by Shannon Mayes
Our summer started off with a bang on some brook trout streams in WV. The fish were mostly small, but plentiful. WV brook trout are absolutely beautiful fish!
On June 27th eight students, four boys and four girls, along with four chaperones and myself left Gallipolis, Ohio to travel 9 hours, crossing into Michigan and finally stopping at a cabin in the woods along the Manistee River. We fished for four days on the Manistee and a few other smaller streams. We caught a lot of trout and everyone had a great time! The cabin we stayed in was super cool, it sat back in the woods with a big fire ring! We cooked out for dinners and played baseball with a stick and pop can. We even used paper plates for bases!
The rest of the summer we fished local ponds and creeks until August. On August 14th a few students and I left to head to the South Holston River located in North East Tennessee. The fish were biting and we were catching as fast as possible. We ended our trip with nearly 300 fish landed. One day we caught 85 trout before noon! Wow what experience! I have had great times on this piece of water, but nothing even close to this trip!
All good things must end, we had to leave and the following week we started school. I am looking forward to a new year of TU Teens of Gallipolis.
Tight lines!
Shannon Mayes is a middle school teacher and the Youth Education Coordinator of the 477-Madmen Chapter of TU.
