Salmonflies
Pteronarcys californica
The giant Salmonflies of the Western mountains are legendary for their proclivity to elicit consistent dry-fly action and ferocious strikes.
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Motrout on Oct 4, 2011October 4th, 2011, 6:17 am EDT
I am an expert. Here are some of my main areas of expertise:
1. Hooking the brush behind me on every single backcast.
2. Setting the hook so hard that I rip the fly out of the trout's mouth and it shoots back and, once again, gets hung up on the brush.
3. Cursing profusely as the big brown trout I just hooked wraps itself around a rootwad and breaks me off.
4. Misjudging the depth of a run as I cross a river on a mid-winter trip, filling up my waders, and promptly freezing to death.
5. Misidentifying any and all hatches.
6. Fishing nymphs when trout are feeding on the surface, and vice versa.
7. Imbedding large streamers in myself and other people.
Fellow troutnuts, I could keep listing ways in which I am a fly fishing expert, but I would be here all day.
1. Hooking the brush behind me on every single backcast.
2. Setting the hook so hard that I rip the fly out of the trout's mouth and it shoots back and, once again, gets hung up on the brush.
3. Cursing profusely as the big brown trout I just hooked wraps itself around a rootwad and breaks me off.
4. Misjudging the depth of a run as I cross a river on a mid-winter trip, filling up my waders, and promptly freezing to death.
5. Misidentifying any and all hatches.
6. Fishing nymphs when trout are feeding on the surface, and vice versa.
7. Imbedding large streamers in myself and other people.
Fellow troutnuts, I could keep listing ways in which I am a fly fishing expert, but I would be here all day.
"I don't know what fly fishing teaches us, but I think it's something we need to know."-John Gierach
http://fishingintheozarks.blogspot.com/
http://fishingintheozarks.blogspot.com/
Taxon on Oct 4, 2011October 4th, 2011, 7:21 am EDT
Motrout-
Perhaps you exaggerate, as it would be rather difficult to be as expert at each of those skills as you seem to profess? :-)
Perhaps you exaggerate, as it would be rather difficult to be as expert at each of those skills as you seem to profess? :-)
Motrout on Oct 4, 2011October 4th, 2011, 4:41 pm EDT
Perhaps so. But if that's the case I will claim that #4 is my true specialty.
The real definition of an expert fly fisherman is this: Anyone who is NOT me:)
The real definition of an expert fly fisherman is this: Anyone who is NOT me:)
"I don't know what fly fishing teaches us, but I think it's something we need to know."-John Gierach
http://fishingintheozarks.blogspot.com/
http://fishingintheozarks.blogspot.com/
CaseyP on Oct 4, 2011October 4th, 2011, 5:33 pm EDT
experts on fly fishing are like experts on baseball--a constant work in progress.
"You can observe a lot by watching." Yogi Berra
WestCO on Oct 4, 2011October 4th, 2011, 6:06 pm EDT
I have to say motrout, I have taken two of your areas of expertise, and combined them. Instead of yanking a fly out of a fish's mouth and getting it stuck in the reeds, I prefer to get giant Chernobyl bugs stuck in my lower eye lid. This experience also made me an expert at clipping barbs.
...but fishermen I have noticed, they don't care if I'm rich or poor, wearing robes or waders, all they care about is the fish, the river, and the game we play. For fishermen, the only virtues are patience, tolerance, and humility. I like this.
Oldredbarn on Oct 5, 2011October 5th, 2011, 5:45 am EDT
Westco...You forgot the ducking part of "chuck & duck"...Ouch! That looks like it might hurt dispite the smile...:)
Spence
Spence
"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
FredH on Oct 5, 2011October 5th, 2011, 6:53 am EDT
Westco it could have been worse. If it had happened to me my buddies would have told me to leave it in. So that now I would be worth something.lol
Entoman on Oct 5, 2011October 5th, 2011, 9:53 am EDT
Westco -
Aghh... Gives me the willies. Please tell me you were wearing glasses!
Three seasons ago I was wading a stream in the Sierra's and had a VERY close call. Working my way around a short stretch I wanted to fish from the opposite direction, I had to cross a little willow flat that bordered the stream. Actually it was more like a defensive position in a medieval battle field. The beaver had worked it over very thoroughly and it was riddled with deadfall and sharp punji sticks. I tripped and impaled one of them in the side of my face. I remember feeling the half inch weapon against my scull from just to the side of my eye running to the edge of my ear across the temple. It was only as I lifted up and pulled myself off the skewer that I realized it covered this span under my hide. Strangely, it didn't hurt that bad as I remember, and after cussing my stupidity, I gathered my gear and sunglasses and staggered in the direction of my buddy (thank God I wasn't going solo that day). According to him, I was quite a sight. There was a lot of blood and I guess a fair amount of tissue sticking out of the wound from pulling off the stick. He rinsed out the wound with filtered water and butterflied it as best he could.
My silly attitude at first was to make light of it and continue fishing, but my buddy would have none of that nonsense. As we sat streamside for a few minutes to gather strength for the hike back to the car, I noticed my glasses for the first time. The lens was deeply scratched in the middle of the lens angling across to where the stick slid off. Realizing that the lens was the only thing that saved me from having that stick shoved through my eye and into my brain, nausea set in... It also started to hurt like hell!
The doctor pointed out how lucky I was as he put in three or four stitches. The next day the whole side of my face was swelled up like a pillow. Thank God for modern antibiotics.
Anyway, don't shoot or fly fish without wearing glasses! The lucky pair sits on my bench as a remembrance of catastrophe narrowly averted.
Regards,
Kurt
Aghh... Gives me the willies. Please tell me you were wearing glasses!
Three seasons ago I was wading a stream in the Sierra's and had a VERY close call. Working my way around a short stretch I wanted to fish from the opposite direction, I had to cross a little willow flat that bordered the stream. Actually it was more like a defensive position in a medieval battle field. The beaver had worked it over very thoroughly and it was riddled with deadfall and sharp punji sticks. I tripped and impaled one of them in the side of my face. I remember feeling the half inch weapon against my scull from just to the side of my eye running to the edge of my ear across the temple. It was only as I lifted up and pulled myself off the skewer that I realized it covered this span under my hide. Strangely, it didn't hurt that bad as I remember, and after cussing my stupidity, I gathered my gear and sunglasses and staggered in the direction of my buddy (thank God I wasn't going solo that day). According to him, I was quite a sight. There was a lot of blood and I guess a fair amount of tissue sticking out of the wound from pulling off the stick. He rinsed out the wound with filtered water and butterflied it as best he could.
My silly attitude at first was to make light of it and continue fishing, but my buddy would have none of that nonsense. As we sat streamside for a few minutes to gather strength for the hike back to the car, I noticed my glasses for the first time. The lens was deeply scratched in the middle of the lens angling across to where the stick slid off. Realizing that the lens was the only thing that saved me from having that stick shoved through my eye and into my brain, nausea set in... It also started to hurt like hell!
The doctor pointed out how lucky I was as he put in three or four stitches. The next day the whole side of my face was swelled up like a pillow. Thank God for modern antibiotics.
Anyway, don't shoot or fly fish without wearing glasses! The lucky pair sits on my bench as a remembrance of catastrophe narrowly averted.
Regards,
Kurt
"It's not that I find fishing so important, it's just that I find all other endeavors of Man equally unimportant... And not nearly as much fun!" Robert Traver, Anatomy of a Fisherman
Creno on Oct 5, 2011October 5th, 2011, 10:22 am EDT
Fred
"If it had happened to me my buddies would have told me to leave it in."
This triggered a fond memory - back in the 70's a friend and I were watching his 14 year old chucking heavily-weighted #6 woolybuggers on the Frying Pan. The kid was on the other side of the river from us and we were watching him cast to a couple nice browns and we both said at the same time: he is going to hook himself. Which he did - right in the ear. The kid looked at us with these great big eyes and yelled, I think more in surprise than pain. Then he asked what to do. I said grab the leader, bite it off (way before nippers), put on a another fly. He didn't like that option. So I told him to go up the the picnic table where our wives were and my wife would take it out. She has fished with me for many years and has lots of experience, even a little on herself. When the kid got there my wife looked at it and noted it was perfectly centered and all the way through the ear lobe. She asked if he just wanted to leave it for a week or two so it healed over and he would have a nicely pierced ear. Apparently the kid was sorta happy with that solution, but his mother definitely was not. So the hook was broken and taken out. I wonder if the kid had his ear pierced later?
"If it had happened to me my buddies would have told me to leave it in."
This triggered a fond memory - back in the 70's a friend and I were watching his 14 year old chucking heavily-weighted #6 woolybuggers on the Frying Pan. The kid was on the other side of the river from us and we were watching him cast to a couple nice browns and we both said at the same time: he is going to hook himself. Which he did - right in the ear. The kid looked at us with these great big eyes and yelled, I think more in surprise than pain. Then he asked what to do. I said grab the leader, bite it off (way before nippers), put on a another fly. He didn't like that option. So I told him to go up the the picnic table where our wives were and my wife would take it out. She has fished with me for many years and has lots of experience, even a little on herself. When the kid got there my wife looked at it and noted it was perfectly centered and all the way through the ear lobe. She asked if he just wanted to leave it for a week or two so it healed over and he would have a nicely pierced ear. Apparently the kid was sorta happy with that solution, but his mother definitely was not. So the hook was broken and taken out. I wonder if the kid had his ear pierced later?
Oldredbarn on Oct 5, 2011October 5th, 2011, 11:17 am EDT
Kurt,
After reading your story I have been looking out in the garage for an old-style goalie mask...That episode sounds a bit scary!
The face can be strange when it comes to wounds. I was attending a hockey game back in the mid-90's with my 12/13 year old nephew when he was hit with a puck right in the eyebrow. Blood pumped from it pretty hard for a couple heart beats and stopped...He ended up with 15 stitches.
Spence
After reading your story I have been looking out in the garage for an old-style goalie mask...That episode sounds a bit scary!
The face can be strange when it comes to wounds. I was attending a hockey game back in the mid-90's with my 12/13 year old nephew when he was hit with a puck right in the eyebrow. Blood pumped from it pretty hard for a couple heart beats and stopped...He ended up with 15 stitches.
Spence
"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
Entoman on Oct 5, 2011October 5th, 2011, 11:29 am EDT
Hi Spence,
Yeah, it was... The worst part was the Doc swabbing out all the foreign matter deep inside the wound as best he could. Always wear glasses!
Funny about the blood flow... Come to think of it, you're right. By the time I got to my friend it had all but stopped. Perhaps Tony can provide an explanation if he reads this.
That episode sounds a bit scary!
Yeah, it was... The worst part was the Doc swabbing out all the foreign matter deep inside the wound as best he could. Always wear glasses!
Funny about the blood flow... Come to think of it, you're right. By the time I got to my friend it had all but stopped. Perhaps Tony can provide an explanation if he reads this.
"It's not that I find fishing so important, it's just that I find all other endeavors of Man equally unimportant... And not nearly as much fun!" Robert Traver, Anatomy of a Fisherman
Oldredbarn on Oct 5, 2011October 5th, 2011, 11:37 am EDT
Back to the topic of this thread...I found this:
'Blessed is he whose fame does not outshine his truth.' -Tagore
"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
WestCO on Oct 5, 2011October 5th, 2011, 7:59 pm EDT
I wasn't wearing glasses and got very lucky. I was fishing just at sundown on the North Fork of the Holston River in Abingdon, VA (fantastic smallies) and I had just taken my glasses off. I actually didn't feel a thing. I kept turning around to see where my line went and finally had to reel it in to realize that the fly was in my eye lid. I then tried to pull it out and that's when I nearly passed out. I was in totally remote area so I drove 45 minutes to the hospital so they could clip it and shoot me up with some antibiotics. I was laughing the whole time. Going into an emergency room with a size 8 Chernobyl bug hanging from your eye lid is something that you either have to bow your head in shame, or have a great time with it. The whole emergency room got a kick out of it and I was on the river the next day.
To this day I've never fished without glasses and I clip every barb. I think that was 6 years ago.
To this day I've never fished without glasses and I clip every barb. I think that was 6 years ago.
...but fishermen I have noticed, they don't care if I'm rich or poor, wearing robes or waders, all they care about is the fish, the river, and the game we play. For fishermen, the only virtues are patience, tolerance, and humility. I like this.
Entoman on Oct 5, 2011October 5th, 2011, 9:31 pm EDT
Great quote, Spence.
"It's not that I find fishing so important, it's just that I find all other endeavors of Man equally unimportant... And not nearly as much fun!" Robert Traver, Anatomy of a Fisherman
FredH on Oct 6, 2011October 6th, 2011, 4:52 am EDT
Great quote, Spence.
here,here
Jmd123 on Oct 6, 2011October 6th, 2011, 9:04 am EDT
As you can see from my photo, I wear glasses - ALWAYS, as I am quite nearsighted and can hardly see past my nose without them, and the thought of sticking something on my eyeball makes me cringe so no contacts. During most daylight fishing, I also wear polarized sunglasses over my prescription ones so that's TWO layers of protection. No hooks in the eye or eyelids yet, but...
Once while fishing in Oregon I had snagged a Mepps spinner in a dead tree on a small lake, and in trying to jerk it free it came rocketing back to me and stuck in my arm. I tried to work it out, not very deep and not much pain, but couldn't so my (now ex-) wife gave a shot at it. After a few minutes she became nauseous and wanted to puke, whereupon I said gimme the needlenose pliers and yanked the damned thing out! Little blood, no infection, and I wasn't done fishing anyway!
Then there was the teenager who walked behind me during a backcast and caught a #12 Elkhair Caddis in his shoulder. I was horrified and apologetic as could be, but both he and his parents said it was his own fault for not paying attention as they had been chatting with me and watching me for several minutes at that point. His mom was a nurse and so I handed her the hemostats, figured she knew how to use them, but she tried to be careful and ended up causing him more pain...I finally took over and just gave it a quick hard jerk, and he said it didn't hurt at all...
I would NOT recommend this if it's in your eyelid, however!!!
Jonathon
Once while fishing in Oregon I had snagged a Mepps spinner in a dead tree on a small lake, and in trying to jerk it free it came rocketing back to me and stuck in my arm. I tried to work it out, not very deep and not much pain, but couldn't so my (now ex-) wife gave a shot at it. After a few minutes she became nauseous and wanted to puke, whereupon I said gimme the needlenose pliers and yanked the damned thing out! Little blood, no infection, and I wasn't done fishing anyway!
Then there was the teenager who walked behind me during a backcast and caught a #12 Elkhair Caddis in his shoulder. I was horrified and apologetic as could be, but both he and his parents said it was his own fault for not paying attention as they had been chatting with me and watching me for several minutes at that point. His mom was a nurse and so I handed her the hemostats, figured she knew how to use them, but she tried to be careful and ended up causing him more pain...I finally took over and just gave it a quick hard jerk, and he said it didn't hurt at all...
I would NOT recommend this if it's in your eyelid, however!!!
Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
WestCO on Oct 6, 2011October 6th, 2011, 2:52 pm EDT
Yeah. I fiddled with it for a good hour and couldn't even push it through to clip the barb. Just pushing the barb through made me feel like passing out. That skin is so weak that I couldn't even break it. So a local and some pushing and the nurse got the job done. Again, no more barbs, always use glasses. Lesson well learned.
...but fishermen I have noticed, they don't care if I'm rich or poor, wearing robes or waders, all they care about is the fish, the river, and the game we play. For fishermen, the only virtues are patience, tolerance, and humility. I like this.
Gutcutter on Oct 6, 2011October 6th, 2011, 6:16 pm EDT
Funny about the blood flow... Come to think of it, you're right. By the time I got to my friend it had all but stopped.
The stick punctured a very vascular area and then went along an avascular plane. The initial blood loss was at the site of penetration where blood vessels were broken. Then it went along the space where there are no blood vessels.
Lucky.
I once took care of a blitzed guy who was shot in the chest with a .22 only to have it travel around a rib and exit behind him. I thought that the guy had walked in with a gun shot wound straight through the chest. God protects children and drunks...
All men who fish may in turn be divided into two parts: those who fish for trout and those who don't. Trout fishermen are a race apart: they are a dedicated crew- indolent, improvident, and quietly mad.
-Robert Traver, Trout Madness
-Robert Traver, Trout Madness
Entoman on Oct 7, 2011October 7th, 2011, 1:30 pm EDT
Thanks for the explanation, Tony.
Well, I wasn't at the time, but I sure tipped a few afterwards! Perhaps I was granted dispensation for prior behavior...
Regards,
Kurt
God protects children and drunks...
Well, I wasn't at the time, but I sure tipped a few afterwards! Perhaps I was granted dispensation for prior behavior...
Regards,
Kurt
"It's not that I find fishing so important, it's just that I find all other endeavors of Man equally unimportant... And not nearly as much fun!" Robert Traver, Anatomy of a Fisherman
Keystoner on Oct 9, 2011October 9th, 2011, 6:11 pm EDT
I believe that in the book "Sex, Death, and Fly Fishing", John Geirach gives a very good synopsis of what an "expert" is. Of his criteria, I have already mastered two things.
1. I am very quiet and soft spoken while fishing. All business when a fish is on. Absolutely NO whooping!!!
2. My waders look like absolute trash.
It's one of the best chapters of that particular book, which is very good as a whole.
Personally, I hope that I am never an expert, because then I'll probably get bored and have to take up golf or something. I would be happy to settle on "damn good."
1. I am very quiet and soft spoken while fishing. All business when a fish is on. Absolutely NO whooping!!!
2. My waders look like absolute trash.
It's one of the best chapters of that particular book, which is very good as a whole.
Personally, I hope that I am never an expert, because then I'll probably get bored and have to take up golf or something. I would be happy to settle on "damn good."
"Out into the cool of the evening, strolls the Pretender. He knows that all his hopes and dreams, begin and end there." -JB
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