mike_richardson
Active member
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2010
- Messages
- 1,564
I am no expert at fly fishing but I had the opportunity to teach a good friend of mine to fly fish. I had gave him some pointers on casting and mending and such and just sat back. We were fishing on the Little Conemaugh so i knew every fish in the hole by name and birthday pretty much. I set him up with the best flies to use on this stream.(BHPT size 14 with a Beaded caddis larva from my post in the tying forum.) After about a half hour of him learning he got a serious tangle and wanted to sit on the bank and watch me and untangle. I told him i would rather not but he insisted. I had put on a size 10 beaded squirrel nymph and a brown beaded caddis. I put the big honking nymph on to hopefully not get a hit and the brown caddis was a test since i never used it.
Bam! second cast nailed a 10" rainbow. He says "how in the heck did you do that!" i told him that i had casted right where he was but put a little better mend and kept my tip up to get a better drift. After i nailed the little rainbow i sat down and told him there are still a few more in the hole including the big boy.
After 20 mins of nothing I decided to go above where the riffle first comes in. Bam! hooked the big boy. I yelled to him to take the rod. Just then the big rainbow jumps out of the water and he exclaims "I don'y want to lose that fish he is big." i just laughed and said "just take the rod!"
So here is his real education. He starts to fight the fish. "How is he fighting like this?"...."Mike, i can't even turn him" I went down stream and got the fish after the fight. I looked at him and said, " a little different than spin fishing huh." The fish was a 16" rainbow that was about as pretty as a rainbow can get. Deep red cheeks and about a 1" thick stripe.
So we moved up the stream and i put him in a good spot with a slow riffle. I sat back on the bank and just watched him. I gave a few pointers and i watched his His indicator go under and he set the hook. He reeled in a rainbow about 9”. He turned around with a big smile and said.”I’m not the only one who just got hooked.”
In all of the hustle and bustle and trying to get big trout and things like that it felt awesome to teach someone to fish. It felt even better that I could share my knowledge and see it work first hand. I mean it does make you look good that the 4 cast you made you caught 2 fish and one was a trophy. LOL The fish gods smiled on me for that and I must thank them for letting me look good. I made it clear that he was lucky to have an instructor to critique his every cast and drift and that when I started my buddy and I were blind.
If you guys think catching trout is fun just try teaching someone and watching them get their first. Better than a 20” brownie anyday in my book.
Bam! second cast nailed a 10" rainbow. He says "how in the heck did you do that!" i told him that i had casted right where he was but put a little better mend and kept my tip up to get a better drift. After i nailed the little rainbow i sat down and told him there are still a few more in the hole including the big boy.
After 20 mins of nothing I decided to go above where the riffle first comes in. Bam! hooked the big boy. I yelled to him to take the rod. Just then the big rainbow jumps out of the water and he exclaims "I don'y want to lose that fish he is big." i just laughed and said "just take the rod!"
So here is his real education. He starts to fight the fish. "How is he fighting like this?"...."Mike, i can't even turn him" I went down stream and got the fish after the fight. I looked at him and said, " a little different than spin fishing huh." The fish was a 16" rainbow that was about as pretty as a rainbow can get. Deep red cheeks and about a 1" thick stripe.
So we moved up the stream and i put him in a good spot with a slow riffle. I sat back on the bank and just watched him. I gave a few pointers and i watched his His indicator go under and he set the hook. He reeled in a rainbow about 9”. He turned around with a big smile and said.”I’m not the only one who just got hooked.”
In all of the hustle and bustle and trying to get big trout and things like that it felt awesome to teach someone to fish. It felt even better that I could share my knowledge and see it work first hand. I mean it does make you look good that the 4 cast you made you caught 2 fish and one was a trophy. LOL The fish gods smiled on me for that and I must thank them for letting me look good. I made it clear that he was lucky to have an instructor to critique his every cast and drift and that when I started my buddy and I were blind.
If you guys think catching trout is fun just try teaching someone and watching them get their first. Better than a 20” brownie anyday in my book.
