Published April 12, 2025

Epic angler adventures began with MetroParks progression programs

People often take very different journeys to arrive at the same destination. For Tim Ryan and Frank Campanell, the destination was the Bitterroot National Forest. The journey: learning to fly fish so they could maximize their adventures on the Bitterroot River, which is known for its trout populations and world-class fishing opportunities.

Ryan and Campanell met in 2016 and made good friends after participating in hikes hosted by local hiking advocacy group, Dayton Hikers. Because both outdoorsmen are retired and have a shared interest and appreciation for nature, hiking and fishing, planning a bucket-list adventure to the national parks of Montana seemed like a given.

While both men love fishing, fly fishing was a relatively new outdoor hobby to them. Ryan decided to build his skills by getting involved as a volunteer with Five Rivers MetroParks. Outdoor recreation specialist Kelly Kingery took Ryan under her wing.

“Once the participants were fishing, I put a rod in [Tim’s] hand, spent a few minutes on the foundations of a fly cast, and then put him in the water with the rest of the group to get some practice,” said MetroParks outdoors recreation specialist Kelly Kingery. “As a teacher, you need to move from one angler to another, assisting with instruction and that causes a lot of disturbance in the river environment. It’s not often that people catch fish due to the fact that there is a lot of movement in the river. But this was not the case with Tim as he caught his very first fish on the fly the very first time he went out.”

Ryan realized that as he was giving back to the community, he was also learning new things each time he volunteered.

“By default, I took the class and was helping people as I went along,” said Ryan. “I was learning as I was volunteering. When I got into the water after five months I caught a fish, and just a few months before then I had zero knowledge about fly fishing.”

Campanell, a volunteer Ohio Certified Naturalist at Caesar Creek Nature Center, started MetroParks’ fly fishing program progression after hearing about it from Ryan. Campanell began with Try Fly Fishing, an introductory, hands-on program, and swiftly moved on to Fly Fishing 1 and Fly Fishing 2 programs, all of which cover reading rivers, fishing in rivers and lakes, and more.

“When I retired, my whole career and all my friends were at the Air Force Base,” said Campanell. “I had to start a whole new part of life and learning new skills by taking classes is a way of transitioning into a new life. Learning is one thing, but doing it – like fishing the Bitterroot –  is when you really learn.”

Indeed, MetroParks’ outdoor recreation progression programs allow participants to get introductory hands-on experiences with professional instruction and borrowed gear before taking the leap to adventure independently.

“MetroParks is outfitting you without you having to purchase anything,” said Ryan. You can do anything without owning any of the equipment, which is a cool thing. It also gives you the opportunity to understand what you do need and what’s quality. To me, it’s the prefect way you want to be introduced to anything.”

Both Campanell and Ryan use the skills they have built during MetroParks programs for their own adventures and to foster an appreciation among the natural world to those they encounter while volunteering at Caesar Creek State Park and MetroParks, respectively.

“For me in my life, fishing and being out in nature and being in the river or on the lake is a time to decompress and get out of my head a little,” said Ryan. “Personally, the whole idea of introducing people to fishing as a way to get outside is what I enjoy about [volunteering].”

As for their adventures at the Bitterroot National Forest, the two enjoyed about eight hours of fly fishing on the river. Ryan’s goal was to catch just one fish, and he did – a rainbow trout. While Campanell didn’t have a catch, he was just happy to be outdoors and fly fishing with his friend.

“Most of the time you don’t catch fish, but it’s all about the excitement of maybe catching one,” said Campanell. “Being out in the stream and using the techniques makes it as exciting as anything else. We were really fortunate that we took the classes and had the trip planned so it all came together and unfolded.”

PROGRESSION PROGRAMMING

Step 1: Discover – Programs designed to introduce you to the activity you’re interested in discovering

These programs include classroom “Discover” series programs and “Try Its.”

  • Discover series programs: Teach the variety of disciplines within an activity. Learn about the activities, local places to play and resources such as trailers, clubs and opportunities.
  • Try Its: These free programs produce an opportunity to try an activity during drop-in style program that offer guidance with minimal instruction

Step 2: Develop – Programs provide you with skill-based instruction

These programs include core progression and enhance classes taught in a small group setting.

  • Core progression programs are numbered, such as Fly Fishing 1. Numbers “2” and above mean that a pre-requisite is highly recommended.
  • Enhance classes are programs – such as Wilderness First Aid and Backcountry Cooking – with no pre-requisites. These programs are for those who simply wish to supplement their skills.

Step 3: Do – Put your independent basic skills to the test

Find opportunities to independently adventure in your Five Rivers MetroParks.

Suggestions include:

For a full list of MetroParks’ outdoor recreation programs, visit metroparks.org/active-outdoors.

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