Fly Fishing Memories of 2015

[PennypackFlyer]

Although I did not get to fish as often as I wanted, I will cherish the following 2015 fishing memories:

A Bow exploded on my top water popper while fishing the rapids at PennyPack Creek.

While at Bennet Springs, MO I fished dry flies. dropping them 6 - 12" from their nose was what it took to get them to strike. Any other distances they would come up and look at it and swim away. This was a double digit day for me.

 

[dryflyguy]

My memories from this season, will be of the weather extremes.
After a very harsh winter, the spring time was pretty much a wash out. Although there was a brief 1-2 week period in early may of very warm air temps, and low clear streams.
Then it rained almost daily in june and july.
Followed by drought conditions in august and early september
The best fishing of the year IMO - again just like in 2014 - was in the fall, when the weather finally settled into a normal pattern.

As for a memory of one particular day:
I was fishing BWO's on spring creek with forum member gfoledc. And it started snowing some of the biggest flakes I've ever seen. And they just kept coming so heavy, it made it hard to see my fly on the water. (But the fish kept rising to BWO's)
When it came time to leave, I had to put the truck in 4WD to get up out of the valley, as there was a good several inches of the white stuff on the road by then.

 

[salmonoid]

2015 is not over yet. There are still memories to be made

 

[Tucker733]

My best from this year have to be Erie steelhead in a blizzard and high temps of 15° over 3 days, a 24 inch rainbow the first time out with a new rod , and a couple missed giant smallies that haunt me in my sleep. Still some memories to be made with deer and steelhead seasons picking up.

 

[fisherboy3]

This years best... First time using my new rod...2nd cast in junction pool on the Big D an 18 inch brown sipped down a 20 sulphur emerger.

 

[steveo27]

Every trip was a good memory for me. I just love spending time outside in the woods

 

[sarce]

Long reply- but it has been a wild year, and in a different area than most of you, so I think this long summary is warranted. I like reading everyone else's stories and I don't mean to center the thread on MY trips - I just had a LOT of different and unusual memories this year.

I moved to the DC area just over a year ago, and didn't know what to expect in terms of fishing. What I got has been an incredible variety of fly fishing experiences.

First good memory this year: Shad run on the Potomac, literally in DC. Anyone within reasonable driving distance should give it a shot, it is one of the most fun things I've ever done. THOUSANDS of aggressive, strong ocean fish stacked on top of each other in the nation's capitol.

The trout game took me longer to figure out, I kept trying to find streams less than an hour drive from my place. They don't really exist, though I found a very small number of decent sized wild browns scattered around. Finally I decided to drive the extra 15 minutes to Catoctin Mountain, and the fishing there has been good enough that I never returned to those marginal streams. There are few streams there that I didn't explore this summer and fall, often with friends and twice with my dad. Those were the best days.

Mix in a few long day trips to Shenandoah National Park, and I'm satisfied with trout fishing in the DC vicinity. A typical day for me in SNP involves a minimum 30 minute hike one way (sometimes over an hour) to any tributary of the more popular streams in the park, and getting rewarded with as many brook trout as I've ever caught anywhere. Plus waterfalls...lots and lots of waterfalls. The last outing led me to a 50 footer that doesn't have a single trail around for a mile in any direction.

To top it off, I'm close to a trio of great bass rivers - the Shenandoah, Monocacy, and Potomac. I've had great days on the first two, but have not yet cracked the code on Potomac bass. I LOVE smallies on the fly, and it is a challenge I am still FAR from consistently solving.

Even the unsuccessful snakehead hunts in the tidal Potomac made for some great stories!

Top memory- catching a wild tiger in a Catoctin Mountain stream, with my dad there to see it.

The exploration of new water in a new region was the main goal this year...I've done enough that I know where to go and not go next year! Bring on 2016!

 

[pabrookie94]

2015 has been an amazing year for many of you and I cannot speak any differently from my side. I topped my biggest Brown, Bow, Brookie, Musky, and LMB. Although I am not at all concerned with always catching big fish, topping that many records doesn't exactly upset me!

I also built my father a fly rod for his 50th birthday and he caught his first trout on a fly in probably 20 years! That look on his face was my best memory of 2015 by far.

Hopefully there are still some Browns and Brookies to be caught in the last months of 2015. Tight lines to everyone and I hope your year was just as memorable.

 

[jay1963]

Wow spending a week in Colorado fishing the the Thompson in the RMNP. fishing the Plat river wow just fishing every day out there Oh yea the Colorado Grand Slam way cool

 

[mikesl]

Hmm- a few memorable ones for me:

took on average 1-2 long lunches per week for fast dash to my local wild trout stream

Got into some more larger fish- personal best rainbow and wild brown, both on Lehigh

More success targetting specific fish, got a nice Bow on a tiny dry on little Lehigh

More luck with dries - discovered the hackle stacker style works well for me

Almost got in serious trouble with Kayak, Anchor, rocky bottom, and fast-ish water on Lehigh

caught first tiger (presumably stocked)

Next year's areas for progress:
learn to catch Bass from kayak on Nockamixon (fly or spin - tried both a few times this year with no success)

Explore some more streams - find something like cold run with better access

Find a wild brookie stream of moderate size that I can get to in

 

[pcray1231]

1. A day in Switzerland catching barbell at the end of April.

2. PAFF jam. Had a great week up there, including catching my first wild tiger and some hefty Penn's Creek browns.

Other than that, there was a memorable brookie excursion or two, and a couple routine days. I didn't get out much. But those top 2 will really be remembered.

 

[McSneek]

Another year of not fishing nearly enough. Best memories so far:

Penns Creek...always Penns Creek. One drizzly afternoon in particular though when the sky was full of Hendrickson spinners as more were coming off. It was on. Penns Creek in all her glory.

Far from Penns Creek but one evening on the Tully when I was bracketed by guys (as usual). Watched this one fish deliberately eating sulphurs when every other fish seemed keyed on caddis. He kept inspecting my pattern and I guess I finally got the drift right and he ate in front of the audience. Yeah, he was a stocker but just something satisfying about that experience that sticks with me.

I'm not done this year...

 

[lowkey]

Mine was on Penn's as well. We were at the Al Goma camp on our last day of a disappointing trip. As our expectations were low, we each opened a can of two hearted ale and sat down to watch the water. Soon Slate Drakes were coming off and risers began to appear. I had tied some very simple patterns consisting of only some elk hair and dubbing on a klinkhammer hook. That was the ticket....

 

[dsmith1427]

Watching my wife catch her first fish (trout) on a Fly rod in Rocky Mountain National Park. She is hooked. Close second is me and her out fishing my brothers and nephews (spin fishermen) Memorial Day weekend in NC PA. We fished little pine, kettle, and fishing creek. NC PA is one of my favorite places in the world! Due to work schedule I'm probably done for the year.

 

[JackM]

My 2015 fly fishing memory is a little foggy. One day, I shall return.

 

[Kill3ducks1deer]

First carp, first drum, biggest brookie. I enjoyed going after warm water species this year, ton of fun, very different from brookies. Man do carp like to fight.

 

[purplewoolly]

My best 2015 memory will be an " average" day on the Susquehanna. After having waded the Wrightsville area on a very regular basis through the '90's and early '00's it had been nearly 10 years (for well documented reasons) since I had fished the river. On Aug . 29th I decided to give it a shot. A handful of dinks , 2 10", a 13 and 16" made what used to be an average day a memorable day and hope for the future. Many more SMB outings will be in store for '16.

 

[WildTigerTrout]

Fishing a nearby small freestone class A . I fished it more this year than ever and caught my best ever trout from her, a fat and sassy 15 inch brown. That is a huge fish for this stream as it only averages about 10 foot across.

Fishing almost the entire year without catching a single stocked fish. I thought I would do it and then in early October I fished a larger stocked stream with my old friend and mentor Dave Rothrock. I had never fished this stream before and we had a great time. Dave caught the fish of the day, a nice fat 15"+ brown and I caught the prettiest fish of the day a very colorful hooked jawed male 10 1/2" + native brook trout. I also caught a mixture of stocked holdover browns and rainbows. It was one of those great days on the water.

 

[duckfoot]

Taught a new fly fisherman how to cast, hook, and land fish all in one day.

We battled over the fish count all evening. They won, 15 - 7.

 

[krayfish2]

Organizing pics after changing computers. Came across these..... some are 2015, some are older but still good memories.