Keeping Cool in the Off Season

[Mills]

It is too hot around here to shoot much. We just got back from our annual vacation in the mountains and got some fly fishing in. I am a novice, but had a guide for part of the time and caught a bunch of trout. Something about mountain streams . . . Hope these photos help you all cool off. All of these are in and around Brevard, NC.

Guide service was through Davidson River Outfitters and I highly recommend them.

[Marc Retallack]

Mills,

Beautiful waters. The smaller creeks and streams are my favorites to fish.

Not that it makes a difference in the enjoyment you had, but were you high enough in elevation to be fishing for native brook trout or were these stocked browns and rainbows you caught?

If you're new to fly-fishing, stick with it. It may take some time but one day it will just "click" for you. And keep that little guy at it. I wish someone had introduced me to fly-fishing 20 years before I came to it.

Marcus

[Mills]

When I caught fish, they were the stocked variety. That was with the guide. I am still very new to fly fishing but really enjoy it so far. The guide helped a lot as far as showing me the basic techniques.

I would say most of the streams were around 3,000 feet, except 1 that was closer to 4,000 feet.

[Dean Romig]

There is easily as much to learn about fly-fishing - the fish, the habitat, the insect life they feed on - both larval and adult - the Latin names of both the fish as well as the prey, the history, the technique, the equipment, the countless forms of presentation and how to execute each..... as there is to learn about collecting Parker shotguns. Stick with it - it is a lifetime of happy and sometimes frustrating days astream.

[Mills]

I am. Right now it is making Parkers look easy. It is very relaxing and a great way to spend time in the mountains.

[Dean Romig]

Mills, I used to be a fanatic on all of those things - the Latin names, the specialized equipment, total immersion into all the technica of fly-fishing.

These days I enjoy myself more by knowing what to bring astream and how to use it. Gone are most of the streamside implementia that I used to think were the necessities of the true fly-fisher - the specialized clothing, all the stuff hanging from my vest, etc., etc., ad nauseum. Now you'll find me in a set of lightweight stockingfoot waders, wading shoes, a T-shirt, vest with the bare essentials, a flybox with only the flies I will need for the stream I'm on at a particular time of day and season, my rod & reel, a ball cap and magnifyers so I can tie on a tippet or fly in poor light.

But paring down to these bare essentials is the result of decades of real-life experience on the stream..... there's no substitute for that!

[Mills]

I am resisting the temptation to buy fancy stuff until I know what I am doing. We don't get up to the mountains but about once a year, so there is little time to practice.

[Dean Romig]

Like a nice Parker, you can't spend too much on a quality rod, reel, and line - but the other stuff is often unnecessary.

[Mills]

I am currently using a $40 Bass Pro rod, but it is working well enough while I get the hang of it. Would not mind a Parker Hawes vintage rod once I get the hang of it.

[Mills]

To tell you how good Davidson River Outfitters is, I showed them my equipment and asked if it was adequate fully expecting them to say I needed better (more expensive) equipment. They said what I had was fine and the equipment mattered less than how it was used. Most guide services/fly shops I have been in love to push high end stuff on you, but not here. Brevard is just a nice area with nice people and it is always hard for us to come home.