5 Rivers is a nationwide network of college fly fishing clubs, inspiring the next generation of conservation-minded fly fishermen and women. With support from Trout Unlimited and Costa, 5 Rivers has expanded, making waves throughout the country via club accomplishments and a strong alumni network! Follow along as we learn more about this awesome program from Cliff Watson, Trout Unlimited’s Youth Fly Fishing Programs Manager!
Flylords: What is 5 Rivers? And how did this program start?
5 Rivers: The Trout Unlimited Costa 5 Rivers program is a national network of TU-affiliated college fly fishing clubs. The program builds upon the Headwaters youth programs of Trout Unlimited to engage and cultivate a generation of conservation-minded anglers. 5 Rivers was created over a decade ago when TU and Costa recognized that college students needed a way to engage with coldwater conservation. By creating this network of college fly fishing clubs, they’ve allowed community, conservation, and fly fishing to prosper on college campuses across the country. Since its inception in the Southeastern US, that seed idea has expanded to a substantial size (with over 80 clubs, rendezvous events, branding, and cross‑club support) to scale and unify collegiate fly fishing efforts. So, in essence, it started with pioneering college fly fishing clubs already aligned with TU’s values; with support from Costa and TU’s Headwaters, it got formalized, branded, and scaled.
Flylords: Trout Unlimited is one of the nation’s largest conservation organizations committed to coldwater fisheries. Can you elaborate on how 5 Rivers integrates into TU’s mission of bringing together diverse interests to care for and recover rivers and streams so our children can experience the joy of wild and native trout and salmon?
5 Rivers: In a nutshell, Trout Unlimited’s mission is to protect and restore coldwater rivers and streams, ensuring healthy habitat for wild and native trout and salmon. 5 Rivers fits into that mission by developing a youth and leadership pipeline, providing on-the-ground conservation and volunteer opportunities, building communities, and feeding directly into TU’s advocacy and strategic alignment networks. Put another way, 5 Rivers offers college fly anglers the opportunity to connect around our incredible coldwater fisheries and make positive change through restoration, education, and advocacy.
Flylords: Since those first few chapters, how much has the 5Rivers program grown?
5 Rivers: Early on, the program had a few anchor chapters in the Southeast, Virginia Tech, Appalachian State, Sewanne, but I also want to recognize that collegiate fly fishing clubs have been around since before 5 Rivers. CU Boulder, for example, has had a club since the early 90s. 5 Rivers simply provided a framework for these clubs to get connected and engaged. Over time, we’ve scaled thanks to industry and donor support. Today, 5 Rivers is a network of over 80 TU-affiliated fly fishing clubs across the country, capturing over 6,000 members aligned towards the protection of coldwater fisheries! Additionally, we’ve got an alumni network of nearly 20,000 people carrying the 5 Rivers and TU mission with them every day.
Flylords: I’ve been seeing a lot about 5Rivers’ rendezvous events–can you add some color to these community events?
5 Rivers: The 5 Rivers “Rendezvous” is a signature regional gathering of 5 Rivers clubs all over the country. Throughout the year, 5 Rivers holds four nationwide events called “rendezvous,” one per region (Midwest, Southeast, Northeast, West). The goal is to bring clubs together regionally for a mix of conservation work, community building, and fly fishing. These are not just casual meetups — they tend to include structured programming (volunteer projects, habitat work, workshops), social time, fishing excursions, and cross‑club networking. The rendezvous events serve as galvanizing moments: they deepen club bonds, foster knowledge sharing, provide tangible conservation impact in a region, and reinforce the shared mission and culture of 5 Rivers.
As an example, we were just down in Steamboat, CO, with incredible attendance from our Western/Rocky Mountain clubs. Hailing from the University of Utah, Colorado State University, CU Boulder, Colorado School of Mines, and the University of Wyoming, this crew of 90 students planted an impressive 240 native trees along the banks of the Yampa River. By improving streamside habitat and lowering water temperatures during the hot summer months, these trees will play a vital role in protecting our fisheries and enhancing resilience. For years to come, they’ll support countless anglers’ success on this river—and these college anglers are to thank.
Flylords: What about conservation and restoration? Does 5 Rivers engage or take part in those aspects of Trout Unlimited? Are there any specific projects you want to highlight?
5 Rivers: Yes — 5 Rivers and its clubs do much more than fish and socialize (although we do plenty of that); conservation and restoration are core to the mission. Clubs often conduct river cleanups, trash removal, tree planting, habitat improvement, bank stabilization, invasive species removal, and other volunteer efforts locally. For example, the Washington & Lee 5 Rivers club has done cleanups of Buffalo Creek, removing bottles, plastics, old tires, road signs, and other debris.
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The CU Boulder club works in partnership with TU and local chapters for conservation volunteerism, in addition to making gear accessible to students for free so they can fish responsibly. The 5 Rivers program also launched a “Fish Responsibly Tournament” (a virtual, national fishing/scavenger hunt) in which registration proceeds go to a student-led “Community Fund” that helps clubs perform on-the-ground conservation work.
Additionally, 5 Rivers manages something called the Community Fund. These are grants up to $1,000 that are available to 5 Rivers clubs in order to complete community or conservation initiatives. Recently, the University of Arizona 5 Rivers club removed a large swath of invasive blackberry through one of these grants. We’ve also had clubs tie flies and teach fly fishing 101 with local boys and girls clubs.
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Flylords: How can our readers support 5 Rivers and/or join a club at their college?
5 Rivers: There are a handful of ways you can get involved with 5 Rivers, for both college students and those not in college! Number one, look into joining a club at your school. That being said, 5 Rivers is not at every school, so consider starting a club. Either way, do some research and reach out to the 5 Rivers program manager, Cliff Watson!! Also, we encourage anyone interested in 5 Rivers or the Headwaters Youth Programs of Trout Unlimited to learn more about the program and consider supporting our mission financially–to learn more:
Headwaters Youth Program – Trout Unlimited
Finally, 5 Rivers is currently partnered with FishCamp for our fall fundraiser. For every subscription to FishCamp’s educational platform, $50 will be donated to 5 Rivers! Fish Camp set the fundraiser up to support local 5 Rivers clubs–so if you want to support an individual club, you can! Collabs for Conservation #2 | Fall Fundraiser | Fish Camp (FALL FUNDRAISER)
Thanks for joining us, Cliff—and thanks for all the great things that 5 Rivers does for our fly fishing community and our coldwater fisheries!
Photo credits: Jason Faerman from Yakoda, and Trout Unlimited 5 Rivers.
Trout Unlimited 5Rivers Launches “Fish Responsibly Tournament”
