I have had the good fortune to have been involved with Fly Fishing Schools for many years now and never seem to tire of it.  When I see the smiling faces at the end of my sessions it brings a great sense of joy to my life.  Such was the case this last Saturday in North Georgia at one of the Great Georgia destinations near Clarkesville known as Blackhawk.  Blackhawk has been in the business of tropy trout management on their private stretch of the Soque River for some time now and is my favorite place to spend time as a part time guide.  We have done a few group sessions and a few informal schools there but had not really refined the program.  As the customer base became more interested a decision was made to sort of re-invent what a school should look like or consist of at Blackhawk.  Simple is best so I develpoed a day long program with a half day indoor classroom study and a half day on the water with the potential of actually hooking up.

Last Saturday’s students consisted of a Father and his two son’s who were extremely excited, and had received this opportunity as a Christmas gift.  We followed the agenda I had prepared, and what I loved about the classroom study was the amazing amout of questios coming from the youngest at 11.  You can’t help but become inspired about this kind of enthusiasm which seemingly makes the day much shorter. 

After lunch we prepared ouselves for our afternoon on the water with great anticipation.  If there is any down side to the time on the water is that most students, especially young, prefer to fish as opposed to learning technique.  With recent rains, a real blessing for Georgia, the fish were eager and we hooked up within minutes!  As the afternoon progressed I chose to act as a coach and on occaision offered instruction while my students enjoyed their day.

Numerous Rainbows and Browns were captured on film and the highlight was a Brown of 23 inches taken by the 11 year old youngster! 

Can’t think of a better way to end the day with a great fish and to pass along a gift for life!  

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