Liam Wood Summer Program
High school students in the Liam Wood Fly Fishers and River Guardian Program spend one week learning the glorious art of fly fishing, fly tying and more! All skill levels welcome. Tuition is $250 per student; full and partial scholarships are available.
Who can apply? Students who have graduated 8th grade through high school are eligible. We strongly encourage young women to apply and we would also love home-school students to join the fun!
During the week students will learn to tie flies, cast, fly fish, field journal, and identify local fish and macro-invertebrates. Instructors will also guide students through a river restoration project and discussions about river stewardship through the scientific and social lens of fly fishing. Program will also include river literature readings such as A River Runs Through It, David James Duncan essays and more. This week-long program will be taught by expert river guides and fly fishing gurus and WEN staff.
Register: This program is dependent on reaching a minimum enrollment. If you have any questions about the program or are interested in applying, please e-mail us at water@montanawatershed.org or phone us at 541-9287.
Liam Wood was a talented fisherman and river steward.
About Liam Wood: Liam Wood was a talented fisherman and river steward who died tragically at the age of 18. He died while fishing on Whatcom Creek, just outside of Bellingham, Washington, in 1999. Liam drowned after suffocating on gas fumes from an upstream Olympic pipeline explosion. In addition to being a skilled fly fisher, Liam was an aspiring writer who admired the work of local author David James Duncan. In fact, it was Duncan, moved by Liam’s story, who worked with Liam’s parents to establish the original river guardians school at Western Washington University*. This is the sixth year Missoula’s WEN has put on the high school version of the program to educate future generations in honor of Liam.
*Similar to the Liam Wood Flyfishing and River Guardian School at Western Washington University’s Huxley College of the Environment, WEN’s program teaches fly fishing with the goals of engendering respect for the natural world and its river ecosystems and compelling action toward conservation and stewardship.