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The first day on the water. |
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day on the water should be a great experience. I was very lucky when
I started to fly fish. There was not many people on the bay that were
fly fishing in the late 60's. The sport was in it's infancy on Barnegat
Bay. I remember that people would go by in boats and say "are
you lost, this isn't freshwater ?" Of course we knew that. Fly
fishing was not accepted as a form of fishing on the Bay like it is
now. I had a mentor, Bob Leary who was a Charter member of the Salt Water Flyrodders of America. I think it was because of his expertise that this first experience was so enjoyable, and led me on to take the sport as an avocation, and fish this way all over the U.S.. The first obstacle that I encountered was the cast. Bob was very patient with me on that first day. I had line all over the place. Helmets should have been required as gear on that first hour. Finally I got the basic hang of it. But I remembered the overwhelming feeling of being very self conscious of what I was doing. The feeling that all the eyes of the world were on my mistakes was a thing that made me feel that I would never get the hang of it. But through the patience and guidance of Bob and John Josephs, another charter member, I started to reduce the stress and get rid of my spin casting habits. I then began to fish not worry about what I looked like. It took many trips that summer to learn the many aspects of fly fishing, and now even after 23 years I'm still learning. The main purpose of this article is to encourage new flyrodders to not let the first trip to the water with your fly rod be an enjoyable experience, and not let the demon of self consciousness take hold and ruin a great activity. The advantage of being a member of the Atlantic Saltwater Flyrodders is that there is a wealth of knowledge and experience in the club. Many of the members are known throughout the U.S. as innovators and mainstays of this sport. Take advantage of this wealth of experience and knowledge, it makes your time on the water more enjoyable. Just remember that when we all started out fly fishing, we had that feeling of self consciousness, but through the encouragement and patience of others teaching and showing us the ropes we all got the hang of it. Ask anyone what they would like to do and everyone will tell you " go fly fishing!" To all have a great experience on the water. |
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Bill Paul
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