Matt guided Ryan Curley and his friend yesterday on the South Holston River in East Tennessee. It was a full day float. During the a.m. float, they caught fish well on nymphs and streamers. Matt guestimated around 30 in the morning . The afternoon float brought the Sulphur hatch on. So it was dry flyfishing . It was foggy, but that did not keep the Sulphurs away. They hatched well. Matt said the dry flyfishing was good and about the same number of fish wewre caught in the afternoon as in the a.m.. I think Ryan caught some fish on streamers in the afternoon also.
My son , Matt, has become of a fly tyer. I was the one always tying the bugs. But Matt has become an adapt streamer tyer. He is whacking out some pretty funky articulated streamers for both trout and striped bass. And they have been very effective. I don’t know how many striped bass he has caught on them this year- a bunch. And yesterday , one was pretty darn effective on trout. I would like to think he learned this stuff from me. But as usual, Matt is ahead of me even when he first begins something. Having paddled him around a right good bit this year, I have seen how good a fisherman this man is. I can watch and emulate his retreive with exact opposite results. He catches fish and I mean big fish and I don’t. Well, sometimes I luck in to a few, but that young man catches them; one right after another.
That is just the way he has always been. God gave him a gift. It is just natural to him.
His gift is like the one I ran into as a young tennis or basketball player. I was a good player. But when you crossed paths with a gifted player, the light went on. No matter how much I practiced, I could never acheive the talent those guys have. God gives certain talents to certain people. The good news is that we don’t have to be an extra gifted person to enjoy this sport. This is a very subjective sport. We do it because we enjoy the outdoors . And we enjoy a “ring” from a trout rise. Or a head popping up and sipping a mayfly dun. And yes, even the me’s of this world catch fish. And can actually get pretty good at it. And since fishing is a non competitive hobby, it is not me aagainst Matt. It is just me trying to catch a trout on my terms. You know what I mean?
Maybe this means, it is time for Matt to give me streamers; a little payback for all those past years…..naw, I want to catch fish on my versions of streamers. Isn’t that what tyers do. The ” if it ain’t mine, I am not going to fish it ” deal.
See you on the water.
Rod Champion