Through snorkeling and seining, I was able to observe underwater insects and that was a huge help when trying to decide what insect to imitate when fishing. The snorkeling was very fun, but also a little scary at first, just getting comfortable with floating down the river and sticking my head in the water. I wasn’t able to see any fish, but some of the others saw and touched some carp. When we electro-shocked in a different river that was very muddy and silty, we also saw a lot of carp and suckers. It was amazing to see all of the species of fish that lived in just a small section of the river! Electro-shocking showed me how necessary conservation is for the river and its inhabitants. In the muddy section that we electro-shocked, we netted very few trout, but mainly poorer water tolerant species. Through both of these activities I was able to see the effects of lacking conservation and how that affects all underwater life. This camp has greatly enhanced my love of fishing and the rivers that I fish, and I will always look back on this camp as the best week of this summer. I am very thankful for the mentors and all of the advice and encouragement they gave me and am looking forward to putting all that I have learned into practice!