Memories Abound

[JackM]

Share a memory of fly fishing:

Once fishing Spruce Creek during a light BWO emergence, I happened upon a slow glide and had a respectable 9" wild brown rise to my fly, hover just below it as it paddled backward inspecting it's appearance and action. When drag set in, the trout disappeared downward. Another cast or twenty met with similar results, but the fish would not stop rising and inspecting.

Just about then a young scientist from PSU came splashing upstream and I turned and signaled him that I hope he would use the bank to advance further. He complied and came up behind me. After asking him to yield for a while and stand over my left shoulder, I cast and played the same game with this fish as I had dozens of times before. Just as the scientist's patience was about to wear thin for me holding him up, the trout followed and took and I set the hook so gently and perfectly, played the trout quickly and released him compassionately-- all with an audience. He said "nice job," and I thanked him and allowed him to pass and cross the stream.

 

[pete41]

1-letort -big brown slashed across top of water to take letort cricket under the wild rose bush-I lost it but I was hooked.
2- big hole river-four fish,four casts right behind the same rock-all average size or a little under but they were a brook,brown,rainbow,grayling.odds on that ?
3-ghost coming up river to carry me home-about 3am on the Missouri-who,who,who
4-well, old goat like me could post hundreds but they were my fondest.
funny how biggest,most etc. would be way down the list.

 

[steveo27]

Most favorite memory/fish -

The wild tiger trout I caught in the middle of winter in a small trickle in the Laurel Highlands. Probably a once in a lifetime fish for me.

 

[salmonoid]

steveo27 wrote:
Most favorite memory/fish -

The wild tiger trout I caught in the middle of winter in a small trickle in the Laurel Highlands. Probably a once in a lifetime fish for me.

Or twice in a lifetime ;-)

 

[phiendWMD]

A few years ago I was fishing the kiddie pool (don't laugh...I was still very new and probably less experienced than a lot of kids that fly fish) on the Little Lehigh. I caught a decent sized brown. A month or two later I was fishing the same pool and caught a brown. It was the first fish I ever caught on a fly I tied myself. Later on I remembered the first brown and thought the two fish looked very much alike. So I started going through some pictures, found both fish and started comparing them. I was sure they were the same fish. I even posted a thread here asking others if they also thought it was the same fish, which most did.
So the first fish I caught on a fly I tied was also the first fish I caught twice. The thing that stood out most for me was that my catch and release technique was successful enough for the fish to survive after the first time I caught it. It was also a reasonably difficult cast for a beginner to make. The fish was in almost still water behind swifter water. If I cast with a tight leader it would drag instantly. It needed to be cast with slack in the leader so the fly could sit still for long enough for the fish to take it.

 

[pete41]

well,having double posted yesterday I won't laugh........much,thanks we need that.

 

[just_jon]

Best memory was the summer I spent trying to catch a 24" brown during the trico spinner fall on the ATW water on Big Spring. It was 1976 or 1977 and I working a second shift summer job and tried catching this fish almost every day for several weeks. On downsizing from size 22 to 24 and eventually to size 26" andthe trout decided it was time to take my offering. Upon taking the fly, the trout plowed directly into a cress bed. After a couple minutes trying to figure out how get him out on a 7X Tippet, I decided to cover the hole where he entered with my net while stepping in the center of the cress bed. Out he came. That was the hottest fish I ever had in a net.

 

[SmoothOperator]

Back in 2000 my brother and I were fishing the Big Hole River around Wise River, MT. .....We started fishing this river when the Madison started to deteriorate from whirling disease......Well anyway we fished an area that we nicknamed the Ranch.....A slow deep channel about 150 yards long and 20 yards wide that was against a rocky mountain outcropping along the far bank lined with willows....... One overcast evening we showed up around 6:00pm and already fish were slashing at caddis!!!! We spent the next hour or two catching 18"-20" bows.... Next a size 14 mayfly started to emerge and we caught numerous bows and browns on emergers/ duns using a size 14 Adams parachute.... After an hour or so this tapered off and spinners started to fall and we caught more fish on size 18 rusty spinners...We fished that evening till 11:30 and never have had a evening/night like that since.......The scenery was spectacular and even got to watch a group of mountain goats jump around the mountain outcropping till dark....

 

[pcray1231]

Gotta admit last year's all day sulpher hatch during the jam Saturday evening was up there. Perhaps some recency bias there.

A 20ish inch Brown from a small stream I won't name.

Several wild rookies over 11".

A wild tiger.

A glorious, cold late April trip to Penn's Creek with snow flurries, and the odd combo of Hendricksons, March Browns, Sulphers, and caddis, saw no-one but my fishing buddy, plenty of high teens browns coming to hand, both well in double digits 3 days straight.

That time I landed 20 steelhead in a day, hooked many more.

Another time steelhead fishing. High of 12 degrees. Candlestick fly line hitting holes in flowing slush, till I hooked one, slush caught the line, and took line, forcing me to tighten the drag, which pasted a chromer sideways against the bottom of the flowing ice, very visible through the ice as it entered the riffle below...

First 100 fish day.

Crossing tionesta creek in the rain, only to realize a few hours later that I couldn't cross back with the rising water. 100 yards from the truck. 2 miles, 1 way, to the nearest bridge.

 

[dsmith1427]

Last year fly fishing the Big Thompson in Colorado w/ my wife, son, son's fiancee, and 19 yr old daughter. At lunch time my daughter wanted to stop fishing and go shopping. At 5:00 she said I'm glad we went all day and asked when can we go again.

 

[Van_Cleaver]

After struggling to catch a few small brookies on Slate Run. I spotted a riser and covered it in two casts. After a nice battle I released a beautiful 15" brown. I have caught many larger fish but that one was special.

 

[FarmerDave]

I have so many, but they are all from years ago.

One that came to mind doesn't involve fly fishing.

When I was in my late teens (in the late 70s) I used to work various summer jobs. One summer I had a job that had significant flexibility, and I would often go swimming at a nearby swimming hole to cool off.

One spot I used to frequent was on Maple Creek just up from the Clarion River (upstream end of Cook Forest). There was a nice swimming hole there. Maple Creek is cold, but has PH issues. It is an ATF, but this spot is a few miles from the nearest stocking points. I had never even considered fishing there.

While swimming there, I often felt minnows nibble at my feet and legs. Then one day I felt a large fish brush across the top of my foot. It startled me at first, but next day, thinking it was probably a sucker or a carp, I brought a spinning rod and bait.

Caught a huge sucker.

Next day I came back and decided to fish again. Right away, something large grabbed the bait. I figured, must be another sucker. When it came to the surface, I saw that it was a huge brown trout (well over two feed, pun intended). Fortunately it got off as I was trying to land it, or it would have went home with me.

It looked very wild, so it likely came up from the river.

That isn't really a spot burn because the area is likely still posted. It wasn't posted then, but with idiots tossing beer cans all over the place, it eventually got posted. I used to pick up trash every time I went, but there was only so much one could do, and I worked at a different place the following year.

 

[acesedgley]

The OP reminds me that I have had many of those experiences where the "critical eye" decided that my presentation just did not pass muster, but I always get a chuckle out of watching that backpedaling fish look like it may actually turn upside down. So cool!

 

[Acristickid]

The Rosebud River up from the town of Fishtail MT.

So beautiful and relatively free of tourists

 

[Hook_Jaw]

Penns last year full blown sulphur hatch hooked a giant brown fought it for 15 minutes had a kid from work along thought the brown was done came up on his side he went to net it turned headed to the rapids I said get it he grabbed the line the rest is history lol

 

[albatross]

Day trip for wild rainbows in SWPA with the OP.

Listening to the wolves howl in 3rd meadow of Slough Creek.

Giant brown on a rusty spinner, Delaware River.