Ashland Nature Center in Wilmington, DE is a great place to learn outdoor sports like fishing. This time around the kids are getting their turn at the Fun With Fishing kid's camp, where youngsters are taught the ins and outs of fly fishing. In a quiet forest clearing along the Brandywine Creek, Derek Stoner reminds his pupils how to tie the proper knot that will secure a fly to the leader. Flies are more delicate than the lures used in most other types of fishing, being made to imitate different insects and tiny crustaceans that swim through the water.

During the journey to becoming fly fishing masters, the gaggle of youth was also edified in how to make flies by hand. Stew, who works for A Marblehead Flyfisher, demonstrated this artistic element that can't be separated from the sport. Tie on the feathery marabou, add a little sparkly stuff so the fish can see it, a solid element, and of course the hook. "And that's a wooly-bugger. 5 bucks!" said Stew with a smile. Each day he makes dozens of flies, naming him the fly-champ.

With flies ready, the eager crew made for the Brandywine Creek. Here's a sport demanding a new level of finesse and technique. Because you're wading in the shallows with the fish, you have to get into the mindset of a heron or an egret, slowly creeping along, sighting your prey, and then striking.

In the interest of environmental preservation, the Nature Center makes sure to teach the catch and release ethic of fishing. Instructors like Derek ensure the children understand that the fish are a finite resource, and if they release the fish, they might be able to enjoy the excitement of catching it again. At the same time, the kids are also taught that keeping a fish you've caught, cutting it up, and eating it is perfectly natural. After all, 70% of people on earth rely on fish as a major ingredient in their diet. It's just that the Nature Center would run out of fish on their reserve if everyone kept every fish they caught.

And here's a young red-breasted sunfish! In earlier days this week, kids caught a 12" bass, perch, bluegill, and a 20" carp. It was great to see the enthusiasm they put into learning something new, and that speaks volumes for the great programs the Ashland Nature Center provides throughout the park.

Written by Erik Yount. Photos by Errol Webber.