ROBINSON, TX — After a 20 year career in college athletics, Baylor's Keith Miller decided to take a leap of faith and follow his passion.
"That's a green sun fish. That's a nice one right there," Miller said while acknowledging a camper's fish.
Miller founded Otolith Fishing Camps in hopes of sharing his knowledge and love of the sport with Central Texans of all ages.
"Every one of those kids tied their own hook, put their own sinker on, put their own bobber on, caught their own fish. Some of them were taking their fish off, and some of these kids had never fished before," Miller added.
For Connor Elston and his foster brothers, the camp has been a chance to bond and brag.
"I caught more fish than Ty," Elston teased.
But, it's also shown them another way they can spend their time this summer.
"I'm gonna be fishing probably everyday I can ad be spending a lot more time, looking a lot less on video games and my phone, and I'll be using good day light to go fishing," Ty Moore, Elston's foster brother, said.
They're learning more than just the fundamentals of the different types of fishing.
"Sometimes, when people are catching fish and they have dry hands, you can rub off some of the good bacteria on the fish, and they can get bad spots like this that are disease," Miller said.
Miller not only offers camps for children, but also adults who maybe never had the chance to learn.
"I'll spend a night or two teaching them how to fish so that Dad can go out and be the superhero to their own kids. That's important to me. It's not that I have to be the hero. I want to help that Dad become the superhero that can go out and help his kids," Miller added.
The camps are three days, and only cost $99. But, Otolith Fishing Camps offer 50 percent scholarships on camp tuition. To apply, participants must write an essay (does not have to be long) or submit an original piece of art to otolithfishingcamps@gmail.com. The focus of the essay or art should be fishing related and hopefully about what they want to learn.
