Trips: I Don’t Fish Alone (Dec 3^rd)

I hardly ever, especially since the FATC was formed in 2007, fish alone, that is intentionally alone. In the past 12 years, I have gone off by myself just three times – this is number four.  I just felt that I needed to be alone on the water in the presence of the beauty that God has provided us. Ok, if you are wondering if I am going to get all “Godly” on you – well, you are right. Why? Because we all have times in our life of setbacks and troubles and I’m there now. So, I had to go by myself or actually with God in tow to soak in His glory on the water. Remember, we never fish in ugly places they all are beautiful and, I feel, bring us closer to God if we let it.

So, I headed to Maramec Spring park at a descent hour in the morning to fish as long as I needed to clear my mind. The park was not full at all – maybe around six other fishers. I wanted to start just below the bridge that begins the park, but a gentleman was already there. So, I headed down to the boulders where the swift current flows from the bridge. Midges were everywhere so I decided to fish “small”. I tied on two soft hackles in sizes 18 and 16. Swinging the flies through the current by casting on a 45-degree angle to the flow. It was exactly what the trout wanted as I caught rainbows and a few browns. Then I headed down stream where the water moves slightly slower but before the first waterfall in the park. The trout were suspended and loved the tiny flies. I then switched to a size 18 soft hackle followed by a size 20 Barr’s Emerger. Both did the trick! Towards the end of the day and with the midge hatch in full bloom I would swing flies just in front of the first waterfall. Here some nice 14-16-inch trout were hiding but not well enough as I put many in the net. The siren blew at 4pm and the day was done.

So, what came of this trip; self-reflection, soul-searching, meditating with the Creator himself. He was there and I felt His presence and that’s good enough for me. A recent article in Trout magazine talked about the healing effect of fly fishing. It’s true and I needed to be healed this day.

Here are a few pictures of some of the trout I fooled!