ANTHS students smooth feathers

Photo by Paul Robeson

ALMOST READY FOR THE WATER: Anderson New Technology High School sophomore Josh Frese concentrates on the fishing fly he was tying in Becky Pope’s class.

At a fly-tying clinic last week, students at Anderson New Technology High School (ANTHS) learned how to smooth feathers so they could be properly wrapped around fishing hooks. The clinic is the first of a six-part clinic to teach students how to fly fish.

With tables set up with vise clamps, each student worked to reproduce what they were seeing on the overhead projector as instructor Norman Brown talked them through the process of tying fishing flies. In the first Brown taught the students a “bead head birds nest” and in the second class they did a “wooly bugger,” both good flies for this area and easy to learn.

Art Agnew, President of the Shasta Trinity Fly Fishers, assisted by walking around the classroom to help individual students as did Nancy Morrow, a Mayflies volunteer.

The clinics are a part of the program put on by Physical Education teacher Becky Pope from a grant from the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation.

Last Thursday the students had their second clinic which was learning how to fly cast in the school’s parking lot. Yesterday the students had a knot tying clinic in the ANTHS cafeteria and tomorrow casting clinic number three will be held. On Oct. 9 and again on Oct. 16, the students will be bussed to Anderson River Park to try their hand at fly fishing.