in over a year! My mental, and physical, stamina is poor but the desire to want to do things isn't. I spoke with my wife about maybe next week after all
the rains pass by we could go out to the York Landtrust area where I fished the Josias River with quashnet last May.
My wife looked at me and said "you can't possibly walk that route to the river, I don't even see how you did it last May." I told her I didn't know how I had either but thought just getting to the water would be good even if I was too tired to fish when I got there and we could bring our dog, Levi, so she and he could have a little outing while I fished. She told me I ought to pop by the fly shop and see my buddy Jimmy to see if he could recommend an easier place for me to try and I told her I would do that.
I loaded the Young Princess and E.C. Powell 7'6" 3 pc into the RidgeLine and popped the Bogdan Trout and Godfrey in my pockets, there was a fly box in the truck and assorted tools, I grabbed Levi's e-collar and off we went to Eldridge Bros. Fly Shop.
When I got there Tom was setting up a new fly line on a reel and looked over his glasses to say hi. I asked how things were going and he said things were good he'd been shad fishing and the schoolie stripers were in the York River down by the Wiggley Bridge ( I can see this from my house ) and he asked if I had done any fishing, I told him I have not fished since last May and was hoping Jimmy would be around to slip me one of his easy spots. He told me Jim was probably into a Tarpon about now down in Key West and wouldn't be back until next weekend.
He asked how much trouble it was for me to move around so I explained everything to him and said I needed a place with easy access with some parking and he told me he had just the place for me and it had 3500 10" plus browns planted early in the spring. I then shared the Landtrust property with him as he'd never fished the Josias making us both looking forward to new water.
I had brought the two rods with me to have Jimmy cast them as I do with most of my rods as Jimmy is an elegant caster and loves bamboo and the opportunity to cast rods he has never cast but as I already said he was in Key West. We headed back home and stopped at the Fish & Game Club I belong to and it we found ourselves alone so I put Levi's e-collar on and let him out.
We walked up to the pond and I saw plenty if fish working so I figured while I was there I'd grab a rod so I chose the Paul Young Princess made by Todd Young and mounted the Bogdan Trout which is lined with a Cortland Sylk 4 wt line. The bugs on our pond are small so I chose a size 16 Elk Hair Caddis and was into a very nice fish on my first cast (they had stocked it with rainbows which included some retired brooders) and before I could land it the line popped, I thought the fly and leader had parted but I saw about a foot of the leader was gone. Trimmed the leader and tied on another and managed to catch two keeping an 11" that was bleeding although I couldn't see how, or why, since my hook was in its lower lip but it was bleeding badly enough to know it wouldn't survive.
Levi was beside himself when I had a fish on and so excited when he had one in front of him, this was his first experience with it and he thoroughly enjoyed himself as did I. We went home and my wife was immediately greeted with the howling talk Levi does when he's got a story to tell and she had me interpret it as always. When she saw the fish she smiled and asked if we could have it for breakfast tomorrow morning, I told her we could and that Jimmy was fishing in FL but Tom was nice enough to share a place with me and she said we'd go together.
My wife looked at me and said "you can't possibly walk that route to the river, I don't even see how you did it last May." I told her I didn't know how I had either but thought just getting to the water would be good even if I was too tired to fish when I got there and we could bring our dog, Levi, so she and he could have a little outing while I fished. She told me I ought to pop by the fly shop and see my buddy Jimmy to see if he could recommend an easier place for me to try and I told her I would do that.
I loaded the Young Princess and E.C. Powell 7'6" 3 pc into the RidgeLine and popped the Bogdan Trout and Godfrey in my pockets, there was a fly box in the truck and assorted tools, I grabbed Levi's e-collar and off we went to Eldridge Bros. Fly Shop.
When I got there Tom was setting up a new fly line on a reel and looked over his glasses to say hi. I asked how things were going and he said things were good he'd been shad fishing and the schoolie stripers were in the York River down by the Wiggley Bridge ( I can see this from my house ) and he asked if I had done any fishing, I told him I have not fished since last May and was hoping Jimmy would be around to slip me one of his easy spots. He told me Jim was probably into a Tarpon about now down in Key West and wouldn't be back until next weekend.
He asked how much trouble it was for me to move around so I explained everything to him and said I needed a place with easy access with some parking and he told me he had just the place for me and it had 3500 10" plus browns planted early in the spring. I then shared the Landtrust property with him as he'd never fished the Josias making us both looking forward to new water.
I had brought the two rods with me to have Jimmy cast them as I do with most of my rods as Jimmy is an elegant caster and loves bamboo and the opportunity to cast rods he has never cast but as I already said he was in Key West. We headed back home and stopped at the Fish & Game Club I belong to and it we found ourselves alone so I put Levi's e-collar on and let him out.
We walked up to the pond and I saw plenty if fish working so I figured while I was there I'd grab a rod so I chose the Paul Young Princess made by Todd Young and mounted the Bogdan Trout which is lined with a Cortland Sylk 4 wt line. The bugs on our pond are small so I chose a size 16 Elk Hair Caddis and was into a very nice fish on my first cast (they had stocked it with rainbows which included some retired brooders) and before I could land it the line popped, I thought the fly and leader had parted but I saw about a foot of the leader was gone. Trimmed the leader and tied on another and managed to catch two keeping an 11" that was bleeding although I couldn't see how, or why, since my hook was in its lower lip but it was bleeding badly enough to know it wouldn't survive.
Levi was beside himself when I had a fish on and so excited when he had one in front of him, this was his first experience with it and he thoroughly enjoyed himself as did I. We went home and my wife was immediately greeted with the howling talk Levi does when he's got a story to tell and she had me interpret it as always. When she saw the fish she smiled and asked if we could have it for breakfast tomorrow morning, I told her we could and that Jimmy was fishing in FL but Tom was nice enough to share a place with me and she said we'd go together.
Gosh! Looks like we'll take a drive by on Weds. to check it
out..............
