This BroncoFit class along the Boise River has students hooked

Boise State's fly fishing course is extremely popular, filling up almost immediately each fall semester. A part of the School of Kinesiology's BroncoFit Activities Program - which offers a variety of sports, fitness and recreation courses for academic credit - the fly fishing course is designed for absolute beginners and open to students of every major.

Ken Bell is teaching the course this semester. He was a full-time professor in the School of Kinesiology for 25 years and recently retired but continues to teach part-time. Bell and a small team of local guides take students to various locations along the Boise River, where students get hands-on experience with the sport.

Fly fishing is as it sounds: fishing with artificial flies. The act of fly tying is both a science and an intricate art. Based on their knowledge of common bug species in the area, fly fishermen construct artificial flies from materials like feathers and thread.

Fish don't swallow these fake flies as they would with live bait. The fly fishing method allows fish to swim off safely after being caught. In contrast, fish released after swallowing live bait are more likely to be hooked deeply and die.

"I teach the students how to handle a fish when they catch it so they don't harm it," Bell said. "And then to release it. Catch and release fly fishing has been proven to keep the number of fish in rivers very healthy."

Why are students obsessed with fly fishing? Bell believes that life is stressful for college kids, and being on the river allows for a sense of peace and connection with nature. He's also noticed that students choose Boise State partially because of Boise's ample opportunities for outdoor recreation.

"They like mountain biking, they like hiking," Bell said. "So when they see fly fishing, they say, 'ah that sounds pretty cool.' They take it, and a lot of them get hooked."

Jaden Kusar, a senior business administration major from San Pedro, California, is one such student. Kusar grew up hunting, bass fishing and riding horses. When she needed a BroncoFit credit at the beginning of her junior year, fly fishing was an obvious choice.

Kusar quickly fell in love with the course, largely due to Bell's enthusiastic and effective teaching.

"Fly fishing is his hardcore passion," Kusar said. "When he's teaching, you can truly tell that this is something he adores. He's very animated; he's just a wonderful instructor. You can visualize everything that he's talking about."

This fall, Kusar is taking fly fishing for the second time. She said her knowledge of fly fishing has grown immensely since before she took the course, and that she will feel confident going out to fish on her own after the course is over.

Kusar agrees with Bell that being on the river is like a form of therapy.

"The way that you move the pole back and forth, the sounds of the running water, and just being out in nature is so calming," Kusar said. "You don't think of anything other than what you're doing in that moment. That's the best part about it."

Kusar highly recommends fly fishing to anyone who might be interested. She said that just because the sport can seem magical doesn't mean it has to be mysterious.

"I think to a lot of people, fly fishing is kind of this enigma, this art," Kusar said.

But as complex as fly fishing may be, it isn't hard to master the basics with enough commitment - and the right teacher.

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