Fly Fishing State Park Lake
Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 9:01 pm
We are lucky enough to live five minutes from the lake at one of the top rated state parks in the state. Miss T suggested last night that we fish this morning if I was up to it. I was in. 
We got to the lake before ten, and it was already hot. An old geezer bank fishing by the boat ramp said he hoped we had better luck than he did the last few days, not a single bite. 
Beats sitting at home.. we both agreed.
We launched the kayaks and I worked my way around the left bank with Tina heading right. The lake is a couple hundred yards wide, so we kept one another in sight, without crowding into each others spots.
I worked my way up the bank, and as I passed a campsite, the man watching from the bank said, "We've been here a week, and you are the first one we have seen with a fly rod."
I pulled up to shore and chatted with he and his wife for thirty minutes. They had kayaks, but were new to kayaking, so I shared some techniques they might find helpful, mainly paddle strokes to make maneuvering their kayaks easier or more efficient. In addition, a friend was supposed to teach them to flycast, but they hadn't made the time. I explained that perfect technical casts were beautiful, took practice, and some skill...
... but they could learn the basics and be fly fishing in a couple hours. Fly fishing from a kayak only requires short, reasonably accurate casts to begin... and catches fish. 
I demonstrated the double haul, which shoots fly line like a rocket, with the flick of the wrist... and takes very little effort. The rod does the work. Pardon the pun, but they were hooked. The fish really weren't biting, I caught a half dozen small panfish on poppers, but I really enjoyed the chat and hooked two new fly fishermen.
We got to the lake before ten, and it was already hot. An old geezer bank fishing by the boat ramp said he hoped we had better luck than he did the last few days, not a single bite. Beats sitting at home.. we both agreed. We launched the kayaks and I worked my way around the left bank with Tina heading right. The lake is a couple hundred yards wide, so we kept one another in sight, without crowding into each others spots.
I worked my way up the bank, and as I passed a campsite, the man watching from the bank said, "We've been here a week, and you are the first one we have seen with a fly rod."I pulled up to shore and chatted with he and his wife for thirty minutes. They had kayaks, but were new to kayaking, so I shared some techniques they might find helpful, mainly paddle strokes to make maneuvering their kayaks easier or more efficient. In addition, a friend was supposed to teach them to flycast, but they hadn't made the time. I explained that perfect technical casts were beautiful, took practice, and some skill...
... but they could learn the basics and be fly fishing in a couple hours. Fly fishing from a kayak only requires short, reasonably accurate casts to begin... and catches fish. I demonstrated the double haul, which shoots fly line like a rocket, with the flick of the wrist... and takes very little effort. The rod does the work. Pardon the pun, but they were hooked. The fish really weren't biting, I caught a half dozen small panfish on poppers, but I really enjoyed the chat and hooked two new fly fishermen.