By Nate Jones

Staff Writer 

What would possess a group of high school seniors to arrive at school before sunrise? 

It’s the best time to do a little fly fishing before class, of course. 

For the past 12 years Scott Shea has been teaching the Adventure Physical Education course at Cape Elizabeth High School. Students are able to hike, ride bikes, learn first aid and CPR all while continuing to earn academic credit. Last year Shea began incorporating the art of fly-fishing into the course curriculum, and the addition is making quite a splash.

The program is currently looking for more volunteers to teach fly tying and fishing, and who better than Cape Elizabeth’s 10-year-old Tully Matusko, who won first place in this year’s L.L. Bean 10 to 12-year-old fly tying competition?

Tully said he has been tying flies since he was 3-years-old, and about six years ago it became more than a hobby. 

“He’d skip hockey practice on Friday nights to go to [L.L. Bean] to take a fly tying lesson,” Dan Matusko said.

What began as something his father taught him on their fishing trips to certain trophy ponds in northern Maine became something of an art form for Tully, who creates ties resembling bugs, eels and other bait.

“When I was 6 I started tying a lot more,” he said. “Now I can tie anywhere between 100 and 200 flies in a year.”

Tully said he ties more flies than he can fish with, so he often gives them away to family and friends, and even plans on selling flies at Jordan’s Lawn and Garden Center in Cape Elizabeth this spring. 

In 2006 Shea began an informal fishing club at the school, and received a $3500 grant last year from the Future Fisherman Foundation, a subsidiary of Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. 

Coordinator for the Future Fisherman Foundation’s “Hooked on Fishing” program Emily Jones said Cape Elizabeth and Windham are the only two schools to have ever applied for the educational grant. Jones said the grant was originally for a larger amount, and the funds had to be split between the two schools.

“It kind of handicapped their ability to grow the way they wanted to,” she said.

Around the same time the grants were awarded, Jones said she received fishing equipment donations from L.L. Bean. 

By coordinating with Windham and Cape Elizabeth educators, she arranged for the equipment to be available for the salt and freshwater fishing programs at both schools to make up for the funding shortfalls.

“This year we have 10 spinning reels and 10 fly rods,” Shea said. “We’ll be adding to that so we can hopefully put a rod in each kids hand.”

As part of his training for teaching the course, Shea attended a week long conference in Michigan where he received “expert training” on flying fishing, fly tying, knots, aquatics, boating and safety education.

“I was excited to share this knowledge with students,” he said.

It didn’t take long before the program had 24 students signed up as part of a Senior Adventure Elective class, and the group began spin casting for stripers at Kettle Cove, Shea said.

“We’re strictly catch-and-release,” he said.

The program began to include fly-fishing in the fall, when professional fly casters and fly tiers from nearby communities gave guest lectures at the class.

Patience is a key element for a serious fly-tier, Tully said. 

“I used to get really frustrated,” he said. “You have to stay calm. Sometimes you can get poked but you have to stay really patient.”

For Tully, tying flies is easier than catching fish. Ever since he lost a fly he had tied when his fishing line snapped, Tully says he follows the advice of his grandfather.

“Grandpa taught me to sing to the fish,” he said. “I like fishing a lot.”

Tully said he plans on showing the Adventure Physical Education students how to tie a “Mickey Finn” for starters, one he’s learned to tie in about 45 seconds.

Shea said he hopes the incorporation of fishing into academic curriculum is something other schools in the state will embrace in future years. 

Jones said the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife would encourage other schools to use Cape Elizabeth and Windham as models for incorporating new outdoor programs.

“They’re very organized and very successful,” she said.

 Shea said he believes the potential for outdoor learning is unlimited.

“It has nothing to do with catching fish really at all,” he said. “I don’t think there is a better educational environment than the outdoors – even at 5 a.m.!” 

To learn more about the Adventure Physical Education class contact Scott Shea at the Cape Elizabeth High School at 207-799-2217. 

For more information about the “Hooked on Fishing, Not on Drugs”  contact the Future Fisherman Foundation at 703-519-9691 or visit  www.futurefisherman.org.