Fishing Camp Curriculum for Coyle Outside Day One

Day One Rules and Basics:

1. LEAVE NO TRACE -

That means not only picking up after yourself, but take a moment to pick up a few pieces of trash that you find this week. Accidents happen, and we might lose some tackle, but let's offset our impact on this place by leaving this place better than we found it.

2. NO SWIMMING -

Wading up to the knees is okay. Ideally, we don't want to scare the fish, so it's better to be stealthy

3. NO THROWING STICKS/ROCKS/ETC -

We don't want anyone to get hurt, break any rods, and again, we don't want to scare the fish.

4. BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS -

Don't disturb other anglers. Look before you cast so you don't hook a tree limb or each other. Take in natural observations, what forage the fish might feed on and where fish might hide. Enjoy the outdoors and learning about the local flora and fauna we're going to be discovering. Don't harass wildlife. Be aware of plants like blackberries, poison oak, or nettles that could ruin our day.

5. KNOW YOUR FISH -

- Discuss different species in the area
- Catch and release laws vs. ethics

4. Overview of agenda for the week: TBD

5. Overview of agenda for today:

- Nature walk
- Observe plants, birds, habitat, (hopefully) fish
- Turn over rocks/observe food sources for fish
- talk about what kind of bait you could find in nature
- how would you imitate that forage with artificial lures?

6. Traps -

- Creating your own traps from natural materials
- Creating your own traps from discarded plastic bottles
- Placement & strategy
- Bait and set pre-constructed crawfish traps

7. Tackle, Knots, & Rigging -

- Rods, Reels, and how they work, inside and out
- Overview of Line, Weights, Swivels, Hooks
- Fisherman's Knot
- Rigging demonstration(s)

8. Check Traps -

- Observe and identify different species
- Discuss why certain traps did or did not work