First Fish on Fly in 18 years

[docdom]

I fly fished with an Reddigton Red Start 18 years ago and only did it for 6 months to a year. Was only taught the roll cast and didn't have any on the water training.

I decided to get out do some practicing on the water today even though my Orvis 101 class isn't till 4/19. I've been practicing casting on the large pond behind my house for the past few weeks.

I went to the East Branch of the Brandywine's DHALO section which is 2 miles from my house. It was overcast and spitting out when I arrived which turned into a steady rain for the last hour I was on the stream.

My setup:
Orvis Graphite Rod 4wt 7'11"
Orvis Battenkill Large Arbor I
WF 4wt line
7.5' 3x Tapered leader
18" 6x tippet

I started out with a #12 Hare's Ear Black Bead Head and wasn't getting any bites. I add a BB at the knot where I tied on the 18" of 6x tippet and still nothing. I decided to switch to a #8 Bead Head Green Woolly Bugger and keep the BB on.

Woolly Bugger was the ticket. I was casting upstream and drifting it down with the current then stripping line at the end of the drift. Third cast I hit a nice Brown trout and he hit it hard. Put up an awesome fight and jumped out of the water 3 times. I had 4 more fish hit the woolly bugger hard and I was late setting the hook and lost them. I'm not sure if I should be using a strike indicator or not as I never used one before.

My first fish on a fly in 18 years. I had an awesome time and can't wait to get back on the water. Just ordered a bunch more fly's from Stream Fly's.

 

[BrookieChaser]

Congratulations!

 

[Aducker]

very nice. Congrats!

 

[djs12354]

Congratulations!

 

[laurelrun]

Great write up! After taking the skunk the last couple times I've been out, I was starting to get discouraged. But you are giving me hope!

 

[laurelrun]

Great write up! After taking the skunk the last couple times I've been out, I was starting to get discouraged. But you are giving me hope!

 

[Stagger_Lee]

Great story docdom and congrats.

Laural ... don't get discouraged. My 1st year was a challenge and so is my 3rd ('14) lol .... just enjoy ur time on the water and all the surroundings arnd u.

 

[docdom]

laurelrun keep at it and don't give up! Buy various different flies in different sizes, Switch flies often if you aren't getting hits in waters that you know trout exist. It's worked for me.

I bought all the flies on the dozen fly list on the forum and in various colors. StreamFlys.com has great pricing and ships fast. I just placed a second order with them for bunch more flies.

Another tip I learned was if you aren't getting snags every 5-6 casts you aren't deep enough. That was the reason I added the split shot early in my trip today. After I did that and found a fly the fish would hit it was all on me after that. Not sure if strike indicator would help but I was hooking trout multiple times on the olive woolly bugger, would see them turn and the flash from their belly and then when I I pulled up they spit the hook.

 

[docdom]

Thank you everyone! I will be back on the water again tomorrow, and will be paying closer attention to landing more fish.

 

[RCFetter]

Nice fish. Thanks for posting the pics.

 

[huntfish]

congrats docdom!

general question, i've never fished the east branch or the DHALO before of the brandywine, is there any spots or recommended places to pull off and park?

 

[docdom]

There's 7-8 spots to park along 282 which runs along the East Branch of the Brandywine from Glenmore to Downingtown. There's also a large parking lot on Dorlan Mills, just over the one lane bridge at the start of the DHALO section across from the old paper mill.

I'll be out on the East Branch tomorrow. State is also stocking it tomorrow except for DHALO section.

 

[huntfish]

ok got it, thanks docdom.

 

[Chaz]

Congrats, check your hooks for sharpness by running the point on the back of your fingernail. If it's sharp it will make a line on your fingernail.

 

[docdom]

Chaz thanks for the tip. Didn’t think of ever checking my hooks. Will have to grab a small sharpener to throw in my bag to touch up hooks when they dull.

While fishing the DHALO section of the Brandywine Wednesday night I ran into another local FF and we fished together for a few hours. He told me about West Valley Creek’s DHALO and said it was great fishing. I didn't know they had a DHALO section. I went to West Valley Creek yesterday morning as the sun was rising and fished it until sundown last night. What a beautiful day on a beautiful little stream. I fished 7-8 pools yesterday and the water was so clear I could see anywhere from 10-20 fish in every pool. I caught 15-20 trout, Browns, Rainbows and 1 small Brookie. I caught 2 rainbows towards the end of the day that were very fat and in the 18"+ range. That was very exciting. I was using Greenie Weenies, Eggs, and Nymphs. Caught the two 18+ Rainbows on nymphs. The trout would nip at and chase Woolly Bugger's but wouldn't eat it. I saw 6-7 fish rising but I didn’t fish any dry flies yesterday.

One thing that did **** me off was I saw a guy come strolling in with a plastics Dick’s bag and could clearly see jars of powerbait in the bag. I didn’t attack him but asked him what he was fishing before he got setup or pulled anything out of his bag. He said “a triple hook type of thing.” I asked him if he knew this was a DHALO section and only artificial lures were allowed and no bait. He said yes then left within minutes of our conversation. As I moved along the bank to fish another pool there were 2 blobs of pb on the ground where he was fishing. About an hour later 2 more guys showed up which I suspected of using pb but didn’t see it. Thank god this time Fish & Wildlife officer showed up shortly after they did to check licenses and ensure no bait was being used. I was the first person he made contact with, he checked my license and we chatted. I told him about the pb’s earlier and showed him the pb on the bank next to me. He asked if anyone else was fishing and I told him there were 3-4 more guys down from me and I suspected 2 were using pb but didn’t know for sure. I mean when you see guys spend 5 minutes playing with their hook, cast it in the water and lay their rod on the bank for 20-30 minutes usually you know what they’re doing.

Sure enough, 5 minutes later the officer was coming back towards me with 2 fisherman, their fishing license in hand and 3 jars of pb. He held them up to show me while giving me a nod and took them out to the road. Not sure what the penalty is but hopefully its enough to make them think twice before doing it again.

I had a wonderful, long day fly fishing, caught more fish in one outing on a fly rod than ever before and caught my biggest fish ever on a fly rod. Had my 18+ year old line replaced at Orvis yesterday with Hydros 3D line while taking a lunch break at Wegmans and wow, what a difference it made with my casting. I’m actually starting to feel like I know what I’m doing out there and my casting is much improved with the new line and a few lessons from Dan. I will be out on the stream again tomorrow and Sunday as it’s supposed to be in the 70’s.

 

[BTRobertson]

Excellent job man! Looks like we both had the same exact experiences on the same day!!!

 

[lv2nymph]

Well done way to break the fry spell, congrats.

 

[docdom]

Was back out on West Valley Creek today. Caught 4 bows and this fiesty brown on a BH olive woolly bugger. Put up quite the fight, and went into a bush. I was tangled and started walking towards the bush to untangle but he popped back into open water just as I got close. Brown's are by far my favorite trout to catch. They put up such a fight. Brought him into shallow water to remove hook and snap a quick pick them off he went.

 

[flyfishingappalachia]

Those are some fine looking fish. I was fortunate enough to make it to Western Maryland (I live in WV but was raised in PA) last weekend and also had some luck on the Wooly Bugger! I also tie one with a rubber tail that has amazing action in the water, and is good for both trout and (as proven last weekend) smallmouth bass!