To date, my fly fishing experience has been limited to popping around docks here at my house and over at Lake Loramie. I've caught a lot of bluegills, a few crappies and some small bass doing this. In fact I even spent a day whipping the water on the Great Miami River by the covered bridge at Troy (at that time I swore there were no fish in that river). However, now I know better.
I looked at the Gunpowder, which is located north of Baltimore,
MD and would never have pegged it for a highly regarded trout river. In fact, it is one of the more popular trout rivers in that part of the country. I met my guide, Phil Gay (retired Navy Captain, fighter pilot and once commanded the U.S.S. John Kennedy aircraft carrier, which in itself is a big deal) early in the morning and had to admit that I had forgotten to bet my MD 3-day tag. So we went in the house and got on the computer to take care of business. He said I was not the first fisherman to do that, but I don't know if he was just saying
that to be nice. Anyway, now it was down to the river. The water was COLD, and really swift. Most of the time we stood in rushing waters up to our behinds, but a couple of times we got in waters above our waist. Phil talked about river speed in terms of CFS. Well, I don't know much about that, but I do know if I mis-stepped I would be a quarter mile down river with full waders before I knew what happened. I also know I was really tired when I got back to the hotel. We were in the river pretty much non-stop from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. We did climb out to eat lunch, which Phil packed for each of us.OK, so I've stalled long enough -- I caught a small brown trout, a small rainbow, a bass (about 10-11 inches) and a 14" rainbow (see picture).
Now, I know there have been fishermen who have caught a lot more fish than I did -- in fact, most everyone catches more fish than I do, but my measure of success and fun is not measured in how many fish (I.Q. of about 2) I outsmart (I.Q. of ????). I learned a whole handful of new casting techniques, walked a beautiful river just a few miles from a major US city with all it's concrete and traffic, and got to spend time outdoors doing something I like to do. PLUS -- Pam came with me and we got to spend time together and then we went to NY to see Doug and Quinn (Danika was working and then had school that night -- boo!). We got to see their new house and spend time with our grandson -- that big ball of happiness!!So now, Pam, what are you going to do to top this??? I have not yet had a glider flight or skydived!! I can hardly wait till Christmas.
All the romance of trout fishing exists in the mind of the angler and is in no way shared by the fish. (Anon)
Hooah
