TU Costa 5 Rivers Club Spotlight:

CU Boulder

• Appalachian State
• CU Boulder
• Fort Lewis College
• Bucknell University
• Sewanee: The University of the South
• Washington and Lee University

Thanks to Coach Prime and the best mascot in college football, Ralphie, CU Boulder has been at the center of NCAA news for a while now. However, tucked underneath the bright lights of national media coverage and situated in its own corner of campus lies a community of students whose passion for the sport of fly fishing has lasted long since CU last fielded a great football team.

The CU Fly Fishing Club, now nearing its 20th year of existence, has consistently provided the students of CU Boulder with an avenue into the sport of fly fishing. As one of the founding members of Trout Unlimited and Costa Sunglasses 5 Rivers program, the CU Fly Fishing Club represents one of the first examples of a now national movement that has led to the creation of 60+ collegiate fly fishing clubs across the country. Each 5 Rivers club focuses on various aspects of conservation, community, volunteerism and more.

The CU Boulder fly fishing club is special because it is the most effective club at bringing new anglers into the sport. Their mission is to make fly fishing accessible and affordable to all students while also educating their members about the importance of conservation. In addition, the club does more than its fair share of fishing, ranging from local day trips to weekend-long excursions across the Western US. However, these trips play a supporting role in the club’s primary motivations. For college aged students whose desire to learn often exceeds the contents of their wallets, the club’s mission is vitally important.

Through partnerships with Trout Unlimited, Costa, and other industry partners, the club has been able to acquire a vast fleet of rods, reels, and waders for club members to use whenever they desire. The best part? All this equipment is available to members for free. Even more impressive is that the club is free to join for all CU Boulder students.

For the officers of the CU Fly Fishing Club, the consensus is this: there is nothing more rewarding than seeing new anglers fall in love with the sport of fly fishing. They pride themselves on acting as guides on club trips who dedicate themselves to doing whatever they can to help new anglers experience success. This passion extends from the river to the world of conservation. Through river cleanups and partnerships with the Boulder Flycasters, Colorado TU, and TU national, the club is highly intentional about keeping conservation at the center of everything it does. Through these efforts, its members are introduced to the importance of conserving the natural resources that fly fishing depends on. Now, with membership levels reaching new heights and more women joining the club than ever before, the CU Fly Fishing Club is dedicated to bringing more anglers and conservationists into the fold… one CU Buff at a time.