Outdoor channel will go fishing with Troop 95

By Gary Raham
North Forty News

Sometimes you win the lottery and get a chance for 90 minutes of fame. That's what's happened to local Boy Scout Troop 95.

In February 2009 the troop received notice that they had won a drawing to participate in the New Florida Fishing Adventure Trek to take place May 31 to June 6, 2010, at the Florida Sea Base scouting facility overlooking the Gulf of Mexico – assuming they could get travel commitments from enough boys. And by the way, said Sea Base officials, would you mind sharing the trip with an Outdoor Channel crew looking to film just such a trip?

"Once I visited with the boys and parents it was a go," said scout leader Ernest Cienfuegos-Baca, "and we have been in contact with the Outdoor Channel ever since."

Randy White with the Outdoor Channel film crew arrived in Fort Collins May 10 to meet the troop and get interviews for backstories and features.

"Our plan is to produce a local-level feature to include in every episode," said White.

"This is the third season of Scouting for Adventure," he added. "In past seasons we have arrived at one of BSA's high adventure camps – Sea Base, Philmont, Northern Tier – and covered the activities from a larger, overall view. This season, in an effort to personalize the show, we are focusing on specific troops and their adventures at the camp."

Michael Cienfuegos-Baca, Maxwell Swanson, Brandon Daubert and Thomas Newman will test their scouting skills on this fishing adventure. Parents Tanya Cienfuegos-Baca, Janet Daubert and Dawn Swanson will also attend.

Sea Base describes the trip as "physically challenging." Scouts and their parents must pass swimming tests to participate and also meet certain weight-to-height guidelines. Fisherpersons will be in the water quite a bit, lifting their bodies in and out of the water to boats and docks as well as practicing snorkeling techniques. The scouts have all been spending more time swimming to get ready, but none have found the effort too hard.

The scouts' personal experience with fishing varies widely. Max Swanson has never been an avid fisherman, but hopes to "catch a gigantic fish."

Tom Newman loves to fish – even with a broken arm during a trip with his parents to the Bay of Valdez in Alaska – but he's never been sea fishing before. Newman looks forward to "bonding with the three guys I'm going with" on this trip. He is the lone Fort Collins scout on the trip, so he only knows his friends through scouting activities. The other boys live in Wellington.

The scouts raised money for the trip during a Fourth of July food booth in Wellington last summer. They also sold Easter lilies and earned money at a silent auction and dinner.

With the preliminary hard work finished, the boys and their families look forward to the hard play ahead. After the four-man film crew finishes its assignment, the scouts can anticipate seeing themselves on television this summer.

"The shows will start airing early to mid-July," said White. While the exact schedule is yet to be determined, the plan is to produce three one-half-hour shows with Troop 95 as the primary focus.

Tune in to discover just how many gigantic fish these scouts haul on board.