I went to my first ever fly fishing Expo yesterday. It was nice to see some friends, many of whom have become experts and were thus demonstrating their skills, working up their brands, and hopefully selling shit. On the whole I found the experience as bizarre as I'd expected; a
show about fly-fishing where products and angler status are pushed to the fore. I'm glad that my fishing isn't really like that, and that the industry is largely corralled into these mega-sales events. I think this was my last fly fishing expo.
The best part was talking to a nice guy from the DEEP about the history of trout in Connecticut. He was knowledgeable and realistic about the whole thing. So what if he couldn't pronounce Loch Leven? I also got chatting to a Spey casting enthusiast who seemed as bemused at the whole expo thing as I was.
Yesterday also happened to be the first day for weeks when the temperature reached above freezing, so I had a quite word with myself about my own stupidity at being inside a hall full of fishing stuff. And that is how I came to fish a Class 1 WTMA in the northern part of the state. It hardly seems important that none of the fish* I pricked came to hand. Exploring this new stream was absolutely delightful, and I look forward to skipping other fly fishing expos so I can explore it some more.
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| Char hangout |
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| I waded right through this deep bend, expertly letting my dry fly float the curve to waiting fish that were not there. |
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| Walking on shelf ice is quite an exciting game for an angler in the region of 200lbs. |
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| Indiana Jones and the Stream of Doom |
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| Wintry mix |
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| I met a man walking his pointers. He explained this whole area had been a private hunting ground for CT well-to-dos way back when. The woodlands and general landscape suggested as much. A real made to measure sporting estate. |
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| My fishing rod. |
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| I also visited the shoreline this week. It seems fishing is in full swing. |
This is one of my summer kayak put-ins. Any day now....
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| Surf is in no way up. |
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| Ice plates |
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| Fucking Winter |
--Jonny
*Two, course.
I've always assumed that even here at The Culvert, angler status is pushed to the fore. Lucky for me, the authors are listed alphabetically.
ReplyDeleteVery nice post, very nice pictures. You didn't even call.
Really cool photos
ReplyDeleteMB.WTMA? Although cold, there's plenty of small stoneflies and caddis coming out. I found tons of shucks today streamside, and a few brookies.
ReplyDeleteI didn't see any bugs at all. It's entirely possible we weren't fishing together.
ReplyDeleteThat pool at the bend has produced several that put a bend in the 2wt.
ReplyDeleteIt's a prime stream.
I enjoyed it very much. I wondered if I might run into you.....
ReplyDeleteYour report was dated the 2nd, and I fished it on the 4th.
DeleteI worked it upstream from where you fished.
I see that new camera is working out well. Love that photos of the pancake ice.
ReplyDeleteThank you Steve. I have taken many, many* photographs with it and will be presenting a class very soon so you too can learn how it is done.
ReplyDelete*You should all know this by now. Two will suffice.
Two. It's the magic number. It has changed my life.
ReplyDelete