Beyond the Stream

Trout Unlimited’s Youth Conservation and Trout Camp”

A Film By Robert Thompson

In 2024, the Kalamazoo Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited contracted with fly fishing

filmmaker Robert Thompson (“The River” and “Night of the Hex”) to produce a documentary

film capturing all that is our Michigan Trout Unlimited Youth Conservation and Trout Camp.

The result of this partnership is “Beyond the Stream: Michigan Trout Unlimited’s Youth

Conservation and Trout Camp”

, and will premiere April 2025.

“Beyond the Stream” captures the heart and soul of our youth camp: the generational

connections formed between campers, new and experienced alike, and the volunteer

counsellors, many of whom have been a part of camp from its earliest days. Much like his film

“The River”

, Thompson is able to connect the viewer to the men and women, girls and boys that

come together on the banks of the storied Au Sable River. It’s a story that started many years

ago with an idea and a mission, and “Beyond the Stream” offers both a heart-warming narrative

as young people like Madeline, Ben, Cece and Lily find themselves and each other as they

become immersed in fly fishing along the river upon which Trout Unlimited was founded, but

also a hopeful glimpse into the future of cold water conservation as those same youth connect

with TU volunteers like Greg, Lori and Jon.