You Should Have Been There!
“Before we get into this great trip report, me – your boss – I mean Chairman – Kenny, has to blow off a little steam. I guess being from Chicago I say what’s on my mind. Yes, before thinking it all out! Anyway, some of you have complained that you work during the week and can’t make the weekday trips. Well, we just had two weekend trips in the last seven days – where were ya? As Forrest Gump would say, “that’s all I have to sat about that”. Now for the trip report……
Saturday, December 16, 2023, was one of our few weekend fishing trips, and it was great. It was Brian Collins’ graduation day at Montauk. Scott Dougherty and Chris Wiley joined Brian and me (Jim Craig). I had the pleasure of being Brian’s one-on-one, on-the-water instructor for the day.
After weeks of mild, sunny, and clear winter days, Saturday morning started off rainy and grey. But it didn’t dampen our spirits. When we arrived there about 8:30 AM, NO ONE else was there. Besides that, all the cows were spread out—active FATC fishers know what that means. Yahoo! I explained it to Brian and we were both anxious to get on the water. Fortunately, the rain did not follow us to the park.
As usual, we geared up at the Naturalist Cabin. The temperature was very comfortable although we felt threatened by rain all morning. That might have been what kept all the other fishermen away.
Scott and Chris headed up to the spring while I marched Brian off to the boulder. On the way, I quizzed him about pre-trip research for in-state or out-of-state fishing trips and aquatic bugs. Before we stepped in the water, I quizzed him about water types, rises, and everything else I knew Kenny covered in class. Brian must have been a great listener; he was ready for every question. And I must say, he was in the 1% of my on-the-water students who come with their flies properly situated in their fly box (99% have them in backwards-seriously). In the water, we followed the usual curriculum. First, Brian got some casting coaching from me, then we moved right into stripping and swinging wooly buggers. We had many follows but only one short strike, and none in the net. We soon saw swirling rises, so we switched to swinging soft hackles. Brian got the hang of it, but we couldn’t trick the trout. Before lunch we switched to nymphing. The fish seem to have a case of lock-jaw no matter what we tried. But finally, after switching nymph flies a number of times, he got a take, and brought it to the net like a pro. That was it. He was ready for a break and it was time for lunch.
We met Scott and Chris at the Staggenborg tables for lunch. Unfortunately, the FATC Spread-Out-Cow lore proved to be somewhat unreliable and clearly needs further testing. Like us, Scott and Chris found the very low and very clear water had made fishing a challenge. At lunch we swapped stories about what did and didn’t work. That fired us up for the afternoon.
Chris and Scott decided to start at the power lines after lunch. I took Brian to the spring at the top of the park. The weather was really our friend all afternoon. It never rained, and it warmed up enough to shed a layer of warm clothing. Brian and I kept nymphing and picking off a few fish here and there with cerise worms, red midges, P&P’s and big Hurts. As what also happens with nymphing, Brian got to experience the common frustration of repetitive tippet tangles. But, that too was a learning experience. Since it happens to everyone, I had plenty of opportunities to teach Brian techniques for avoiding and shortcuts for resolving these frustrating tangles. Brian soon started to get the hang of hooking these fish. But, all of the fish he hooked taught him lessons on how (not) to fight a fish. However, those are the lessons we don’t forget! So, I see a bright future for Brian in this sport and with FATC. Like all new fly fishers, the learning curve is steep, but not impossible. Brian has the passion, so I expect he’ll be joining another trip soon to get some “do-over” shots at those fish that got away. I think we all know that feeling.
Scott and Chris also had a better afternoon. They found lots of teensy, tiny midges and mayflies emerging below the power lines and at the beginning of Walter’s stretch. They picked up many more fish in the afternoon with crackle backs, red midges, and zebra midges, with soft hackles bringing in the most.
The evening was topped off by a delicious pizza fellowship dinner in Salem. Brian picked pizza with only minimal prompting from me, honestly. While the trip was over for some of us, for Chris it was only half over. Chris decided to spend the night in the campground and fish Baptist Camp on Sunday. He had a great day with a 15” brown as his largest. He used scuds, soft hackles, and black and white zebra midges.
We are having a great catch and release season with lots of fun trips and new members graduating. Don’t let this time slip through your fingers. Organize a trip or watch the FATC calendar, and jump aboard when you see a trip get posted. Hey look! There is a trip to Bennett Spring this Friday. What are you waiting for?
