Education Program Joins Students on the Water

Massachusetts High School Builds Custom Fishing Rods and Travels to Florida to Fish with Mud Hole

To read the official press release, click here.

This March, Mud Hole’s Education Program joined Forrest Stillwell and his class for a day of fishing on the West Coast of Florida. Mr. Stillwell is a U.S. history teacher at Lawrence Academy in Groton, Massachusetts, that utilizes the Education Program in the classroom to teach his students to build their own fishing rods.

Mr. Stillwell’s class was hard at work a week prior to the trip, building the rods they would ultimately fish on the trip. When the rods came off the dryers and were finished, the class flew 1,200 miles South for a week of fishing at Florida’s Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge.

Mud Hole’s Education Team had the privilege of joining them on this adventure and were able to showcase the students fishing the rods they built. Once on the flats, the eager class targeted redfish and trout. Every student was able to catch, cook, and eat a fish they caught on the rods they built.  

Mr. Stillwell’s school runs a special two week immersive program that aligns directly with Mud Hole’s Education goals. The primary purpose being to teach students a hands-on craft, get them outdoors, develop themselves personally, and keep them engaged in the classroom. Mr. Stillwell purchased a rod kit from Mud Hole many years prior and had already built a few rods on his own. When the opportunity arose for his students to build fishing rods in the classroom, he reached out to our Education Program Director, Anthony Youmans, to get involved in the program. Numerous rods, fish, and smiles later, Mr. Stillwell’s classes are still building two years later!

Our team wants teachers to know that they are not alone during the rod building experience. On our Education Program website we provide detailed lesson plans, videos, and blueprints that will help explain the process step by step. Mr. Stillwell has some advice for teachers wanting to get their classes building rods. “I think the biggest thing when you teach a rod building class with students is if you stick with the blueprint, stress quality over speed, and explain each part, you will produce great products for the students.” On behalf of the Mud Hole Education Team, we would like to thank Mr. Stillwell and his class for sharing their experience. If you are a teacher, or know a teacher who would like to get their students into rod building, please visit our website at https://mudhole.com/pages/rod-building-for-education.