MISSOULA — There is an old saying about teaching a man to fish but, what about teaching a room full of kids to tie flies?
A recent fly-tying class hoped to hook some homeschooled kids on a new hobby.
“Do the worm! Do the worm! Do the worm,” the students chanted.
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The class took place at the Missoula Public Library, just blocks from the banks of the river that runs through it.
John Staats, owner of Rock Creek Fisherman’s Mercantile, put it on to reel in a fresh catch of fly fishers.
“Well, there's lots of fly-tying classes around, but almost all of them are catered to adults,” Staats said. “So, I wanted to do something that was more oriented towards kids and try to do some easy patterns, just to get them into it and get them a feel for how to do it.”
For him, it is also about passing on a tradition to the next generation.
“I’ve been tying since I was six, so 37 years now. I grew up in a fly shop so it was kind of part of growing up,” he said. “We did a rainbow trout minnow. That was my grandfather's design, called the ‘Wonderbugger.’ And then, the old classic San Juan worm, which every fly fisherman should know.”
While Staats teaches lots of tying classes, this was his first time teaching a group of kids.
“It was great, they had a ball,” he said. “It's just a really good arts and craft, especially for this area of Montana, just goes hand in hand with fly fishing and it teaches concentration, patience and dexterity and coordination.”
