Spring, fishable water, first timers and mushrooms

Posted by philip on April 27, 2008

Finally, a day on the stream worth writing about.  We’ve had a wet spring here in western Pa, and when the water wasn’t high and muddy, there were weddings and first day crowds and work.  Rusty and I attempted to break in 2008 last weekend (4-20-08) but the streams were blown out, and the tailraces were packed with people.  We agreed to wipe that outing off the books.

This weekend was the next attempt, and was to be a unique first day out as I wanted to get a co-worker, John Z, out fly-fishing for the first time in his life.   Rusty got called to work, so it was just John and I this time.  We met up early and walked the 3/4 mile from the hard road down through the woods to the stream which was running at a decent flow and pretty clear for this time of year.  A big relief after last weekend’s blow out when the same stream looked like Nestle Quick.

This was the first time that I’ve gone out fishing with a first timer.  John was eager to learn though, and it was a perfect day to get someone on fish.  I don’t consider myself much of an instructor, and honestly, I think fly-fishing is something that just takes time and practice to learn.  I did my best to give him some basic tips and point him in the right direction without being too overbearing.  Being a nymph fan (highsticker), I pointed out that we’d be fishing deep as opposed to dry which is what everyone thinks of when you mention fly-fishing.  We turned over some rocks to illustrate what the nymphs were designed to replicate, and it was on to fishing.

The water was in perfect shape with a good flow and just enough tint to help our situation.  The fish seemed to want to cooperate right off the bat.  In the first hole we had several takers on the tandem rig I set John up with which was a very basic nymphing rig.  A #16 bead head hare’s ear with a  #18 gunmetal flashback beadhead pheasant tail (see movies section).  I could see John looking at me funny when I tied these on and could tell he wanted to ask if the fish could see them.  He made a comment about that later in the day.  It still amazes me that they can matrix out a #18 mayfly nymph a foot above them in the water colum flying at them at what would probably be 60 mph to us and manuever themselves into position to eat the bug/fly.

Watching John reminded me of when I started out.  It’s a daunting sport to jump into, with all the equipment, insect biology, water reading etc. and then enter the fact that you’re in a stream with other fishermen around watching you, and you’ve got a down right nerve wracking experience.  I guess that’s what defines us eventually in this hobby.  The ability to ignore all those factors and move ahead or to give up.  Regardless, John did great for the first time he’d ever casted a fly rod.  By the end of the day I could see a huge improvement in casting and line handling.  It was great to watch, and I’m glad I got to be a part of that.

John was able to land one fish, and had another one for as long as I would consider a “caught” fish, so we’ll say 2.  I had a few while poking around.  I was more interested in being out on the water on a nice day, helping John learn, playing with my new waterproof camera and just relaxing than slaying fish.  It’s funny, to me anymore, it’s not about numbers.  I’ve had those days of 30 – 40 fish each with Rusty, and they are fun.  This same stream last year wore Rusty and I out.  I still don’t know how many fish we caught that day, but it was simply amazing.  Sometimes though, it’s nice to take it slow, catch a few and just enjoy the outdoors.

We saw a lot of fish, and a lot of fish swinging at flies.  I rolled a huge bow at the last hole we fished, and I’m sure if I would’ve pounded the water to a froth, I could’ve managed a few more.  We hiked the long hike back out and I just couldn’t resist poking around in the leaves under the apple trees near the lot.  John took off, and I stayed for another hour harvesting wild mushrooms.  Morel mushrooms.  If you haven’t heard of them or seen them, they’re great!  You can only find them for a few weeks during the end of April and beginning of May (in Pennsylvania), and you can only find them in very specific areas like the North side of a hill with aged apple trees.  They’re really hard to see too, so the pic below should help  you find them.  Here’s a link to a site about Morels.  http://thegreatmorel.com/index.shtml