Fly Fishing Merit Badge

Boy Scouts of America - Fly Fishing Merit Badge

The Fly Fishing Merit Badge was established in May of 2002. It gives Boy Scouts the opportunity to learn about fly fishing, fly tying, and fishing conservation. It also offers interested fly fisherman the unique opportunity to share their fly fishing knowledge with our nation’s youth. You can be the primary source of angling expertise for local Scouts who want to learn how to fly fish for trout and other species. Acting as teachers, mentors, and friends, you can help influence the ethics and practices of young fly fisherman around the country, creating future conservationists and protectors of our fishing resources.

How do I get involved?

The first step you should take to get involved is to contact a Boy Scout Troop in your area. Your local Boy Scout council will have a list of all the troops in your area. Here is a link for the Boy Scouts’ Local Council Locator.

You may want to attend a District Roundtable, which is a meeting for all the Boy Scout Troop leaders in a given region. Once there, you can present your idea to a number of different troop leaders and find one that is interested in working with you. For those not already familiar with the Boy Scouts, the following information will help you understand their terms and procedures as you get started.

What is a merit badge?

As chartered by the Congress of the United States, the Boy Scouts of America is a movement dedicated to supplementing and enlarging the education of youth. The merit badge program, which provides opportunities for youth to explore more than 100 fields of skill and knowledge, plays a key role in the fulfillment of this educational commitment.

While an actual merit badge is just a small item to be sewn on a uniform, the program is one of Scouting’s basic character-building tools. Through participation in the program, a Scout acquires the kind of self-confidence that comes only from overcoming obstacles to achieve a goal. Instruction is offered in everything from animal science and public speaking to swimming and communications, providing a young man with invaluable career, physical, and interpersonal skills. This cannot happen without the service of thousands of merit badge counselors who have knowledge of particular subjects and are interested in helping Scouts grow into men of character.

What are the requirements for the Fly Fishing Merit Badge?

To obtain the Fly Fishing Merit Badge, the Scout must:

1. Explain to his counselor the injuries that could occur while fly-fishing and the proper treatment, including cuts, scratches, puncture wounds, insect bites, hypothermia, dehydration, and heat reactions. Explain how to remove a hook that has lodged in your arm. Name and explain five safety practices you should always follow while fly-fishing.

2. Discuss how to match a fly rod, line, and leader to get a balanced system. Discuss several types of fly lines, and explain how and when each would be used. Review with your counselor how to care for this equipment.

3. Demonstrate how to tie proper knots to prepare a fly rod for fishing:
a. Tie a backing to a fly reel spool using the arbor backing knot.
b. Attach backing to fly line using the nail knot.
c. Attach a leader to fly line using the needle knot, nail knot, or loop-to-loop connection.
d. Add a tippet to a leader using a double surgeon’s loop or blood knot.
e. Tie a fly onto the terminal end of the leader using the improved clinch knot.

4. Explain how each of the following types of flies are used: dry flies, wet flies, nymphs, streamers, bass bugs, and poppers. What does each imitate? Tie at least two types of the flies mentioned in this requirement.

5. Demonstrate the ability to cast a fly consistently and accurately using overhead and roll cast techniques.

6. Go to a suitable fishing location and make observations on the types of insects fish may be eating. Look for flying insects and some that may be on or beneath the water’s surface. Look under rocks. Explain the importance of matching the hatch.

7. Explain the importance of practicing Leave No Trace and how it positively affects fly-fishing resources.

8. Obtain a copy of the regulations affecting game fishing where you live. Explain why they were adopted and what you accomplish by following them.

9. Explain what good outdoor sportsmanlike behavior is and how it relates to fishermen. Tell how the Outdoor Code of the Boy Scouts of America relates to a fishing enthusiast, including the aspects of littering, trespassing, courteous behavior, and obeying fishing regulations.

10. Using the fly-fishing techniques he has learned, catch two different kinds of fish and identify them. Release at least one of them unharmed. Clean and cook another fish.