Programming Moment of Joy
Confluence Collective — June 8, 2021
With June 2nd marking the launch of new beginner fly fishing programming in partnership with the Adaptive Outdoor Education Center in Maine, we’ll be sharing regular updates here in the blog as the first group works through 6-weeks of fishy goodness. After a long break from in-person gatherings with COVID-19, the excitement and energy of learning and fishing together is difficult to describe in words.
The inaugural cohort of Horizons Fly Fishing is pictured here in the new outdoor gathering space at AOEC’s Brunswick, Maine facility. Anglers are assembling fly rods for the first time in preparation for their first casting session.
The first week of programming included an introduction to basic terminology, introduction to knots, gear, and foundations of the 4-part cast. Participants showed up with excitement and enthusiasm, which we channeled into an energetic casting session — an example of the hands-on learning that will be a part of every session together.
The youngest program participant is pictured here learning all about knots alongside AOEC volunteer
Program participant Ethan smiles at the camera after assembling a 5wt fly fishing rod for the first casting session
This program is being offered in close partnership with the Adaptive Outdoor Education Center, with custom curriculum designed together for new anglers of every ability to get started on the water. Over the course of 6 weeks together, participants will hear from Bri Dostie as lead facilitator, Rick Griffiths as facilitator, and a range of community experts from master fly tiers to fisheries biologists, and some of Maine’s best Fishing Guides and friendly anglers. This first group is especially lucky to have AOEC Founder Bruce Albiston and Program Director Kayla Lee learning alongside.
Through a mix of in-person learning and take-home independent prompts, new anglers will build a strong foundation of understanding, and start establishing their own relationship with the water through mindful observation, curiosity, and cultural awareness. The waters we visit have stories beyond the ones we individually write, and by hearing from diverse community perspectives throughout their introduction to fly fishing, participants will build relationships and develop a more complicated + representative understanding of what it means to step into a river in our local woods. Personal inquiry + growth are responsibilities we each have as anglers, to recognize the weight our individual presence has in shared outdoor spaces, and ensure we become better riverbank buddies to each other.
A HUGE thank you goes out to AOEC’s Bruce for supporting this program concept, and Kayla for working behind the scenes with us for months + continuing to support the group throughout this program. More gratitude to Rick Griffiths, who will be our go-to Maine Guide week to week, and for working on some exciting creative + visual projects alongside. As we go, more and more members of the local fishing community will join in, so stay tuned and follow along here with our first Horizons program.