Shame on Me

While at a business conference last week, I was approached by one of my blog readers. A lady from New Jersey who has told me time and time again that when she reads the blogs, she vicariously live in me during her reading the blog. She greeted me and then proceeded to ask me why she had not received any new blog post notices. She then said, did you drop me from the group? I smiled at her and said, Ellen, no I did not drop you, you are still there, I just have not had the time to sit down and write a new blog in a long time. We then talked about the blogs and yes, she did shame me into going back to the computer and writing this new one. So, this one is for you Ellen.

As I write this, Northern Maine is hopefully near the tail end of a long winter. We are not far away from holding the all-time record for most snow in a season. This year is currently in second place. (Not really a record I want to hold in high esteem.) During the winter months, TC and I have been busy tying the flies we need for the upcoming fishing season that incidentally started on April 1. TC and I tried to keep a mental note of the flies that were successful and at what time they worked. This year, I am going to carry a little book and my goal is to write down the flies my clients, I and TC use, when we used them and what success we had. This data will be helpful in compiling what works, when it worked and if we should continue to tie that pattern.

As many faithful fisher persons know, one day a fly might work like gangbusters and the next day the fish would not touch it with a ten foot pole. Older fishing advocates say that if you are lucky enough to be on the water during a hatch that is the fly that would work during that time. The trick, however is to know when the hatch takes place and I for one often times miss them as you just don’t look on the calendar and say the green drake hatch is happening tomorrow and I need to get out there. It is all luck. I’ve spent nights in the woods whereas the day came to an end and the hatch took place at dark. Waking up the next morning my camping gear is full of dead flies and I missed it! That morning the fish would not take a blue dunn to save their soul.

So, you ask, what should I bring with me on my fishing trip. My answer is bring a box full of all different flies that have worked in the past and that way you can try all of them until you find the one that works. Yes, I can give you some options, and if you are using my services, I will even provide you with the flies I think might work. However, at the end of the day, the decision is for the fish to make and you just don’t get a say. It’s just that simple.