TroutLegend

The 4 main systems surrounding State College, PA still continue to surprise and intrigue this angler. You really can find any potential trout angling puzzle in that small little driving bubble. From the slow flowing waters of Spring Creek to the big water of Penns, from the falling turns of Big Fishing Creek to the gentle turns of the Little Juniata. Each stream has its own distinct character and wily wild trout to encounter.

Seems to often that we forget that effective fly fishing is a simple matter of presentation and strike detection. That’s it. Put a vaguely suitable looking fly into a perfect drift and a fish is going to take a bite, but without strike detection you’ll never know it. Cut things down to the bare essentials and soon you’ll be reminded that all those flies, and rods, and lines, and every other piece of gear falls a distant second to concentrating on presentation and strike detection. Fantastic anglers can do amazing things with average tools. It’s that simple. I heard recently there was a Japanese Angler who entered the World Fly Fishing Championships with an old heavy Bamboo rod… and he did quite well.

Wherever you are on your fishing journey I invite you to stop for a moment and take stock of what you are investing your mental energy on. Are you lusting after that new next generation fly rod to extend your cast and create perfect fan adoring loops? Put the money into your kid’s college fund! Great casters of decades past were shooting artistic loops with rods we wouldn’t even buy for a few dollars at a yard sale. Are you constantly searching for the next killer pattern that will out fish your buddies? Some of the greatest anglers, I mean fish catching machines from across the world use nothing but simple “Frenchies.” Is it that new reel, or vest, or net, or “fill in the blank” that’s going to make you a better angler? Consider for a moment that you’ve fallen sucker to the great consumer mechanism of our world. Refresh your mind and your skills and start over. Strip everything down to the core and remember that your greatest tool sits comfortably behind your eyes. After all, Fly Fishing is really just about problem solving. You all ready have the best piece of gear. You just need to exercise it a little. It’s been asleep for some time.