Ligonier Valley Middle School students learn to fly fish

Dan Speicher | Thursday, April 4, 2019 7:49 a.m.

photos: Dan Speicher | Tribune-Review

learning to fly Rod Cross, 69, of Bullskin Township teaches students from Ligonier Valley Middle School Outdoors Club how to cast a fly fishing rod for the conditions of the day Wednesday. The group then went fishing along the Loyalhanna Creek in Ligonier, on Wednesday, April 3, 2019. There were 22 students from sixth to eighth grades who participated in an eight-week Learn to Fly Fish program, which included instruction on tying flies, stream conservation and fly casting, through a partnership with the Forbes Road Trout Unlimited Club. Video, visit tribLIVE.com

After eight weeks of classroom work, 22 members of the Ligonier Valley Middle School Outdoors Club finally got onto the water as their Learn to Fly Fish program came to an end.

Headed by Outdoors Club faculty member Ryan Podlucky, and with help from the Forbes Road Chapter of Trout Unlimited, students were taught about stream health, etymology, tying flies, and casting a fly rod, through a partnership that has been developing over the past two years.

“It’s exciting to see the kids take an interest in the sport,” said Podlucky. “Not only do we raise brook trout in class, but we learn about the life of the stream, and the work that anglers put into protecting them.”