Rich's First Trout on a Dry

Rich's First Trout on a Dry

7/22/12

 I always enjoy teaching someone who is getting into fly fishing a few techniques. I realy enjoy the excitement when someone catches their first trout on a dry fly. Earlier in the spring I met up with Rich during the cold months. I showed him how to nymph fish. When I caught a couple of hold over browns it gave him confidence. Though he didn't catch any that day he did have a couple of takes but I think he was just slow on the hook set. He got in touch with me again later in the season and wanted to catch his first trout on a dry fly. We met up again on a Sunday in July and this is the story.  

 On Sunday I met up with Rich along the Black Moshannon. He wanted to catch his first trout on a dry fly and I was hoping we could get some to rise. The water was unexpectedly low. We tried a few deeper pools but couldn’t get any fish to rise. I’m sure we could of caught a trout going to the dark side and fishing underneath but that wasn’t even a thought at the time. From there we traveled to Six Mile run and found a big pool of water that visible trout were hanging out in. It was if they were sunbathing in the cool water after a couple of tropical drinks and weren’t too active. Rich said he had a couple of lookers at the grasshopper pattern I gave him but I’m sure they were wanting a pina colada or chilled margarita instead. After about an hour of this I was still determined to find him some rising trout. It would be a 45 minute drive to Spring Creek but neither of us had anything better to do so off we went.

 After parking I pointed out the area where trout usually hang out. I gave him a dry caddis and he knotted it on his 6x tippet without hesitation. Soon we caught sight of a couple of swirls and it wasn’t too long before Rich had a tight line on his first dry fly catch. Within minutes of releasing that first fish he caught another. With a big smile on his face he said it was time to celebrate with a beer and we took a break and enjoyed a Belgian Delirium Tremens.

 By the time the day ended he caught a couple more on dries and missed a couple and I also caught and missed a couple. He handed me a Belgium Chimay ale. I noticed it was 9% alcohol by volume! He told me it was a sipping beer so I decided to take it home instead of quickly downing it before we departed.

Rich first tight line with a dry

Rich with his second tight line

He caught this one on an ant pattern

One I caught on a beetle

Sip’n Chimay

 After a hot and humid day at work Monday I was think’n about that beer on my way home. After I ate and took a cool shower I went to the fridge. The bottle of Chimay read “To fully appriciate the strong character of the Chimay Blue, serve slightly chilled, in a wide-mouthed glass." As I poured the deep caramel colored ale into my open mouth mug, a sudsy tannish head emerged that was a bit intimidating. It was obvious that this wasn’t a refined watered down American light beer or a Mexican beer you needed to add a sliver of fruit to disguise the bitterness. This looked like a great hearty brew and I was going to enjoy it.
 Out of my humidor I picked out a Bahia Icon, grabbed a cigar lighter and took a book to read, along with the brew, to relax on the back porch. It turned out to be a pleasant tasty evening.

~doubletaper