Trips: Grad Going Solo?

Our first Graduate from the latest Springfield fly fishing class, Ted Madden, had his day on the water this past Monday (12/9). Unfortunately, he had to go solo since our other members could not make the trip to Bennett Spring State Park. So, Kenny and Ted went to Bennett to get him graduated as the first in his class. Ted lives in Springfield, MO and was the lead that got our second Springfield class started. I think we will see more of him in the future.

Being the only FATC to go on this trip we arrived at the park around 8:15am. The weather was cold and cloudy, just how I like it. Being a Monday, the park was not very crowded but there were fly fishers there to try their luck. Ted and I dressed and decided to go close to the spring – slightly downstream from there. Ted had his gear but not the gear that he should have had but he explained that it’s all on order. He just was excited to get started. Ted will also tell you – do not wear anything cotton when you go fishing in the winter – no cotton socks, no cotton hoodies, etc. You get wet then hypothermia can set in quickly. Enough said.

We practiced our techniques before lunch as we always do. Ted caught fish right away on a streamer and he took a sigh of relief. New guys, please don’t put that kind of pressure on yourself. He also had a trout on each technique – stripping streamers, swinging wet flies and nymphing – all before lunch time. The fishing was overall slow as I watched others in the area with few fish on. So, we did well.

Ted had the opportunity to work on many things and learn some new things that most graduates do. After lunch we decided to head downstream below the dam in the fast-moving water. We found only two other fly fishers there, so we assumed our positions. Kenny now had the opportunity to fish as he kept a close eye on Ted. Ted got the chance to learn about taggles and getting caught in trees. It’s a learning process for all fly fishers! Again, several trout were caught below the dam, but the trees made it a little more difficult for Ted, so we departed back to the spring area.

We caught more rainbows and around 3:30pm we stopped for the day. Ted will need to purchase new waders or end up patching his. It’s winter and cold so make sure your waders are ready for this time of year – no leaks. Since we stopped so early Ted “voted” to eat in Springfield (about an hour drive back). A sports bar was the location, Kenny, and Ted had enjoyable conversation. Hopefully, Ted will try and fish again during Friday’s graduation. I think he’s HOOKED! Congrats to Ted!