I’m sure there are plenty of summer camps that feature a sunrise wake-up call. But I can’t imagine many of them are attended joyfully by teenagers. Instead of grueling runs or study sessions in the a.m., students at the Pennsylvania Rivers Conservation & Fly Fishing Youth Camp are up, dressed, and waist-deep in the water.  After all, dawn is prime time for catching trout. For five days in a row that is how these students get to start their day.

That doesn’t sound bad, does it?

But it isn’t all fun and games. Maybe it is all fun, but it isn’t only about chasing trout for a week in June. The fun starts on the water at daybreak, but is then woven through classroom sessions, streamside labs, and legitimate conservation projects. The whole program is all about empowering young men and women to be stewards of the resource today and tomorrow. Students leave camp with every tool at their disposal to be active members of their local Trout Unlimited chapter. They are equally equipped to start a fly fishing club at their high school.

Nothing against sports camps, but the reality is that an infinitesimal fraction of participants will still be playing football, cheerleading, or Fortnite-ing twenty years from now. Conversely, someone can fly fish when they are 15 or 95. Someone can speak up on behalf of their local watershed whether they are a seasoned, elected official or just a young, concerned citizen. Someone can protect trout and their ecosystems vigorously, regardless of age, income, or experience.

There aren’t a lot of occasions to get the kind of intensive and curated content that students at the camp receive. From ecology to environmental law, fly tying to fly casting, the week is a special moment to learn. And, to learn from the best in their respective fields. It is a lot, and it is work – but it works. Having been around for 25 years, and spawning nearly that many identical programs across the country, the PA Rivers Camp is a proven model.

More profound than the duplication of a program is the replication of educated, motivated young people. The synthesis of conservation and fly fishing is emphasized, and is usually understood. It is easy to find boys and girls who are fired up to go fishing. Camp helps them see the bigger picture of what they can give back to the resource. Plus, knowing the science behind entomology and the life cycle of a trout can improve one’s fishing.

Waking up before 6:00 a.m. during summer vacation is not common for teenagers today. But Camp is an uncommon opportunity: to learn, to grow, to form relationships. It is even an opportunity to wake up every morning to the reveille of mayfly sipping trout.

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The Pennsylvania Rivers Conservation & Fly Fishing Youth Camp is currently accepting applications until April 30th. You can do so by following this link. Please feel free to reach out to me personally if you have any questions.

The PA Rivers Camp is just one of over two dozen teen-centric summer programs under the Trout Unlimited umbrella. Head over to the TU  Youth Camps & Academies page to see what is near you (or a teen in your life!) and to find out how you can get involved.