Jim Hatch and the Holy Waters
Well, thanks to the advice of you good folks, I made it out to the Ausable River in Michigan and found The Fly Factory on its banks right in Grayling. It turned out to be an interesting evening. I?d had a lousy couple of days, thanks to a $976 fuel pump repair in my not-very-old Chevy Blazer which sucked up the last of my summer vacation money, so I was ready for an evening of standing knee-deep in a river and throwing bugs.
I walked into the store and asked for a one day non-resident fishing license. The young guy behind the counter was happy to oblige. Figuring I was on a roll, I asked him if he could point me toward a good spot to fish for the evening that might not be too crowded. His response: ?Sure. I?ll trade you a good spot for a fly from your flybox.? So out to my car I went to fetch the box. When I returned with my flies, he looked at them thoughtfully and then he said, ?hrmmmmmm.? ?Yeah?? said I. ?Welllll??..? said he, ?this foam popper right here is going to catch me a big brown tonight after dark.? With that he pointed to the jellybean that Jim Hatch had sent me last winter. ?oh no.. ? I said. ?You can?t have that one - a friend tied it for me. It?s special.? He just grinned at me and shrugged. I pushed the box at him, hoping some hex or beetle or hopper might catch his eye. ?Wellll?..? he said. ?Hrmmm???? said I. ?If you give me that popper, I?ll get you a spot you?ll remember.? I held that jellybean one last time and passed it over. In return, I got directions that sent me down some dirt roads, some dirt paths, and places I won?t even talk about. What a beautiful place to fish. Great stream. I threw a hex.. nothing. Bounced a nymph. Nothing. Switched to a hopper. Nothing. That?s when I remembered my local fly shop guy, Ray. Last summer Ray told me that when it?s hot as blazes out and the fish don?t bite anything, throw out a foam beetle. So I did. I hooked up 3 times. It was glorious and for about two hours I forgot about car dealerships, Chevrolets, and over-priced car parts. So thanks again, Jim Hatch. I guess I got some pretty good use out of that jellybean of yours and, with any luck, so did the guy from the fly factory.
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