When it comes to fly fishing, Jason Haims is hooked.
The recent Wayland High graduate can’t explain his obsession, however. Like why he’ll stand in sub-freezing temperatures just to catch a fish for a few seconds and then let it go.
“But that’s okay,” Haims wrote in his college application essay. “Fly fishing is my thing.”
It certainly is. So Haims decided to bring his favorite hobby to Wayland High and start a fishing club.
He hopes to someday open up a line of fishing or hunting lodges across the country.
From student to teacher
When Haims was younger, he used to fish with his father. Haims would get bored, however, and turn fishing into catching frogs, turtles and snakes with his hands.
“I was a very adventurous kid,” he said.
It wasn’t until he was 13 years old – after watching a fly-fishing movie at Camp Caribou in Winslow, Maine – when Haims became hooked on fishing.
“I was like ‘Holy (crap), this is the coolest thing ever,’” Haims, now 18, said.
The day he returned home from camp that summer, Haims convinced his father to buy him a fly rod. Haims would cast in the yard, watch YouTube videos and pick the brains of fly fishers to perfect his craft.
“I was instantly pretty addicted to it. Obsessed,” Haims said. “Since then it’s been a huge part of not just who I am but what I do.”
When he was a freshman in high school, Haims’ football team made its annual trip to Camp Caribou for preseason. When he wasn’t practicing football with his teammates, Haims found time to practice another one of his hobbies.
“He would actually pack a fishing rod with his football equipment,” Wayland High head football coach Scott Parseghian said. “At five o’clock in the morning, he’d go fishing.”
More: Wayland High football continues to honor Tom White with tradition of passing down No. 21
Haims would cast a line before and in-between practice sessions with Wayland assistant coach Sean Chase. The two would swap fishing stories.
“Fishermen always have a knack for finding other fishermen,” Chase said. “He’s real generous with his knowledge. Most fly fishermen won’t tell you anything but Jason enjoys sharing it.”
A history teacher at Wayland High, Chase had Haims as a student during his sophomore year. When the two fished together, though, the pair of fishermen switched roles.
“I’m the student and he’s the teacher,” Chase said. “I just sit back and watch and learn.”
In the spring of 2020, Haims asked Chase to write a letter of recommendation for his college application. When it came time to jot down his college essay, Haims wrote about his favorite hobby.
“I had so much to write about,” he said. “It was easy to connect it to every aspect of my life.”
Once Haims was accepted into Cornell University, Chase told him that he wrote a good chunk of his college recommendation on their time spent fishing together.
“It’s kind of neat when both of those letters were married together,” Chase.
It’s about the fishing, not the catching
By his junior year, Haims finally brought fishing to Wayland High. He started a club where all were welcomed to learn how to fish.
Nearly 80 people signed up for the fishing club but roughly 20 would show up for outings. Haims took interested fishers to nearby ponds or bodies of water and taught them the basics – including his No. 1 rule.
“It’s about the fishing, not the catching,” Haims said. “The whole journey that leads up to the event is what makes the event so special.”
And this past school year, amid the coronavirus pandemic, Haims was still able to host some special fishing events with his friends and teammates – including an ice-fishing excursion.
“Before the club, I hadn’t been fishing in two years,” said Wayland senior Will Ruland, who played football with Haims. “I was like ‘Why not?’ So we caught a ton of fish ice fishing and now I’m back.”
“If he didn’t get people hooked on fishing, he gave people the motivation to get out and go fishing,” said Wayland senior Charlie Bolivar, who will lead the fishing club this school year along with twin brother Ben.
After graduating from Wayland High this past spring, Haims trained to be a fly fishing guide in Western Mass. before traveling to fish on his own. He went to Arkansas for three nights of fly fishing in search of some “trophy” brown trout.
He snagged a few.
“Biggest in the country,” Haims said.
He also fished in Colorado this summer while dabbling in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York and Connecticut. “Anywhere I can throw a fly pretty much,” Haims said.
Now a freshman at Cornell, Haims is in the Marine Naval ROTC program while studying hotel management at the SC Johnson College of Business. He hopes to commission in the Marine Corps as an officer when he graduates and serve in active duty before working in the service, hospitality or real estate industry.
“I’ve always kind of loved serving people in some sort of way,” Haims said.
Haims also loves to fly fish. The hobby suits his service mentality. He hopes to marry the two together someday.
“After all, it’s the fishing, not the catching that makes many aspects of my life so rewarding,” Haims wrote in his college essay.
“When you throw in fly fishing, it shows you that this is somebody who is unique and well-rounded,” Chase said of Haims. “It’s a pleasure to hang out with him and fish with him.”
Tommy Cassell is a senior multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at tcassell@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @tommycassell44.
Credit: Source link
