The Fish for Change annual online silent auction is officially live, and there are some pretty incredible things up for grabs. Guided fishing adventures, beautiful artwork, and a whole lot of generosity from the fly-fishing community.
But before we get to all that, I want to tell you a story.
It starts on a little island in Honduras, with a hurricane, a handful of students, and some mangrove trees.
(Pictures below show Guanaja after Hurricane Mitch and Guanaja Today)
In October 1998, Hurricane Mitch, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms of the century, settled over Guanaja like a powder storm stalled in the Canadian Rockies. Only instead of snow, it brought nearly two days of relentless wind and rain. By the time it finally moved on, the entire island lay devastated. Hillsides were stripped bare, homes lay in ruins, and the mangroves that once held the shoreline together had been torn from their roots.
A mangrove is quiet work. Its roots reach out into the water and tangle together, holding shorelines in place and giving small fish somewhere to hide. One little tree becomes part of something much bigger. It takes a lot to undo that. Mitch did.
We’ve spent years watching them grow back, and somewhere along the way, we realized we’d been growing something a lot like them.
The roots of Fish for Change go back to Fly Fish Guanaja, long before the nonprofit had a name. Steve Brown, the lodge's owner, had spent years bringing education and adventure together. From guiding in Colorado to developing experiential courses for Colorado College, his work eventually took him to the Bay Islands of Honduras and, ultimately, to Guanaja.
What Steve found in Guanaja was an island still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Mitch, but also a community working hard to restore what had been lost. He wanted to find a way to help, and bringing students to the island to work alongside local conservation groups felt like a natural extension of everything he'd spent years teaching. Students worked alongside local groups like the Bay Islands Conservation Association (BICA), replanting mangroves, cleaning beaches, and spending time on the water. But the learning went deeper than the work. They read, they wrote, and they sat and talked with the people of Guanaja, and questioned what they thought they knew. Those trips became the Fly Fish Guanaja Sustainable Development Student Program.
And the kids kept coming back.
Noah Thompson, Hagen Patterson, Knox Kronenberg, and Will Gentry were among the first. Some returned as leaders. Others never lost touch with the island or the people they met there. Today, Hagen and Knox serve on the Fish for Change board, and Hagen has built a career helping communities through humanitarian crises and natural disasters, work he says was shaped by his time with us. A kid comes to Guanaja to fish and lend a hand, and years later it’s still steering what he does with his life. That’s pretty incredible.
As the student weeks grew, so did the vision, and eventually it became Fish for Change. Heather Harkavy is our now our amazing Executive Director, and the program has grown from that first island in Honduras to the Bahamas, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Colorado.
Every year, we still open our lodge to students for five or six weeks.
It was never really about the fishing.
It’s the time between the fish that kids carry home.
Rowan, 17, from Georgia, said it better than we could:
“This community is now my second family without a doubt in my mind.”
The real lessons often happen when nobody realizes they're learning. During a scavenger hunt, students find themselves asking strangers questions and discovering a place through the people who live there. At dinner, they sit with local guides and their families, hearing stories and finding common ground. And each evening, they gather in a circle to share what they're grateful for. Some barely say a word at the beginning of the week. By the end, they're speaking with a confidence they didn't know they had.
It's these small moments that build curiosity, confidence, empathy, and friendships that last long after everyone goes home.
Half of our students come on need-based scholarships, because a week like this shouldn’t depend on what your family can afford.
Which brings me back to the beginning - Our annual online silent auction is open now through November 22, 2026.
Every dollar goes toward sending the next student to a place that could change how they see the world.
Here’s a taste of what’s up for bid: a stay at Tarpon Caye Lodge on a private island off Belize, five days at No Name Fly Lodge in Puerto Rico, guided days in the Florida Keys, Martha’s Vineyard, and the Adirondacks, and custom flies tied by our own alumni. There’s plenty here for holiday shopping, too.
The best part is who’s behind it.
Women guides are donating days on the water: Rachel Finn in the Adirondacks, Abbie Schuster on Martha’s Vineyard, Karlie Roland on the Henry’s Fork, and Captain Lacey Kelly chasing tarpon in Bokeelia. Our alumni are tying flies for redfish, roosterfish, steelhead, and Caribbean flats, and Captain Noah Thompson is offering two days of fishing in Islamorada. People who got their start in a community like this are now handing someone else the same chance.
And it doesn’t stop there. Tarpon Caye Lodge in Belize and No Name Fly Lodge in Puerto Rico are giving up full trips to pay it forward. Artists like Alexandra Nicole, Morgan Bentley, and Melissa Ceren have donated original work. Every one of these gifts goes toward getting another kid to Guanaja.
That’s the ripple effect.
Bid on a trip, find something for the angler in your life, or make a gift. Any of it helps another young person discover a bigger world than they knew was out there.
We’re glad you’re part of it.
Learn more about our programs at fishforchange.org.
With gratitude,
Beckie Clarke
Co-Founder & Colorado/Canada Program Director - Fish for Change
Marketing Director- Fly Fish Guanaja
To the lodges, captains, guides, artists, alumni, and companies who gave something to this auction: you’re the roots. Thank you for holding this community together.
Lodges: Tarpon Caye Lodge (Belize), No Name Fly Lodge (Puerto Rico)
Guides and captains: Carl Ball, Ray Rosher, Kyle Velunza, Noah Thompson, Nicholas Calabro, Blake Kalk, Elmer Pillon, Justin Bachert, Shawn McCay, Justin Price, Lacey Kelly, Rachel Finn, Abbie Schuster, Karlie Roland
Alumni fly tyers: Matthew Swank, Cuan, Foster, Miezan, Landon
Artists: Alexandra Nicole, Morgan Bentley, Melissa Ceren
Companies and authors: Duck Camp, Bajio, Decked, Fishpond, Loomis, Andy Mill
