Trout Unlimited Fly Fishing School

April 15, 2016

Perry and Jane Piccard are eager to return to the cold, swift waters of the Boardman River during their annual summer pilgrimage to Ranch Rudolph near Traverse City.

The couple from Caledonia, Mich., makes for an allround outdoorsy pair; they canoe and kayak, cross-country ski and snowshoe, hike and travel. They even own a cottage on the Clam River out of Lake Cadillac. What brings the Piccards back to the same spot in Grand Traverse County, at the same time each of the last nearly six years, is the experience of Trout Unlimited instructors sharing their passion for the sport — or art — of fly fishing with students from across the country.

“A good cast kind of is a bit of magic,” Jane said. “You can get it right to where the fish is,” she confessed. However, “at first it’s all thumbs.”

The Piccards, both 53, are enrolled in the advanced class at the in June. This will be the second year both will complete the advanced class, and each said they now strive to become proficient enough to become instructors at a future fly-fishing school.

“I first did it on the recommendation of a friend, somebody who’d done it maybe 10 years ago,” Perry said.

Since his second year, he said he always brought along a friend or family member for what he called “phenomenal” instruction in a beautiful place.

“You are out in it, and I just love it,” he said. “When I wade into the river, the world just goes away.”

The Trout Unlimited Fly Fishing School first began in 1971 at the Higgins Lake Conservation Building, as a means to introduce people to the sport, but has since grown into an annual skills-building effort for anglers at all levels. The primary coordinator is Scott Smith, a dentist from Adrian, Mich.

Smith said he began fishing before he turned three and, after years of “drowning worms” on a hook, he discovered fly fishing. He said the idea of fooling fish with fur and feathers “just became fascinating.”

“It’s a lot of fun and it’s challenging,” Smith said. Each summer, the fly-fishing school takes place during the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ free fishing weekend, typically the second weekend in June. The program and all of its instructors, volunteers and students invade Ranch Rudolph for three days of entomology, biology, equipment training, knot tying, casting practice and fly tying. There’s plenty food and fish stories, too.

No more than 70 students are accepted to the first-come, first-served program. Participants are organized into beginner, intermediate and advanced groups, then partnered with an instructor. Those who don’t have their own fly-fishing gear can even borrow some for the duration of the program.

Jane said she would love to see younger faces among the group, as many participants tend to be closer to retirement age. She also praised the program as an ideal way to learn how to fly fish from somebody unknown — meaning someone with patience for a newbie’s learning curve.

“I couldn’t have learned from my husband,” she said, laughing. “He wouldn’t have had the patience for me.”

Jane also said she loves how the three-day school is less about catching fish and more about sending students away with a new skill set and increased confidence. Practicing in the Boardman River also offers unique benefits, she said.

“The Boardman is a very fast, very strong stream. If you can wade in the Boardman, you can wade pretty much anywhere,” she said.

More information about the Michigan Trout Unlimited Fly Fishing School is available at tuffs.org, including registration forms for the June 10–12 session. Inquiries can also be made by calling (517) 442-2926. Cost varies depending on whether participants attend alone or as a pair because of rooming arrangements, Smith said.