In my mind, Spring and trout are tantamount! This association,
I'm sure, stems from my youth. When I was a kid, my friends and I
would go fishing almost every weekend. Our piscatorial pursuits
wouldn't take us far - - we mostly fished the small streams that ran
through the valley in which we lived.
In these streams, there was no such thing as playing a trout.
When you saw a fish take your fly, you set the hook and, in one clean
sweep, yanked the fish from the water to the bank - then pounced on it
before it could flop back into the stream! Sometimes we would hook
a big fish that broke off while we were trying to slide it to shore.
That was just a part of fishing.
I became a fly fisherman early in life. My friends always
laughed at me because of the different way I fished for trout, bass &
bluegill. But I had the last laugh because I always out-fished
them.. I bought a fiberglass rod and a Pflueger Medalist reel with poor
quality floating line and a handful of flies completed my arsenal.
I had no waders, no fancy gear - - only an aluminum framed net. I
always wore jeans, an oversized military fatigue, shirt borrowed from
father, tennis shoes, and my favorite fishing bag.
I spent my hard earned money at the local hardware store buying
Japanese Trylon flies. I used many patterns: my favorite was Royal
Coachman #16. It seemed that this pattern always worked. At
$2.00 a dozen, I had to be careful when presenting the fly. I
wouldn't ever consider breaking off a fly. If I snagged a tree
limb, if necessary, I would climb the tree to retrieve my precious fly.
For a birthday present one year, I was given a fly-tying kit by my
mother. She knew how serious I was about my education in every
aspect of fly fishing. That inexpensive kit changed everything!
I tied the most hideous collection of fur and feathers that anyone can
imagine. None of my early creations tempted any fish.
I quickly resorted back to my reliable Trylon flies!
Finally, that monumental day came when I caught a fish with a fly I
had actually tied myself. The fly was a light Cahill, and I
remember that fish well - I was fishing a small stream, I presented
upstream and let my fly swing in close to an overhanging bank. My
presentation was abruptly stopped by a trout - not just any trout, but a
very nice 16" beauty that, to this day, is probably the most exciting
fish I have ever caught! I can only say the rest, as they say, is
history!
It doesn't matter where you're angling or hunting, outdoor
adventures will take you on an exotic trip to a unique destination
or to a creek down the road. The important thing is that you
are properly equipped and that you make a memory, because, in the
end, that's what really matters. Link onto
Mark's Favorite Equipment page for all
your outdoor, fishing, hunting, boating and apparel needs to include
quality gear by Cortland lines Company, Bass Pro Shops, Walmart
stores, Sierra Trading Post and many more appropriate distributors.
"Fishing is the ultimate expression of optimism - on every cast is
the possibility of catching the world's largest fish."
Mark Dominguez,
FlyFisherMad!
