12-05-2007, 02:40 PM
I picked up flyfishing seriously about 8 years ago. Before that I had tried it a couple of times, only to get frustrated and go back to hardware and worms. But it all changed one fateful summer day.
I was with my family for some function at a campground that had a river I have fished many times with spinners and bait. It was a tough river to fish, but I had always managed to pull in a couple. I was sitting on the river on a bench when I noticed the tip of a fly rod swinging back and forth. I watched intently as the guy came around the corner and started to fish in a stretch of river I had tried to fish before but never had any luck, so I wrote it off to no fish. I watched in amazement as he pulled out two very nice browns and missed a third. He moved up stream by passing the spots I thought would hold fish. Again, he fished in an area that "wouldn't hold fish" and caught more. I was now intrigued.
At home, I had this broomstick of a fly rod, an old reel with a jerry rigged handle and old fly line. I was determined to get this right. My wife had bought me some flies the "western nymph assortment" and I was off. I hit the river, tied on the nymph directly to my leader (no tippett, I didn't know), and started to fish in the area I saw the guy fish. I didn't have a strike indicator, but I knew to watch the tip of the line, and I did "high sticking" because I didn't know mending. I was czech nymphing without knowing it. Third pass through the hole my line stops. I lifed the rod and felt the weight of a fish on the line. Ten minutes later a nice 14 inch brown is in hand. I release it and try again. Same result. I was now hooked. I fished for almost three hours and only caught three fish, but from then on I was flyfishing only. Since then I have honed my skills, got a better rod and took up fly tying.
I love this sport. I love the solitude, I love the mystery of finding the fish, I love the bend of a rod. I am not all decked out in the latest gear (I still use hip waders) and I don't always catch fish (but that is changing), but I always have fun. The first fly I caught those three browns on is still one of my favorites and a goto fly that usually catches fish. It was a size 12 prince, beadhead, and I tied and use them to this day.
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I was with my family for some function at a campground that had a river I have fished many times with spinners and bait. It was a tough river to fish, but I had always managed to pull in a couple. I was sitting on the river on a bench when I noticed the tip of a fly rod swinging back and forth. I watched intently as the guy came around the corner and started to fish in a stretch of river I had tried to fish before but never had any luck, so I wrote it off to no fish. I watched in amazement as he pulled out two very nice browns and missed a third. He moved up stream by passing the spots I thought would hold fish. Again, he fished in an area that "wouldn't hold fish" and caught more. I was now intrigued.
At home, I had this broomstick of a fly rod, an old reel with a jerry rigged handle and old fly line. I was determined to get this right. My wife had bought me some flies the "western nymph assortment" and I was off. I hit the river, tied on the nymph directly to my leader (no tippett, I didn't know), and started to fish in the area I saw the guy fish. I didn't have a strike indicator, but I knew to watch the tip of the line, and I did "high sticking" because I didn't know mending. I was czech nymphing without knowing it. Third pass through the hole my line stops. I lifed the rod and felt the weight of a fish on the line. Ten minutes later a nice 14 inch brown is in hand. I release it and try again. Same result. I was now hooked. I fished for almost three hours and only caught three fish, but from then on I was flyfishing only. Since then I have honed my skills, got a better rod and took up fly tying.
I love this sport. I love the solitude, I love the mystery of finding the fish, I love the bend of a rod. I am not all decked out in the latest gear (I still use hip waders) and I don't always catch fish (but that is changing), but I always have fun. The first fly I caught those three browns on is still one of my favorites and a goto fly that usually catches fish. It was a size 12 prince, beadhead, and I tied and use them to this day.
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