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

[Festus]

Best whoopins I ever laid out was to the bait slingers during the Quill Gordon hatch each year on The Big Bushkill just above Fernwood. Used to be a place that we called the Walk In Area. You parked on the road at the bridge, and walked in to a cabin community to a bridge about a half mile upstream. Actually there was a lady there that would allow you to park for a three dollar donation. I don't even know if that is open water anymore.

Above the bridge, there were long, flat pools where fast water above emptied into them. Perfect Quill Gordon water. And when they started hatching, one could hammer one trout after another swinging a Hares Ear and Quill Gordon wet through the pools. It was wild and several times I caught doubles through the years. Once that hatch started, the trout ignored all of the bait and hardware being thrown at them.

I used to get a big kick out of watching the spin fisherman dig out their gaudy Kmart special flies tied overseas, and begin using their spinning rods as a fly rod. It was very entertaining.

These days, if I'm dishing one out, I find it more pleasurable to leave the water and share the hot fly with those that aren't having much luck. Last year on the Pine, I was killing the trout and there were three 16-24 year olds spin fishing that weren't catching any fish. They sat there on the bank watching. After my 16th trout, I yelled over and asked them "who wants to catch their first fish on a flyrod". Those three kids just about walked on the water getting to me. We fished the afternoon, and between the four of us we nailed over 60 trout. Was one of the most pleasurable afternoons of fishing that I ever had.

 

[krayfish]

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

Nice play sir. I almost missed it.

It reminds me of a steelhead exhibition I saw first hand 2 months ago. This hack caught more fish than the other 5 guys combined! Nice job Phil (aka filthy PhilC - based on Catskill Jam video footage).

Festus,

Good story and great way to handle the situation. Also probably got a few new guys into the sport. I always help any young uns I bump into on stream.

 

[Night_Stalker]

Krayfish...

A throw-down from a hack (me)...first 22"er wins the beer! Unless your afraid of the cold and the predicted 2 feet of snow. You could stay home and scoop poop. I'll put you on the pigs with a 5 minute head start (PhilC's idea) per location. Give you options of which spot you want to start at after I describe them to you or visit.

I have spoken to the fish...and they are ready for any scenario...even like tonight...ice and branches falling from the trees continuously as the wind gusts picked up. I had 2 hard fish strikes after dark. Hard hats may be needed.

 

[krayfish]

Call me a wuss but I want temps above freezing. Don't feel like fighting ice in the guides, etc.

 

[Night_Stalker]

Krayfish,

36 degrees Sunday...now forecasting light snow (not 2 feet).

I'll tell the fish...they will be soooo disapointed

 

[Spats]

Several years ago, my son (about 5 at the time) and I had fished Sugar Creek with my father-in-law and some of his buddies. They insisted that my son and I fish with bait, but we refused. Instead, they fished ahead of us, while I tried to help my son. As we approached one nice-looking run, my father-in-law told us not to bother, they'd fished it already and "didn't get a bite".

I tied on an olive bugger for my son and he made a nice roll cast under a tree-fall, and almost immediately we saw a flash. In his excitement, he struck and missed, then began to yell about how he saw a trout. I told him to keep quiet and cast again, unless he wanted a gang fishing along side of him. On the next cast, he nailed and landed a fat 14" brown.

My father in law and his buddies immediately made a bee line for the run, but with 6 guys casting in one little run, nobody had a take the rest of the time there. And, to add insult to injury, my son kept walking up and down the stream proudly asking them if they'd caught anything, constantly reminding them that he had. I didn't even have to tell him to do it. Made me grin, approvingly.

 

[pete41]

yeah-ice in guides a bummer but love it when the slush ice all disappears with in minutes-so do the fish.lol

 

[BrookieChaser]

Spats wrote:
And, to add insult to injury, my son kept walking up and down the stream proudly asking them if they'd caught anything, constantly reminding them that he had. I didn't even have to tell him to do it. Made me grin, approvingly.

Did I read that correctly? Maybe I'm missing some detail. I know my Dad would not have encouraged me to act like that as a kid, but quite the contrary.

 

[JackM]

Yeah, I got schooled once. I am standing near the rear quarter of a fifty foot long pool, delicately presenting dries to rising fish in early April. Some guy, wearing God-knows-what comes up and positions himself 30 feet above at the head of the pool. He throws some suckerspawn into the pour-over head of the pool and pulls out two mutant rainbows, smiles and moves on.

 

[tyeager]

West Branch of the Delaware last year....I thought I could cast/mend/present...I was wrong. First fish steadily rising about a hundred yards down from the put in was huge. I'm licking my chops thinking how great this will be. She is just going to town right at or inside 30 feet. Consistent rises. Light drizzle breaking the surface.

Two hours after trying for a fish my guide says would have easy been around 23" I got a take from the 17" brown behind it.....nice fish...but it put down the big one for good. I feel confident most of the casts would have caught fish on Spring or Penns or the Little J.

I learned I couldn't cast/mend/present well enough. Once my guide found out I could take a little punishment he let me have it. Later I unreeled the best cast of my life (somewhere around 60 feet right on the bank through some wind, little rise, set the hook and nothing) the guide says "where was that on the pig earlier" only thing I could say was "I choked"

 

[DaveS]

tyeager, I think that happens to most anglers on the D or the branches. It happens to me every time I go up. I love it!

 

[krayfish]

tyeager,

The fish up there get the best of most anglers. The challenge is at least 50% of the attraction of that fickle gal. Wouldn't have it any other way. You earn every one of them up there.

 

[tyeager]

The technicality of it was the best part I'll go back. It's a different type of test for me. I honestly believe if it was easy it wouldn't pull me the way it has and I've only been there once

I would have been severely disappointed if it wasn't tough.

While doing the schooling can be fun getting schooled is always better in the long run

 

[WildTigerTrout]

I get schooled just about every time I fish with Old Lefty. But I really don't mind. I learn new things every time we fish together.

 

[krayfish]

NightStalker,

Forcast barely gets to 32 on Sunday. I'll wait for 36+.....but I am still in.

Also, I'm pretty sure that Mr Rothrock could hand out a schooling to most of us.

 

[Night_Stalker]

Krayfish,
Screen Shot just taken...HEAT WAVE scheduled for Sunday

 

[pete41]

Look for deep holds with underground springs seeping in or knee deep reflective bottoms and have at it.Just hope it doesn't warm up too much and snow melt runoff starts-lights out.lol

 

[foxtrapper1972]

Fishing dries to some finicky fish one evening. Couldn't catch any. Heard this couple coming.....Heard them long before I saw them....They were happily yelling "I got another one" back and forth to each other. They came around the bend of the stream all youthful, good looking and decked out in the finest gear money can buy and proceeded to pound fish as they went around behind me. ( they were very courteous). They were swinging wet flies. At first I was annoyed but then was glad for them.

 

[JackM]

PS-- when we met up later for the drive home, I told him he was cheating and horning in on my hole and he just laughed in my face and said he came to catch fish, rather than whatever reason I came there for.

 

[SlingerFlyRods]

as a kid always was low man on the totem pole reelin in trout. But taking my time and studying more and more, picking apart my negative tactics and learning the streams better I soon was on an even playing field.. Now I don't take too much thought into it.. I suppose I've "schooled" a few in my short 10 year fly fishing career but I'm far from where I want to be as a stream educationalist