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3. Back on the water again after 25 years

Hi All,

Great forum! I hope to spend some time here learning and re-learning the tricks of the trade.

I learned to fly fish many years ago when I was young and single and living in Connecticut. I fished the Norwalk River most often and made frequent trips to the Housatonic. I was always more of a "fisher" than a "catcher" but I always enjoyed the solitude and focus of the art of fysshynge wyth an Angle.

Last year, I found my old 3 piece Orvis rod that I'd thought I'd lost languishing in our storage locker and began to think about fishing again. Over the years most of my other gear had gone to rot or been given away so I purchased new waders, replenished my stock of "standard" flies, leaders and miscellaneous stuff. Sadly, the whole year went by and I only got out once for a brief session on the tiny stream behind the house.

This year I was determined to get back into fishing for real. The local community college offered a course in fly fishing so I signed up and went through the exercises in my best "beginner's mind", trying to absorb as much useful information as I could. This past Sunday, the class had it's final meeting/field trip on Deer Creek, a mid-sized freestone river that flows through Harford County, MD. Although the day was cloudy and at one point the skies opened and dumped a torrent of rain on us, I could not fail to have a marvelous time! The skills that were in hiding through the decades came back with the stimulus of cool water rushing past my legs and the dimples of rising fish made the blood run quick in my veins.

Today, after finishing my chores, I packed up the gear and headed back to Deer Creek. I tied on an Elk Hair Caddis (my first new attempt at fly tying) and honest-to-Pete -- I got a strike on my first cast! It was a tiny bit of a Brown and I caught several more like him within the first hour. I think the River God was telling me, "You need to fish more, son".

-- Mark
P.S. Much of the pleasure of this new excursion into fly fishing can be put down to the wonderful advances in equipment in the years since I last equipped. I wanted a 5wt outfit for the smaller streams hereabouts so I got an 8ft Eagle Claw Granger rod paired with an Okuma Sierra reel and AquaNova WF5F line. The daggone rig seems to _know_ where I want to cast and puts the fly there for me! All this for less than $100! M.

Great to have you, Mark. Using words like 'fysshynge', you'll fit right in here. Put a bit of poetry in your signature and people will think you've been on the forum for years.

-Shawn

Mark,
Welcome back to the 'Wonderful World of Flyfishing'.
I enjoyed reading your post, because I almost gave up flyfishing 10 yrs. ago. When I see guys still out there in their mid-late 70's, I realized I still have a lot of time left.
I think you and most of us here know its about the time spent astream, not the catching.
Try to find a good fishing partner to enhance the experience!
Best wishes,
Qg.