PRINTABLE DRILLS · SCORECARDS · AT-HOME PRACTICE
Homework & Practice
Printable drills, scorecards and trackers for every week of the Stream School. The scorecards reward the four elements of Joe’s method - depth, drift, line control, imitation - plus stealth and stewardship, so a kid can have a great day without landing a single fish. We measure the process, not the luck.
Hit print and the whole pack comes out - photocopy the at-home sheet for every family.
OBSERVATION BEFORE ACTION · THE CAMP JOURNAL
Sit, Watch, Then Cast
Joe’s rule: 15 minutes of watching before the first cast. Sit at the water, look for rising fish, identify current seams, watch for insects. The journal captures what you see. Over time it becomes a record of the water - what works, what does not, and when.
BEFORE YOU CAST
☐ What does the water look like? Describe the current - fast, slow, swirling?
☐ Are any fish rising? If so, where - surface, mid-water, bottom?
☐ What insects do you see in the air or on the water? Size and color?
☐ Where are the current seams? Mark 2 spots where slow water meets fast water.
☐ Where would you hide if you were a trout? Pick one spot and fish it first.
END OF SESSION
☐ What cast did you use the most? Did it work? Why or why not?
☐ Did you get a strike? If so, what were you doing differently at that moment?
☐ What was the hardest part of today - the cast, the read, the approach?
☐ What would you do differently on this same water tomorrow?
☐ What did you see in the water that surprised you?
WEEKLY REFLECTION
After each week, write one paragraph answering this question:
“What is one thing you understand about fishing now that you didn’t understand before this week?”
Write in your own words. Explain what you understand and why it matters - not just what you did.
Take these on the water. Download the full set as a print-ready PDF (one exercise per page), or print a single sheet below.
Download the Practice Sheets (PDF)DRILL 1
The Rig-Race Drill
Kids arrive with tangled, unstrung rods. Make rigging a timed game - set up a rod from scratch - so it never eats your session again.
THE 6-STEP SEQUENCE - POST IT
- Assemble the rod sections - line up the guides straight.
- Double the fly line into a loop and feed the LOOP through the guides (easier than the thin end).
- Attach the leader to the line - loop-to-loop (Double Surgeon’s Loop).
- Add tippet to the leader with a Surgeon’s Knot.
- Tie on the fly with a Davy Knot (or Improved Clinch). Wet it.
- Hook the fly to the keeper, reel up the slack - ready to fish.
RUN IT AS A RACE
| AGE GROUP | THE CHALLENGE | WIN CONDITION |
|---|---|---|
| Ages 6-10 | Steps 1-2 only, no timer | Guides lined up, line through all of them |
| Ages 11-13 | Full 6-step sequence | Beat 5 minutes |
| Ages 14-17 | Full sequence under 3 minutes | Every knot passes a tug-test |
CARD 2
Knot Mastery Card
Joe’s knot philosophy: teach a small set, drilled until automatic. Track each of the five core knots here.
| KNOT | WHAT IT’S FOR | TIED 3X UNASSISTED (INITIAL + DATE) |
|---|---|---|
| Davy Knot | Fly to tippet (beginner’s go-to) | |
| Double Surgeon’s | Add tippet (join two lines) | |
| Improved Clinch | Fly to tippet (classic standard) | |
| Perfection Loop | Loop at the leader butt | |
| Blood Knot | Join two same-diameter lines |
Initial each box when the angler ties the knot correctly three times in a row, unassisted. Five knots = the Knot Tier badge.
SCORECARD 3
Casting Scorecard - Stop-High Target Lanes
Track piles versus clean casts. Stop the rod HIGH and let the yarn land softly - control before distance.
Ten casts at hoop or paper-plate lanes (15-25 ft) with a yarn fly. Score each cast: In-lane = 2 · Close = 1 · Pile / tailing loop = 0. Track three rounds to see progress.
| CAST # | ROUND 1 | ROUND 2 | ROUND 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||
| 2 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 4 | |||
| 5 | |||
| 6 | |||
| 7 | |||
| 8 | |||
| 9 | |||
| 10 |
COACHING THE SCORE - DON’T JUST COUNT
Piles (0): stroke too long - shorten it, stop higher.
Tailing loop: punching too hard - smooth ‘squeeze,’ don’t throw.
Consistent 2s: add the ‘TUCK!’ call and a little weight.
SCORECARD 4
The Four-Elements Drift Scorecard
Joe’s scoreboard, and the heart of self-coaching. After one drift through a seam, rate each element 1-5 and name ONE thing to fix on the next drift. A kid who scores well on drift, depth and stealth is fishing correctly - the fish will come.
| ELEMENT | WHAT ‘GOOD’ LOOKS LIKE | SCORE 1-5 |
|---|---|---|
| Depth | Fly ticked the bottom / got down fast | |
| Drift | No drag - fly moved at the speed of the bubbles | |
| Line control | Rod tip up, slack managed, in contact | |
| Imitation | Fly matched what’s under the rocks |
One thing I’ll fix on my next drift:
BONUS: THE ‘GREAT DAY’ SCORECARD - WIN WITHOUT A FISH
The #1 morale fix. Points for doing it right - a perfect process day is 20 points, fish or no fish. Celebrate high scorers, not just whoever got lucky.
| EARN POINTS FOR… | POINTS | GOT IT? |
|---|---|---|
| Found 3 seams and named the feeding side | 4 | |
| Approached low - kept my shadow off the water | 3 | |
| Made 5 clean stop-high casts | 4 | |
| Got my fly to the bottom on a drift | 4 | |
| Tied my own knot on the water | 2 | |
| Kept a fish wet OR helped a buddy | 2 | |
| Took the ‘Look Up’ moment | 1 |
FIELD SHEET 6
Bug-Hunt Field Sheet
Flip a rock in the riffle. Draw or tally what you find, then pick a fly to match. The daily question: “What’s on the menu today?”
| BUG I FOUND | CLUE (TAILS? CASE? SIZE?) | HOW MANY | FLY TO MATCH |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mayfly nymph | 3 tails, gills on belly | ||
| Caddis larva | Worm in a stick / pebble case | ||
| Stonefly nymph | 2 tails, 2 claws, crawler | ||
| Scud / cress bug | Tiny gray-orange ‘shrimp’ | ||
| Midge | Tiny thread-like wriggler | ||
| Something else! | Draw it → |
CHALLENGES 7
Take-Home Challenges
The at-home practice sheet for families - 5-minute daily practice that keeps skills alive between sessions and pulls parents in.
SET UP A 5-MINUTE BACKYARD RANGE
Tie a 1-2 ft piece of bright yarn to the end of an old leader (no hook). Set out 3 paper plates or hula hoops at 15, 20, and 25 feet. That’s it - five minutes a day keeps the cast sharp.
THIS WEEK’S HOME REPS
☐ 20 short-stroke casts - stop the rod HIGH, let the yarn land softly (don’t throw it).
☐ Tie a Davy Knot 5 times. Then tie it once with your eyes closed.
☐ Practice the Double Surgeon’s Knot joining two pieces of string.
☐ Watch water anywhere - a creek, a gutter in the rain - and find the seam where fast meets slow.
☐ Do one ‘Look Up’ outside: stop, look around, name one thing you notice.
PRACTICE LOG
| DAY | CASTS IN THE HOOP (/10) | KNOTS TIED | ‘LOOK UP’ ✓ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | |||
| Tue | |||
| Wed | |||
| Thu | |||
| Fri | |||
| Sat | |||
| Sun |
Parents: you don’t need to fish to help. Just hold the hoop, count the hits, and ask “which knot did you practice?” Five minutes of attention beats an hour of equipment.
LADDER 8 · EARN THEM IN ANY ORDER
The Stream School Badge Ladder
Climb from your first knot to independent fishing. Each rung is a badge a Harvey Leader signs off - proof of skill, not luck.
ALONG THE WAY
Earn the Bug Tier (ID 4 of the 5 core bugs and match a fly) and the Steward Tier (demonstrate keep-fish-wet + Clean/Drain/Dry). All five badges = Stream School Angler - certificate presented at the capstone teach-back, where the angler teaches one skill to a peer. Passing it on is the most Joe Humphreys thing a kid can do. Harvey Leaders sign off every badge.
INTERACTIVE PRACTICE
Score Yourself, Beat the Clock
The Rig-Race Timer
Timed Drill
The Rig-Race
Set up a rod from scratch, fast and clean. Hit Start, work the six steps, tap Next step as you finish each one. Beat the clock for your age group - then beat your own best time.
Tip: press Space or Enter to start and stop.
- Assemble the rodJoin the sections and line up the guides straight.
- String up the rodDouble the fly line into a loop and feed the loop through the guides - easier than the thin end.
- Attach the leaderLeader to fly line, loop-to-loop with a Double Surgeon's Loop.
- Add tippetTippet to the leader with a Surgeon's Knot.
- Tie on the flyDavy Knot or Improved Clinch. Wet it before you cinch.
- Ready to fishHook the fly to the keeper, reel up the slack - rod safe.
Finish all six steps to see how you stacked up against the age targets.
Run it as a race
- Ages 11-13Beat 5:00Full 6-step sequence.
- Ages 14-17Under 3:00Full sequence, every knot passes a tug-test.
- Ages 6-10No timerSteps 1-2 only: guides lined up, line through all of them.
Best: --:--
Recent runs
No runs saved yet. Finish a rig-race to start your history.
Four-Elements Drift Scorecard
Scorecard
The Four-Elements Drift Scorecard
After one drift through a seam, rate each element 1 to 5 and name one thing to fix on the next drift. Score well on drift, depth and stealth and you are fishing correctly - the fish will come.
Total: 0 / 20
Score a round to see your rating.
Past sessions
No saved sessions yet. Score a round, then tap Save session to track your progress.
Casting Scorecard
Scorecard
Casting Scorecard - Stop-High Target Lanes
Stop the rod high and let the yarn land softly - control before distance. Pick a lane, take your attempts, and log how many landed in the hoop.
Hits: 0 / 0
Accuracy: 0%
Log a round to see your accuracy.
Past sessions
No saved sessions yet. Score a round, then tap Save session to track your progress.
The Great Day Scorecard
Bonus scorecard
The "Great Day" Scorecard - Win Without a Fish
Points for doing it right. A perfect process day is 20 points, fish or no fish. Check off every win you earned today.
Score: 0 / 20
Check off your wins to see how your day stacks up.
Past sessions
No saved sessions yet. Score a round, then tap Save session to track your progress.
BACK TO THE LESSONS
Homework Pairs With a School
Every drill on this page is assigned week by week inside the three schools. Pick yours and the homework comes in order.