The Little Moments In Between
By Heather Harkavy
Photo by Knox Kronenberg.
There is this common trend in fly fishing travel: you show up at a lodge somewhere in the world and fish hard all day, you get back to the lodge tired from the day's pursuits and so you relax, attend dinner, and pass out. Seven days go by and you head home with stories of the fishing, the friends you showed up with, and the lodge that hosted you.
Part of the Fish for Change movement is to break this cycle-to not only show anglers their guides' 9-5 schedule, but their 24/7. To open the doors of the lodge for the community we are in to join us, and for us to join them. To run around town and befriend the guides, and get to know their families. To understand each location on as deep of a level as you can within a week so that you leave feeling that the place is home and that the people are family. We believe that we are all better off for every person who leaves understanding that we are all more similar than we are different.
Then there is the environment around us. We are all citizens of this world and this world is hurting. Each location may look stunning from the outside, but there are underlying problems that must be acknowledged. This is why we team up with local conservation organizations to learn, volunteer, and take the first steps towards protecting the planet we love.
Through our educational and immersive programming, our team prioritizes building curious, confident, resourceful, and empathetic global citizens.
The Origin: It all started with a man named Steve Brown who once backpacked through Central America. On his journey he stumbled upon Guanaja, one of Honduras' Bay Islands, where he met Ranklin Jackson who told him tales of Guanaja's permit-covered flats. Steve, a fly fishing guide from Colorado, was intrigued and joined Ranklin to explore his home flats for these fish.
Steve's first friends in Guanaja became family, and this family became the staff of the lodge he would soon create, Fly Fish Guanaja.
Years went by and he began to bring students from the U.S. down to experience the unique culture, environment, and fishery. Fish for Change was born. A movement that meant so many things, but at its root took the fly angler's love for fly fishing and drove it with purpose and connection. Guanaja is the birthplace of Fish for Change, where the first group of teenagers took over a lodge, transforming it into a home where connection, education, conservation, and exploration would thrive.
This past summer, we hosted nine weeks of programs across Honduras, the Bahamas, Costa Rica, Mexico and Colorado. Here are the stories from each program.
The ones that aren't in the itinerary and we have no clue they are going to happen. These are the moments that make the summer. Those ones you will just have to join to create for yourself! To the students, staff, and partners, thanks for another fun filled summer. We are living the dream. I hope you continue to flip through the pages and check out each of the heartfelt stories within this year's journal. There are many stories within my story to be told, and many stories that have yet to be made!
Part of the Fish for Change movement is to break this cycle-to not only show anglers their guides' 9-5 schedule, but their 24/7. To open the doors of the lodge for the community we are in to join us, and for us to join them. To run around town and befriend the guides, and get to know their families. To understand each location on as deep of a level as you can within a week so that you leave feeling that the place is home and that the people are family. We believe that we are all better off for every person who leaves understanding that we are all more similar than we are different.
Then there is the environment around us. We are all citizens of this world and this world is hurting. Each location may look stunning from the outside, but there are underlying problems that must be acknowledged. This is why we team up with local conservation organizations to learn, volunteer, and take the first steps towards protecting the planet we love.
Through our educational and immersive programming, our team prioritizes building curious, confident, resourceful, and empathetic global citizens.
The Origin: It all started with a man named Steve Brown who once backpacked through Central America. On his journey he stumbled upon Guanaja, one of Honduras' Bay Islands, where he met Ranklin Jackson who told him tales of Guanaja's permit-covered flats. Steve, a fly fishing guide from Colorado, was intrigued and joined Ranklin to explore his home flats for these fish.
Steve's first friends in Guanaja became family, and this family became the staff of the lodge he would soon create, Fly Fish Guanaja.
Years went by and he began to bring students from the U.S. down to experience the unique culture, environment, and fishery. Fish for Change was born. A movement that meant so many things, but at its root took the fly angler's love for fly fishing and drove it with purpose and connection. Guanaja is the birthplace of Fish for Change, where the first group of teenagers took over a lodge, transforming it into a home where connection, education, conservation, and exploration would thrive.
This past summer, we hosted nine weeks of programs across Honduras, the Bahamas, Costa Rica, Mexico and Colorado. Here are the stories from each program.
The ones that aren't in the itinerary and we have no clue they are going to happen. These are the moments that make the summer. Those ones you will just have to join to create for yourself! To the students, staff, and partners, thanks for another fun filled summer. We are living the dream. I hope you continue to flip through the pages and check out each of the heartfelt stories within this year's journal. There are many stories within my story to be told, and many stories that have yet to be made!
Heather Harkavy, 26, Florida.
Director of Operations, Fish for Change.
Heather joined Fish for Change in 2018 and transformed the concept into a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that runs 10 weeks of programs each summer in 5 different locations in the U.S., Caribbean, and beyond.
Director of Operations, Fish for Change.
Heather joined Fish for Change in 2018 and transformed the concept into a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that runs 10 weeks of programs each summer in 5 different locations in the U.S., Caribbean, and beyond.