Hamann: Pat, this is my first chance to interview a team mate for the “Behind the Leader Board” series, a unique honor, but don’t think that means I’m going to take it easy on you. As always let’s jump right in. As I laid out in the introduction you were relatively unacquainted with competitive fly fishing just a few years ago. What was your introduction to comp fishing and when did the light bulb turn on that this was indeed a calling for you?

Weiss: Two years ago, I got a call from a friend of mine, Greg Glitzer who had agreed to join a team of guys for the America Cup Fly Fishing Tournament in Colorado. This squad turned out to be part of what is now Team Freestone, a major player in the TroutLegend league standings. Being totally unprepared for what I was into, I got my A** whooped in my first session, but I knew this was something I was going to learn about and do more of. By the end of that comp, I was “hooked”.

Hamann: Was the transition to fips-mouche format fairly easy for you?

Weiss: Not at first, because I tried to do it without the right tools. I tried to make leaders from line that I use on tip-ups for ice fishing, tried to weight flies without Tungsten beads, used sub-par hooks, and only had a 9’ rod. It was a mess. It was very hard to make the financial commitment needed to make a real run at this thing. It’s still hard; at times I feel it’s my biggest limiting factor. Other things must suffer because of it and that’s just not cool, but it’s an addiction that shows no sign of fading. Once I started using the right tools, the transition became smoother. I still have so much that I’m trying to figure out, it’s a work in progress, and always will be. Nobody knows it all, nobody.

Hamann: Tell us about your job. Do you think it gives you an edge in the angling world?

Weiss: I’m a Fisheries Technician with the PA Fish and Boat Commission; I work with sportsmens clubs that raise trout for stocking into public waterways within the state. I get to do some cool things like assist with electro fishing surveys, but I don’t really think it gives me any kind of edge when it comes to competition. Now if I brought a backpack electro fisher to a comp, then we’d be talking some serious advantage!

Hamann: You live only a short drive from the waterway I frequently call “The Trout Laboratory;” a phenomenal creek that has active feeding fish 365 days a year. Tell us how Spring Creek has shaped you as an angler?

Weiss: Well I can tell you that it had a hand in my stellar G.P.A while at Penn State! I did manage to graduate somehow despite Spring Creek. It is a great place to observe ultra-pressured, wild fish and how they react to different conditions and situations. It has also helped me learn how to read water. When I would fish through an area and catch a bunch of fish, then walk through it and spook twice as many as I caught, I knew I had a lot to learn about where, when, and why trout hold in certain places. Despite the pressure, they will often let you get fairly close to them. I would spend a lot of time just watching how they feed, how they react to each other and what they did when they were spooked. I still do.

Hamann: Many competitors work years trying to obtain a spot on Fly Fishing Team USA – meanwhile you hit the squad on your first shot. Tell us about your experience with the team up till now?

Weiss: I’ve worked with members of the team at both regionals this year and it’s been great. Not only from the competition aspect and the sharing of ideas, but the camaraderie. It’s been a lot of fun, I really enjoy it. I can’t wait to work with the rest of the team in the near future.

Hamann: Has competing and communicating with some of the best anglers in the nation evolved your game?

Weiss: Yes, I think it has in terms of the finer points of competing. Things like preparation come naturally to the seasoned anglers on the team, but it’s still new to me. I learn a lot by just watching and asking questions off the water. It also helps when guys like Loren Williams and Josh Graffam offer advice on things like lake flies, or offer you their actual flies! Thanks boys!

Hamann: All right, let’s talk some actual gear and techniques. Many competitors are often taken back by the absolute simplicity of your flies. Tell us about your philosophies of fly design and is there more than meets the eye that just scans over your boxes?

Weiss: To be brutally honest with you it stems from two things, a lack of patience at the vice and a lack of money. I have never had the patience to tie hellishly elaborate flies, so I just quit doing it. I also never had the money to buy the materials even if I wanted to. Because of those factors, I tied with what I had. I “acquire” many of my materials the old-school way, I hunt and I trap. I also blend a lot of my own dubbing and dye a lot of my own feathers and fur; mostly because I find it hard to buy the color shades that I want. Does the exact shade matter? Probably not, but I’m tying these things for me, so I’m going to tie them the way I want them. I have found that color, size, and profile are essential for a productive fly. This was nothing groundbreaking, Central PA legends like George Harvey, Joe Humphries and Mark Belden had been preaching it for decades all I did was buy in to the theory. I always did well with basic, clean patterns, so I never changed. I’m not big into bling.

Hamann: Rods. What length and action do you prefer? Have you found that “one” great nymphing rod yet? If not, what attributes are you still seeking?

Weiss: I like a 10’ 4wt rod for most general applications, I also prefer a faster action than most, I’m currently using a Sage ONE. I really like most things about it, but it’s really a dry-fly rod (and a great one at that!), so the weight balance isn’t always ideal for me when nymphing, but it’s the best I’ve handled to this point. I’d actually like to find another rod that was as forgiving, but with a faster action. To me, a fly rod is a tool and each tool has its application. You can remove a bolt with a pair of pliers, but it works a whole lot better if you have a wrench or a socket of the proper size.

Hamann: Leaders. I know you’ve been jumping around a bit as far as leader design and theory over the last year – what are your findings?

Weiss: I think I’ve gone around in a giant circle and I’m back to where I began. See above “wrench” analogy. It’s my white whale; I’ve gone through hundreds of yards of leader materials in the last year or so. As a matter of fact, I tied 4 new leaders before this interview; we’ll see how worthless they are tomorrow!

Hamann: I’ve watched you follow 5 really good anglers up a river and take 3 or even 4 times as many fish right in their footsteps. What I’ve noticed is you fish at a very steady, I’d almost say slow pace and really cover each spot thoroughly before moving on. Can you tell us about this “pace”?

Weiss: It’s the pace that the old-timers who fish minnows here in PA move at. They can fish behind a bunch of guys on opening day and pull fish from where there was seemingly nothing. They used to do it to me when I was a kid, so I copied them.

Hamann: Tell us about your regional squad Team Freestone? How do you benefit as an angler from being part of a regional Trout Legend team and what do you try to give back?

Weiss: Team Freestone is a blast! We’ve got such a varied group of people that share ideas and like to have fun. Being part of the team has helped me so much in the last year, being able to ask questions about things other guys (and gals) were using helps shorten the learning curve. What more can you say about people who call you up and offer any and all of their gear for your use at the SE regional, or give you their entire lake box, rod, reels and net(this happened twice! Thanks Mark and Andy!). It’s also a great benefit to have like-minded people to practice with throughout the year. I try to reciprocate as best I can. My fly boxes are an open book; I share the leader du jour, etc. Sometimes it probably isn’t an equal trade, but I usually bring High Life to our outings so that equals it out in my book.

Hamann: Do you think Team Freestone has a shot at winning the Trout Legend top team in 2012/13 or do you think Team NC will sweep the title again?

Weiss: Oh, we’ve got a shot, believe that.

Hamann: You just took 1st at the SE Regional in North Carolina and then 2nd at the NE Regional in Pennsylvania – decidedly 2 very different venues. Do you change your tactics when you travel? How do you adapt to varying waterways?

Weiss: I try to stay flexible when going to new places and let the water types and fish tell me what to do. If I find water types similar to what I’m used to around here, Ill approach it in a similar way, but if it isn’t working I’m not afraid to change completely. Practice is very important for me; it helps me gauge the mood of the fish.

Hamann: So, you made Fly Fishing Team USA in your first year of competing. You’re dominating the Trout Legend Premier League in your second! What’s next for Pat Weiss? What are your immediate and long term goals in the competitive fly fishing world? Do you hope to go to the World Championships?

Weiss: I want to see the USA on the podium at the World Championships. I want to compete at the World Championships. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to medal at the World Championships, who doesn’t? I almost don’t like saying that in a public forum like this, because I don’t want to sound arrogant, but you asked and it’s the truth. Go big or go home right?

Hamann: Thank you for taking this interview. I’ve learned a great deal practicing with you over the last year and am honored to call you a team mate. Despite your success and incredible skill set you’re still a down to earth regular guy and I really respect that. In closing, can you tell us how competitive fly fishing has transformed your angling life? What does competitive fly fishing mean to you?

Weiss: Well Dejon, thank you for providing the forum and the arena for so many competition anglers on this continent and abroad. And also thank you for inviting me to join the team formerly known as Trout legend, it happened at just the right time for me, it really was one of my many lucky breaks over the last 2 years.
As for competition angling: it has forced me to re-learn what I thought I already knew how to do. I fish more now than I used to, and I used to fish A LOT. I now hit the water with the intent to either accomplish some goal or try something new. I find that now I can spend 4 hours on 150 yards of crappy water that I used to walk past. This competition thing is a great big learning experience and I like that. Water that I know like the back of my hand seems brand new and I like the process of learning it all over again.

Regards, Anthony Naranja”

Fly Fishing Team USA Point Totals

(As of July 09′)

1. George Daniel                                                                     12,000
2. Josh Stephens                                                                     10,163
3. Pete Erickson                                                                        8,744
4. Lance Egan                                                                            8,409
5. Anthony Naranja                                                                7,950
6. Devin Olsen                                                                          7,844
7. Mike Sexton                                                                          7,483
8. Loren Williams                                                                     5,084
9. Norman Maktima                                                               4,557
10. Bret Bishop                                                                             4,530
11. Scott Robertson                                                                  3,551
12. Eddie Pinkston                                                                    3,500
13. Jim Hickey                                                                           2,700
14. Rob Kolanda                                                                        1,604
15. Kurt Finlayson                                                                     1,443
16. Brian Kimmel                                                                       1,438
17. Brian Capsay                                                                        1,250
18. Riley Cotter                                                                           1,200
19. Randy Hanner                                                                     1,200
20. Matt Powell                                                                           1,125
21. Jake Ricks                                                                              925
22. Dejon Hammann                                                                  913
23. Trevor Wine                                                                           900
24. Alec Gerbec                                                                             800
25. John Roberts                                                                          701
26. Barney Naylor                                                                        700
27. Sandy Wright                                                                         693
28. Charles Kempe                                                                       600
29. Merry Waugh                                                                        530
30. Spencer Higa                                                                          480
31. Leonard Sauers                                                                      467
32. Tom Smith                                                                              343
33. Wes Congdon                                                                          300
34. Tony Felicilda                                                                         300
35. Zach Herbel                                                                              300

With my buddy Todd Wright running co-pilot again this time we made a b-line for Big Fishing Creek (BFC). Despite many reports of BFC being a creek that would humble even the most proficient angler we got into fish on our first few drifts. Later on, as we proceeded up river to more popular sections the fishing got tougher.

Oddly enough there was some sort of “fishing contest” being held at one of the local hatcheries on BFC… which half scared us to death as we rounded the corner. Our first thought at seeing nearly 125 cars parked at the first access point was: “if it’s this freaking crowded I’m packing it up till Steelhead season!”

All prodigy of stream born insects were taking flight the first evening on BFC. Among a smorgasbord of the usual suspects like Sulphurs and many forms of Caddis we saw some giant black stones and a nice, but sporadic hatch of the famous Green Drakes. Most anglers, including those being guided kept in tight little pods in the slow water trying to coerce picky fish with picky patterns. We ran jubilantly for the fast, gradient falling riffle sections and spooned out a few butter orange wild browns with character to boot.

As evening fell we settled down to some slow water and started to figure out a few pieces of the puzzle. Heading back to the car we stopped to chat with a really friendly father and son team. Chris Hazer and his father turned out to be active with the Youth Team USA and we shot the proverbial manure for some time about cripples, comparduns, Humphries, and the joy of retiring to this fly fishing paradise.

Copious amounts of various micro brews, homemade roasted almonds, and a moon laden night capped off the first day.

Next morning we broke camp and meandered our way, with directions from a streamside guide near Colburn, up over and into the mountain Campground of Poe Paddy State Park. This is a picturesque campground nestled away from any main roads or towns and set right on the bank of the mighty Penns Creek. Our timing was merely happenstance, but that was unique as every other angler in the park had driven from far and wide to fish the well publicized and fantasized Green Drake’s of Penns Creek. It’s a funny thing seeing so many cigar smoking fisherman with plastic wrap still on their rod handles sitting around on the banks just waiting. And when I say funny I mean odd. As in one of the oddest things I’ve ever seen streamside.

Literally every 50 feet of the river for the last 2 hours of daylight had an angler sitting on the bank just scanning, waiting for a rise. Then friends would give the heads-up or flip a coin and one angler would wade out to take a few casts at the rise form, possibly hook a fish… or not, and then settle back to his perch on the bank. So odd. Again, we worked what most would call “B” water during the day and found some very enthusiastic wild trout.

Later on that evening we decided to play the “Penn Drake Sitting Game,” and found a nice stretch, and waited. I must say it does have a certain sort of appeal to it – concentrating more on conversation and waiting rather than fishing. And my devilishly favorite moment was catching a gorgeous rising brown after laying out an 80 foot cast on a dime!! Sometimes it’s fun to have an audience.

After a dinner of Venison Ragu, Venison Breaded Cutlets, and a bit too much Cab we packed up a backpack full of beers and headed out into the 11 o’clock hour to find some midnight risers. Story has it that some of the best Green Drake surface fishing happens just after midnight. Unfortunately, we spent more time pissing in the bushes and stumbling over rocks then fishing. The moon never quite made it’s way over the streamside trees to give the fish a visible backdrop. Still, we did manage to go 3 for about 12 swinging stimmies across the surface. Night time fishing is exhilarating… as long as you don’t kill yourself.

The next day we decided to skip that scene and headed toward “Fisherman’s Paradise” on Spring Creek. Much to our surprise we found a whole section of extremely willing fish coming with ease to size 18 black Caddis. Alas, every trip has it’s end and so does this story. I have to go now and see if there might be a cheap little property available sitting on the banks of Big Fishing Creek.