6:42 AM
Matthew Supinski's Gray Drake/Selectivity/Nexus Blog
Patti Carlson from Chicago had a fly rod in her hand once before yesterday.She took her first fly tying lesson two weeks ago at Trout &.and Grouse.Some may say she was now poised to catch a world class steelhead............a lot of others would say NOT!
Anyways,with her beau Mark ,a seasoned fly fisherman in the boat with her,I spent a good part of the morning teaching Patti how to cast ,deep nymph fish,getting the drift and presentation down and simulating what to do..or not do, after she was hooked up with a steelhead.By early afternoon her casts we effortless,her drifts perfect and I was starting to smell chrome steel not too far behind.As the say"one cast away from redemption time",as her fly,a McMundial, started to swing three quarters through the deep gut of the pool,her rod exploded and the fish was hooked and screamed downstream with a huge boil on the surface.For 37 degree water, the fresh chrome buck acted like a summer run fish in June.Coaching her through every manuever of the battle and working the boat to her fighting advantage,after 10-15 minutes of a hard fought wrestling match between Patti and Alpha buck male steelhead,"the beast was in the net".She was elated to say the least and has become a fly rod steelhead addict for life.
A steelhead guide should be able to take toatl novice or complete beginners and teach them the whole system in one day.They fish vicariously through the client's wand which is the rod.They don't just put you in a spot and say"Dude..this spot was smoke'in yesterday" and let you have at it in a free-for -all style.If you notice how many first time fly fishers on this site has success, it is a tribute to our dedication to make your day rewarding and fun.We pride ourselves at the Gray Drake for doing this and the pictures and the smiles are the proof in the pudding.
Tim Van Gessel also got two totally new to the steelheading sport,Paul Baltes and his newhew into their first steelhead ever.Keep in mind the water is still very high and cold,we are "fly" fishing, (not throwing spawn which has a much better frequency of catching fish under these conditions)
Congrats,Patti!!!!!.May many more come your way!
And that's the whole story
Good Day!
M
