Building on the success of last year’s event, the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History, the Connecticut Fly Fisherman’s Association (CFFA), and the Biodiversity Research Collections (BRC) in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut are collaborating again to hold their Aquatic Insects of Connecticut Fly Tying Workshop.

This one-day Saturday workshop brings attention to Connecticut’s native aquatic insects that serve as food sources for the popular game fish in our state rivers. Participants will learn to recognize different groups of insects and create lures that mimic their shapes and behaviors. Dr. Katrina Menard, Invertebrates Collection Manager at the BRC, will introduce students to the ecology, evolution, and importance of aquatic insects. Preserved insect specimens from the BRC will be on display to illustrate insect diversity and their different life cycles.

Workshop participants will learn about the sport of fly fishing from Pete Naples, a member of the Connecticut Fly Fisherman’s Association and fly-tying specialist. Naples will teach students how to tie 3 unique patterns on hooks and explain how these can be used to simulate insects while fly fishing in local rivers such as the Fenton, Farmington, and Willimantic Rivers.

Students are also encouraged to use the knowledge they gain and the lures they construct in this workshop while participating in future CFFA educational programs. With a mission to “preserve and promote the pleasures and traditions of flyfishing, and to conserve game fish waters,” the CFFA offer yearly courses in casting and advanced tying, held both in the classroom and out on the water.

This introduction to fly-tying workshop will be held on Saturday June 10 from 9am to 4pm at the University of Connecticut, in Storrs. Registration is required and the fee per person is $15. The cost of registration includes all materials and patterns needed to make 3 ties that will be yours to take home.

Visit https://csmnh.uconn.edu/programs for more information and to register.

*Registration is limited to 15 participants aged 12 and up; those aged 12-16 must be accompanied by a chaperone. See Registration page for additional details.

If you require an accommodation to participate in this event, please contact the CSMNH at (860) 486-4460 or [email protected] by Monday June 5, 2023.

This event is presented by the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History with the Connecticut Fly Fisherman’s Association and the UConn Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology’s Biodiversity Research Collections.

The Connecticut State Museum of Natural History is a unit of the Institute of the Environment at the University of Connecticut.