NEWS
Colorado Trout Unlimited’s River Conservation & Fly Fishing Camp
Every river needs a champion. Camp is where young people become one.
Colorado Trout Unlimited is excited to open applications for Colorado Trout Unlimited’s River Conservation & Fly Fishing Camp, taking place June 14–20, 2026, at AEI Basecamp in Almont, Colorado.
Colorado TU’s River Conservation & Fly Fishing Camp is a week-long, overnight experience for youth ages 14–18 who want to learn about fly fishing, river conservation, and the role people play in caring for Colorado’s waters. Campers learn outside, on the river, and alongside peers who share a curiosity for the outdoors.
At Camp, participants will:
Learn river conservation through hands-on, STEM-based educationReceive fly fishing instruction from experienced anglers and educatorsExplore how water, habitat, and communities are connected in the WestBuild confidence, friendships, and a sense of belonging outdoors
Camp Highlights:
Who can apply:
Youth ages 14–18 are encouraged to apply. Twenty campers will be selected based on application responses, including a short essay. Preference is given to first-time applicants.Cost:
Camp tuition for 2026 is $700, plus a $50 registration fee. Tuition covers meals, lodging, permits, instructional programming, and any necessary gear rental. Campers age 16 and older will need a Colorado fishing license.Scholarships:
Many Trout Unlimited chapters support Camp by offering tuition scholarships. If financial assistance would help make Camp possible, please indicate this in your application. We will do our best to connect you with available support.For over 20 years, Camp has inspired more than 275 teens from Colorado and beyond to care for rivers, understand conservation challenges, and find community outdoors. Colorado TU is proud to continue this tradition in 2026.
Applications are now open. Deadline is March 1st, 2026
Visit our website to learn more and apply. Space is limited. https://coloradotu.org/youthcampEvery river needs a champion.
We would love for your camper to be one.LEARN MORE AND VISIT OUR REGISTRATION PAGE
Fly Tying Fanatics Event
Trout Unlimited’s Cutthroat Chapter and Orvis Park Meadows hosted another successful Fly Tying Fanatics Festival yesterday.
The event supports the Chapter’s fundraising efforts and provides local fly tyers with a platform to showcase their skills.
We thank Orvis, Umpqua, Renzetti, and many other companies for their generous raffle prize donations, as well as 34 of Colorado’s finest fly tyers who spent the day with us.
All funds raised will go toward conservation projects in the South Platte River basin.
CCTU Youth Education Volunteer Opportunity
Teach Kids Fly Tying
Ken-Caryl Ranch would like to start up an ‘Intro to Fly Tying’ program for school-age kids.
The goal is to develop a love for fly fishing in the younger population and get others interested in fly fishing.
Time commitment for volunteers would be twice a month, presumably after the school day or possibly weekends, and a few hours per session.
We need to determine if we have enough volunteers to help Ken-Caryl Ranch get this program off the ground. If we generate enough interest, Colorado Trout Unlimited will enable this effort by loaning us some tying vises.
If you are interested in supporting this emerging program, please use the QR code in the flyer (below) or sign up at this link: https://linktr.ee/cutthroattu
If we get enough interest, the program will likely kick off in the Jan/Feb timeframe.
This is a great opportunity to engage our youth and community, grow their skills, and instill a passion for fly fishing and protecting rivers and streams.
In Memory of Jim Cowell
Jim Cowell was a member of CCTU for more than 20 years as well as a member of Project Healing Waters passed away on November 5th, 2024.
The following notification from Project Healing Waters sums it up very well.
Taps was played for Jim at 2am Tuesday, Nov 5th 2024
Jim Cowell, PHW Ambassador and long-time CCTU Member
Jim was an air crewman on the USS Hornet's C1Trader and part of the recovery team for Apollo 11 and 12. Jim was on TV shaking hands with Richard Nixon as he boarded Marine1. Jim flew the Presidential Press, astronaut biological samples, and some of the moon rocks on several trips to Johnson Island.
On Apollo 12 Jim flew Admiral John McCain out to the Hornet from American Samoa. Jim also accompanied the moon rocks into Pago Pago. Jim retired as a product manager from Western Union.
Jim was the author and co-author of 7 US patents that pertain to payments made on the internet.
Jim was one of our most active ambassadors, being a Participant and Volunteer, his giving personality made him one of our best members.
Jim has been a supporting and giving member of our PHW-Denver Program for years.
Jim, your spirit is with us now and will be with us on the water.
Feedback Requested for the CCTU 2024 Fall Survey
Cutthroat Chapter Trout Unlimited Fall 2024 Survey
We’d love to hear from you! This is your chance to help guide the direction of the chapter in the future. The survey can be accessed via the button/link below. It’s just 13 questions and shouldn’t take too long.
Thanks in advance for your participation!
Recap: June Chapter Meeting with Rick Takahashi
Rick Takahashi was both our tier and presenter this month. He is an Umpqua Signature Tier and has authored a few books. He started off by tying several midge patterns, then gave a presentation focused on midges. Midges are a very important food source for trout year round. Rick covered the complete lifecycle of midges and what they are like at each stage. In the larvae stage, midges are tiny and wormlike with segmentation. Rick mentioned having success with red midge larvae patterns as that is a common color for the larvae. Eventually the midges will enter the pupae stage where they break out of their larval tube work their way up the water column. From there, an adult midge will escape its pupal shuck and fly off. There are two transitional phases not formally included in the midge lifecycle. The emerger phase is where a midge pupal has trapped gases in its pupal shuck to help it reach the surface of the water. The cluster phase is a collection of adult midges that are either mating or are trapped. Rick gave multiple example fly patterns for each stage.
After laying out the life of a midge, Rick discussed effective ways to use midge patterns. He went over a few different knots and rigging techniques that he’s found useful (such as nonslip loops and Duncan loop knots). Then he covered various ways to fish these rigs and gave plenty of tips like using slip strike indicators in stillwater.
Midges really are everywhere and are major food sources for trout. Please watch the recording on YouTube for all of the details from the presentation!
After the presentation, we had the meeting raffle. The prizes included a Orvis Hydros reel, some Cutthroat Chapter Yeti tumblers, and some flies.
Anchored Podcast Ep. 244: Chris Wood on Trout Unlimited Today
Check out TU’s Chris Wood on April Vokey’s Anchored Podcast!
Anchored Podcast Ep. 244: Chris Wood on Trout Unlimited Today
Recap: April Chapter Meeting with Ron Belak
Ron Belak first gave his first High Altitude Lakes talk to Cutthroat Chapter in April 1998. Nearly 26 years of experience later, Ron joined us on April 16 at Lone Tree Brewing Company to speak on Front Range Stillwaters.
Mike Myers, CCTU BOD Member, kicked off the meeting with fly tying demos of Tak's Crystal Midge and Landon's Mini Leech Jig. Crowds assembled early to watch the fly tying demos and to meet up with Ron before the presentation.
Ron gave a comprehensive and engaging talk on the many accessible front range stillwaters, their elevations and typical trout populations of each. He touched on the differences of how to fly fish lakes vs streams, and also covered the seasons of high-altitude lakes. Many attendees purchased his books (Fly Fishing Colorado's Back Country, and The Fly Fishing Guide to 800 High Lakes in Colorado) after the meeting, which Ron was able to autograph and personalize. The monthly raffle was also a success and Bert took home the Umpqua Ledges ZS2 650 Waist Pack. Thanks to everyone who attended the meeting and supported the raffle! The recorded video of the meeting can be found on the CCTU YouTube channel here.
Cutthroat Chapter's 3 new Board Members at our April 16th Meeting. Left to right: Kristy Yearsley (CCTU Chapter Secretary), Ali Sutphin (Chapter Youth Education Director), and Austin Stark (Chapter Meeting Director).