"Sun and light from the west, fish bite best; winds from the east, fish bite least." That is just one of the fascinating bits of old Bermuda lore Llewellyn Hollis and his apprentice Keishunda Curtis have been sharing with Bermuda National Trust campers this summer.

The series of week-long camps, led by Trust Education Officer Tania Stafford, explore "the way we worked" and look at the tools and traditions of farming, fishing, boat building, house construction and tourism in Bermuda.

Following visits to Wadson's Farm and the "Our House" exhibition at Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art earlier in the week, campers at the Trust's Axis Education Centre were told the steps that had to be taken for a successful catch. They were also given the opportunity to create their own lures before spending the afternoon fishing off Barr's Bay on July 21, where they caught and released 35 fish in total.

Ms Curtis is one of several young people participating in the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs apprenticeship scheme. Her slide presentation on fishing included safety precautions, equipment checklists and tips on reading traditional shark oil barometers and other weather indicators.

Mr. Hollis enlivened the presentation with tales and tips gleaned from over 60 years of fishing experience. His first introduction to harvesting the sea's bounty began at the age of four when his grandmother would take him out on the water in a punt.

He recalled later transporting his catch in a wheelbarrow from Spanish Point to Princess Street, alerting potential customers with a blast on his conch shell. Demonstrating some of the tools of his trade, Mr. Hollis discussed the "make do and mend" attitude of the war years, when fish-scalers were made from scrap wood and soda bottle caps. He went on to explain that he became a full-time commercial fisherman in the 1960s and has now "retired" to provide bait for charter fishermen, marinas and tour boat operators.

Ms Curtis, whose first love is the environment, admitted that when she started her apprenticeship she didn't appreciate the range of skills required to be a commercial fisherman, especially meeting the challenges of fishing in the winter. She has become passionate about preserving the traditions and handing them on to the younger generation.

There were a few young experts in the attentive audience: Brandon Tully had his own snake fish tale, and Dylan Aitken was quick to respond to safety questions. Later, nine-year-old Olivia Washington confidently demonstrated her skill in blowing a conch. "My dad's boss at Great Things had one. And my dad showed me how to blow it," she explained.

The campers spent the rest of the morning creating fishing lures under the direction of Ms Curtis. Using pieces of old rope, feathers and egg cartons, the campers created multi-coloured lures to which they later gave names such as Bugsy, Bottom Surfer, Sea Bait and Squirt.

A number of the campers were experiencing a Trust camp for the first time, including 10-year-old Rickie Williams, who enjoyed attending a smaller camp where there were fewer names to learn. The St. George's Preparatory student was in the red team, and particularly enjoyed playing "Capture the Flag."

"Capture the Flag" was a favourite with Lindsay Cash also. The camp is "really, really fun," the Bermuda High School student enthused. "I have lots of my friends here. We play 'Catch the Flag' a lot, and that's one of my favourite games."

She added: "I like doing all the things that we do – making rubbings of coins and going on field trips to Wadson's Farm and Masterworks."

Though it was her mother who chose the Trust camp, eight-year-old Isabella Pearman was pleased with her mother's choice: "You get to play outside and make arts and crafts and stuff." By far the best bit was the fact that "we get cookies every day."

For Jude Neame, it was the historical aspect of the camp that was most appealing. "It really explains the past of Bermuda," he stated. The Saltus Grammar School student felt the best aspect of the camp was going to Masterworks and looking at the roof design because "it was a real structure and because you could feel it and touch it and really see how it was made."

Half way through the camp, the young people still had the delights of the National Museum of Bermuda ahead of them. At the Dockyard site they would explore the boat loft and hunt for old-time occupations depicted in Graham Foster's mural in the Hall of History. The week's activities would culminate in a visit to Crystal Caves where the campers would experience for themselves the lure of Bermuda's natural tourist attractions.

And on the way they just might have acquired a greater appreciation of Bermuda's past and the importance of preserving it.