I am WAY LATE in getting this trip uploaded to the site. Sorry, just been busy on the work front and what not.
My March 14, 2009 trip to Dry Run Creek had been building for ever, since my youngest has started to show an interest in going fishing with me. The winter was too cold, and I was determined that she enjoy her second trip to Dry Run Creek as much as she did the first trip, so we waited until the weather was just right this spring / late winter and settled on this weekend, after consulting the weather several times.
I knew from our first trip down there, that the stream is more effectively fished if the kids wear waders. It isn’t so much that they wade much, but in a few places it makes it easier for them to get closer to the fish. Besides, as a kid growing up my dad always made sure I had all the hunting / fishing gear I needed…..and that was part of getting to go hunting / fishing with dad. So with that I ordered her a pair of youth breathable waders from Cabelas for $70 and she was now outfitted with her own fly rod (a TFO 7′ – 6″ 5wt Professional Series) and Teton Tioga reel outfitted with Sharkskin (because that is what I had). Besides, if I ever need a short 5wt rod for a trip to the smokies…I now have one to borrow. Everything arrived in time and the waders fit her perfectly. She was ready to go fishing.
Friday afternoon arrived, and Hannah and I left the office a little early (she needs to experience the full fishing trip, complete with sneaking out early) and headed home to load up and pick up my dad, who decided to make the trip with us. The trip down was fairly uneventful as trips go, but realize that a 4.5hr trip to go fly fishing for a day is a little more than I think most 7 year olds can handle on a daily basis. Luckily she slept most of the way down, once it was dark. We rolled in to our hotel in Mountain Home around 10pm and hit the sack.
We were up early the next morning in an attempt to be the first ones on the stream, and as we expected we were. Hannah and I suited up in our waders while my dad readied the video camera and other neccessities until we were all ready, and we were off down the concrete sidewalk along the hatchery headed toward Dry Run Creek.
The first section of the stream we fished (near the second stair case) was just full of fish and it wasn’t long before Hannah was rollcasting by herself and hooking fish (mostly by herself). One of the first fish she picked up was a nice 18″ brown trout that came out of the water a couple of times while I went to get the net. That was the only brown trout she landed on this trip, but she did manage to land several rainbows and even get hooked up with some pig fish.
As with most days on Dry Run Creek, the fly of the day was an egg pattern (a micro orange egg) under a yarn indicator with one small lead shot. The fish were on it, just plain and simple. We fished 4x tippit the entire day, and the fish did not seem to mind. As fishing goes, it was a good day. She was getting tired around 12pm, so we decided to break for lunch just as it started to rain. We were going to drive back on Saturday afternoon anyway, so the rain simply made us shorten our stay on the stream (note to self, need to buy her a breathable rain coat before our next trip…), and with that we were in the car and on the way back. In total, she landed about 30 fish in 4 hours or so, the biggest being an 18″ brown, so it was definitely a good day.
I could write all day about our trip, but my words aren’t near as exciting or meaningful as to hear Hannah tell people about her trip down there or the fact that I got to experience this with my Dad. We managed to shoot about 3 hours of video while down there, and not near enough photos, that are below. But again, it is was one of those trips that I hope every fly fisherman gets to experience. If you take nothing at all from fly fishing, take the memories…..
