It all Finally came together!

[Opie610]

Ever since i began fly fishing several years ago i almost exclusively fished dry flies. This was solely because every time i tried to nymph fish i became frustrated. I guess you could say i never really put the time in to learn how to do it properly. As you can imagine dry fly fishing surely cuts down the productive time you have on the water.

This fall i had enough, I swore to myself i would put the time in and do my homework. I read and read and read some more. Spending countless hours on the internet, talking to people on the stream, whatever information i could get i soaked it in like a man possessed.

For the last month or so i have been putting countless hours on weekends fishing nymphs. I would get the odd fish here and there, but it always felt like the blind squirrel finding a nut kinda thing. Well today it happened, i caught 8 Rainbows ranging between 12" and 17" and one beautiful Brown that was 14" but had the most awesome colors!
Let me state that by no means do i think i have learned everything. Heck I'm sure i haven't even scratched the surface. But it sure felt good to have some confidence in what i was doing.

Just wanted to say Thank You to the members of this forum and others like it for providing the endless knowledge that helped my on my way to achieve my goal.

Opie

 

[whheff]

Congrats Opie.

 

[DGC]

Great first post and even greater stick-to-it attitude.

 

[djs12354]

Congrats! and welcome to the jungle!

 

[dc410]

I feel the most important word in your original post is - confidence. Gaining confidence in your ability to effectively fish nymphs will consistently catch you more fish. There is always a ton more to learn. That's what really makes it fun. Congratulations and good luck as you continue to develop your nymphing techniques.

 

[Volksnurse]

Congrats....love when that light bulb comes on!

 

[stevehalupka]

opie,

it's a shame your character died off this season in sons of anarchy; at least you have the time to nymph now.

Is your next endeavor learning to swing wets and streamers? If you really did use knowledge from the forum before posting a cliche, rehashed question I must commend you.

the search function should be discussed and stickied in the beginner forum to avoid the inevitable and assist those with questions. This will lead to better info for those with questions as many skip such threads to avoid reading another paraphrase from 'that guy'

 

[Opie610]

Yes, as stated in my original post i used a ton of info from this forum and others like it. The search button is a wonderful tool as are Google and YouTube.
You will find i don't post much because i don't really think i have a lot to offer as far as knowledge, I am just learning. I will however most likely be posting questions every once in a while.

Thanks for all the kind words guys

Opie

 

[Maurice]

Opie,

I started like you with drys mostly and found after the first year of little success I was determined to expand so in year two I nymphed primarily and when the fish said to go on top I did.

In year three I focused on streamers and when only nymphed when streamer fishing was weak, then on top if the fish told me to.

It wasn't until an couple years ago I started fishing wets and soft hackles primarily since I had a fishing buddy who fished them alot.

I think thats a good way to get good, You can always fall back on the previous methods you mastered but by focusing on a specific method each year you get to learn alot more about it rather than just touching on it every now and then.

Maurice

 

[jdaddy]

Not to take away from your success, but being in Berks and catching rainbows of that size its my guess you were fishing the Tully which was stocked a day or two prior. So you may have been doing it right previously in the month, there just werent that many fish present.

 

[Wharfrat]

If Opie was fishing the Tully, he did much better than my buddy I did on Friday afternoon. We fished hard from 1-6 and caught 3 fish total. One was a 20" + Brown that my buddy caught on a Hares ear and I picked up just 1 Brown and 1 Rainbow each about 12". I was surprised at our lack of success. I thought maybe they only stocked a few fish. We fished the same spots back in the spring and always came away with 10 + fish between us.
I am going head back up there tommorow and see if I can't find these Rainbows.

 

[Opie610]

Jdaddy was right i was on the Tully. And i did check the fish commission web site and they actually stocked it on Tuesday. Kind of a bummer, not feeling as confident knowing they were just stocked a couple days before. But as i said in the original post, the Brown was an obvious hold over. So at least i fooled him! Oh well i'll keep pounding away and see how i do this weekend.

 

[jdaddy]

Opie610 wrote:
Jdaddy was right i was on the Tully. And i did check the fish commission web site and they actually stocked it on Tuesday. Kind of a bummer, not feeling as confident knowing they were just stocked a couple days before. But as i said in the original post, the Brown was an obvious hold over. So at least i fooled him! Oh well i'll keep pounding away and see how i do this weekend.

Dont get bummed.

1) My point was that you have likely been fishing well however there simply were more fish present.

2) You are fishing smart by using your resources ie the commission website.