Bass, Trout, and Frogs...Fifth Third Bank Event at Briarwood.

We try not to take ourselves too seriously.

         I just got back from Briarwood Sporting Club for the 2nd time this week.  I know, hard life.  Actually, this outing was to assist our head instructor, Brian Barnard, with a Fifth Third Bank corporate event.  Fifth Third invited representatives and some of their best clients to spend the day exploring Briarwood and learning to fly fish.  We had a great few days and caught a ton of fish.  Michael was the Fifth Third employee responsible for organizing the event.  It was a great event.  Keep reading for pictures and more about the event.



          When Brian, Michael, and I arrived on Tuesday evening we headed straight for the bass ponds.  After catching  five or six bass and bluegills apiece, we headed for the trout ponds.  The evening was really nice.  We all caught a few trout before heading back to the lodge and enjoying a few games of pool in the basement pool room.

The view from the lodge deck. Pretty cool!

         We stayed in the Pine Lake lodge.  This is Briarwoods' premier lodge.  It is the largest of the four lodges on the property and is super nice.  We estimated that the lodge could easily sleep at least 14 people without any special considerations being taken.  Some the great features include a wrap-around deck that overlooks Pine Lake, the above mentioned pool room, large kitchen, private bathrooms, and great rustic decorating.  This lodge is also just a few minutes walk from at least five of the warm water ponds and three of the trout streams. 

Some freebies for our visitors.

The master Bedroom, there is a third bed on the far side as well.

Library and dining room.

Living room, those big windows were great.

Rustic decorations, an impressive fireplace,and large flat screen

     We planned to use Wednesday and Thursday to teach our guests how to use fly rods and help them catch fish this way.  We spent the mornings learning to cast, then progressed to bass/bluegill fishing, eating a quick lunch, and then trout fishing for the remainder of the day.  On Wednesday everybody caught fish, but mostly warm water species as the trout were not cooperating.  We had much better luck trout fishing on Thursday due to the occasional rain showers and generally overcast sky.  Everybody did really well both casting and fishing.  Here are a few shots from our first day.

         After teaching and hosting all day, Brian, Michael and I decided to fish into the evening.  We caught a few trout that evening and Michael and I even managed to land a few species not often featured on this page.

Head instructor Brian Barnard with a nice brown trout

This one took a popper.

A bit of fun in the evening.

Michael presented a streamer just right to this one.

          Our 2nd group arrived at 8:30 Thursday morning and within moments we had them casting tight loops in the grass outside the lodge.

A guest working on his cast.

We spent the rest of the day catching fish.  Everyone had a great time and were all impressed with the Briarwood property.

Michael with a nice rainbow

Our guest, Brian, with a hard won trout

A nice brook trout that took a well presented streamer.

       We had a great time teaching everyone how to cast and fly fish.  One of the things I like best about this type of event is seeing how a complete beginner can start the day barely able to cast and by the end of the day be casting tight loops and hooking fish.  It is awesome.
       If you think Briarwood might be a fun place to host a similar event, we can help you make it happen.

-Luke