luck

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cantcontroltroutmojo

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im not new to the site but am still a beginner ff. both my wife and i work full time and have a three year old so my time is limited. i enjoy just getting out but who doesnt the problem is when i do go i go blind and never have to much luck i am hoping to go this wkend and any streams/rivers where im sure to have some luck would be greatly appreciated. also am probably visiting family south of pittsburgh soon and was planning on going down to west virgina any advice on that state would also be appreciated. thanks
 
Not trying to be a downer, but right now is a particularly tough time for a beginner to get out there and expect to catch fish. Frankly, I would spend some time on local streams, refining your casting, drift, rigging, etc with the potential unexpected benefit of catching a fish. It has gotten incredibly cold and a lot of the streams are tough right now. There are always the spring creek limestoners but frankly they are tough for beginners.

I would spend time reading everything I could about fly fishing. See if you can find a gym at a school or church to practice your casting (if it is crazy windy like it was today). Find local bodies of water and practice your presentation and drift in anticipation of much more productive fishing days ahead.

It looks like you may catch a little break on the weather this weekend, enough to get out Saturday and play around anyway.
 
luck and timing go hand in hand IMO.
You'd be surprised how lucky you would probably get if you fished when there was a good sulpher - or other major hatch coming off.
 
Instead of going to West Virginia , why not head over to the Yough and fish the tailrace , regardless of the out side temp the water temp remains fairly constant and the trout are there and usually cooperative enough to make it an interesting trip. The distance of travel and travel time should be about the same. GOOD LUCK and HAVE FUN
 
I think luck has very little to do with catching fish.
sure the occasional fish hooks itself, but practice and experience trump luck in most fishing situations.
 
I disagree, luck has alot to do with it. Maybe not luck, but fate. Fronts, temperatures, lighting, water movement and depth, etc. All of these things have an effect on your fishing, and none of it even gets into what you can do or not.

Of course, luck can be superceded by skill, and confidence in what you're doing boosts skills immensely.

I saw in a previous post you're "just north of Philadelphia." Come spring time, if you want to take a drive up to the Lehigh Valley, I'll take you out to somewhere and help put you onto areas where there's fish, and then you can work on the skill and minimize the luck.

Until then, don't worry about catching.. Jdaddy (downer) got it right, just practice. Hell, its cold and the fish don't want to be bothered wasting precious energy stored on chasing food. So, with the thought of minimized catch in your mind, go out there and practice on laying down a decent cast w/o splashing into the water, picking it back up without ripping it off, accuracy, and how long you can drift it. You can do that even from shore, and not worry about freezing in the water or wasting precious time donning waders.

For casting, a member, OldLefty, gave me a huge tip... Don't just practice long casts...Pick a point on the grass or the water, and then cast to put your fly there. Anyone can huck a line for distance, but can you put it down into a saucer at 30'?

One skill impresses passersby, one skill will help you immensely.

As for time? I have twin 3yos.. I understand. When you come up for your spring trip, you can leave your wife and kid at the Promenade Mall for window shopping. I'll take you from there. :)
 
I have a few ideas for you...check your inbox
 
thanks for all the advice guys
 
Yea, not the best time but my guess is you go when you have time to go.

Couple things-

1st is it is still deer season thru Sat. and in many areas there will be hunters out- I would wear at least an orange hat.

2nd- if you plan to fish the Laurel Highlands, say for example Laurel Hill Creek, Yough area, Meadow Run, Indian Creek, all of which have some DHALO areas. Be aware there is alot of snow on the ground and driving on some of the roads could become a concern- if not the roads then the parking areas might have some deeper snow covering them. Some parking areas may be fine.

Say that as I did some hunting in Forbes State Forest today and there was plenty of snow in this area. The water levels looked nice.
 

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I feel a lot alike when i started FF a few year ago, of course, i am still feeling frustrated sometimes now just less frequest. lol

I found it is definitely more helpful and time saving to fish with somebody who is experienced than just practice by yourself, read a bunch of articles, or watch casting videos. ( they will be more helpful when you become a little bit more experienced). If no one you can find around you, get a good guilde for a half day trip ( if you are serious about the sport, you might need to invest a little bit on yourself, in my opinion), you will be suprised how much you can learn from a good guide. I am still doing that, and actually go fishing tomorrow at McMichael's.

good luck and saft fishing!
 
Luck DOES play a part in it , especially early on , without reading or watching a video or having a guide show you it is so much more fun to luck into a technique or tid bit just by luck and that's when CONFIDENCE comes into play which is the most important part. When you gain confidence in an aspect of fly fishing , that's the best thing you can have , more than luck , confidence that if I do that in a certain way or use a certain fly in a specific situation , to KNOW what you do will work trumps luck , but luck is surely part of it. Get lucky with something enough and you have confidence in it. I hope I got that accross in the way i wanted to.
 
When an early fisherman and you catch the occassional fish that is some-what luck. Which is what I said in my original post.

However, to catch fish on a regular basis, on a variety of water, and any time of the year doesn't take luck. It takes experience and practice.
 
I have a three year old daughter, so I know where you're coming from. But this summer, while she was still 2, I grabbed her a Dora the Explorer fishing rod. I'd take her out the the local stream where there were plenty of stockers, and a can of corn, and she would have a ball. 30 minutes later she was sick of it. So Dora went away and Dad pulled out the fly gear and fished while she chased butterflies.

But right now is a crappy time to try and get out and get fish. I consider winter to be a time to work on my technique and if I get some strikes or a fish, then that's a bonus.

If your north of philly.... I'm from the Reading area. If you ever want to get together and hit the waters just let me know.
 
Elk River in WVA is a good place to start, but I don't know if you would even have access to it in the winter. The tailwaters fisheries should be ok down there in the winter. But don't take unnecessary chances on them. Icy banks spell disaster.
I stick to limestone streams during the winter in PA. They are more stable and have plenty of trout in them.
 
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