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Adam Grace
03-14-2005, 11:20 PM
I fondly remember my first fish on a fly rod. It was a very exciting experience that I will never forget. I was lucky enough to take part in someone else's first fly rod fish.

My fishing buddy Gregg, Gregg's Father Jim, Randy(family friend) and I fished the Yuba together last Saturday. We had a nice time, not many trout but a fun day out fishing with friends.

The high light of the day was the catch of Jim's first ever fly caught fish, a Yuba River Rainbow Trout. This first fish was not a large beefy trout but every bit memorable. The smile on Jim's face can say more than words so here is the picture.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/flyguyag/fishing/jimsfirstflytrout.jpg

Congratulations Jim!

Gregg also has some fun, below is a picture of Gregg enjoying a cigar in celebration after hooking into four trout on top with a MB dry fly. Too bad not all trout found their way into Gregg's hand :wink:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/flyguyag/fishing/greggyubasmoke.jpg

Memorable moments on the river make this great sport very enjoyable.

I would like to hear about other peoples memorable moments.

What was your first fish, and where did you catch it?

Darian
03-14-2005, 11:39 PM
I don't know if Jim realizes what has just happened to him (catching that first fish on a fly..... 8) ) or not.... :? :?

Jim, If you're reading this, you'll soon find that you can no longer pass fly shops, no matter where you are or who you're with :shock: , You might even start to squirrel away money for that new set of waders, wading shoes, rod/line/leader/flies (....or a squirrel skin for that matter :wink: ). Pretty soon you'll be sneaking away to indulge in this new passtime in whatever time is available :roll: :roll: Your family'll start noticing changes in your personality; maybe a new found focus in your nuerotic quest for ever more trout :shock: :shock:

You waders will become your mythical telephone booth; transforming yourself into the supreme fly fisherperson (....being politically correct 8) ), Shad Roe..... :wink: This name will become your code name for the fly fishing/tying BBQ's and for those clandestine visits on the internet to purchase illicit :shock: (....only to your family :roll: ) fly tying materials.

After a few months, you'll find yourself waking up at fishing places without having any knowledge of how you got there.... And that's just for Trout fishing. :shock: :shock: But, remember, it's all good cause you can quit anytime you want, RIGHT :?: :?: :?:

Welcome to the fly fishing fraternity JIM :!: :!: :P :P :lol: :lol:

Hairstacker
03-15-2005, 04:57 AM
All right, congratulations Jim!! Very cool!!! Is this fun or what?!? Sounds like everyone had a blast. And trout are just the beginning. . . .

Darian, you are too funny, but yet, too accurate. :lol: The telephone booth part. . . . :lol: :lol: :lol:

I fondly recall my first fish on a fly. Read a book, acquired my Garcia Conolon fiberglass 7 wt. and a Pflueger Medalist 1494 and fly line at Longs Drugstore, read the book some more on how to cast, and headed to Lake Berryessa with two fly patterns I got at KMart: a few #14 Adams and some #16 Light Cahills. Fortunately, I didn't know anyone who fly fished so there was no one to tell me this wasn't going to work. I tossed the Adams out there for a while, as I taught myself how to cast. No rises, so I switched to the Light Cahills. Every few casts, I would make one that let the fly flutter to the water softly. Finally, a trout rose and took it. And another took it, and so on for the rest of spring. Never did go back to the Adams that year, ha. And I never felt the need to carry more than ONE pattern (life was SO simple then :lol: ) The Light Cahill has a special place for me because of this experience and, if I ever go back to a certain cove at Berryessa, it will once again be the fly I reach for first. :D

Darian
03-15-2005, 10:10 AM
Forgot to mention my first fly caught fish, above...... :roll: My first fish on a fly was a trout in the headwaters of the San Joaquin River while on vacation with my best buddies family. :D It was a fly (mosquito) that I tied from a Ned Gray Fly Tying kit given to me by my Dad. :D I was about 13 at the time and the fly was my first finished fly/product. This fly was cast on a spinning rod (no bubble) just letting out line to be taken by the current. :roll:

The part about receiving the kit from my Dad is funny because he was a confirmed bait/gear guy..... :wink: 8) 8)

SteelieD
03-15-2005, 10:14 AM
Jim... Welcome! You are certainly in good hands with Adam and Gregg!

Darian... You hit the nail on the head man. I too am a newbie and DO find myself squirrling away money for just about anything I can get my hands on. I am constantly making "clandestine visits to the internet" buying, again, just about anything I can get my hands on. My wife thinks I'm nuts, my kids draw pictures of the family and I'm not in them... my daughter explains, "Daddy's fishing!". I know it's OK though because I CAN quit anytime.

My first fish on a fly rod was last August on a guided trip to the Trinity. I had had a fly rod tucked away in the closet for years promising myself that I would figure out how to use it. (I had made a few miserable attempts on some beautiful Rocky Mountain lakes, but as everyone here knows, tree lined lakes and absolutly know idea what a roll cast is can make for a frustrating experience!) Well while on the Trinity, I managed to catch about 20 steelhead! Did I know what flies they were caught on? No. Did I know that they were juvinelle hatchery fish? No. Did I even know that I was fishing below the hatchery and what that meant? Well sort of. Heck, I didn't even know what an adipose fin was AFTER the guys at the Fly Shop explained it! Did I care about any of this. NO, I caught 20 fish, I was the greatest flyfisherman to ever walk the face of the earth!!!

That's my story. I have since spent the following months being humbled time and time again. My quest for knowledge and experience cannot be fulfilled. And, I am loving every minute of it!

Again, welcome Jim!

Derek

Darian
03-15-2005, 10:43 AM
Steelie,..... I know you can do it (quit that is.... :roll: ). Have you looked into a twelve point program, yet :?: :?: 8) Ya know there's some good looking..... :shock: Oh,...nevermind.....

Gregg Machel
03-15-2005, 12:13 PM
Very cool, that fish dwarfs my first fish on a fly! I caught it in the streams underneath the big bridge going to Forrest Hill on a side stream. This guy was tiny, but it sure felt good! I wish I would have had a camera, that would have been one of my favorite pictures and would always be in the front of the book.

Congrats!

Bill Kiene semi-retired
03-15-2005, 07:07 PM
I can tell you what got me to thinking about fly fishing.

When I was a teenager (45 years ago) my family went to Yosemite for our summer vacation for a week.

We camped at Tuolumne Meadows where the river opened up into some small ponds.

Two old fly fishers were camped near us next to the ponds. They had an old '50s sedan and towed an old aluminum tear drop trailer.

Every evening they put on their old chest waders, vest, wicker creel, fishing hat with split cane fly rods.

The last hour or so the fish would rise to small insects on the smooth surface and they would catch trout with dry flies.

I watched them every night for a week and was hooked myself.

After that I read everything I could find about fly fishing. At first I seriously wondered if I was of the right nationality, breeding or genetic background to be a fly fisherman? I would read the western pages (different color) of the big eastern fishing magazines.

I think my first fish on a fly rod was a bluegill.

Digger
03-16-2005, 12:47 PM
My dad wasn't a fly guy, salmon eggs and marshmallows I vaugely remember. When we fished creeks and streams he switched to flies or streamers I think.
I grew up and got busy with life. Fast forward 20 years.

My buddy borrows a fly rod to loan me. It's after Labor day, he and I end up on the MF of the San Joaquin behind Mammoth Mtn. I tell him this is just too much work trying to do this with all these damn knots, and everything's so small, blah, blah, blah. 4th or 5th cast, bingo a 5 inch brown or something still with parr marks on it. Hey, this is pretty cool!