DaveS
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2010
- Messages
- 1,024
I thought this was worth sharing.
About a month ago I got a call from my brother, who lives and works in France. Seems he would be in the country and having a few extra days, would I like to go fishing? At the time I had managed one single day on the water fishing. I've been way too busy, weathers been poor to say the least... You understand.
So he'd need me to gather all the necessary gear, (which I'm storing here at my place for him), and meet him in State College. In return, for the packing detail, he'd spring for the Motel. Good deal, "see you Saturday!" I think that's when it started to rain.
In the days leading up to the trip, I was working, then coming home and preping my house for a new Geothermal Heat Pump and it was one step forward, two steps back. I was gonna have one of those weeks from hell. And by now you all know how much rain we had. It seemed nothing would be fishable.
On Thursday I filled up the truck...$94.60. I should just stay home I thought. Stream gages were equally depressing and it was still raining.
On Friday I was this close to calling and just bagging the whole shebang. Then in a rare moment of clarity I relized that if my contractor had to wait 2-3 days, he would, one way or another. And I'm gonna be 44 in a few days and my brother is nearly 51. You have to figure that in all likelyhood most of road is in the rearview mirror.
Saturday starts out sunny but cool. I finish up a few things, Mow the grass pack and leave. I'm to meet Darin at the Motel that evening so I'd have time to stop and fish on the way. I pull into a spot I'd not fished in years but figured high dirty water or not, I'm hear to fish. I actually do pretty well, all things considered. Honey Bugs, dirty water, I'd seen it work before. The last fish I hook was just sort of wiggling the way all trout do, then suddenly took off like a shot and leaped like a steelhead. I use that description because the fish looked like it was a yard long! I know you're thinking he's a fisherman, he exagerating. Maybe a little but it was still one hell of a fish. Then the line went slack, and it was gone.
We meet up at the Motel, dinner, beers, and catching up. Formulate a plan for the next two days. We fish, as Jack suggests, up high and we catch a few. We fished places you all have heard of too, and even get into a hatch of what later turned out to be Blue Winged Olives. We each got nice-sized fish on dries. Which had seemed unlikely. We see a Bald Eagle. And we drank a few beers too.
Monday we again brave the slightly less discolored water and I lob more Honey Bugs and shot. Quickly I hook yet another large fish and the strong current takes me downstream past my brother. The fish and I are headed directly onto posted water. I can only assume that has greater ramification for me than the fish. "What are you gonna do?' Darin asks. I had no choice, I broke him off. It was a very large tout. It was a shame. It was the right thing to do, but my hands were shaking a little after that.
We both went on to get a few fish, though none that were large. After lunch we both went on our seperate ways, each a little sad it was over so fast.
So in retrospect, in conditions that, at the onset seemed poor, we both caught fish and had a good time. It never really rained very much dispite the forecast said otherwise. And I had hooked what I'd guess were the two largest trout I've hooked in maybe my whole 30+ years of flyfishing.(steelhead not withstanding)
The moral of the story, if you bother to read this far, is; If you can go fishing, you should.
Thanks for taking the time to read my story.
Dave
About a month ago I got a call from my brother, who lives and works in France. Seems he would be in the country and having a few extra days, would I like to go fishing? At the time I had managed one single day on the water fishing. I've been way too busy, weathers been poor to say the least... You understand.
So he'd need me to gather all the necessary gear, (which I'm storing here at my place for him), and meet him in State College. In return, for the packing detail, he'd spring for the Motel. Good deal, "see you Saturday!" I think that's when it started to rain.
In the days leading up to the trip, I was working, then coming home and preping my house for a new Geothermal Heat Pump and it was one step forward, two steps back. I was gonna have one of those weeks from hell. And by now you all know how much rain we had. It seemed nothing would be fishable.
On Thursday I filled up the truck...$94.60. I should just stay home I thought. Stream gages were equally depressing and it was still raining.
On Friday I was this close to calling and just bagging the whole shebang. Then in a rare moment of clarity I relized that if my contractor had to wait 2-3 days, he would, one way or another. And I'm gonna be 44 in a few days and my brother is nearly 51. You have to figure that in all likelyhood most of road is in the rearview mirror.
Saturday starts out sunny but cool. I finish up a few things, Mow the grass pack and leave. I'm to meet Darin at the Motel that evening so I'd have time to stop and fish on the way. I pull into a spot I'd not fished in years but figured high dirty water or not, I'm hear to fish. I actually do pretty well, all things considered. Honey Bugs, dirty water, I'd seen it work before. The last fish I hook was just sort of wiggling the way all trout do, then suddenly took off like a shot and leaped like a steelhead. I use that description because the fish looked like it was a yard long! I know you're thinking he's a fisherman, he exagerating. Maybe a little but it was still one hell of a fish. Then the line went slack, and it was gone.
We meet up at the Motel, dinner, beers, and catching up. Formulate a plan for the next two days. We fish, as Jack suggests, up high and we catch a few. We fished places you all have heard of too, and even get into a hatch of what later turned out to be Blue Winged Olives. We each got nice-sized fish on dries. Which had seemed unlikely. We see a Bald Eagle. And we drank a few beers too.
Monday we again brave the slightly less discolored water and I lob more Honey Bugs and shot. Quickly I hook yet another large fish and the strong current takes me downstream past my brother. The fish and I are headed directly onto posted water. I can only assume that has greater ramification for me than the fish. "What are you gonna do?' Darin asks. I had no choice, I broke him off. It was a very large tout. It was a shame. It was the right thing to do, but my hands were shaking a little after that.
We both went on to get a few fish, though none that were large. After lunch we both went on our seperate ways, each a little sad it was over so fast.
So in retrospect, in conditions that, at the onset seemed poor, we both caught fish and had a good time. It never really rained very much dispite the forecast said otherwise. And I had hooked what I'd guess were the two largest trout I've hooked in maybe my whole 30+ years of flyfishing.(steelhead not withstanding)
The moral of the story, if you bother to read this far, is; If you can go fishing, you should.
Thanks for taking the time to read my story.
Dave
