WRITING ON THE FLY
By GEORGE LISET
Friends are the best, especially friends that have the same interests, or some would say, addiction, as you. The fly fishing community can be very diverse.
There are those who enjoy tying flies, others enjoy building fly rods. Others enjoy dry fly fishing while there are those who enjoy streamer fishing. Some enjoy fishing ponds on float tubes while there are those who like to backpack into remote ponds or streams, and that is just the tip of the iceberg.
Then to add to the confusion, there is the language of fly fishing. Words like nymphing, Hornburg, Pheasant Tail, weight forward line, tippet and leaders are an example. This becomes apparent when a non-fly fishing friend will ask about my fishing. I’m like a running back that sees an opening and I shoot the gap and I’m off. My friend will nod knowingly as I begin my diatribe. After a while I began to notice the glazed over eyes and realized they wanted the short version.
Many of my fly fishing friends are a great resource for information. I was preparing for my trip to fish the Trophy Stretch up in Pittsburg, New Hampshire, with my son. So I made a call to Pat Ard, fishstoryguideservice.com, who guides up in Pittsburg to find out which flies are working and where the fish are biting. Pat mentioned that the Sulphurs and Blue Wing Olives (BWO’s) were having luck, but they were really hitting the nymphs since the water was still cold. I had bought some of Pat’s flies that are really successful on the Connecticut River. Every time I see Pat on the river with his clients they are always into fish.
This spring I was fortunate enough to pick up an Orvis bamboo fly rod built by Wes Jordan, one of Orvis’s premier fly rod builders. I was interested in using it on my trip, but I was worried about breaking it. So I got in touch with another friend, Fred Kretchman, KretchmanFlyrods.com, who is in York, Maine. Fred is a noted builder of bamboo fly rods. Fred told me to fish it and have fun. He mentioned that Wes Jordan fly rods are meant to be fished, like a fine violin should be played.
As my trip was getting closer, I bumped into another friend Glenn Grant. I’ve known Glenn for a few years, but only as a buyer and seller of fly rods, guns and other sporting collectibles. I happened to mention to Glenn about my Wes Jordan fly rod, and that the person who owned and fished it lived near the Upper Dam in Maine near Carrie Stephens the renowned fly tyer. Glenn smiled and mentioned that he knew Carrie.
Then Glenn proceeded to tell me how he grew up on Kennebago Lake at Grant’s Camps and that he had guided Ted Williams, the former Red Sox Hall of Famer. Glenn also mentioned that he introduced Ted to L.L. Bean. Glenn, I found out, is a wealth of fishing information. I mentioned I was going up to Pittsburg and did he have any advice. He talked of a few small ponds and some different parts of the river I had not fished yet.
Just before I was heading out for my trip I received a note from Glenn. He had sent me some flies he had tied and thought they would work. I thanked him and told him that I needed all the help I could get. I didn’t want to get out fished by my son again. I was thinking how lucky I was to have such good friends, and I also thought that the next time someone asks me how the fishing is, I should just ask them if they want the short answer.
George Liset of Dover is an award-winning outdoor writer and avid fly fisherman who shares insights of his time on the water exploring New Hampshire streams and rivers as well of those around New England. George is a graduate of Wheaton College, Illinois, and the University of New Hampshire. His column Writing on the Fly has been honored by the New England Press Association and the New Hampshire Press Association.