Starting a club at my University!

[weatherwar]

My university didn't have a fly fishing club, but my friend and I decided we needed to change that. We're at the University of Michigan so there's plenty of students and fishing to be had.

Right now we could use some ideas!

What are good events to hold? Trips out of state? Casting lessons for beginners? Fly tying sessions/lessons?

Any ideas for fundraisers? The beginners won't have gear and we don't have enough for them.

If you were starting a club like this how would you go about it?

The local TU has been extremely generous and supportive of us as well as our local fly shop.

Thank you for any support!

 

[williamhj]

Nice! I started fly fishing living in Ann Arbor. Trips out of state could be fun but you have a lot of great fishing in Michigan. Have an event on the Huron at Delhi park. Great place for smallies. There's a huron river fly fishing club, might be worth seeing if you could link up with them. Depending on when you're going fishing could be fun to go camp in the early summer and try to catch the Hex hatch.

 

[jaybo41]

Congratulations on your new endeavors. It sounds like you're on the right track by having TU and local fly shops involved.

My first thought is why go out of state when there are plenty of great options for fly fishing somewhere in Michigan?

As for events, tying classes/informal sessions, casting clinics and trips are all great ideas. Maybe have some folks come in and give a presentation about hatches, streams/rivers, in Michigan, species of fish to target. Perhaps someone from the DNR can come in and provide a presentation on conservation.

Fundraisers...why not use the tying sessions and sell some of the flies? Perhaps you could get a deal on some cheap boxes and put X number of flies in them. You might remember the Orvis add, 10 flies for $9.99? Not saying you have to go that cheap, but just a thought.

Car washes when the weather breaks might get you some money, I did lots of them and they were generally very successful. Maybe having T Shirts made up?

Not sure how to go about starting a club like this, I'll let the resident experts chime in on that I think we had one or two members start a club, you might consider using the search feature to find some previous posts and send a PM to those individuals.

Again, congratulations best of luck with your club and enjoy life in Ann Arbor!

 

[mcnerney]

The others have given some good ideas. One other thing is look to tap into the knowledge of your local fly shop and see if they would be willing to give a presentation on the local waters, hatch charts or maybe a beginners fly casting clinic. We have a member "fishingfly" (Corbin Hart) that started a fly fishing club at Auburn University, see the thread below, but I would recommend getting in touch with him, send a PM or through their FB page. You might also do the same with your local TU chapter and ask them to do a presentation on past and present stream restoration projects that they have been involved in. You might also tap into some of the local fly fishing guides in your area to see if they would be willing to give a presentation on the waters that they fish. Best of luck!

http://www.theflyfishingforum.com/forums/general-discussion/302428-fly-giveaway.html

https://mell-base.uce.auburn.edu/CourseStatus.awp?&course=13S2C008

https://www.facebook.com/AUFlyFishingClub

 

[dhaynes]

Greetings... good luck on your new endeavor..

I have no direct knowledge of UM practices, but I am familiar with other schools having participated in the founding of several student clubs..

First, contact the agency on campus that oversees clubs -- Student Affairs, Student events or something like that. They will have established procedures for organizing. You will likely need to supply a roster (and you'll need more than two members), a slate of officers, and, eventually, a set of by-laws governing the club.

Second, you will likely need a faculty advisor. Scour the Biology and Entomology Departments. These are quite large at UM and you may find a willing faculty. Kinesiology programs or Leisure studies may also harbor fly fishers. If you find a biology or entomology prof willing to advise you may be able to get them to support the club via academics. Check out the fly tying class offered through the Dept. of Entomology at Texas A&M.

Having done this you should be rewarded with official status and a small amount of funds for start-up. You may also be able to submit a funding request for gear. An outdoor club I worked with got funds for first aid kits, maps, backpacking stoves, flashlights, water purification kits, and other safety related items. Official status may provide liability insurance as well though you need to check this carefully.

Also, spend a few minutes searching the net for clubs at other Universities: Colorado, Montana, Pennsylvania schools have clubs some of which have been around a long while. They can provide good models for both organization and activities.

As for gear: talk to your local fly shop or local TU chapter and discuss discounts or donations. Or contact a big company like BassPro or Cabelas each of which have programs that supply gear to educational non-profits One of the big manufacturers --TFO springs to mind-- may also donate gear.

TU National has a program for college clubs. Give them a call and ask advice. Its called the Five Rivers Program.

All your fund raising ideas are ok... but remember while UM has a lot of students, many of them are notoriously poor!

Good luck on this... Be forewarned that while this is a worthwhile endeavor with many potential rewards, it can be very time-consuming. Make sure you have club officers willing to accept delegated responsibility so that all the work of planning, fundraising, promoting, etc, doesn't fall on your shoulders alone.

Send me a pm if you have questions.

 

[jpbfly]

Great idea !Best of luck I was in charge with a kind of fishing club in a highschool in the 80's Don't know if you can in the US but you could get funds from the " fishing federation"...organize a bingo or a lottery,selling calendars is not bad too .Agree with Dhaynes contact big companies...explain what you want to do...and don't forget a report in a magazine or on the net mentioning them, if they give you something.

 

[theboz]

Contact fishingflyguy he is one of our forum members who started a club at Auburn University. His name is Corbin and he really has a grasp on the whole college fly fishing club thing. They are on Facebook and do tying events and trips and last time I spoke with him they were looking into having competitions with other schools. Good luck with it!

 

[weatherwar]

Nice! I started fly fishing living in Ann Arbor. Trips out of state could be fun but you have a lot of great fishing in Michigan. Have an event on the Huron at Delhi park. Great place for smallies. There's a huron river fly fishing club, might be worth seeing if you could link up with them. Depending on when you're going fishing could be fun to go camp in the early summer and try to catch the Hex hatch.

Both my friend and I actually grew up in Ann Arbor as well, and both of us live ~1 mile from Delhi. We for sure will have trips in Michigan planned. Michigan has pretty much every type of fishing available except saltwater fishing. I'll look into the Huron River Fly Fishing Club. Would be interesting to talk to them. Thanks for the advice!

Congratulations on your new endeavors. It sounds like you're on the right track by having TU and local fly shops involved.

My first thought is why go out of state when there are plenty of great options for fly fishing somewhere in Michigan?

As for events, tying classes/informal sessions, casting clinics and trips are all great ideas. Maybe have some folks come in and give a presentation about hatches, streams/rivers, in Michigan, species of fish to target. Perhaps someone from the DNR can come in and provide a presentation on conservation.

Fundraisers...why not use the tying sessions and sell some of the flies? Perhaps you could get a deal on some cheap boxes and put X number of flies in them. You might remember the Orvis add, 10 flies for $9.99? Not saying you have to go that cheap, but just a thought.

Car washes when the weather breaks might get you some money, I did lots of them and they were generally very successful. Maybe having T Shirts made up?

Not sure how to go about starting a club like this, I'll let the resident experts chime in on that I think we had one or two members start a club, you might consider using the search feature to find some previous posts and send a PM to those individuals.

Again, congratulations best of luck with your club and enjoy life in Ann Arbor!

The fly tying for fundraising is a great idea! We've already had a little contact with the DNR, but that would be a good idea to ask if they ad anyone pretty local who could give a presentation on conservation. Conservation of waters is one thing our club is interested in for sure. Thank you!

The others have given some good ideas. One other thing is look to tap into the knowledge of your local fly shop and see if they would be willing to give a presentation on the local waters, hatch charts or maybe a beginners fly casting clinic. We have a member "fishingfly" (Corbin Hart) that started a fly fishing club at Auburn University, see the thread below, but I would recommend getting in touch with him, send a PM or through their FB page. You might also do the same with your local TU chapter and ask them to do a presentation on past and present stream restoration projects that they have been involved in. You might also tap into some of the local fly fishing guides in your area to see if they would be willing to give a presentation on the waters that they fish. Best of luck!

http://www.theflyfishingforum.com/forums/general-discussion/302428-fly-giveaway.html

https://mell-base.uce.auburn.edu/CourseStatus.awp?&course=13S2C008

https://www.facebook.com/AUFlyFishingClub

Our TU Chapter (Ann Arbor Trout Unlimited) has been extremely generous and has already offered to do presentations, casting and tying clinics with us, which is awesome.

When I was searching around the internet the Auburn club did catch my eye, but I hadn't contacted any of them yet. I actually sent emails to other university fly club's officers just yesterday. I will definitely look to get in contact with Corbin.

I never thought of the guide idea, but that's a great idea and I'll see if I can talk to some of them. Thanks for the help!

Greetings... good luck on your new endeavor..

I have no direct knowledge of UM practices, but I am familiar with other schools having participated in the founding of several student clubs..

First, contact the agency on campus that oversees clubs -- Student Affairs, Student events or something like that. They will have established procedures for organizing. You will likely need to supply a roster (and you'll need more than two members), a slate of officers, and, eventually, a set of by-laws governing the club.

Second, you will likely need a faculty advisor. Scour the Biology and Entomology Departments. These are quite large at UM and you may find a willing faculty. Kinesiology programs or Leisure studies may also harbor fly fishers. If you find a biology or entomology prof willing to advise you may be able to get them to support the club via academics. Check out the fly tying class offered through the Dept. of Entomology at Texas A&M.

Having done this you should be rewarded with official status and a small amount of funds for start-up. You may also be able to submit a funding request for gear. An outdoor club I worked with got funds for first aid kits, maps, backpacking stoves, flashlights, water purification kits, and other safety related items. Official status may provide liability insurance as well though you need to check this carefully.

Also, spend a few minutes searching the net for clubs at other Universities: Colorado, Montana, Pennsylvania schools have clubs some of which have been around a long while. They can provide good models for both organization and activities.

As for gear: talk to your local fly shop or local TU chapter and discuss discounts or donations. Or contact a big company like BassPro or Cabelas each of which have programs that supply gear to educational non-profits One of the big manufacturers --TFO springs to mind-- may also donate gear.

TU National has a program for college clubs. Give them a call and ask advice. Its called the Five Rivers Program.

All your fund raising ideas are ok... but remember while UM has a lot of students, many of them are notoriously poor!

Good luck on this... Be forewarned that while this is a worthwhile endeavor with many potential rewards, it can be very time-consuming. Make sure you have club officers willing to accept delegated responsibility so that all the work of planning, fundraising, promoting, etc, doesn't fall on your shoulders alone.

Send me a pm if you have questions.

Thanks for the detailed reply!

We have most of the administrative stuff out of the way already. We have an adviser and other members who signed our charter (we needed 10 people, so we have ~5 actual members and the rest are friends).

I just reached out to the other university fly clubs I found through Google yesterday and have already heard back from Penn State. I asked what the general infrastructure of their club was so I could get an idea of a base for our club.

I have never heard of the Five Rivers Program. It sounds interesting so I'll definitely look into it.

I've already been in contact with Allen Fly Fishing. I'll see what I can do to get in touch with the other companies.

Haha notoriously poor is going to be our biggest problem! Having (hopefully) and bunch of beginners will be great, but we also need gear for them!

Thank you for the helpful reply!

 

[mcnerney]

Sounds like your off to a very good start. You might also look at contacting the big companies like Orvis, Simms, Sage, etc as they do a lot of support for groups like Casting for Recovery, Project Healing Waters, etc. I know you're not in that category, but those companies like to see younger people get involved in fly fishing, it is a life long sport/pastime and if they can get you involved it means they will continue to have customers down the road when you get out of school and start earning money. Anyway, good luck!

 

[dhaynes]

here's a little idea to spread the idea.... offer free casting lessons and try to get a good mix of male and females to participate. Find the busiest place on campus-- at UNC it was the pit -- where students congregate and start casting. You will definitely get a lot of curious folks but you will need a thick skin as the jokes you will hear (the same few over and over) can be maddening... Not to sound too awfully sexist, but if you can get a few attractive co-eds kitted out in tank tops and shorts you may generate a LOT of interest!!! Just my $.02 worth

 

[weatherwar]

OP here with an update!

My friend and I spent a good amount of time planning and passing stuff through the University and everything checked out, we are official! We put fliers around campus over the weekend to promote our upcoming meeting (which was last night, the 24th). Last night about 30 people showed up, many of them were our friends, but there were a good number (probably 15 or so) of other addicts that we didn't know. We were definitely happy with the turn out for the first meeting.

We have a Facebook page up and running now and that's where we'll post future events (there was a lot of interest in summer events).

Also the leader off our local Trout Unlimited group (AATU) was there and people were able to sign up for free membership.

Thank you all for the help and expect more updates in the future!

 

[mcnerney]

Wow, sounds like you guys have made a lot of progress in a very short time, congrats and best of luck!

 

[weatherwar]

Update Early Fall

OP here with another update!

Over the summer we got the guys together a few times for some fishing (the ones who were around for the summer months), and we got to some awesome free clinics put on by Mike Schultz and crew (shoutout!).

I posted a few videos a week in our Facebook group (which is currently at 33 members) to keep people excited about the upcoming year.

Well now that the new semester has started my partner and I have started our planning for the year. We got a group together to hit the Huron river (a 10 minute walk for most people) the past two weekends. Everyone who went had some success, and some had never even caught a smallmouth bass before.

Yesterday was our (and every other club's) big day. Every club sets up a table area in the middle of campus, and people who are looking for clubs to join walk around and learn about the clubs. It was scorching hot, especially with some of my gear on (and it being one of the hottest days of the summer), but in the two hours my partner and I were out there we gave out 120 flyers. It was amazing that there was some excitement from people who had heard of our club from last year (where we had such a short notice about the first meeting, which also ended up being in the week of finals).

Our first big meeting is planned for tomorrow (Thursday the 12th at 7PM), and we set up a free casting clinic through our very generous and local Ann Arbor Trout Unlimited group. The casting lesson is this Sunday and we already had a few people RSVP for that.

Right now we're planning on getting a trip up to northern Michigan for the king run (PM or Manistee most likely). There's also a Steelhead tournament in early November usually, so we're planning on getting to that as well. Those are our big ideas for the club for now.

A lot of the guys from last year who are really into the club are wanting shirts. If anyone here has some cool design ideas, tips on where to get the shirts or anything of that sort, I'd love to hear them. The same goes for ideas of things to do this year. If you have some ideas, or can even provide a lesson of some sort (we're located in Ann Arbor, planning on having bi-weekly meetings on Thursdays), feel free to post those.

If you want to contact me more directly you can email me at austelli@umich.edu.

Thanks for all the support here everyone! Great to see one place that so many fly fisherman can call home (other than the rivers)!

 

[weatherwar]

Update #2

OP here with another update.

I gave you all an update at the beginning of the school year, and I thought I would give you another one, here at the end of the year.

I have been extremely happy with how the first year of the club worked out and am excited for the rest of my time being a part of it. In only a year, I can say it's been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.

I'll start where I left off last time:
In the early fall, the last weekend in September, we had ten guys head up to the Pere Marquette for the salmon run (which was CRAZY this year). Everyone who went ended up catching at least one fish I believe, and some of us caught and landed a half dozen.

Then we had a few weeks before our "fall break" which is just an extended weekend, and ten guys went up to the AuSable river for two days on the river.

The Fishing was extremely technical, and only a few fish were landed, most of which on tiny nymphs by our most experienced AuSable fisherman.

Other events we put on in the first semester were a crash course in fly fishing for beginners as well as a fly tying session with Mike Mouradian, President of Ann Arbor Trout Unlimited.

Mike Schultz came in and gave the club a lesson with his crew as well.

Then the winter of all winters hit, and everything in Michigan froze over. Ann Arbor set a record for snowfall as well as consecutive days with snow cover. Wasn't a great time for fly fishing. As a club we stayed active posting videos, another fly tying session with Mike Mouradian, and club T-Shirts (which turned out awesome!).

Last weekend a few guys headed up to the local "Stockerfest" for a warmup before the Collegiate Steelhead Tournament on the PM.

We caught a bunch of pigs and it was a good time for sure!

And finally we come to present. Three days ago, Friday, we drove up to Baldwin and checked in our team of seven for the Michigan Collegiate Steelhead Tournament. The snow up there just melted and water levels were finally dropping and clearing.


We tied up some flies that night and then hit the hay only to wake up at 5:30 to get a good jump on the mass of drift boats we were expecting in peak season.

You can see our new shirts in this picture!

Three of us were on the ground and knew exactly what gravel we wanted to get on early, so we walked there as soon as we got to our destination. The four other guys were in a canoe so they could explore and hopefully find a good hole.

This was our big hookup with a chromie of the day and she ran into the woods within a few minutes of the fight.

Someone was disappointed (just kidding, we all were).

He made up for it with this one:

The team's biggest fish of the day was my big brown

Although the guys in the boat did get a nice brown and also a Steelhead (which they didn't count count because it was foul hooked).

It started to rain towards the end of the day and the fishing really slowed down

Our team didn't win anything, but everyone had fun and it was great to compete in a local tournament. 11 schools total competed, and Michigan State University won in the end (having a lot of people on the water helps immensely).

Overall it's been a great first year and I just wanted to thank everyone here for the help and support. We have some fun plans for summer and hope to expand even more next year. The only problem with the club that we want to figure out is how to help people who don't have gear, gear up and get involved in the sport without having to buy everything.

I will continue to update this thread in the future!

 

[nicknick222]

Great work guys love the pictures and the trips!! As president of the Trojan Anglers Club out here at USC (southern california, not south carolina) Im going through all the same struggles and issues. Its been a tough time getting the club to a large enough group out here but we are growing steadily. As you could expect we are a little more isolated in the ways of fishing opportunities being in downtown LA but we try our best.

Additionally, I feel the lack of fly fishing at the school is a matter of lifestyle in southern california and there are simply fewer people who are addicted as in places where it may be more accessible. We have a lot of conventional saltwater guys who I am still trying to convert!

If you have a competitive bass fishing team I would also love to talk with you guys concerning that. Me and my friend are getting our bass rigs ready for the upcoming season on the FLW and BASS circuits.

If it ever happens that USC and Michigan play each other in football sometime soon I would love to get together and take a trip with you guys.

I wish you the best of luck with your endeavors. Tightlines.

 

[GrtLksMarlin]

Hi Weatherwar;

As you might note im my signature I'm a member of the Livingston County Wildlife & Conservation Club (LCWCC) located in Hamburg (just about 10 min. N. of you). We're a 64 year old club so as far as clubs go rather established.

dhaynes makes some very good points which it looks like you followed and have paid off. Paid off mostly in that you passed your first year (by far the hardest). That said, the question is will it last more then four years or however long until the founding members move on (you all will have a much tougher time keeping things rolling due to the driving members eventually leaving). So to that end, what say you possibly look outside for some additional help.

TU is a great start! It's also my understanding that the Ann Arbor chapter is one of the better and more active ones. That said, and in that you're a Michigan native and have no doubt have seen "Michigan Out of Doors" perhaps it might serve your club to also contact the Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) at Home - Michigan United Conservation Clubs .

Another of our club members is the MUCC rep. so I might have this wrong but I know they have a youth program (which you would not fall under), and a full club program might be more then what you're looking for so falling in between. So perhaps it is time the MUCC has a mid-point program focussed toward University club memberships. It would make for quite a feather in your cap being the initiating club, and as you might expect their reach is far and wide within the state being the largest state specific organization on the planet. Such a growth would serve both of you, so it might be worth looking into.

A second group that I don't believe has a collegiate program that would benefit even more than the MUCC is the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) IGFA | International Game Fish Association . Contrary to what most people believe, they are not about game fish records yet utilize the keeping of them to assist in scientific research and protect sportfishermans rights by advising the world as to fisheries practices and conservation.

This last year, LCWCC became the only and very likely the first recognized IGFA fishing club in Michigan. More so than just Michigan, in all of the Great Lakes Basin including Canada, and we are the only current freshwater oriented fishing club all the way from the Arctic Circle to the Panama Canal.

Founded initially out of the U.S. Museum of Natural History and being about research and ethics which affect future generations opportunities, personally I believe an IGFA Collegiate Program offers them some spectacular growth. Not only does it grant them opportunity to reach out to the next generation of adult fisherman, it would also put them in touch through the students with the very research facilities they seek to gleen information from.

Lastly, by expanding the club to a group recognized not only at U of M but also across the state, and more so around the globe, it might just help establish your club just that much more. Insuring not only its current growth, yet when you all move on, keeping it growing establishing your legacy to hopefully remain for the years to follow.

Think on it.....If i can answer any questions, please feel free to contact me.

B.E.F.

 

[Liphookedau]

Some really Beaut Fish Pics of some Massive Fish you & your crew have Caught .

It was quite easy for many of us over here to get into Fishing my Father & other Mate's Fathers Fished for years before any of us came along.
Good Fishing & Tight Lines & as one of our Members Caption Reads" May The Holes in Your Nets be Smaller Than The Fish in Them".
Brian.

 

[weatherwar]

Great work guys love the pictures and the trips!! As president of the Trojan Anglers Club out here at USC (southern california, not south carolina) Im going through all the same struggles and issues. Its been a tough time getting the club to a large enough group out here but we are growing steadily. As you could expect we are a little more isolated in the ways of fishing opportunities being in downtown LA but we try our best.

Additionally, I feel the lack of fly fishing at the school is a matter of lifestyle in southern california and there are simply fewer people who are addicted as in places where it may be more accessible. We have a lot of conventional saltwater guys who I am still trying to convert!

If you have a competitive bass fishing team I would also love to talk with you guys concerning that. Me and my friend are getting our bass rigs ready for the upcoming season on the FLW and BASS circuits.

If it ever happens that USC and Michigan play each other in football sometime soon I would love to get together and take a trip with you guys.

I wish you the best of luck with your endeavors. Tightlines.

Hey Nick! Awesome to hear of some other clubs from around the nation. We do have a bass tournament team here, or we did, but they haven't been active of late. My co-founder and I actually were thinking about competing some time soon possibly. Our adviser for the club is the adviser for the bass fishing club as well, so if you see anyone fly fishing at a bass tournament with a big block M, that's us.

On another note, I just started a new group on Facebook for College Fly Fishermen: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CollegeOnTheFly/

Members of my club thought it would be interesting running tournaments through the summer and over the school year on this group. So say, we have a trout tournament, and people post a picture with their name, the date and the fish with a measurement. I thought it would at least be entertaining if nothing else.

Secondly, we thought it would be good to establish ties with other groups around the nation in case we ever end up in their area and they want to show us some holes, or, even better yet, have a collegiate fly fishing tournament in different areas at the end of every summer (or beginning, or whatever works best for people). Now that would be awesome.

Anyways, hope you and some friends join the group. I was going to continue to get the word out there to other clubs soon, because right now I think I've only hit a few clubs (like the ones in there right now, Colorado U, Appalachian State, Penn State and Arkansas).