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3. Long-time reader, never-time poster? Start here!, Page 9

Jason,

Your Website is amazing. I've been a fan for some time. You really are a trout nut! I think I'm behind the times though, I still take B/W pictures with my SLR. I think I need a nice bamboo rod to match my camera.

: )

First time poster here, I think this is a marvelous site.
Looking forward to many more posts.

Cool

Jake

Welcome, gentlemen.

Nice website, DS. I'll have to check it out in more detail later.

-Shawn

New reader, first time poster. My name is Ray and I live in Royal Palm Beach, FL. I am so new to the sport that I could be considered still in the wrapper. So far, I have been limited to practice casting in the backyard (when my grandson is napping or away). I hope to get on the water soon. I just got my Florida fishing license.

I have been wetland biologist for about 26 years working mainly for state regulatory agencies. I did a stint in Virginia (Shenandoah Valley) for about 7 of those years. No fishing, just cycling. I know I really missed some golden opportunities. I did some stream biological surveys (turned a lot of stones) while working there, so I became somewhat familiar with the invertebrates. That brings me to a question that I was going to ask on another string "Has anyone ever been nailed by a hellgrammite?" I certainly ran into them often enough but was never pinched. Just curious!

Anyway, I moved back to Florida about 22 years ago and have worked overseeing wetland mitigation projects, so I am familiar with Florida's freshwater systems. I'm hopeful that I will be able to retire in about 4 years. My wife and I plan on moving retiring out near Durango, CO. I do not want to miss the fishing (and biking) opportunities out there.

We plan on visiting Durango in early April. I have already contacted the local fly fishing store about scheduling a casting lesson. I am also seriously considering one of those 2 day classes offered by Orvis (maybe the one in Hot Springs, VA) while up there visiting relatives this summer.

Well, that is me in a nutshell. Thanks for the great website!

welcome, Neo! this is a great place to study up on the bugs. my advice as a recent mature neophyte myself is to take a school such as Orvis and other stores and guides offer. it will save you a lot of blundering about. another thing, depending on the budget, is to hire a guide when fishing new water, and tip appropriately for the knowledge they share to help you come back on your own. and then there are the fly shops--major fonts of wisdom, in my experience.

meanwhile, there are probably some ponds on the local golf courses that house fish in need of some teasing. casting practice is a lot more fun with a fly on the end of the line, IMHO.

Welcome Neophyte,
Great first post, it sounds as though you are well on your way to joining the ranks of others who love this sport. I second Casey’s suggestions, especially hiring a guide on new water. I have only fished with a guide twice, many years ago, but it definitely bumped up the learning curve. I am familiar with Durango and will say that there is no shortage of fine fishing opportunities and fishing mentors. As a mater of fact I will be heading that way shortly. And, to answer your question, click on the following.
Do They Bite

By way of introduction, Flatstick96 is my brother, Duane. Louis may be the only other person on the forum who's met him. Duane is unfortunate enough to live in Texas, but now and then he comes up to Central PA to show me how to fish. Even though he doesn't do it very much anymore, he ALWAYS catches more fish than I do, even though he'd love you to believe otherwise, often telling the story about that time I caught more fish than he did. But that's just it - it is ONE story, and it is a baldfaced lie. I'm glad to see him posting on this forum - it's probably good for his sanity.

-Shawn

P.S. Lest anyone feel sorry for him, let me assure you that he chose of his own free will to move to Texas, then exacerbated the matter by marrying a Texan (or should I delete the latter half of that sentence...). So he made his own 120-degrees-in-the-shade bed.

So here's the giveaway. I thought I recognized the avatar in the Spring Creek freight train post. Hi Duane.

I like to go a-fishin’
But there’s somethin’ that’s been missin
I wish and I wish
But I don’t catch a fish
It’s like into the wind I’m a-pissin’


I'm no limericist, but I think it's passable

Anyway, I'm actually quite new. My local TU chapter published this site in their newsletter so I figured I'd check it out. I'm 35, a tugboat captain and pilot boat operator, and I've been fishing all my life. Only recently have I got back in to fly fishing after a hiatus of over 20 years.

I love it. But I'm not catching fish so I spend my non-fishing times mucking around books and the internet looking for tips.

Hopefully I find something here :)

:) :) :) Love the limerick. Welcome aboard, Cap'n!

Thanks for the kind words guys, not sure how I missed this thread before - especially since it is pinned at the top...

I guess Shawn's right, I've been blessed with some weird ability to catch fish, even if my technical abilities leave much to be desired (nobody who watches me for 5 minutes would ever expect me to catch ANY fish). Shawn, what was it that Robert said that time you guys were watching me flog water on The Fork?

Shawn has actually theorized that perhaps heavily pressured fish respond to my "style" because they're actually so used to seeing flies presented "correctly" that they are actually fooled by my ham-handed approach, thinking "Well, THAT thing tumbling toward me looks too clumsy to be a fake". (Or course he says it much more tactfully).

What Shawn is too humble to mention is that the reason I catch more fish than he does is because he spends most of his time thinking of other aspects of fly-fishing, while I simply maintain my focus on one thing: catching trout. EXAMPLE: Some of the best patterns I've used when fishing with him on central PA streams are patterns bred of his own imagination - I, on the other hand, couldn't come up with an original fly-tying idea if you put a gun to my head. Hell, I have a hard enough time setting my vise up next to him and just COPYING what he's doing.

So while he's crouched on the side of the stream looking down thinking: "Hmmm...do fish eat nymph SHUCKS - and what could I tie that would resemble one?", I'm happy to just be mid-stream, catching fish with the box of flies that he was good enough to tie up for me before I got there.

Man, I can't wait to get back up there this summer...

Howdy folks. I am a lurker here for a while and thought I should join in. I fly fish mostly in Arkansas and Colorado and love nothing better than a day on the water. Thanks..AB

Welcome Alex!

Where do you fish in Arkansas? I'm in Austin, and I'd love to find somewhere within a day's drive where I could find some worthwhile trout fishing. I've thought about making the trek up to Murfreesboro, AR to try the Little Missouri, but I sure don't want to make the trip if it isn't worth it. Have you fished there, by chance?

I haven't fished there before. Normally I hit the White river and that area. I have relatives that live in Missouri and I stop in and fish on my way there and home. I think it is part of the reason I go visit!!! I used to go catch bass and bluegill on bull creek in austin on a 3 weight rod and had a blast. Graduated from UT in 03 and loved every minute of that town!

First and foremost, thank you Jason for providing the fly fishing community was such an invaluable resource. I stumbled upon this site while Google searching specific entomology in the hopes of identifying some of the mayfly's present in my hometown waters of Indiana, Pa.

My name is Josh, and I'm currently a 22 yr. old senior at the Indiana University of Pa majoring in Anthropology with a minor in Psychology. I dove into the fly fishing realm and have fallen in love prematurely. My transition into throwing flies was relatively fast due to my past experience in centerpinning with nymphs and other aquatic insects, so I was rather confident with the learning curve. I'm still in my first year, but have managed to do well with indicator nymphing, swinging, and dries, and already have a burning desire to learn spey techniques. I've been blessed with a full summer of non stop fishing, and I take full advantage. There has not been a day I have not fished and blogged about it in over 3 months. Lately, I've been passionate out preservation, especially of native streams, and one day hope I can make a living out of forwarding the movement I've so quickly taken to heart.

Though I'm new to the game, I hope I can contribute to this site, and I'm quick to admit, I'm here to learn, and from what I've read, it seems I'm in the right place. Thanks for the opening introduction to those who have read this boorish fishing biography. Eager to get acquainted with all, or even some of you.

Nice intro. Welcome aboard, Josh.

I too am new to this amazing website and would also like to say thanks

Hello Keith,

Welcome aboard. We are all in debt to Jason for this wonderful site, which never stops giving.

Jason, to find out that you started this sport somewhat recently and have come up with this website, amazes me.
I learned to catch brookies in WI from my Grandpa on a fly rod, but not fly fishing. He would tie on a regular hook with a small cork and a waxie and would walk deep into the woods and then downstream and catch more fish than I ever do today. That was 10-12 years ago and I caught many brookies that way, but using an ultralight spinning rod. It wasn't until last fall that I caught my first trout on a fly on the Kinni, right in town, too. I was immediately addicted and still wish I would have done it sooner. That first trip I caught close to a dozen. That'll do it, I suppose. My first child was born the same year that I got into fly-fishing. This past year has been emotional. I still get butterflies thinking about getting home from work to see my son and getting to the stream. Bless my wife.
I reside in Mpls and work for a successful furniture retailer. I also read a lot and would love to start a forum soon on fly-fishing novels. I've been inhaling them.
Thanks to everyone here!
eric

I just found this place and have been reading topic after topic all afternoon, mostly because I am a lousy lazy employee that my boss should have fired years ago.

I live in Massachusetts, and only recently took up fishing as an adult. I did fish for trout with my dad growing up in Colorado, but soon forgot all about it after discovering girls and cars and girls.

Long story short, I find myself the dad now, with a couple of kids who don't spend nearly enough time outdoors. So last year, we took up fishing, and had fun, only I discovered that most of the fishing around New England bore little resemblence to what I remembered doing with my pop. Crankbaits? Stickbaits? Spinnerbaits? Bass? What the hey?

My dad taught me to fish mostly with a fly behind a casting bubble, so that's what I went back to. This year, however, I decided that if I was going to use flies, I should go all in and get a fly rod and do it right. So I've spent most of the summer developing basic competency with the fly rod, and now I find myself with passable skills, a box full of flies, and a float tube, with absolutely no idea where to catch trout around where I live. None of my friends fish, which means, of course, that I need new friends. I recently joined TU, but have yet to get a reply to the email I sent to the chapter president.

Anyway, that's just my info and should serve as notification that I plan to lurk and devour as much knowledge as you old hands can dish out.