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I thought I would introduce myself, my name is scott I go by trtklr not because I kill a lot of trout. quite the contrary I started fly fishing about a year ago this last month. I started for two reasons first I saw a ton of fish coming to the surface and two I was tired of killing small trout with a treble hook on a spinner or stick bait. I rarely keep trout. I thought I better clear that up before I find some c & r guys on my door. So I don't have a ton of experience fly fishing but I do go 3-8 times a month. I fished for trout about a year to a year and half with spin tackle before I took the next step in the evolution of a trout fisher. I have built a couple spin rods and a couple fly rods. I do tie flies and have been doing so for about 10 months. I've always been good with my hands and both of these activities come fairly easy to me. My first time trout fishing was quite an experience on the little manistee in michigan. my friend told me to walk down from the start of the fly water(one bridge up from dewitt's) to dewitt's bridge we thought it would be about 3 1/2 hours, yeah not quite, turned out to be about a 9 and 1/2 hours after we just started walking after being on the water about 4 hrs. what an incredible river. now if I take someone fishhing who has never fished for trout that is where we go. I am totally sic with trout fishing I do have a lot of pictures on myspace page, haven't quite found out how to post those on my page here though. I am quite opinionated and I am sure I will post frequently.

welcome scott! you'll find more than a few dedicated fly anglers on this site, and man! will you ever learn more about those bugs you're imitating with flies than you would believe possible. the photographs alone make it worthwhile hanging out here.

sometimes folks put a link in their signature to their photo spaces elsewhere. saves posting everything twice.

and yeah--every time i leave any fishing gear in the house, i regret it, except that the 8wt really doesn't get used very much in South Central PA!

If you start a Photobucket account it is quite easy to upload your pictures to that free service and then capture them (highlight the bottom data line under the picture, click your "Edit", click "Copy") and then download them to this site.

The key to getting them to be viewable here is to change the upper case
(User tried to post an image here without an source.)
prefix and suffix to lower case img and everything should be okay

I would like to introduce myself. My name is Rob and about 15 years ago at the age of eight my Father took me to the fly project on yellow creek in bedford county Pennsylvania. Ever since then my life has consisted of searching for good fly fishing. I was fortunate to grow up in a small town that had a small formerly sulfur polluted stream running through it, and after one trip with my rod to this stream i realized a dream that many only fantasize about. A decent size steam with native brook trout and wild brown trout lying in every riffle and pool. the best part of it all was that myself and those i chose to take there were the only people that knew of this sulfur streams potential. Over the years my choice friends and I landed many nice trout but now as I grow older I find myself venturing out to more prolific rivers and streams in our area (of which there are many). Now I find myself on the banks of the Little Juniata river more often than not searching for that elusive 25 inch brown trout. Anybody know where its hiding?

Just wondering if anyone would have any idea of how to get invovled in guiding in the central pa region

My Name is Paul and I live in Michigan's UP. I'm a fly fishing noob, as of posting time I've been out three times, caught two fish, once with my friend Freepow and the others by myself. I'll take any bit of advice I can get from the vets out there. I'm kinda busy but i try to get out on the rivers as often as I can.

To all the Troutnuts out there, I say hello.

Welcome, Ghoastgoat. You are already a much better fisherman than I was at that point. My first 10 times out I got skunked - amazing that I still do it today. Best of luck with your new hobby. Take care lest it become an obsession. Then again, that's not so bad, either.

-Shawn

Hello fellow troutnuts,
I have been lurking for quite some time. I am amazed at the wealth of information and helpful fishermen on this board. I live in the eastern sierra, right out of June Lake. I took a fly fishing class in 7th grade and then stopped for about 7 years. I just picked it up again last year, and now there is no turning back. I am completely hooked! I fish in my tube mainly in the four lakes in my area. However, my favorite is hiking in to as remote destinations as possible to catch wild trout in their native lakes and streams.

Jason,

Thank you for the site. You have provided me with a great distraction from the business of business. I have a sweet spot as do many fly-fishermen for the calling of the stream. Sites like yours provide a very valuable resource to those who find themselves peering over the bridges they pass. I look forward to the day I address insects by their Latin names and the day that I don’t stare at awe for what’s on top of the water but instead, what’s underneath.

I have fly-fished for trout at least a dozen times and only caught one little brownie. I guess I am the ultimate novice. But I don’t love it for the catching. I love tying the fly, making the cast, and taking a deep breath and giving glory to the ultimate of artists.

I own two fly rods. One I picked up from a fly-fishing shop on a trip to Santé-Fe New Mexico. It is a great rod. I don’t know its maker or its length and action, but it fits me just write. The other rod was purchased by my new father-in-law for my wife at a garage sale. It is an oldy-but-a-goody. I have never seen anything like it. It is very short (6’6”) and has a reversible handle so it can either be fished as a spinning rod or a fly rod. Its reel is very unique. It doesn’t have a manual option but instead it reels itself with a spring at the push of a button. I have never seen anything like it.

Anyways,

I look forward to learning and contributing. Thank you again for the opportunity.

-Patrick

Hi Codester, glad you've come back to the fold and found the site.

Welcome Patrick, your reel is an automatic fly reel. I have a buddy who swears by them. Your post tells me you are hooked on fly fishing. It's a great sport, and this site will offer all kinds of support and fun.

Hey everyone. I also wanted to introduce myself. Ive fished my entire life mostly as a bait thrower fishing the Delaware River in Philadelphia and trolling for blues down the shore. Never pursued trout because as a kid the only game in town was Pennypack criek and after pulling in fat cats in the River and blues off of boats i didnt see the "challenge" of such small stockies. Boy was I stupid. I guess I always thought fly fishing was beyond me as well. I started fly fishing in August of 06 after watching a few guys from my kayak club fly fish for smallies in the Delaware around Treasure Island. Still a salt water enthusiast I geared up with an 8 wt Winston and a nice Lamsom reel. Being that the beach is 2 hours away my first fly rod trip was to the brandywine River 15 minutes away, the day after I bought my rod. landed a few bluegills on lefty's topwater bug and was hooked. Needless to say, my rod collection has now increased to include a 5wt, another cheaper 8 wt and now Im in search of a 3 wt so I dont continue to bully the trout on the small local streams.

My 81 year old neighbor, Bill, a retired gentlemen attorney gave me my first casting lesson that although it lasted only 10 minutes before his hearing aid quit on him (and my lesson) it gave me the basics. Along with plenty of reading and time on the water, Im feeling pretty good about my techiniques. My wife bought me a vise for christmas 2007 and this has now turned into an obsession.
My first time out for trout was at the Newlin Grist Mill in Concord, PA where they have a little club and stocked stream. The group there hosts breakfast on opening day and Bill and I went out for opening day in 2007. Bill traditionally gets his one fish and then heads for home. He told me to cast this little run by this undercut tree and on my 3rd cast I had my first trout. Bill in his excitement for me three down his beautiful bamboo rod so that he would ensure that he netted my fish. After this Bill fished for only another 15 minutes before tiring (he is not in the best of health now) and told me he was heading home. I told him that he gave me his fish and after thoughtfully considering my words he said" that's what good friends do" I still get choked up thinking of that moment.

Last October was the last thing to make me a confirmed trout nut. After fishing an extreme bluefish blitz for 6 hours off of Bayhead, NJ. i was running out of flys, wire tippet and even ruining my fly line due to the gorging blues. I tied a bare hook on and put a cigarette butt onto it. a blue took this "cigarette fly" and convinced me that I wanted to catch that "one" difficult fish rather than many or even the biggest fish. In pursuit of that fish Ive now spent three hours fishing to the same fish and always trying to improve that drift. Being still a newbie or maybe just lazy i dont change flys as often as many others but focus more on getting the drift improved. Im rarely skunked but then again I dont have the blood lust I did as a younger man either.

Recent adventures for trout included the Salmon River, NY last Nov for Steelies, Little J and another with the Cicada hatch (or as one local said Cicaduuurs) last month and have been successfully fishing the trico hatch outside of Reading, PA. the trico hatch was amazing just to watch as it was my first real experience with a full blown hatch.

Dont spend alot of time online as Id rather be outside, but I look forward to learning more from many of the masters and other trout nuts Ive seen posting. Tight Lines to all.

Bob Lawrence

Welcome to the addiction, Bob. Enjoy!

I think I've got good advice for all new trout fisherman. STOP FISHING!!! I only say for now stop. Pay off all your bills and get 100 percent debt free. THEN go fish! lol.

I'm new to the forum, though I did post a comment on tricos the other day.

A few months previous, I posted on another fishing site a question about a mayfly I encountered, here in western, Wisconsin. A responder from that site told me to consult troutnut.com, where I DID find the match, a dark blue quill we call the Darth Vader (I hope you'll forgive this ADHD poster-boy for not remembering the Latin name).

I'm a 56-year old fly fisher who's been doing it now since 1990. I reside in River Falls, on the banks of the Kinnickinnick River, just east of the St. Croix. I primarily fish the rivers in this region. I'm a pretty fair fisher of flies, but not much on the bug knowledge. Every year I tell myself I'm going to get a kick net and some glass vials; every year I fail to do so. I'm afraid, that as far as insect research goes, you'll find me dead weight on this site.

I'm a freelance writer who writes for a large community newspaper in St. Paul, as well as a few fly fishing articles I publish on occasion in Midwest Fly Fishing and Fly Rod & Reel(I wrote a feature on the Bois Brule in 1999). I have an article coming up soon in The Rant section of American Angler, as well.

I used to review books for Midwest Fly Fishing and still receive copies of new books from various publishers. I am quite familiar with Gonzo's "Fly Fishing Pressured Waters," from Stackpole, and was VERY impressed with his writing, fishing knowledge, and fly tying innovations (and the realization that I'll never be so detailed in my tying!). Since the Kinnickinnic is a spring creek, I have a spiritual connection to the Pennsylvania angling writers, from whom I've learned the most: Marinaro, Humphreys, Harvey, Shenk, Koch, and Gonzo.

I worked as a jazz drummer in Minneapolis for many years. Then I discovered fishing and became a small town bumpkin. Best move I ever made. I still play my drums everyday, though it is down in the basement with the spiders.

I'm divorced (There went all my bamboo fly rods!), share custody of my 9-year-old son and live with my marvelous, beautiful girlfriend, Ann, who is a novelist.

Here's one fly that I CAN offer you cats, a caddis pattern I think is pure magic. It's called Chuck's Caddis Variant, tied on a Tiemco #921. It mimics the proper proportions of many caddisflies. You can find the recipe at Charliesflybox.com. It's a killer, that, for me, out fishes the Elk Hair Caddis by three-to-one.

Bill S.

Welcome, Bill! (And thank you.) By the way, there's no such thing as "dead weight" around here, except for those little chunks of metal that some of us attach to our leaders when nymphing. :)

Thanks for the fly recipe reference. The Tiemco 921 is one of my favorite small fly hooks due to its great gap. Welcome to the forum!

I believe that an angler's fly box is more personal than a teen-age girls secret diary.

I fly-fished feverishly from the early sixties to around 1980. I caught my first trout on a fly at age 10. It was a 15 inch rainbow on a McGinty dry fly. I had an automatic fly reel. My family had a cabin on the Raystown branch of the Juniata River that is now under 100 feet of water called the Raystown Res. I learned to fish there with the help of an uncle I will always hold dear.

I stopped fishing because I discovered that there were very few trout that I could not catch and, with that in mind, I let my heart be my guide and decided that I had no right to hassle these exquisite creatures when all they wanted to do was live a peaceful, bug eating life.

Now, almost 30 years later, I have returned to the craft to find the technology has advanced the sport to heights way beyond my wildest dreams and that trout are, once again, hard to catch. Why the change of heart? I'm nearing retirement and have had the calling to fish that goes back to my earliest memories (picture a 5-year old tossing a screen-mesh kitchen sieve tied to the end of a fishing line out into a storm-swollen creek. That, I did, and lost the sieve in the first cast of my life). Knot problems with me go back that far.

I started fly-fishing again about 2 months ago to find low waters and spooky trout. I also discovered that my reflexes have declined as much as my eyesight. I was a fanatic nympher back then. I caught many large trout, including a state record (at the time) brook trout that I released rather than reported. I live in Western Pa and currently fish local streams. In the old days, you would have found me on Spruce Creek or Penns Creek, along with the local streams, which I find have changed drastically in 30 years. I loved Spruce and Penns. Haven't returned yet. They stayed in my heart and dreams all these years that I have denied the calling.

I still have my old rod (ancient Fenwick HMG 9'3" graphite) and replaced my 5'3" fenwick glass rod (it broke) I used on small, forest streams with a 5 footer I bought from Bass Pro shops (it was the only 5 foot rod I could find). I still have all of the flies I tied, though many are worse for the wear and practically useless. Over the years, most of my tying equipment has been misplaced or lost in moves. So I'm restarting in that area. Sorta. My eyes aren't that sharp anymore which makes tying flies, as well as tying on flies, very difficult, even with magnifiers. So I mostly use already-tied flies (as if ties not yet tied are anything more than a hunk of iron and some feathers/foam/synthetic/rubber/glitter/whatnot).

I've caught a handful of trout, so far. All rainbows. I'm not quite tuned in enough to fool my main target--browns. Back when I stopped fishing, I used a lot of terrestrials in late summer that were made of cork and feather. They were killers back then. Now, with the flood of foam flies, not so much. Nowadays, it almost seems that something plopping on the water is more of a threat than a treat to trout. I had a big trout on the other day, but, having completely forgotten how to deal with such a creature, I never came close to landing him. It was his show all the way. He slammed a streamer in cloudy water. A streamer I tied sometime back in the mid seventies. He broke me off in a log jam. I still can't get over how physically engaging that was for the 10 or 15 seconds that it lasted.

All my old fishing friends have moved or quit the craft for some reason or other. I like the solitude, yet miss the cameraderie, especially with a big trout breaks my line. Those kinds of things you've just GOT to tell someone about. I truly am amazed at the technology of today, from 7X tippets you could tow a semi with to exquisitely realistic flies tied with bicycle inner tubes.

I was very creative and came up with many flies and situational solutions that, back then, made sure that I, and anyone with me, caught trout that day. Today, not so much. Not having a full complement of tying equipment/materials, eyes notwithstanding, severely limits my creativity.

Back then, I had my own business and had a lot more time to fish and it's killing me now that I have to work every day. It's maddening on those days when you just know they are biting. Then, I dang near fished every day. In fact, one year, I managed to go fishing at least once every day the temps were above 60. I was truly a fanatic.

I've lurked here for a while and have found it to be a pleasant place to visit so I signed up. As I said, I have the calling and have denied it for some 30 plus years. Now that I'm listening again, some magic has returned to my life. And, now that I'm back, I have signifigantly increased my chances of catching that mermaid.

That said, I'll give a shot at a limerick

The trout is a creature, I think
That's easily missed if I blink
They willfully taunt
My flies, they don't want
And inevitably drive me to drink

I guess I missed this thread...

As I've explained in some other threads: I'm a new Fly Fisherman as of this summer. Although I somewhat enjoy other forms of fishing, I never became an avid fisherman till now. Sitting in a boat is a bit boring to me.

I've always enjoyed the beauty of fly fishing, but was just ignorant to the sport itself and especially how close there are good spots to enjoy it.

I've always enjoyed the outdoors more for it's beauty, than as a hunter or anything. As a young adult I used to actually go to a stream about 30 minutes from my home and just walk the creek... of course this was before I knew anything about fly fishing. With Fly Fishing, I now enjoy some of the most scenic spots and also enjoy the challenge of the sport. Although, I've already found that it doesn't really matter to me whether I catch fish or not, I just enjoy the scenery. Of course, I'd rather catch a few fish, but in the big picture... it's not that big of a deal if I don't.

My friend (that I started with) and I have commented that we've never paid as much attention to bugs as we do now :)

My goal is to become better with every trip. I intend to start tying my own flies over the winter (not much else to do here in MN). I also plan on doing some trips outside of MN starting next summer; most likely CO, since I have a brother who lives there, and MO... since that's only about a days drive.

I look forward to learning from you all.

Greeting all! I am a new member here and look forward to participating. I currently live in La Crosse WI, after spending the first 26 years in Michigan. I grew up in SE Michigan and went to school in Marquette.
Growing up I was fortunate enough to have a father and uncles who were more then happy to let me tag along on their fishing trips. I have always loved coldwater fisheries, but the majority of my fishing consisted of chasing salmon and especially Steelhead in the tributaries of the the Great Lakes. I bought my first fly rod about 8 years ago and started a whole new dimension of fishing. I started tying flies for salmon and steelhead at a fairly young age and have only got into dry fly tying and fishing to target trout in the last couple of summers. Every time I head out to chase trout I ask myself what took so long! My casting still leaves a lot to be desired but it seems to work for the most part, although i have put more fish down then i care to admit or count for that matter.

I am sure this website will be a great learning resource. Again I look forward to participating...probably mostly just asking questions and occasionally throwing up a report.

Take Care, Scott

S_G_Hack,
Great first post.

HighFlyer,

I’m assuming that you are referring to more than just the streamside mosquitoes.

Scott,
I see you are down in the coulee area, I haven’t fished it but understand it is good. We have a growing number of the WI Contingent (a thread you may want to catch up on) some of whom are in your area. We haven’t heard any reports lately from the WI guys but please jump in, we all love to hear how others are doing.

Welcome guys, I’m sure that you will find this site a wealth of information and entertainment. We have some exceptional talent lurking and questions cast are often taken readily.