“People and kids like to fish, some just don’t know it,” is the motto of a program spreading across the high schools of Wyoming. It’s the kind of class that many boomers and gen Xers would have loved the chance to take. Learning to fly fish, and then having the opportunity to compete for a state championship on a pristine stretch of the Platte River near Casper is a dream for many.
A dream made possible by the efforts of Joey Puettman of Sheridan.
“For 20 years, I’ve had Joey’s Fly Fishing; it’s all been geared around working with youth. I was first a kindergarten teacher, then a wrestling coach; I got snatched out of there and got thrown into the world of mental health,” Puettman said.
He worked with the Northern Wyoming Mental Health Center from 2007 to 2016. His work was with the social and emotional needs of students.
Puettman had success with this challenging type of student.
“What are you doing with these at-risk youth? They asked,” Puettman said. “I’m taking them fishing.”
At 23 years old, he was a mental health program director and admittedly in over his head.
“I had no clue. I always fished the Platte River as a kid in Casper, fishing with my dad and grandpa,” Puettman said. “I told mom and dad I wanted to start working with kids through fly fishing. My parents went to every garage sale in Natrona County for a summer, bought every fly rod. My mom was waiting at the front door, hands on hips, and said get all those poles out of the shed. My dad was upset, he didn’t get to go to garage sales anymore.+”
Puettman returned to Sheridan with all those fly rods.
“Here we are now, 20 years later, working in 10 different school districts,” Puettman said. “Athletic Directors, coaches, principals, superintendents.”
Students learn to build their own fly rods under Puettman’s tutelage.
“Sensory integration, dealing with pressure, touch, feel, smell, getting these kids back in tune with nature,” Puettman said of his program.
Puettman has a business in Sheridan called the Sheridan Fly Rod Company with his business partner J.T. Tucker He has a line called Joey’s Fly Rods designed especially for youth.
“We’re losing family dynamics, kids are scrolling, doom scrolling on their phones,” Puettman said. “We’re using artistic creativity and art therapy.
He sells custom fly rod kits for the program. In light of the cell phone generation, Puettman has an app designed to go along with these kits.
“I have to keep the kids in the middle,” Puettman said. “We didn’t have YouTube as a kid.”
His app has a 12-part video series that walks the student through every step in building a fly rod.
“They learn time management and organizational skills,” Puettman said.
That preparation will come to the test this weekend on the Platte with the First Annual – Wyoming High School Fly Fishing Championship.
The event kicks off on Friday at 6 pm at the Ramkota in Casper. Lander senior Brayden Baker is the keynote speaker.
Baker is an avid outdoorsman and a skilled angler.
“I fish or at least try to once a week or so,” Baker said. “I think it’s a good thing to start up and get kids involved that maybe haven’t fished before. It’s a good way to get high school kids outside and going in the right direction.”
The Lander chapter has several other members, but conflicts with track and soccer prevent them from competing.
Competition begins at 5 am on Saturday with weigh-ins at 6 pm.
“He’s got a great heart, he’s very fishy,” Puettman said of Baker.
Baker outlined his speech for Friday. “I’ll congratulate and thank my parents, Joey and all the teams for being there,” Baker said. “I’ll talk about what I enjoy about fishing. How we got the Lander thing up and going.”
Brayden’s sponsor will be his father’s business, Wyo Waters.
“Joey came over and did a fly rod class and Brayden hooked up with him,” Eric said.
The 40 contestants will fish a section of the Platte River with the Ugly Bug Fly Shop.