Submitted by tara.granke on Thu, 2015-10-08 12:32 TU Teens Youth Camps & Academies Fishing with kids Vote Up Down +10 + Koontz.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 five winners, and we'll be sharing the winning essays and a little bit about the writers throughout the month of October. Our second essay to share is from Brennan K, who tied for third in our annual Teen Camp Essay Contest. You can read his essay and more about him below. My Camp: Trout Adventure Camp at Tremont, GSMNP, TN My TU Chapter: Mountain Bridge Chapter My Favorite Streams: Davidson River The Best Part of Being Outdoors: It is peaceful How TU conservation and fly fishing camp changed my life By Brennan K I fly fished for the first time in Colorado at 9 years old. My family and I had hiked in Rocky Mountain National Park to Loch Vale and I caught the Colorado state fish, the greenback cutthroat trout. My Father had been fly fishing for a year and he was obsessed. I was getting dragged along to fish but I wasn’t interested in getting up at 6 AM and going fishing for over five hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon. When I fished with my dad I always needed his help and I couldn't fish on my own. We fished some awesome waters on trips but I didn’t want to fish for hours so I didn’t get to appreciate the full effect of the great fishing that I could have. When I heard about trout camp I was not interested. But during that school year I participated in TU Trout in the Classroom and I became a little more interested in going. I was still not very interested in trout camp because I thought it was fishing for hours every day. When I Arrived at Tremont in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee I wasn’t super exited until the first night when the counselors taught us to tie the woolly bugger and the green weenie. I learned about how fun fly tying is. The next morning the other boys in my tent and I got up really early and tied flies. I personally tied over 10 green weenies that morning. After that first morning I got really excited about the camp. That day we practiced casting and then we swam in the river. On the second day we went to Norton Creek where a boy caught a 21 inch rainbow trout. I caught a 16 inch trout. It was a great river for getting our confidence up. Then the next day we did an ecological study to determine if a part of our creek could hold the Smokey Madtom. Sadly, it couldn’t but, the research was very fun and taught us about river ecology. Later that night we saw a conservation video on the Hellbender which is also almost extinct. The next day we went snorkeling on a river and a couple of us went all out on finding a hellbender. Sadly, we didn’t find one. All through the week at camp I found a little home fishing with people my age and that made the fishing more fun. I walked up to the creek during a 30 minute break with an adult and two friends to fish with the flies I tied. That was the most important part of the camp for me. Fishing on the last day wasn’t productive for me but lots of fun. One of the best parts of fishing in the woods was seeing a bear cross the river five feet away from me! When camp ended, my family picked me up at a fly shop in Townsend, TN. My dad bought me a fly tying kit and some supplies. That night at the hotel I taught my dad how to tie the flies I learned to tie at camp. The next morning I guided my dad to the place I had fished two days before and actually caught a beautiful brook trout. I showed my dad where the best fishing holes were. We had a lot of fun together. He was impressed by my confidence and independence on the river and I enjoyed teaching him a few things I had learned at trout camp. The next month I took a trip to Maine and I fished for trout but I also caught my first salmon and my first smallmouth bass. Now, when I fish, I get to do it my way and with my flies. Even though I am not catching as many fish as I would like, I can take a break every once in a while and change my flies when I want to. After learning more about fly fishing at trout camp, I can’t wait to go fishing this fall, teach my friends and fellow Boy Scouts about fly fishing and get involved in conservation projects for Trout Unlimited.