BSA Fly Fishing Merit Badge
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Fly Fishing Merit Badge
Tips for Alabama Boy Scouts
Following list of requirements contains helpful links. A copy of "Fly Fishing Merit Badge" will also be needed to teach the scouts.
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Fly Fishing Merit Badge Requirements.
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Explain to your counselor the injuries that could occur while fly-fishing and the proper treatment, including cuts, scratches, puncture wounds, insect bites, hypothermia, dehydration, and heat reactions. Explain how to remove a hook that has lodged in your arm. Name and explain five safety practices you should always follow while fly-fishing.
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Discuss how to match a fly rod, line, and leader to get a balanced system. Discuss several types of fly lines, and explain how and when each would be used. Review with your counselor how to care for this equipment.
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Demonstrate how to tie proper knots to prepare a fly rod for fishing:
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Attach backing to fly line using the nail knot (hollow coffee stirrers work great).
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Attach a leader to fly line using the needle knot, nail knot, or loop-to-loop connection.
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Explain how each of the following types of flies are used: dry flies, wet flies, nymphs, streamers, bass bugs, and poppers. What does each imitate? Tie at least two types of the flies mentioned in this requirement.
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Demonstrate the ability to cast a fly consistently and accurately using overhead and roll cast techniques.
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Go to a suitable fishing location and make observations on the types of insects fish may be eating. Look for flying insects and some that may be on or beneath the water's surface. Look under rocks. Explain the importance of matching the hatch.
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Explain the importance of practicing " Leave No Trace" and how it positively affects fly-fishing resources.
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Obtain a copy of the regulations affecting game fishing where you live. Explain why they were adopted and what you accomplish by following them.
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Explain what good outdoor sportsmanlike behavior is and how it relates to anglers. Tell how the Outdoor Code of the Boy Scouts of America relates to a fishing enthusiast, including the aspects of littering, trespassing, courteous behavior, and obeying fishing regulations.
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Using the fly-fishing techniques you have learned, catch two different kinds of fish and identify them. Release at least one of them unharmed. Clean and cook another fish.
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Additional helpful information
Places to fish: Alabama State Public Fishing Lakes, Alabama State Parks, fishing locations by region, private ponds.
Alabama fishing license requirements and free youth licenses (Licenses are not required for anglers 15 and younger nor while fishing a private pond.)
The Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division has fly rods and reels that can be loaned for short periods.
Cortland has reduced prices on fly fishing gear.
Discover Fly Fishing Web site was developed by the American Fly Fishing Trade Association (AFFTA) to help people interested in the sport of fly fishing get a good head start. You may register with the site to obtain information on fly fishing. (The Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries has no control over the AFFTA site nor the use of your registration information.)
With a small fly (18 or smaller), fly fishing can allow scouts
to catch the numerous small fish in a stream or lake.
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