First Trout Caught Fly Fishing

So being unemployed again I had nothing to do two Thursdays ago so I decided to try my hand at fly fishing at stony Creek in Dauphin. I packed up the Beetle and started out for Dauphin around 3 in the afternoon or so. By the time I got to the creek it was around 4:30. I've never been to this stream before so I had no idea where the fishing was good, but thanks to Dave Wolf's Book, "Fly Fisher's Guide To Pennsylvania", I headed all the way up to the gate and parked. I didn't know how far the walk in was so I buckled my waders together and flung them over my shoulder and figured I'd get into them once I got to the stream. So after about 10 minutes of walking upstream, but not quite being able to see the stream I decided to finally head right up to the bank. When I emerged from underneath the low hanging hemlocks I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. I had inadvertently stumbled into a perfect spot for fly casting. As I got closer to the bank my excitement grew even more. There were trout everywhere, swimming back and forth. I managed not to spook most of them and decided to back up a bit while I put on my hippers and rigged up the fly rod.

Once I was all set to go it was the moment of truth. I headed to the bottom of this perfect hole I'd found and set foot in the water. I waded out to the center of the stream and tied on an Adams #16. I looked around to make sure my wild overhead cast wouldn't snag any tree branches and let it fly. The first couple casts were a unwieldy feeling out as this was the second time I've fly fished. Once I had the casting down to my liking I started trying to aim the casts more than just get them to go in a general direction. I aimed and shot the fly under need a large hemlock branch close to the bank. The fly sat for a few seconds before I saw it vanish in a flash. I set the hook and commenced yelling like a lunatic. I had my first trout hooked on a fly.

I had some line stripped off and laying on the water behind me so I had to let him run it out until I had him on the reel. Once that was done I began to reel him in, trout fighting all the way. I didn't believe people when they told me that fighting a trout is an entirely different experience on a fly rod, but I definitely believed them now. So after a minute or two of fighting this fish I got him reeled in to within a few feet of me. This is where the juggling began. I'm by myself in the middle of the creek trying to grab my net, keep the rod tip up, reach for my camera, and trying to unhook the trout and get it in the water before it dies. After a few times nearly losing my balance and falling over in the stream I managed to get the fish in the net, lay the rod down on a nearby rock, and snap a few pictures before putting it back in the stream. After he was gone and the camera away, I decided to celebrate with a victory dance. If only someone would have been there to see it. Glorious poetry in motion I tell you. At any rate, the picture at the beginning of the post is the little guy that caused me to have so much fun. I caught several more chubs the rest of the evening but no more trout. But not that I've popped my proverbial cherry I'm definitely "hooked on fly fishing". Pun definitely intended.