How PSU fly-fishing club president revived the club to greatness
STATE COLLEGE — It was a brisk, clear, February day, when 11 members of the Penn State fly-fishing club met at Spring Creek in Milesburg, Pennsylvania. Before they began, Eamonn Powers was helping club members rig their fly rods and recommended certain flies that were more likely to attract more fish. Within just the first hour, all 11 members, including Powers, had caught a fish.
Powers, a wilderness and fisheries science major, has been fly-fishing since he was seven and has been serving as the fly-fishing club president since his second year at Penn State in 2019. While serving as president, not only has membership increased, but there have also been more relationships and events held outside club meetings. “I always do my best to make a connection with all of our members to foster a greater sense of community within the club, instead of just individual cliques,” Powers said.
Mark Shilling is currently a first year at Penn State and a new member of the fly-fishing club. “At our first meeting this year, there was over 40 people in the room. They could barely even fit everyone in the room,” Shilling said.
Since Powers has become president, the club averages about 15 new members each year when they used to average only five prior to Powers’ presidency. Connor Dix, a Penn State fly-fishing club alum and former treasurer of the club says “having Eamonn as president was the best thing that has happened to the club.”
There are multiple strategies that Powers has implemented to help boost the club’s popularity. The first strategy was by organizing more fishing trips outside of weekly club meetings. Powers said how he has increased club presence at involvement fairs to help increase membership. He also makes personal relationships with all of the club’s members.
“Eamonn always makes everyone feel welcome and he’s a friend to everyone. He makes everyone feel like they are close friends with him,” Dix said.
“I was afraid at first with meeting new people at the fly-fishing club, but Eamonn made it so easy. He was really friendly to me and he helped introduce me to everyone,” Shilling said.
Powers has also made an effort at increasing social media presence, the club has now amassed to 2,305 followers on Instagram, and feedback from these followers is also increasing. The fly-fishing club currently has a group chat that involves 214 past and current members, where members can reach out to each other to schedule fishing trips and other kinds of meetings.
“Before Eamonn was president, I didn’t really have any friends in fly-fishing, and we never actually went out fishing ,” Dix said.
Powers has stated that there are more members than there has ever been; the club currently has up to 80 members, while about half of them attend every weekly meeting. Within the first few weeks during this past fall semester, the club has hosted bigger meetings than any other year.
Aside from being a strong leader for the fly-fishing club, Powers has proven to be an efficient teacher as well. Every week, during club meetings, Powers makes a presentation that reveals what certain flies or lures that will help catching more fish. Powers also works individually with each member to teach members how to create some of these fly-patterns while using fly-tying vices that are provided by the club. When members meet up to fish, Powers always helps members with properly setting up their fly rod and providing advice on what kind of flies will help catch more fish.
The growing attention for the fly-fishing club has beneficially impacted several members. Evan Buck is a member of the fly-fishing club and currently works at TCO fly shop in State College. “Some of my best friends are in the fly-fishing club. I actually met my girlfriend in the fly-fishing club. I honestly doubt I never would have met many of my friends if it hadn’t been for Eamonn’s effort at growing the club’s presence,” Buck said. Dix also stated how many of his best friends are also members of the fly-fishing club and he has had some of his best experiences with members. “One of my best experiences at the club was meeting legendary fisherman, Joe Humphreys. Eamonn was able to get in touch with him and he gave all members a lesson,” Dix said.
Powers takes many individuals out for fishing to provide instruction, especially for beginners. Powers has taken out many new members fishing to help teach, and many members that were once unfamiliar with the sport, are now proficient with fly-fishing. Kalen Guyer is a senior at Penn State and a recent member of the fly-fishing club. “I came into the club with no knowledge of fly-fishing. Eamonn took me out fishing once, and ever since then, I’ve been catching more fish,” Guyer said. Powers mentioned that this kind of instruction is vital, especially if they want to continue to gain new membership.
Before Powers served as president of the fly-fishing club at Penn State, the club struggled to garnish significant participation in regards to club-meeting attendance and making meaningful relationships. “I really didn’t have any real expectation for making new friends, but Eamonn has made me feel welcome, and I’ve made so many friends in the club because of him,” Shilling said. “It’s important to keep a relationship with the beginners, especially because we want them to feel comfortable with everyone and we want them to keep coming back to meetings,” Powers said.
