Tuesday, May 3, 2011

The Plan: Part Three



The third time is the charm. At least that is what everyone says. For our third excursion and final installment in my devious plan to get my roommate addicted to fly fishing, I took him out back home in the Valley, for some wild brown trout fishing on my home water. I figured he had to experience something unique to counteract the stocked trout in Delaware by showing him what a real brown looks like. The weather was overcast and raining as we were in the middle of several storm systems rolling across the country dumping inches of rain. The water was high and slightly off color which gave us the perfect opportunity to catch some browns that were out of their hiding places to feed. 


Looking Prime.


Into His First.

It took us awhile to find some wild fish, but after two leftover stockers, Derek finally tied into his first wild brown. He was initially awestruck with how differently they fight compared to a stocked fish and his jaw dropped at seeing it up close. The fish was stunning and plump from feasting during the high flows. Her dark brown back slowly shifted to a golden underbelly supplemented with prominent red spots and blue halos. The visual feast ended with a perfectly red dotted adipose and prominent blue dot signaling that she never tasted anything but prime grade A insect life. Soon after releasing his first, he was into another nice fish for the stream. For the remaining rain soaked hours on that April afternoon an addiction slowly began to take root deep in his soul. 


Derek's First Wild Brown Trout.


Plump From High Water Feeding.


A Quality Second.


Derek Used The Caddis, I Settled on Slaying With A New Pattern.


Another Plumper.


Fishing Alone & Being Successful.


Caddis FTW.


Releasing Another.


Prettiest Fish of the Day.


Easy on the Strip Set Trout Slayer.
Check Out The Focus on That Face.


Mission Accomplished.
Hook, Line, & Sinker.

After a few successful trips on the water, Derek was hooked. Despite having explained how he could use any of my gear, he had something else in mind. A week later he came home holding something in his hand. In it was his very first fly rod. A handcrafted, beautiful, and entirely unique 904-3. It was then that I realized that I have a lot of friends that need to experience what I experience on a weekly basis. The sport needs new blood, especially from the younger generations and fly shops need all the help they can get to stay afloat. In the past year, the only three fly shops I have frequented in the general area have all shutdown, leaving me with no place to spend my money. So this year, take somebody fly fishing and introduce them to a world they never knew existed. At the least, they will enjoy the great outdoors and at the most, they will develop a hobby to enjoy for the rest of their lives. 

5 comments:

Dub The Thorax said...

great post. great pics. and you need to share that recipe for that orange nymph you got there.

Feather Chucker said...

Nice post, those browns were fat. That's a nice nymph pattern too.

Wade Rivers said...

Move over Lenni-Lenape, there's a new tribe in the valley.

Congrats to Derek on becoming part of the posse.

Unknown said...

nice photos of a wide range, what camera are you using. thanks.

Mark said...

wade- he has a ways to go before his is wild

isabelle- panasonic lumix