Hiking with a Fly Rod

Monday is my Sunday and I use this day to get out and explore. Today was a visit to an old locale that offers up great hiking with the prospect of catching wild brown trout. A place that has seen an increase in traffic with internet hot-spotting, yet still a very scenic wild place. It location is north of Pittsburgh. A place that I found on a hunch and advice from my grandfather. A man who has fished the area since the early 70's.

I have recently been working hard to get back into shape. Not a new years resolution, but a need for the upcoming summer travels. Hiking has become a great way for me to get exercise. It also gives me the opportunity to be in remote places that hold the natural beauty I so adore. The plan for today was to make the two mile hike to the main stream and then fish my way back upstream.

The hike in was nice with the ground still frozen from the night before. The sun was shinning through the trees as birds chirped at my presence. There were two cars parked in the lot. I was hopeful they were not out fishing.

"If a tree fell in the woods, and nobody was around....."

Then I had to go back for the camera.

 
It was easy to tell that someone else had been on the path before me. My heart sank as I made the turn down to the stream and found footprints. I held hope that maybe they just wanted a closer look at the stream. So I put together my rod and tied on a size 16 Adams dry fly. The water was crystal clear and cold. The fishing went well and the pools all looked promising. But someone had gone before me.

 

The fish? none. And for the first time ever fishing this stream I blame that on angling pressure. All it takes is one person to tromp up stream to spook the fish. I'm not sure how far back I was from the other person but it wasn't enough for this stream.



Still an amazing day. The walk back gave me time to clear my head and enjoy the moment.

 

beer