Just the beginning...

Over the Summer, I learned that one of the guys at my place of employment just started fly fishing. So, whenever we see each other in the halls (Which is like 2 times a day) we talk about fly fishing...well I talk, and he listens and asks questions.

Well, my enthusiasm and love for the sport of fly fishing and fly tying has rubbed off on him, and over Christmas he purchased his first vise. Got himself a Peak Rotary vise, same as me. I recommend some YouTube videos and even showed him a few things one day.

Just last week he returned a small LL Bean box that I had given him filled with a few flies that I tied. My eyes popped when I opened the box. He had tied some beautiful damsels, and mating damsels (Referred to some as "The Double D"). I was thorouly impressed and told him, but he played it off like it was a simple tie. Sure there are simple ties, but you still have to make them look good, and these looked outstanding!

Share your passions!

I will be sharing all feedback/compliments about his flies with him.

It's safe to say - this is only the beginning of his fly fishing addiction.

Driftless Area of Wisconsin

This past September, I took a day trip to the Driftless Area that is southwest Wisconsin to do some trout fishing. The weather was looking ugly all the way up there, but once I reached my destination the rain stopped, the wind calmed down, and the sun came out. I couldn't have asked for better weather. 

I've always read, and heard about how spooked the trout get, but you don't really have an idea until you see them scatter with your own eyes, while you're still 10-20+ feet away from the edge of the stream/creek. 

I caught rainbow trout 2 months before this trip, but this time I was after brown and brook trout. I managed to catch my first brown. I caught a total of 3 brown trout for the day. They were all caught using a grasshopper. I also lost a total of 11 browns, and 3 of them were big! One of them I almost had in the net before he kindly unhooked himself. It was one of those look to the sky and yell "no!" moments, like in the movies, but I kept my cool, and opted for a quick "MF" bomb.  

Another cool part of my trip was, I got to see a wild barred owl fly. I think it caught something because it was on the ground. I got to see him take off into the trees. Pretty damn cool! 

If you haven't been to the Driftless Area, I highly recommend it! I plan on making more than one trip there next year. It's a beautiful place with excellent fishing opportunities.