Jefferson County is awash in streams of every size, from the mighty Mississippi on our east coast to the impressively named Big River in the west. Add the meandering Meramec to the north and you realize that everything that falls from the sky eventually flows into one or more of them.
The other thing all of those waterways have in common is people who care about them. Almost all named creeks and rivers in the county have a Stream Team responsible for clean-up or water-quality monitoring.
Belews, Black, Joachim, Plattin, Pomme, Rock, Sandy, Sugar, Saline, Strawberry, LaBarque, Isle du Bois, and several more all have organizations dedicated to their health. Stream Teams are even assigned to stretches labeled “unnamed tributary of ...”
More than 5,000 teams are assigned throughout the state, and they all trace their genesis back to the newest Missourian to be named to the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. Mark Van Patten was enshrined earlier this year and joins such legendary conservationists and anglers as Bill Dance, Virgil Ward, Ernest Hemingway, Teddy Roosevelt, and even a guy named William Shakespeare.
“It’s amazing to have my name associated with those,” Van Patten said. “I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it. I’m elated, shocked, excited, humbled and extremely honored. I feel there are many people who are more deserving than I am.”
To the contrary, his resume says he belongs.
Retired and living along his beloved Current River, Van Patten is most widely acknowledged as the founder of the Missouri Stream Team program. In 1989, along with his Roubidoux Creek Fly Fishers organization, Van Patten launched the MST, which has evolved into a statewide sensation and a national model.
That accomplishment alone is enough to merit national recognition, but it is only a portion of Van Patten’s story. For 13 years he hosted a national public-television program, “The Tying Bench,” offering weekly instruction for fly fishermen. He has written a book of short stories entitled “Moonshine and Watermelons,” and has served as a seasonal interpretive ranger for the Ozark National Scenic Riverways since his retirement.
He teaches fly-casting classes once a month at the riverways park, and this summer he will introduce a new Junior Ranger Fly-fishing program for anglers ages 12 to 16 looking to learn the sport, thanks to a grant from the National Parks Foundation and Park Service.
“When this grant came up, it was an opportunity to get more youth involved,” Van Patten said. “The grant will allow me to purchase some equipment and accessories for the class.
“One of the requirements is that they have to attend with a family member. You can get a kid excited about fishing, but if mom or dad or grandpa is not on board, it will not go as far.”
The classes will be taught at the Aker’s Ferry Visitor Center along the Current River. Dates for the new program are July 27, Aug. 20 and Sept. 24. Classroom work will take place in the center, and then participants will go outside for casting, and eventually head to the river. The instructor said he hopes to get many kids involved.
“The adult classes are always full, but they are mostly retirees. They say, ‘I think my grandson or granddaughter would really enjoy this,’” Van Patten said.
He has experience teaching the younger set. His wife, Regina, is a retired middle school teacher, and when they lived in the Jefferson City area, they started a youth fly-fishing club for seventh and eighth grade students. In addition to instruction from Van Patten, the younger students each year would get a mentor from the older class.
“Many of those kids are still involved with fly-fishing,” he said. “They are parents now, and I see them introducing their kids to the sport.”
For more information about the hall of fame, visit freshwater-fishing.org, and when you are in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways park, ask for Ranger Mark.
John Winkelman has been writing about outdoors news and issues in Jefferson County for more than 30 years and is the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine. If you have story ideas for the Leader outdoor news page, e-mail ogmjohnw@aol.com, and you can find more outdoor news and updates at johnjwink.com.