Intro Follow-Up / First Outing

Now that the introduction is out of the way, I wanted to state the real purposes of this blog:

1) Provide resources geared toward beginning anglers

There is a plethora of fly fishing resources out there and they're everywhere.  In future posts throughout this blog I'll mention a few of those resources that have helped me get started in the sport.  A couple of the resources that helped me the most are listed below:
- Orvis Fly Fishing Lessons is a youtube playlist with 41 videos teaching a lot of the basics of fly fishing.  I think the majority if not all of them were produced by Orvis, a major retailer of fly fishing goods.  The very first video is an introduction to fly fishing and features Tom Rosenbauer who wrote (with others) The Orvis Fly Fishing Guide which is a very insightful book on most everything you'd like to know about fly fishing.
- Tight Lines Fly Fishing Lessons is another youtube playlist again with the basics of fly fishing.  These videos are a little more up to date and are narrated by Tim Landwehr of Tight Lines Fly Shop.  These videos helped me a little more than the Orvis ones...I'll probably have "accelerate to a stop" ingrained in my head for my entire fly fishing career.

2) Photograph my exploits

Usually the big point of a blog right?

3) Discuss anything else on my mind
__________________________________________________

After doing a lot of research, I settled on getting the majority of my initial gear from LL Bean.  The Victor, NY location is 10 minutes away from my office and with their awesome return/exchange policy, I know my gear will last and if it doesn't I can just get a new piece of whatever it is I need.

Everything I read online suggested a 8'6" or 9' 5 wt rod as a good beginner rod due to its versatility in catching various species and sizes of fish.  My concerns were that I fell in love with Spring Creek and Oatka Creek (and their tree lined edges) and I'm a shorter guy.  Obviously casting around trees gives me anxiety (especially as a beginner) and going to Bean and trying out the shorter rods made me realize I favored the maneuverability of a shorter rod rather than the power of a traditional longer one.

Thinking I had a good idea of what to look for in the way of rods, I took a trip out to Bean to try out some of their wares.  I ended up settling on a Quest II 7'6" 4 wt outfit preloaded with some weight forward line and tapered leader.

LL Bean Quest II 7'6" 4 Wt Outfit

During my casting bubble exploits I picked up a cheap set of rubber hip waders and quickly discovered that while they do their job, they don't breathe and they're a bit heavy to lug around.

Off to Bean again and this time I capitalized on a sale they had going on with a pair of Flyweight II chest waders and West Branch wading shoes.


After adding a few more components to my ensemble including flies, fly box, hemostats, clippers, quick drying clothes, and tippet, I felt like I was ready to do some real fly fishing!

I picked Oatka Creek as the first spot I'd try this new fangled (to me) fishing method as standing in the middle of the creek gave me lots of room for my back cast.

I tied on a size 18 or 20 (I'll be able to tell soon I hope) Black Gnat onto a 2' 5x nylon tippet extension and winged the whole setup out there.

I thought (to my very amateur eye) that it was a decent cast.  I had marked 30' of line with a sharpie and had at least that much out.  I targeted about the most middle of the creek upstream you could get (previously mentioned tree anxiety still in effect) and started to strip line in (that's the term right?).  About 20' feet away it happened.  I heard what almost exactly sounds like a watery gulp and instinctively raised my rod tip.  Hooked one!  Flippy, flappy, flop...I'm not sure at that moment that there could have been a more sweet sound.

When I finally got him into the net I marveled at his color even for a Brown Trout.  I had caught a couple Browns out of Spring Creek when I gave a casting bubble a try and I was amazed at the color difference between the two areas.  The Spring Creek trout were more uniform in color whereas these trout had a nice silvery band in the middle and a light yellow/green belly.  I was so excited that I completely forgot to measure him.  Just took a couple photos and sent him on his merry way.

About 45 minutes later I caught a second Brown on a size 14 or 16 Royal Wulff.  I did end up measuring that one and he came out to be 10 7/8" to 11".

I hooked up with a couple more but couldn't land them but regardless, I can't wait to get out again!  If this is what it feels like for all you fly fishers, then I'm glad I finally got into it!  Till next time!