Hi;
You all probably have heard about Trout in the Classroom (TIC). If not, please visit
www.troutintheclassroom.org for general info. It's a program in which elementary through high school students learn about cold water conservation by incubating trout eggs, hatching and raising the alevin to fingerling size and stocking them in local streams.
Around 70 Maryland schools (Virginia has over 200) take part in TIC. Montgomery County has 20 schools in the program.
We're now scheduling release programs for Montgomery County schools in May and June. There's a special need for volunteers who can spare the time to demonstrate fly-tying, mentor students in the basics of fly-casting or help collect and identify macroinvertibrates and other critters that are indicators of stream health as well as potential trout food. All the releases are from 10 AM to 1 PM, mainly in Little Seneca Creek.on Clopper Road at The Lodge near Boyds. The Lodge is around a
10-minute drive from Exit 10 off I-270 near Gaithersburg.
Because of the rain, several TIC releases have been
rescheduled from this week. The urgent problem is that some folks who kindly volunteered to help have other
commitments for the new release dates.
We could really use almost immediate help on
Monday, May 5,
when 90 students will release their fingerlings into Little Seneca
Creek. That event needs one volunteer to demonstrate fly-tying and one or two to mentor
elementary fly-casting for groups of students from Wood Middle and the
Barnesville School who will rotate through a series of activity
stations. A fly-tying table and chair and fly rods and reels will be
available on site.
More fly-tying, casting and if possible help with seining bugs
and critters out of Little Seneca and identifying them are needed on
Friday, May 9 and
Wednesday, May 14. (FYI a seining of Little Seneca last Friday produced lots of mayfly and fishfly nymphs and a sculpin, but no caddises.) Other releases are scheduled for May 22, 23, 26, 29, 30 and June 10.
You don't have to be an expert fly-tyer or a Lefty Kreh to
demonstrate the fundamental alchemy of fly-tying (turning feathers,
steel and thread into live insects) or basic fly-casting, so please
don't hesitate to step up if you can spare the time. The kids are great
and the release events are always fun.
If you can spare the time to help, you'll find it a rewarding experience, particularly since the future of our fishable waters will all too soon be in the hands of these youngsters.
Tight lines and hope to hear from you.
Jim Greene, founder and co-coordinator
Maryland Trout in the classroom
jgr...@waterwisp.com/(301) 652-3848