Club Meeting: Project Mayfly & Shad Fishing

Image courtesy of Project Mayfly

We have a great evening planned for our March meeting on the 14th. First, we will hear from Marc Hutzell with the Mayfly Project. The Mayfly Project (TMP) is a great organization that uses fly fishing as a catalyst to mentor children in foster care. In addition, Dan Neuland will talk to us about shad fishing. The shad should be starting their run up the Potomac to Fletcher’s Cove in a couple of weeks.

To start, Marc Hutzell will introduce us to the Mayfly project. Their mission is to support children in foster care through fly fishing and introduce them to their local water ecosystems, with a hope that connecting them to a rewarding hobby will provide an opportunity for foster children to have fun, feel supported, and develop a meaningful connection with the outdoors.

You can view and download Dan Neuland’s excellent shad presentation on our website’s Outings page. Shown here: Don Fine with a shad.

The national program was founded in 2016 by Jess and Laura Westbrook of Arkansas and co-founded by Kaitlin Barnhart of Idaho. Since then, TMP has added several crucial team members, lead mentors, and the program has spread across the country. By the end of 2020, they have mentored and taught fly fishing to 800 children in foster care. Marc will also talk about different ways that you can help support the organization.

Also, we are getting close to shad season. Dan Neuland – our shad fishing guru – will give us an update on the upcoming shad season on the Potomac. Dan has great success catching shad at Fletcher’s Cove every spring.

Hope to see you there on March 14th at 7:00 PM, Room A170, Tuscarora High School, Frederick.

By Larry Forte