By Heather Hennigan
Contributing Writer
Even on a small campus, it seems students can do anything that they want to.
Earlier this semester, The Bucknell University Fly Fishers, abbreviated BUFF, was formed. The club is open to students, both graduate and undergraduate, as well as faculty and staff members.
Club members don’t just grab a pole and run to the river to fish; members practice new fishing techniques, refine their casting and fly-tying abilities, share stream reports and learn about the most successful fishing patterns and times.
Throughout the semester, the club has met twice a month at the Environmental Center and even offered open fly-tying sessions for those interested in learning how to tie their own flies.
BUFF also explored rod building, knots and leader construction. The club embarked on various fishing trips, listened to guest speakers, took field trips to fish hatcheries and visited stream restoration and habitat improvement sites, all while learning about aquatic ecology.
Members gathered at local places such as Penns Creek, White Deer Creek, Spring Creek and Fishing Creek to fish, and participated in a stream cleanup along with other service projects.
Doing all these projects has already gained BUFF a respectable reputation on campus. Seemingly off the beaten path, this club offers students yet another outlet to do what they love or explore something they have never tried.
For more information about this club, visit www.eg.bucknell.edu/sri/flyfishingclub or follow the fishers on Twitter @ BUFlyFishing.