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When fourth grade teacher Mr. Matthew Germino is not teaching young kids the building blocks for learning, he’s outside breathing in the fresh air.

An avid outdoorsman, fly fishing is just one of Mr. Germino’s many hobbies. He first started to fly fish about five years ago after he was introduced to the sport by first grade teacher, Mr. David Plummer.

“The challenge is what draws me to it,” said Mr. Germino. “It requires a level of awareness that can’t be appreciated until you’re doing it.”

He even builds all of his own rods, and ties all of his own files.

“It puts me in a place where I am responsible for how my equipment performs and, to me, that is just an amazing rush,” said Mr. Germino.

One of his favorite places to fish is the George Harvey section on Spruce Creek, because of the challenge catching brown trout in that particular small stretch of water.

While fly fishing is one of Mr. Germino’s favorite pastimes, but he doesn’t get to fish as much as he would like because he has a wife, Tania, and three kids – Aiden, Violet, and Finn –  at home. When he has the opportunity his kids go fishing with him, and he is more proud of what his three kids have caught than anything he has or will ever catch.

Just like learning to read or write, Mr. Germino says it’s important to learn the fundamentals.

“It can be intimidating when you first start. Begin simply,” he said. “Don’t overwhelm yourself with every opinion of every fisherman. Put yourself in a position to catch fish, have fun, and let things grow from there.”