The first fish 18-year-old Howard School senior Juwan Hill caught nearly took his head off.
After receiving fly fishing lessons from veteran Perk Perkins, CEO of fly fishing gear manufacturer Orvis, Hill headed out on the water. He managed to land a fish during that first expedition, but he misjudged the weight of the fish, and when he snapped his line back to haul it in, he found himself staring down a fish-shaped missile.
"I had to duck out of the way," Hill laughs. "He nearly slapped me in the face."
The unlikely partnership of Howard students and a renowned fly fisherman started with the Lookout Mountain Conservancy. The local land trust organization also runs an internship program with Howard School, organized in part by the conservancy's executive director, Robyn Carlton. Through that program, students learn interpersonal and work skills by helping conservancy employees maintain the conservancy's land, building and growing gardens, clearing trails and performing whatever other tasks the students are interested in, Carlton says.
"[The students] tell us what they need and what they want to do next, and we help make that happen," she says.
Last year, Carlton was accompanied by internship students, including Hill, to the National Land Conservation Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in order to present on the work the conservancy was doing with the students' help. Perkins, who was in attendance, says he was blown away by the difference the group was making. After asking Carlton how he could help, Perkins donated Orvis fly fishing gear and promised to travel to Chattanooga for a special two-day fly fishing lesson for the internship students.
Perk Perkins shows Howard School student Jwun Gamble how to tie a fisherman's knot for his fly hook."You had to be patient with it," says 15-year-old Deunta Sailes, who, along with the other roughly two dozen interns, practiced casting with Perkins for an hour and a half. "You just had to keep throwing it out there."
The kids stuck with it - they wanted to fish, whether to out-fish their friends, to be able to catch a fish and eat it or to one day teach the skill to their children.
"One young woman asked me if I knew the feeling of not being able to sleep because you're too excited," Perkins says. "She said she wouldn't be able to sleep at night because she was too excited about tomorrow. I just about had tears in my eyes."
The kids proved to be naturals.
"As soon as one caught a fish, it practically went viral," Perkins says. "They were shouting across the pond at one another, 'I got one!' They got competitive, too."
Hill believes he caught the most during the hours-long trip: 13 fish. Sailes bagged six. Not bad for first-timers, they both agreed.
"We were ready to get out there from the start," says Hill. " Coming out of your comfort zone felt good. You never know what you're going to like."
Hill says the current staff of interns will teach the new crop next year, helping to further build the local fly fishing community while opening up a new world to children from the inner city.
"Here is this program that is making a big difference," Perkins says. "Those don't come around all the time. I got to expand access to fly fishing to people and make a difference. I had to jump at the opportunity."
Carlton says this year's interns have already asked her if there are plans for more outings.
Her reply?
"Of course."