Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Solo: Part 1


My first fish of 2015 was stunning... 

~ "My absolute best days are when I see many fish and none take.. ..That is fascinating, for that means I have much more to learn… I really like that." - Göran Andersson, A Drift Inside

As a hopeless addict and guide, fly fishing never leaves my mind. My time off the water is spent pondering topics such as fly presentation, speed of the swing, and how flies are affected by subsurface currents and different ways to correct for it. You know, the usual stuff… This season I decided to experiment with my confidence fly, with the variable being color. I enjoy designing these experiments. It makes paying my student loans easier knowing that I’m getting my money’s worth. HA! Long story short, I designed an experiment that includes multiple unknown variables that will still yield conclusive results. It was easy, but it took many years on the river to be able to do this. The key was eliminating the unknown variables with the knowledge that I personally gained over the years. Sometimes I think I should have gone to grad school…  


Monday, February 16, 2015

Variations of a Classic


The Al's Rat...

I found myself stream side gearing up for something I had not done in a very long time, fly fish for trout on my home waters. I happened to be on one of the lesser known limestone streams of my youth  that flows through the middle of one of the largest cities in Pennsylvania. It is and has been home to a thriving population of wild brown trout despite the bad hand they've been dealt over the years. After catching a few wild browns, I saw a beauty of rainbow hiding in some slack water along the roots of a willow. The micro pheasant tail that caught my browns, was steadfastly refused by the big bow. Just like in the old days, I reached for my midge box and picked out a classic Lehigh Valley pattern. An Al's Rat. I sight fished the pattern downstream to the 18" inch fish and picked him up on my first cast. The Al's Rat might be the most simplistic fly pattern I have ever used while simultaneously being the most productive. Over the years, I have fished the original and a few variations of it successfully everywhere I have gone. It is a pattern that should be in every fly box, especially on streams where midges are a predominant food source.