Trips: Two More Grads – Awesome Fellowship

If you check our FATC calendar you will see, we have many trips each month and some trips are more memorable than others – this was one of them.  Thirteen FATC members joined Dave Broeder and Greg Atchison for their graduation trip from the FATC fly fishing class.  Let us see if I can remember everyone that was there; Sid Aslin, Al Blair, John Muckerman, Paul Jacoby, Scott Payne, Jim Anzer, Mike Oldani, Harold Bates, Dan Staggenborg made the trip along with the “instructors for the day” Jim Craig and Kenny Klimes.  What an awesome crew!

Everyone met at Montauk State park around 8:30am. Most of the guys were completed with their “shots” and the ride down with full cars was a pleasure. Great conversations there and back.  Kenny and Jim took Greg and Dave to the “boulder” area to practice a little casting and the many different fly-fishing techniques.  Greg and Dave were ready for the day as they answered the questions that Jim and Kenny fired at them with ease.  Turning over a couple of rocks they found mayfly nymphs scurrying around. Great learning experience.  Dave and Greg did great bagging their first trout well before noon. Greg’s first was on a black zebra midge and Dave’s on a soft hackle.  There were smiles all around.

The rest of the crew split up and fished the fly only area for most of the day. A big thanks to our mentor team as Mike Oldani mentored new member Harold Bates for the day and Dan Staggenborg helped Paul Jacoby. If you are just starting out and need some help, find out if one of our mentors are on a trip and they would be more than happy to help you for an hour or so to improve your skills.  Check out our website under mentors to see who they are.

All fly fishers for the day bagged fish with various flies; midges, soft hackles, buggers, san juan worms, copper johns, etc.  But the fellowship, I believe, blew everyone away. It could not have been better. The park was very “uncrowded” for a spring Thursday – very enjoyable.  We have about one more month before the crowds move in for the summer camping season then trips will be more out of state or out of the parks.

Our fellowship meal was at Hicks BBQ and we had one big table of twelve. After our blessing of our meal the restaurant was filled with loud laughing. I love it and so will you. Get on a trip soon!!