Can't Get Enough

Saturday I went on what was going to be a simple trip to the river.  I wanted to hit a spot I had never been, and it would have been wonderful had I not missed my turn.  I missed one street and had to call Sarah who guided me to the road I needed.  Once I was there I started with the dropper combo that treated me so well last week, but quickly scrapped that for what I saw was going on.  I was fishing close to the shore line and happened to look across that water and saw a fish sipping a dry about 40 yards out.  Once I calmly moved close enough to see what was going on I quickly reached for a box I added flies to just the night before.

Slapping every pocket on my vest twice could not find the box.  I was getting worried I forgot it, and then I remembered I left it next to my fly tying things.  This was not good, because in the time it took me to walk the 40 yards I noticed that a light cahill would work, but it would need to be small.  The box that I was missing had either some that were size 18 to 20, but the box was on my living room floor.  So the rest of the trip was spent digging though boxes trying to find the smallest flies I had with me.  I fooled a couple fish into taking my offering but what I really needed was the right fly.

It a great trip but left a bad taste in my mouth and taught me a lesson.  Never leave the house without the box that has the small dry flies in it. Well as I said this trip had the potential to be great, but with this bad taste I might need just one more trip before we move north.  I think I have Sarah talked into coming to this same spot with me on Friday.  Now I need to talk my boss into letting me knock off work that day, and make sure the small fly box is in my vest.

this guy was a little beat up but had lots of fight

Hoping to be on the water at least one more time before we leave for the north so keep checking in.



-Bruce

Grand Finale?

The view from Bowman Island

So I don't know weather this will be my last trip to the dam before we move, but either way it might go down as one of the most fun and successful fishing trips I have had in Georgia.  I fish a not so secret area in Georgia on the Chattahoochee river.  Burford Dam is the dam that holds Lake Lanier back, but what draws me to Buford Dam is the river.  The water from the dam rarely comes out higher then 50 degrees fahrenheit which makes this a year round trout spot less then an hour from down town Atlanta.  There are a couple down falls to this spot, the first is the fact that it is not a secret everyone knows about this spot.  Another big down fall is the fact that it's a hydroelectric dam and they release water from it, so there are times when you just plan can't be on the river.  The plus side is there is a lot of cold water year round, which helps spread the fishermen and the fish out.  Another plus is that along with lots of stock fish this section has trout that are wild(released and possibly reproducing in the wild) trout.  Lastly there are some big brown trout here. An 18lb 6oz  state recored brown trout was pulled from the river here and that is nothing to sneeze at.

looking at the front side of the island

The trip if it was my last was a great way to leave.  I think I brought to hand something like 25 to 30 trout.  I only left for the river after 11, and most of the time you get a late start you need to fish till dark to catch fish.  This didn't hold true on Saturday for a couple simple reasons.  First there was an early morning water release from 6 a.m. till 9 a.m. so till i got there the levels where just about back to normal. Also the water was not crystal clear like normal, it had a blue green tint.  The tint was a welcome sight to me because the skies were so clear so it was a little cover for me.  I strive in overcast, cloudy water, rain, and I have even caught fish in a snow storm one year when my brother and I went out one winter.



There are a lot of holes to fish and the options are never ending when it comes to what kind of water you want to fish.  I had two spots in mind when I pulled into the parking lot and as I walked up on the first I noticed an older man just down stream from where I wanted to be.  I stood back a on the bank and watched to see which way he was moving and figured upstream because he kept checking up on me as I stood there.  With about four trucks in the parking lot I figured one of my other spots will be open, so with that one spoken for I moved on.  The second spot I had in mind was on the other side of an island, but I didn't want to back track up stream to get to my normal cross point.  In an effort to be respectful to the guy I moved down stream and crossed below him.  Then climbed up on to Bowmans island.  The island's banks are tall walls of dirt and they are kept that way by the releases but I found a very distinct game trail going up one bank and followed it.

center of the photo that light stick is a buck rub about 70 yards out

Once I was on the island I just had to cross and find a way down the other side. When was up there I saw a couple buck rubs and a big scrape.  I remembered I was fishing and my mind went back to the task at hand, finding a was down the other side.  I found another trail and amazingly enough when I got to water level I was directly across from my favorite spot on the back side of the island.  With an idea of how I wanted to fish the hole and went about setting up a dropper.  I tied a big Adams fly on and dropped a  Prince nymph off it. On the very first drift a trout shot up from the deep and went after the Adams and I was in such shock I missed the hooks set.  I was not expecting to have a fish go after the dry fly because of the water color and the fact that there was no fly hatch going on.  My Adams was the only dry on the water.  After a couple unsuccessful drifts I thought that maybe it was time to switch up the flies, and after about twenty minutes and three or four flies I was still batting zero.  I retreated to a close rock and thought out loud talking through water conditions, air temps, weather forecast and what I would be looking for if I was a trout.  I kept the Adams but dropped a Zebra Midge off the back of it and that was the ticket.

The sheer dirt wall of bowman island and the first of many holes to fish

I then had two and a half hours of fish on.  The fishing was almost easy once I got the nymph right, and it was a blast.  Sadly I did not pull out a record fish but what I did was a personal first. I landed a fish on three consecutive casts.  Also when the hole was kinda slowing down I had a trout come from the bottom and hit the dry fly again, but this time I set the hook and landed a pretty brown trout.  It is fall and not only do the leaves show off the brilliant colors but the trout too.  Every single trout I caught was amazing and I felt myself taking a little longer to look each one over.  As I was head to the crossing spot I fished holes that looked like they could hold trout.

Thinking about how trout sounded good and these trout all looked healthy and strong I felt like I would take one for a change.  So when I hooked up with one on the last hole of the day I kept it and thought about how and when I would eat it.  I grew up keeping every fish, but for the last ten to fifteen years now I have been a catch and release guy.  When I want to take and eat a trout now, it is something that I think more about.  Growing up it was about keeping the limit but now its a conscience decision that I will be taking this trout to eat.  

Some great color on all the fish but the browns had the best

second fish to try the Adams

just a little guy

I found a new angle

an example of fish colors in fall

Well once I was home I went to work prepping the fish.  I haven't filleted a fish in a long time, but after messing up one side and leaving a little meat on the bone it came back to me and the other side was just right.  I left the skin on because it helps keep the meat moist and together, plus we ate it skin on growing up unless it was a huge fish.  This morning I woke up and cooked my catch with lemon juice, butter, salt and pepper.  I had it with dippy  eggs and toast.  I love having fish with breakfast but I do not do it enough.  Actually since Sarah does not like fish we do not have a lot of fish, but I want to start eating more.

top fillet is the one that I didn't mess up

breakfast of champions 

 

So I was thinking if this was my last trip to the dam I can call it a great experience, but if I get up there again I hope I can match this trip.  Thanks for following along.



-Bruce

Looking Back

I remember it well, and just found the pictures.  It was May 2007, and if I was to put my life into chapters like a book this would be near the end of one of them.  It was a couple days after my brother's birthdays, and a few days before what I'd call the start of a new chapter, called my trip to Lesotho(a small landlocked country in South Africa where I worked with an orphanage).  This time in my life I was making some choices about my future and with that I was doing what has always calmed my mind and also allowed it to think clearly, and that is fly fishing.  

My brother and I when to a spot that has always treated us very well over the years.  I do not remember the exact drift or even when I moved to the spillway I was working, but the fish is still burned in my head.  It was a thick, long, heavy rainbow with amazing color and I think it might have had shoulders because it pulled like a mack truck.  I was fishing with my 5 foot 5wt full flex rod and well when you hooked up with a 20 inch fish using a light rod like this you know it.  It was the same feeling I had this year when I fished smith gill woods and missed that big fish on a dry.  

This fish was landed on a price nymph, I remember fishing the nymph with no indicator or dropper.  I remember the hook set and thinking I was maybe stuck on a log I knew was a the bottom of this section of swift moving water, but when the head shake started I only could think big fish.  My brother was down steam but not far because we were fishing together this day, and it was a good thing.  He looked up at me after the hook set and without any words at first, he started pulling his line in fast and coming to my aid. As he got close I think I said "it is a good one".  He past behind me and I handed him the net, and kept the pressure on this fish.  As I felt the fish tire I turned steady pressure into getting line back on the reel.  

Jason(my brother) was right there once I got to that sweet spot and I think instead of netting he hand landed even with my steady objection.  Some of the hand shots are of him holding it and I was probably jumping for joy between camera shots.  I know this fish ranks up there as one of my best I ever caught, compared to some people this fish is a shrimp, but I think I am still as proud of this fish on this day, as any other fish I have ever caught.  

I just want to point out that a picture is worth a thousand words, and when I looked at this picture tonight these words came to mind and I thought I would share them.  

I know I need to do blog work and I will because honestly I have not been fishing so I need to make this blog look good, feel good, and read well.  Lets hope I can get out fishing again soon so I have something new to blog about.  

-Bruce 

Thanks Brian

This post is brought to you by request of my friend Brain and my wife Sarah.  I have not been very motivated in my blog lately, and Sarah has been reminding me for a week to get a new post out.  Last night I left my phone in my truck and was too lazy to walk back down to get it.  So when I left this morning I unlocked the truck and picked the phone up from the seat and saw a text message from Brain and it simply said "it's about time for a new blog post isn't it?".  He was right and I have not blogged in a while, but I think in my  subconscious I am not confident with putting my adventures into words just yet.

Okay so with that out in the open it is time for me so share my most recent fishing trip.  Last week about Tuesday I was day dreaming at work about fly fishing for trout.  The day dream was vivd and very clear in where I wanted to fish right down the sport on the river.  I came home and started to tie some flies that I needed.  By Friday I had most of the flies I though would be best for this spot, and after a short trip to Bass Pro for a trout leader that I needed badly, I was about ready to go.  Friday night our power went out so Sarah and I had time to talk, but this meant that I did not tie any extra flies for the morning so my boxes had about 3 or 4 of each fly I would need.

Saturday Sarah had to work so when she go up early I was right there with her.  She was getting into her work cloths and I was putting on my fishing shirt, and my cut off camo shorts.  I gave her a kiss and sent her on her way to work, then grabbed my gear and an apple and was out the door 5 minutes later.  I got to the river soon after sunrise, and was in the water within a half hour of getting to the parking lot.  This trip was bitter sweet in many ways, and it started very early.  It was a perfect day out, light cloud cover, high 80s, and a slight breeze, but as soon as I had water up to my mid section I noticed some moisture coming in my waders.  The water was not rushing in, but also was not just damp.  The spot it was coming in also was a little annoying because as a guy it hit a spot that 50ish degree water really feels uncomfortable.  So anytime I was in waist high water it was like water torture for just below my waist.


After my pants had a good soaking I barely noticed the leak any more plus I had missed a couple trout and this had me thinking about anything but comfort.  Once I set the hook and landed the first one I was relieved, because I had been skunked a lot lately and needed a couple good fish.  This first one I was hoping would open the flood gates to more, and it did but along with the fish I also ran into more bad luck.    

First of the day

Number two was bigger

The third was maybe on of the prettier rainbows I've caught all year, and bigger still. 

Number three however was where my second big problem hit.  I caught this guy in the second or third hole of the day and bent over to take some video with my flip camera(which has a cool underwater case) and I dunked my point and shoot camera for the second week in a row!  So the rest of the pictures on this post are from my phone. After the dunking of my camera I pulled a couple more fish from some other holes I know very well.  As I moved from one hole to another I was slipping on what have to be the slipperiest rock in any river I have ever been in.  All that slipping was getting me closer to a hole which has treated me well earlier this year. 

These three are taken with my phone in a much sunnier spot which is why everything looks like a reflector

On my why to this spot I slipped on a rock in shallow water and got a gallon of water down the front of my waders.  Now once at the spot as you can see from the pictures above I got into some great fish.  The best fish of the day brought to hand was actually brought to net, in the picture above. As for the best fish not brought to hand, it was two casts after landing the biggest of the day.  I was fishing a bead head hairs ear nymph dropper off a grass hopper I picked up cheap in some fly shop somewhere years ago.  

The hopper was pretty beat up and I thought was useless, but on a drift I must have made at this point 20 time I saw a shadow come from this deep clear hole.  It was a BIG trout and it nailed the hopper, and with one whip of its tail was on the bottom of the hole with ther fly most likely barely in its mouth.  I fought the fish for a few brief moments, but it had been such a long time since I had a fish of any real size on the end of a 6X leader that I played the situation all wrong.  The line broke and I was left standing there thinking where has my luck gone.  

Well on my way back I stopped at two more holes where I continued to miss fish on a streamer that I always do well on, but could not seal the deal with this day for some reason.  Then in the last hole I had another monster fish chase and then swipe at my streamer but it missed or maybe just caught the tail of the fly.  This was it two fish that either one of them could have been the biggest fish I have ever caught, and if not the biggest ever then definitely the biggest in the past 5 years.  I was finished so I slipped my way along the bank headed in the direction of my truck.  At one point I slipped and hit a dead tree branch, and immediately heard the sound of neoprene ripping.  It was a hole big enough to fit at least a dime though, or maybe 3 or 4 stacked up.  Water was pouring in and I still needed to cross the river at this point.  

After a long walk back to the truck sloshing the entire walk.  I was putting my gear in the tool box when I noticed a tool missing from my fishing gear.  It was a tool my brother gave me for christmas and I use it a lot.  The tool was for holding small flies as you tie them to your line, and that was it.  My trip was over and I had done everything short of breaking my rod or drowning, but I just could not help but be in a good mood for the luck I had and the great day it turned out to be.  I lost and broke some gear that is important and expensive but I caught some great fish and got to feel the power of a real big trout which some people will never feel or understand.  Hopefully one of these weeks I will be fishing and actually get a picture of a big one.  I am sure when that day finally comes it will be well worth it.   Well Sarah and Brian thanks for pushing me to tell this may latest story, I will try to be better about this blogging thing I promise.  

-Bruce

In Over My Head

My new work schedule has me working every other Saturday.  So this Saturday I worked and decided to bring a rod and some flies to fish after my work day was done.  I ended up putting in ten hours Saturday and when I clocked out I was hungry and tired but decide to hit the river for a couple hour anyway.  I was hitting a spot I went to early in the spring for trout, but with the river water being near the highest temperatures its been all summer it is shoal and smallmouth bass time.

With little gear I headed out.  Just a fly boxes, an extra leader, nippers (other essential tools), a phone, and a camera(to capture the action to report on here) .  Well I didn't put the phone or camera in water proof bag or box because these add bulk to my gear and I was very sure about this spot not being too deep(famous last words).

I got to the spot where I needed to start wading out into the river.  I was headed for some rocks that stick out of the water.  I had been on them before and remember it was a deep wade but remember the water being just above my navel.  What I failed to think of is the fact that this spring we got a couple good rains which made the river swell a couple different times and ultimately altering the bottom.  Normally I am a smart confident person on any water, and my memory of different waters is really good too.  I have always been able to remember where rocks, logs, and different pockets are on the bottom after being on them only once.  Even on a new body of water I have a good eye for tells that will show me where is safe and where to stay away from.

Looking back on this trip I should have called it when I stayed at work two hours extra.  I was rushing and pushing to get to a spot where I missed a big bass in the spring.  Seeing the rock just 30 yards out was distracting, the angle of the sun made it hard to seen underwater rocks. I was wearing my keen sandals because I left my new wading shoes at home.  These are all things I have been factoring into the next moment in time.  I was on a rock with the water about thigh high I remember it being a chest high wade to the rock I wanted to be at.  My very next step had me chest deep, and anyone who has walked in to cool water chest high knows it takes your breath away for a second.  I gave my body time to adjust and decided to feel out in front of me with one foot to see how deep the water was, but slipped.  It was not a fall forward because when the test foot hit the rock in front of me I was underwater.

Underwater in a river I know well enough this should not happen, instinctively I pushed off the bottom and was back up I gave a couple leg kicks and was back to a knee deep rock.  Wet, from my feet to the button on the top of my hat.  When I got to my final destination(rock)  I took the battery out of my phone and camera, took my shirt off and squeezed the water out.  I only fished for about a half out and headed home pissed off and wet(25 yards down the water was knee high all the way to the shore).

Once I got home and changed into dry cloths I set up the hair dryer on low and started drying things out.  I took my camera apart and took a canned air to it.  The phone I put together after a couple hours and it was fine.  I have a motorola tundra for this very reason, because I am hard on on phones.  The camera on the other hand well I waited till the next morning to get it powered up.  Amazingly the camera still works! The screen has a water spot on the bottom right, but I am okay with that.  So my advice to anyone who uses an older point and shoot camera and it gets wet.  Go ahead and take the shell of it apart, get the canned air on it to get most of the water out.  Then its a hair dryer on low for a couple hours and cross your fingers when you power up.  If you smell a lot of wire burn smell power down and dry some more.  Also if it feels hot just consider it done, but it is worth a shot.

Thanks for the tool set dad it comes in handy a lot!  I use it all the time for small things.

Here it is camera drying out.

This is the tundra I was not really worried about it but wanted to be safe so I dried it out also.

Anyway my pride still hurts from this mistake.  I have been kicking myself every since this and just want to get out and have some luck on the river.  Part of my problem is I've been getting blanked out there lately and I just want to get a couple fish to hand.  Now the river is playing games with my head and I just need to get out on it and have a good day.  Lets hope this coming weekend can provide a good outing.


-Bruce

Block

Maybe it is a bad sign but I think I have a little writers block, and I have not been doing a lot of fishing. I went out chasing carp this past Saturday, I saw a lot of what I have been reading about. I saw some tailing action, some fish kind of cruising, and some fish just resting on the bottom. I spent some money to rent a canoe and paddle to a shallow spot where the water was warm. Then spend most of the morning and afternoon tossing "carp flies" to the tailing fish. They would spook and swim off leaving a wake behind for me to shake my head at and laugh. I got good at sneaking up on them and they would spook right next to the boat. It was an exciting morning, and then the fish went to sleep. Just sitting on the bottom hiding till I hit them with the bottom of the boat or the paddle.

That was it, no fish to hand, no big fight story, and no running my line all the way to the backing. I was not upset at all it was fun to be on the water and chasing a fish I have never caught before. There is something exciting about fishing for a new species, I really have not caught a lot of different species on the fly rod, but starting now I am going to try. Hopefully next time I can post a picture of a big carp.

This was the area I fished.

I have been fishing more this year then I had in the past two or three years and will be taking it back a little now that Sarah is not on call every weekend. That being said the creation of this blog has given me some reason to get on the water, and will hopefully get me on the water for years to come. Would you look at that I was not completely blocked I just had a story where I did not catch a fish, or even have any real excitement on the trip. The plans was to blog on Sunday's and Wednesday's and I am sorry I have been bad about it this past week but I am getting back on track starting now. I did put in a wish list update and last week I updated my gear page as well. Thanks for reading everyone.

-Bruce

Why do we do it

Last night I had a rare chance to hit the river after work. It was one of those things where the stars alined and I got off a little early. The plan was to go try to catch carp, but that was easier said then done. The spot I had picked out was really hard to get to. I spend most of the time in a wooded area trying to locate the fish. I saw a couple and got a cast or two in their direction but it was just practice. Hopefully I'll be renting a canoe Saturday and then I will have my best shot at landing my first carp. Well the night was not a total bust.

Searching my mind for ideas I decided to drive to a spot just 5 minutes up the road. It is a spot I normally fish for trout but there are some large flat areas and I thought they might hold carp. Well I fished there for about an hour until I had enough. The funny thing about this spot was at one point I saw over a dozen people fly fishing. I dozen people on the stream on a Thursday night. I knew why I was there, it was because I went on an adventure looking for my shot at my first carp. On this night I could not help but wonder why do these other people fish? Why did these guy pick fly fishing?

Stuck on that question I sat on a rock for a while. The water was too cold for carp here so I thought about these other guys, and their fishing lives. Then I decided to go to some swifter moving water and see if I had it in me to catch a trout on my new rod. I looked at my fly box for a fly. Now the fact that I went out for carp was a problem when trying to fish for trout. My box had what I thought would be good stuff for carp not trout.

I plucked a fly from my hat and after fifteen or twenty minutes with no fish. After opening the box again, I studied the flies I had with me for a couple minutes and decided to go with a leech pattern. First cast with the leech I had a stunning brown trout attack the fly with everything it had. Not the biggest fish but still the first that this new rod had ever taken to hand. No more then two minutes later another fish to hand, I did not get a shot of this guy because my camera was tucked away in my bag.

This is the first trout the picture was taken with my phone. I second I wanted a better picture but it threw the hook before I could get the camera out.

I was pleased with myself, switching gears like that is hard for me, but I was happy I did it because I got a chance to hold two pretty fish. Why do we do it? I think everyone come to the river with their own twist. There is something to be said about the guy who comes just to catch the big one, but in the same respect the guy who sits on a rock for a while to collect himself might be on to something too. I do not what to get into why I fish in this post, but I am amazed that there are that many people willing to fish on a Thursday night. I guess last nights fishing trip was good because I landed a couple trout, but also because I landed the question why do we do it?

-Bruce

Why do I go into these blanking spells.

So to say it has been a rough couple weeks on the water would be an understatement. I never really have been all about catching the fish, and if I blank here or there I just see it as God keeping me honest. The time on the river makes me happy, but also allows me a lot of time to think. It is funny where your mind goes when you are on the water. Sometimes I just end up going though conversations in my head, sometimes I try to think like the fish I am trying to catch. This past Saturday I slept in a little and only hit the water at a quarter till 9. That is a late start for the area I was fishing and I knew it made my morning that much harder. To top it all off Sarah was finishing up her CPE program that day so I wanted to be home a little after lunch.

some river shots from a slippery rock

Knowing my luck lately I decided to go to a spot that I knew would produce and I would not be running into too many people. The problem with this spot is you need to cross some slippery rocks to get there. I made it to my spot and then knowing that I had blanked my last three or four times out I decided to sit for a minute and listen to what time river was telling me. What I got was maybe I should throw a dry fly, a blue winged olive to be exact. On the surface of the water which was a clear as a thin pain of glass I could see trout taking tiny flies. It was not a hatch my any means and the hits were not regular, but I thought lets give it a go.

So I did and as soon as I made two or three casts another fisherman walked right through a spot I was fishing. Maybe that is why I had been blanking these past couple weeks. After that I decided to sit down and take a couple pictures of the water and my rod. I was fishing with my Orvis Clearwater Classic 9 foot. I use a 5wt Battenkill reel with it and which is a good setup when I'm fishing water where I can make a lot of big false casts but not throwing a heavy fly. After the water settled a little I noticed something disturbing the surface down steam from me a little. So trying not to kick up too much mud and muck from the bottom I walked way around the spot and approached from down stream. It was a trout running for under a rock to one spot in the current to snag a fly. I knew I was in from the moment I saw the fish take a natural fly. I took a cast short just to see how it was going to drift in this hole and then let a good cast go. The drift that follow was a good as I had hoped.

Just to point out the fish is on a downed log but look just above the rod and see how clear the water was, those rocks look like they are on dry land.

The end product was a nice sized trout to take a couple quick pictures of and then send back on its way. So that ended my troutless streak and it felt great to get that over with. I fished a little while longer then my mind kicked in. It is almost 11 and my wife has not called or texted saying she is home and taking a nap, but I am just guessing she is sound asleep. Then I must have been thinking again because I made two stupid mistakes on hook sets that ended with me snapping flies off in trees behind me. Those were my last two olives and I still had no call or text. I tied on a Cahill and made one cast when I thought I heard my phone. Thinking to myself there she is I quickly dug though my waterproof bag to get my phone, but missed the call. When I finally got to the phone it was her parents house.

Now put your self in my shoes, where would your mind go. Well I tried calling her and there was no answer, so I decide to call it a day and go home. I didn't want to call her parents till I was back at the truck so, I rushed across the slippery rocks again and got to the other side. Once I was on the trail I called Sarah's phone a couple more times only to get a voice mail. Now I'm not one to worry too much but the river is a great place for your mind to run because you can feel so wide open. So with that much room to run my mind went for a short jog as I moved swiftly to the truck. Just as I was crossing the foot bridge to the truck Sarah called, sounding sleepy I know she was just tired from her last on call night. We chatted for a minute, and when I got off with her I called her parents house. It was funny because it ended up being that her dad who wanted to gloat that the Phillies had pulled to within a game or two of the Braves. I had texted and maybe even called him in the last couple weeks to ask him if he thought this was their run, but his return call was just timed poorly. That didn't matter because I really did need to get off the water and head home, so I took off my waders and jumped in the truck and drove back to the city.

I'm hoping that next weekend I can convince Sarah to come along to the north Ga mountains and take some pictures of trout, also a couple action shots of me fishing for them. The weather has been crazy hot so that might not be an option but I will keep my hopes high. It could be a lot of fun now that I no longer have a case of the blanks. To sum things up I honestly think Sarah's CPE was great because I got out fishing a lot, but it ended up being all I thought about on the water. Which after just shy of two months took its toll a couple weeks ago and ended this past weekend with my mad dash to the truck. I am feeling better already and I think I am ready to get back to catching fish on a regular basis.

I hope to do a lot of blog work this week so be sure to stop in and click around. I want to put a new and important piece of gear in that section, along with finally getting round to making that wish list and maybe a couple other surprises along the way. So be sure to pop in for a visit this week.

-Bruce

First Trout

When I was in the 5th grade I begged for my parents to buy me a fly rod. It was months of asking for it and then answering question after question, why fly fishing, how will you learn, who will teach you, and even how do you expect to catch fish on a fly rod. Well my birthday is in April and first day of trout was in May sometime. Well I took the fly rod and a spin rod along for that year. I watched videos, talked to my cousin who fly fished, and a lot of guess and check. I remember in late August fishing a stream that I've fished my entire life. Standing in the Tulpehocken creek in late August I had a trout strike a marabou streamer.

I think it is funny how our mind works sometimes. There are many things in life I remember like they were yesterday, but still many that I can't. All the years I have been fishing I can only remember a couple fish without notes I wrote about them, but that first 10 inch rainbow trout on a black and white marabou streamer is burned into my mind. It was on a dead drift which looking back is not the first thing I would do today. I even remember the exact spot, it was a spot my friend Tiny would always make his killing, but on the day 'the rock was my spot'. Since that day I wanted to catch more fish and in time I did.

You would be shocked how many people remember their first fish on the fly. I hope your have your own and if you do not I hope this is the year for you. Good luck everyone and remember to do the best you can.

Bruce

Where it all started

This past weekend I when home to PA, amish country PA. This is the place that I learned to fish and then taught myself to fly fish. It is where I had my first small stream, back country style fishing adventure. My friend Brian and I were tipped off to this stream by his father we figured this past weekend it was close to 7 or 8 years ago(sounds like a long time and honestly it was) was the first time we ever took it on. Well the plan was while I was home we would fish it. So Saturday morning we loaded up the jeep and got there as early as we could. Like most back country spots we were on dirt roads, but unlike the back country roads I drive here in GA these I knew. I found the spot as easy as I did when I lived in PA. I was excited to be there and almost bubbling over then I pulled up to the old bridge, I might have even forgot to pull the parking break.

Brian and I hit the water and then I remembered just how challenging this stream really was. We dug deep in our minds to figure out the last time we were on the water here. We came up with over 6 years before and my brother Jason was along(he landed what was most likely a 7 inch fish that day). Jason was always catching fish when we were younger, and honestly he still holds his own today. I've gotten better over the years, but looking back I don't know how I ever got anything out of this spot. This spot holds native brook trout(native meaning these fish have always been here, never been stocked unlike the term wild where the fish were stocked then reproduced). This stream is small, clear and as Brian says is unique in geological sense, and in the way you approach it as a fisherman. We were constantly getting hung up on this trip, but as we knew from the past it only takes one hole and a perfectly placed fly to pull out a good fish. For those of you who never fished for native trout a good fish can be 2 inches all the way up to 8 or 9 inches. Sounds small but well then you are fishing a trickle you can step across in most places it is a monster. Well we spent most of the morning sneaking ahead in the woods and scouting a hole of the other guy who would fish it.

We did that through a section of long runs with few bends, but then found our selves in big S turns. We then took on a different rhythm leap frogging each other. We were fishing two very different fly patterns but both getting strikes. I missed a lot of hook sets and so did Brian. He missed a couple that were without a doubt trout but I on the other hand could not say for sure if it was trout of stream chubs I was missing. He was working one section of stream and set the hook on a fish that splashed and carried on for what felt like forever only to throw the fly and get away.

Then it happened, on an over hanging bank Brian laid down beautiful drift it was just a couple inches from being under the over hang and like magic a fish hit. Brian wasted no time setting the hook and even from around a bend I could tell he had a nice fish. His light weight rod bent and he had a smile from ear to ear. He got the fish to hand and we both payed our respects to the stream and the beauty that had just taken place by just looking at the fish and the hole it came from . We took a couple pictures and let it back to its hole to get bigger and live a couple more years. We were both beaming for a while after that and it really threw us off the groove we were into at that point, but I was happy for him and us and he was over joyed for a while. Before we left I got a small fish maybe a little smaller then my pinky finger and even that little guy had amazing color, and that is why native fish are so addicting(no picture of my fish at this point). I miss my home turf and hopefully one day Sarah and I will be settled enough and live somewhere long enough that I can have new spots to call home turf.

For now this was a great weekend with my family, sad that Sarah couldn't be there but there is always next time. Next time I hope to go to another native spot further up in the woods there will be hiking involved to get to that one. Also I am going to keep pressuring Brian and brother Jason to come to GA to fish with me. I really just want to show these guy that even if I'm not fishing every night, or at least 4 or 5 nights a week that I'm not loosing my touch. Hopefully my next post with Brian in it will be from GA. As for the week ahead its back to the grind of work, but Sarah and I have been seeing the hummingbird a lot more lately so I will be trying hard to get a picture up soon. Until next time remember to 'do the best you can'.

Bruce

A Select Few

So this weekend Sarah was on call on Saturday again, and I decided to go north to fish again. Thursday night I was looking for somewhere with a lot of restrictions, catch and release only, barbless hooks only, and maybe even a limit of people per day. I was looking into private water, club owned waters, and other restricted areas in northern GA. Who would have guessed that the Georgia State Parks Services has just such a place. It is called Smithgall Woods Conservation Park and it is a special regulations creek with plenty of rules. Smithgall's rules are plenty, but the one I love the most is the number of people allowed to fish the creek per day only 3 days a week.

This is the reason I love that rule. This picture was taken within 250 yards from the road, and in a creek like this anywhere else on the east coast, in a spot this close to the road there would be at least 4 people fishing. So Friday I called and got my name on the reservation list and was told the that earliest I could start fishing was 7 am. After getting slightly lost I found the place, paid for parking, and was told to take section one. Section one played into my hand it was a tight mountain section. All mountains stream tend to have some of the same characteristics especially when you get higher up in the mountains. You will find that the higher up in elevation you get the more you'll find fast water followed by a deep hole. Knowing that, you can find bigger fish in these holes, and since most people who fish know walking against the current makes it easier to sneak up on fish you can fish a section of water from the back to front. I have also found that in water like this that holds a large population of wild trout you can catch small fingerlings all day long if that is something that grabs you.

This is one of many many fingerling sized trout I was catching all day. As you can see this particular trout was not staying still long enough for me to snap a good shot of it.

This little guy did much better giving me a couple nice pictures. This is no stocked trout, it is a wild rainbow trout. I don't remember how many I caught that were this size but it was a lot and these fish even as small as they were made me happy.

This was the biggest spider I have ever seen, and it was located right in the center of the creek. The whole thing was about the size of a Gatorade bottle cap. The web well it was easy 18 inches round.

Here is a great shot showing just how wonderful the colors can be on these rainbow trout. This is a much better fish and I only got a couple this size. In the hole where I got this fish I had set the hook on what would have been the fish of the year. It was 20 inches by my best guess, I set the hook and felt like I was stuck until like started flying from my reel. Then just like that it stopped, when I checked the line I notice the knot failed and that is something I can control and really made me mad.

I spend the next 2 minutes reliving it and actually had shaky hands because I had such a rush from it. It was picture perfect, the fly drifted into the pool from the side and I watched the fish appear from the bottom and just nail the fly. Then it ran and ran out all that line and once I gave it a little pressure the knot just plan failed. Well I was in a funk for about 15 plus minutes missing every strike, but eventually I got back to me then found that hole that would get me back to the positive.

This bad boy, as the best of the day. I came to a hole that had a nice flow with lots of easy lines to drift a fly down. Well I set the hook on this guy and it pulled like it was a 40 inch striper. It pulled the line out of my hand and took some extra off the reel. I finally landed it took a couple snap shots and quickly released it so it would get bigger and I could catch it when it was 5 inches bigger.

Smithgall Woods gets an A in my book and I will be taking the trip back up there in the very near future. This is the kind of place I would love to take my brother or a couple of my other fishing buddies. I'm not sure what next weekend will bring but I'll do my best to post a couple posts this week.

Bruce

Boulders anyone???

Back country fishing is hands down my favorite kind of fly fishing. I have a cool story about the first time I tried it, but I'll save that for a rainy day post. Yesterday I drove to north GA and fished in the National Forest. I was fishing a creek that I've never fished before, but I found it on a map and it looked really good. The fall back plan was a short 3 mile drive over the next mountain and down into a valley. Lucky for me I didn't need to use plan B. I left the city limits at about 6:30 and just shy of 2 hours later I was in the mountains! The highways got smaller and smaller until I was on a back country road, and then a right hand turn put me on a compacted dirt road. About 15 or 20 minutes on the dirt road and I found my parking lot. After a short walk down a trail I got my first sight of the steam. All I saw was boulders and the water was running around, over, under, and through them. It was a wonderful sight, it almost took my breath away looking up and seeing a wonderful tangle of trees, rocks and water. I knew from my first sight that the fish were there and it would only be a matter of fishing them out.

It was all rocks all day long.

This is a bad self portrait, but at least you'll see what I tend to carry on a back country trip. What do you think do I look the part?

The first of what turned out to be a great day for catching trout on this stream. I normally keep a count unless the fishing is just amazing, in that case I just fish. So today I caught over 25 fish, but there is no official count. Mainly trout, but also got a rock bass early on in a deep hole that isn't pictured because I was targeting trout so I only wanted pictures of trout. I also got some small pumpkin sunnies, black nosed dace, and 3 tips of chub.

This is the low end of the spot I fished. I fished the top quarter of a mile in the morning, and then by early afternoon I was over run by people swimming. Here is a shot from a bridge that I fished after lunch, I pulled about 7 out of here on elk haired caddis. It was all about hitting the shaded edges anything in the sun was a no go but if it was in the shade the fish would rise then strike fast and hard.

This was the top part that I fished early on. The stream dropped a lot in elevation up here and so there was a lot of big boulders and deep holes to fish. All these boulders and rocks were slippery and my butt, knees, shins, and pride took a beating all day long. The hole pictured here produced a lot of the fish I caught, I spend the most time here on my way up stream. This was the smaller of 2 major water falls of the day. I climbed this one to the left out of the frame of the shot and it was a lot of fun. Part of the reason I love the back country is the adventures the terrain provides for you.

Love the spot pattern on this fish.

This was the hog of the day, it was about 2 and a half inches bigger then any others I landed and had shoulders too. It gave two good pulls and took the slack line from my hand, the only fish I used the reel on all day. He took an elk haired caddis, but unlike some others he was in the current and as the fly passed the rock he was hiding by he turned ran down stream to swipe the fly. It was amazing on the fish's part and I was just happy to get the hook set, but once I set the hook I knew I had a chance to bringing this hog to hand.

This was lunch time, and in the back country no matter how hot it is outside I like to have something real to eat. I took this soup because it's in a sealed package which made it more water proof then most lunches. It was cooked in my tea pot, which is going to make it on the gear page very very soon. Also notice the Esbit fuel stove it too will make the gear page.

A couple more fish shots. I love how there wasn't two alike all day.

Well this might be the longest post I've had so far, but I did fish for 8 hours and the whole trip was a little over 12 hours total. The long and shot of it is I will most likely go back to this spot, but there are so many mountain streams where I was that I want to try another one sometime soon. It looks like next Saturday there is a chance I'll be able to go north again, so there could be another post about the north GA mountains next weekend. This trip only makes me hungrier for the remote streams. It was a ton of work, but totally worth every minute I spent sneaking, slipping, and falling. I think I want to do an over night trip, hike in and spend a weekend set up a base camp and fish a stream or river in the back country.

I'm still thinking of a good tag line so for now just do the best you can this week.....

Bruce