Ever get schooled by a hack or hand out a whoopin?

[krayfish]

I was just talking to my buddy about when we started fishing together 22-23 years ago. Got to reminiscing and a few stories really made me laugh.

Big Spring in the mid 80's. I roll into the lot in my AMC Hornet, jump out in my high tops, jams shorts, grab my Leon Chandler rod and headed up the ditch. Opposite of most days, the open spot was by the 'pipe'. I got out my Mazola butter dish (aka fly box) and strung up. About that time, 2 guys worked their way toward me and they were all geared up.....Orvis bamboo rods, waders, top of the line vests, etc, etc. I knew they looked down on this local or kid with the crappy gear. I wasn't a local and it took over an hour for my bucket to get me to the stream. I found a journal from that year and I had written "me 62 fish, fancy boys 0 fish". They saw some poor hack but they got a free lesson that day.

Another story was from not that long ago. Fishing the Tully with my buddy Josh. Heart of the trico hatch up in the water works. Must have been 6-7 guys whipping the water and very few fish were hooked between 6:30-8. Over the next 90 minutes, I witnessed Josh hock upwards of 40 fish and land 30 or more of them. All the while, the remaining fishermen got false rises at best. "you can't use bait in here" one guy jokingly yelled. As we walked up the steps on the way out, I ask which fly he was using because they wouldn't take my fly. "I was using this caddis" and he handed me a #10 march brown emerger. WTF?

 

[lv2nymph]

lol, very good.

 

[pete41]

Same here-in yellowstone park-a male and female from California[both looking like they stepped out of fashion magazine]were fishing up one side of Lamar[wrong side] I was on other.Salmon fly hatch[spinner fall actually] was on.Being local[and looking yokel] I caught fish after fish.surprised they weren't catching anything.Fellow got huffy and barged ahead.So being a gentleman I began coaching the lady.She started nailing them.About an hour and a half later he came back.She was so excited about how much fun she had .She made the mistake of offering to show him how to fish currents with loops and curves.
He went storming off -she followed.
My all time favorite S.O.B.[me] story ever.Loved it.

 

[pcray1231]

I've been moderatly beaten by good anglers, but it's been a long time since I got embarrassingly "schooled". I'd probably have to go back 10-15 years when I just started fly fishing. See first trout thread. I got schooled two days in a row, the first day by a fly guy, and the second by a bait guy.

As far as schooling others, well, again, it's when fishing with beginners, and I don't really think of it as "schooling" them. I don't feel the slightest tang of competition when fishing with beginners, and am usually trying NOT to "school" them too badly.

The only time when I have a hint of competition is when fishing with other experienced anglers. And it's light hearted competition at that. But nobody ever seems to "school" anybody. You may get scores like 10-6 or 20-12 but that's hardly schooling. That's missing a few less, setting up in a better spot, etc. I've been on both ends of that.

 

[Swattie87]

I almost always get outfished by my fishing partners, with the exception being if I'm fishing with a relative newbie. I'm a poor caster, drifter, presenter, the whole 9 comparatively speaking. I think just about every time I've fished with someone from PAFF I've gotten my butt handed to me in terms of numbers...there's definitely some good FFers here.

My relative skills are in researching locations and conditions, and knowing what/where will fish best and when. Even then if I catch 50 fish, a more technically skilled angler could probably catch double that. If catch 2 fish in tough conditions, a good angler could probably break double digits. This applies to both fly fishing and the occasional spin fishing I do.

 

[echuck66]

My first steelhead on-a-fly catch was this sort of story...

Admittedly, I am a true novice when it comes to fly fishing, but I've been at it a year and this was my second outing for steelhead with a fly rod.

Anyway, this past November, shortly before Thanksgiving, I was in Erie, PA on Elk Creek, just upstream from the Cascade hole in a long stretch of riffle water when I thought one spot looked sort of 'fishy'. Two guys I was wading with both told me to not waste my time that 'there are no fish holding in this stretch'. I brushed them off and cast to the spot anyway. They watched me cast twice and were starting to continue downstream when I hooked into a steelhead and landed her. They quickly stopped, rigged up too and started casting.

I told them that there was at least one in that hole. LOL

 

[allan_s]

Me getting whooped:

A few years ago, Spring Creek during a large sulphur hatch. A gentleman below was nymphing and couldn't keep fish off his line. I proceeded to beat the water to death, spook all the fish in my immediate area and just watch him land trout after trout. That night I called my dad and told him that dry fly fishing was for guys who don't like catching fish. So the next day I went back to Spring Creek with a strike indicator and started to teach myself to nymph.

I think I fish dry flies maybe 10 times a year now and that is for brook trout. I wish I could buy that guy a beer because watching him fish certainly changed my life. lol

 

[TimRobinsin]

I know this is gonna sound cliche' but I get "schooled" every time I go out. Lucky for me I don't like fishing around other people so it's been a while since I have watched someone methodically out fish me.

The one instant I can recall is with PatrickC on the pine. The fish were rising all around and there were these three guys, one in the water fishing and two sitting on the bank. They were crushing beer and hooting and hollering. It seemed like every cast they were hooking up.

There was plenty of room below them but the water was much slower and the fish were much more selective. After an hour of one hook up and a bunch of refusals, I walked up to them and sat on the bank and chatted. Turns out they are from my area. They only had one fly rod between the three of them and so to protect their spot they rotated. After they caught one they would go sit on the bank and give the rod to the next guy. They were spin fishing earlier but noticed the hatch and wanted to give it a go.

I chatted with him more and asked him how he knew about the spot and he said his buddy found out about it on this forum. I asked him what his screen-name was and he laughed. "I don't get into all that internet stuff" he said " I just go on there to find out where there's good fishing". It made me laugh, Pat and I hung out with them some more. Until the brown drakes came off and then I hooked up with a nice brown and Pat hooked and long released a very nice fish.

On the way back I couldn't help but to think about how those guys had it right. we get into our heads that fishing is about this or that and I suppose it's about whatever you want it to be about. Those guys wanted it to be about crushing brews and browns. They "schooled" me, but I fun drinking with the teachers.

 

[pcray1231]

Well, I guess if we're counting low numbers, Erie style schooling, that brings up one from this year.

This fall, I was up for a few days. On the first day, I spent an unproductive morning on Elk, it was pretty brown, I thought it was fishable but the fish thought otherwise. So I shot over to the east side. 16 mile was a zoo, didn't even park. 12 mile had only a few guys on it but was really low and clear. I figured I'd stop for a bit and see what was what before going elsewhere.

And there were fish visible in the lake hole, the wall hole, and the bridge hole, but nowhere else. Each had a few guys pestering just a handful of fish. I walked up through the pocket water in between. First pass, didn't see a thing. Figured I'd look real close on my way back down and if nothing, just jump in the car.

It still amazes me that in a crystal clear stream

 

[PhilC]

Krayfish caught a 22" brown 5 mins after a met him, after further review I am selecting the first option

 

[J55tyger88]

It's tough for me to even catch fish let alone "schooled" numbers. My dad, no matter what kind of fishing, always out fishes me. For a while he was the baddest kid on the block and I had to beat him. Twice last year I got the better fish and numbers. I smoked up at camp opening day, and in the summer I caught a nice silvery rainbow pushing 18". I felt like the father Reverend from A River Runs Through It. "God has been good to us today. It's just he's been especially good to me" and walks off with a grin...

 

[FarmerDave]

Ever get schooled by a hack or hand out a whoopin?

Yes;-)

It has happened both ways, but rather than brag this time, I'll be different and share a story where I got schooled. Well, sort of. I probably told it before years ago.

I was probably about 20 at the time and fishing with my little brother one day at the mouth of Tom's Run in cook forest. Actually we were fishing off a canoe rental dock and casting down stream to the mouth. We were both catching lots of trout, but nothing huge. Maybe 12 inch tops.

We noticed this little kid probably about 8 or 9 years old watching us. I decided, what the hell and asked him of he wanted to give it a try. I had an extra rod. So, I baited it up for him and even cast it to where we were catching the trout. I think he missed one, so he reeled it in and cast it out himself. Only it landed about a foot off the bank near a clump of grass, right at the upstream point. I thought, he'll never catch anything there, but I left him alone. Who knows. No sooner had that thought left my head and he had the big one on. I netted it for him and it likely was over 20 inches. Maybe 24. He squeezes it in both hands and runs up over the bank yelling, MOM, DAD, LOOK WHAT I CAUGHT!

It made my day, and it was something he would likely never forget.

My little brother on the other hand was pissed.

But you know what? His parents never came over and thanked us. I sure as hell would have. I hope they didn't give him hell.

 

[mike_richardson]

This picture is from the first day I had met member Railking. He was just new to fly fishing and was fishing near a bridge on the Little Conemaugh. This was just after a fishing rodeo, and the stream was full of fish. I knew there was a large Golden rainbow up stream, and by looking at Railkings bright and shiny new gear I imagined he was new to the sport. He said he was just getting into Fly fishing, and I thought that fish would be a nice one for someone just starting out.

I asked him to come up and try for this large fish. He was pumped just catching some trout and declined. I insisted one more time If he wanted to come up and try for the fish, but was declined. I then thought to myself that I look like a complete joke of a "fly fisherman". I had just gotten done doing drywall in my (at the time unborn) son's room, was covered in drywall mud, wearing cut off camo shorts, a raggity old cut off tee shirt, a camo Potter County hat, shoes that made forest gumps beat-up running shoes look good, hadn't shaved in over a week, and a chew that I think you could choke a horse with. I chuckled as I walked up stream wondering what thoughts were going through his head at the site of a straight up red neck bum with a fly rod. I just needed to get away from the drywall work for a little, and being that the LC is less than a mile from my house, I didn't worry about getting all of my gear on.

I went up stream a little, caught the golden on a wooly bugger, and brought it down to show him real quick. I'll never forget the look on his face and the "Holy S#@% where the heck did you get that thing?" comment. He snapped a quick pic for me, and I put the fish back in where he was fishing. The fish made it about a week or two before vanishing.

I gave him a few tips, some of my favorite spots to try on that stream, a few flies, and an indicator, and was on my way. We have since become pretty good friends, fished a few times, and now I am certain he would most likely SCHOOL me any day of the week. Funny how things change.

I also have a buddy who I feel really bad for. He always gets schooled. No matter if we have the same flies, the same weight, fishing the exact same depth with the exact same leaders, and he is fishing ahead of me, I and another buddy always out fish him. The poor fella can never catch a break, and we are a bit nagging towards him. The group of us was fishing Chest Creek DHALO section. My friend and I were putting on a clinic and my friend asks the other buddy "Hey reel in your line, and make sure you still have a fly on there" it then moved to the "FISH ON!" call outs derected at him,then to "ALRIGHT A DOUBLE" followed by the "Hey do you want to reel this one in?" to "Here take these spots our arms are tired"

It is all in fun and the kid knows that no matter what the fish gods are never going shine on him. LOL This being said, he is one of the best casters I have ever seen, and puts up great presentations. The best time ever with this friend, I told him the reason I was catching the trout was because I was spitting COPE on the fly. He said "Yeah right" and kept fishing. After I caught a few more fish I look up to see him spitting his snuff on the fly. Classic.

 

[geebee]

Learning to saltwater fly fish I got schooled so many times in the first year i lost count.

My buds would put me in a good spot, give me "the fly" and zip, nada.

Then I learnt to slow down, watch n observe the water, the structure and them. I watched their strips, their pauses, the angle and length of their casts etc etc. whether they made the rod tip pop etc.

I applied that to all my fishing, and became a better angler I think.

Getting schooled is all part of the process.

 

[mike_richardson]

I don't fish with others a whole lot any more, and don't have any memories of getting schooled.

This past first day of trout in Potter county the Water was roaring on the first day. My head hurt a little from the nigh before and walked off the deck at 8:15. Walked about 200 yards and tried to fish. I had on a double weighted tung stonefly as an anchor and a tungsten BHPT. and could not keep them down. My cousin was fishing below so I walked down to see how he did.

"Catch anything?" I ask.

"Yeah," he says.

"Well let me see it" I ask.

"Just feel my vest" he says, as he just continues fishing like nothing happened.

I felt the fish's head in the vest and it filled up my hand and then some.

"Welp, I'm done" and walked back to camp to drink the day away. LOL

I am always the die hard for the biggest fish at camp award we do every year. and have a ton of placards with my name and big trout on them. Last year, I was SCHOOLED!

Also my first time fishing the Little J was a schooling for sure, not by any particular angle just by the river itself. I am not used to fishing that wide of stream and such and was humbled very quickly on the Little J. I ended up catching a few wild browns and such, but was SCHOOLED very quickly on that stream. I hope to have a few rematches with it this upcoming year.

 

[FarmerDave]

Here's one. At the last place I lived we had a lake that was actually overpopulated with fish, especially crappie. One day I invited a friend over to fish. This guy is or was conservative and quite religious but pretty young and of course with that, he knew everything. Apparently he learned how to fish either in books or on TV, especially adds on bass fishing shows. He had a brand new medium action spinning rod loaded up with spider wire that was probably about 30 lb test. I reminded him that we were only fishing for crappie and maybe the occasional bass using light tackle His line was way too heavy. He disagreed saying this stuff is as thin and as much lighter mono-filament line. I think I was using 4 lb test. Maybe 2 lb, can't remember. Off to the kale we walked. We were both using the exact same "lure." I call them beetle spin. It's basically a tiny spinner bait with a small jig.

I put him in my favorite spot and we both started fishing. I was catching one after another. Pretty much every case. Normal there. He hadn't had a hit even though he was clearly trying to mimic my actions.

After I caught 15 or 20 fish, I could tell he was starting to think that I put him in a bad spot. So, I asked him if he wanted me to show him there were fish there.

first cast, I caught a crappie.

We both went back to what we were doing, him fishing the exact spot where I had just caught one. Me catching fish after fish and him catching none. Finally I asked him if he wanted me to show him again that there were fish right in front of him. First cast, caught a bass.

The exact words from this religious guys mouth were "You son of a bitch!"

Then I explained to him his line was too still for such small lures.

I do remember getting schooled by a guy who used to be a regular on here, and his wife on Penns creek. He went by Jeff F. For most of it I had an excuse. My wife was with me and wasn't fishing so I stayed near here. But those two could fish. It was also my first time on Penns. At one point in particular, I was fishing a couple of rising fish. Darn things just wouldn't take my caddis, but at least I didn't put them down. So, I told Jeff to give it a try. He was using a slightly different caddis pattern that floated deeper in the film.

First cast ...

I think my exact words were "You son of a bitch!" ;-)

To this day I still carry that pattern made with material given to me by Jeff.

 

[streamerguy]

I remember one day in particular when I was around 12. It was a nice, warm late spring afternoon and my dad and I decided to do some fishing on a local river. I caught a good handful of bass on spinning gear that day and since the fishing was good I figured I'd get out the fly rod and see what would happen. Didn't get anything for a while so we decided to take the walk back to the truck and call it a day.

As we were taking the trail back up I asked my dad if I could make "one last cast"(which means about 20 more minutes of fishing..) in one of my favorite runs while he walked back to the vehicle. I caught a little bass right away, then another fly fisherman from farther downstream came up to the hole I was fishing and we fished across from each other for the next 30min or so. He was all decked out with his top of the line gear while I just had an old beat up vest, shorts, and old shoes for wet wading. During the time we were fishing that hole I must have caught 10-15 smallmouths and big bluegill to his 1. The look on his face was priceless. He eventually asked what I was using(a brown bugger I think) and it turned out he was using the exact same fly.

There's been a bunch of other times when I badly outfished others around me, but I have also been badly outfished many times. That time when I was 12 is the one that sticks out the most, mainly because I was still learning the ropes and the person I outfished seemed to know what he was doing.

 

[fisherboy3]

I gave one good whoopin that i remember very well. I was on the lower brodhead down by 80, nymphing a run right above it. There was a man all dressed up in Simms, Winston rod the whole nine yards. As i stepped down to the bank i could see him maybe 50 yards down stream. He was fishing to a rising fish and i was nymphing. I watched him cast to this fish maybe 20 times, with no results. I casted maybe 10 times in the riffle and caught 4 bows and a brown, and he saw every fish. I didnt gloat or anything just netted them and kept fishing. He stormed off down stream, looked pretty unhappy. Needless to say my buddy ran into him in Stroudsburg a few weeks later and he remembered me, saying "you were with that kid right?" Ill never forget that one.

On the Pequest in jersey, is where i received my whoopin. Right below the outflow from the hatvhery was a school of fish right behind a fallen tree. I tried everything in my box except the brookie killer. Well needless to say a kid younger than me, I'm 19 now so he was probably 15. He tied on a green weenie and continued to catch fish after fish right in front of me. And he was gloating, yelling trying to talk to me on purpose. I said to my buddy lets get outta here before i get pissed off. Later ended up going over to the Bushkill in Easton for a few.

-Kev

 

[DaveS]

Back in the late nineties I guess... On Big Fishing Creek. The Green Drakes were on. I was down in the narrows, beating the water to a froth, not catching a fish. An older guy above was just mohawking he fish, one after another.

I fished a lot back then and was pretty decent at catching fish. But I was too dumb to walk up and ask the guy what he was using. In the off chance it was somebody from the board, how about throwing a dog a bone?

 

[krayfish]

Dave,

You already met the guy and he told you he was using a 'blue fly'. Maybe you forgot that and was focused on making poppers out of old broom handles. LMAO