2 years ago I got my rod, but haven't used it since I haven't found time to take a class and I've always stuck to bank fishing so I can help my 2 young boys fix their lines. Wednesday I said the heck with it, and jumped in the river. The night before, I read back through all the beginner's info on this site (read it all 2 years ago), wound my reel with the help of the knot section, and was ready to go.

Got to the river and put on my $10 garage sale neoprene waders (Streamline is the name on the tag- if anybody has any info on them, I'd appreciate it. None found on the innerweb), and climbed in the water.

My first impression was the temperature. I've been in rivers before many times, and although I'm used to 65 degree water, it's not exactly comfortable. In my waders, it was like taking a dip in a swimming pool that was the perfect temperature. Between that and the noise of the water, it was a very pleasant experience before I even tried casting.

Casting- well, obviously that didn't go so smoothly for a while. I was amazed that the tiny little #20 hook could travel the full length of my backcast, return, and get caught on the line going through my guides more than half the time at first. I wrapped my line around my head 2 or 3 times, and discovered the art of tying overhand knots without trying. I remember that used to be on the knot page , and it's the one thing I got down pat. Next in line was my ability to get snagged in the grass on the bank behind me. What's the secret there? The only thing I could come up with was to make sure I was farther away from the bank behind me than what I needed for my backcast.

After a half hour or so, I wrestled the beast into submission, and was able to lay the fly out where I wanted it, without any more trouble. I tried numerous flies that were suggested by the fly shop guy a mile or so from where I fished and never got a bite, but I was still very happy with the day.

I removed much of the cloud of mystery around fly fishing in my mind, and converted several concepts from theory to practical use. "A bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work" comes to mind . I'll still do classes as soon as I can, but it's sure nice to know I don't have to just watch my stuff rot in the corner if I don't want to.

Thanks to JC and others responsible for the info on this site. Now that I have a point of reference, I can put more of the advice to good use.

Thank you,
Steve.