2008 PA Fish-In Wrap Up

[Heritage Angler]

Another successful PA Fish-In has been completed. It was a week full of camaraderie, making new friends, catching up with old friends, great fishing, and WAY WAY too much food. As usual, bigdadyrods and wetflyguy found a way to top the cuisine of last year's Fish-In. All the guys did their best to eat all the food, but there was just no way possible. To those first time attendees that thought I was exaggerating the amount of food, well, what have you got to say now?!!! I didn't see a lot of self control (myself included) when it came time to pass down the buffet line! (Did I actually eat 6 of those fresh home made donuts?)

I'll be making up a 2008 PA Fish-In Photobucket album, and I'll post a link with a wrap up story when it's done. To all those that took digital photos and would like them included in the album, please send them to me at etmaurer@rcn.com and I'll include them.

In last week's post on the Fish-In thread, I posted a scouting report from the previous week to let you all know what to expect. I had a little trouble getting a picture of a green drake dun, but I was able to use some mind control techniques taught to me by that famous fish guru, flyman3. He truely is the master! Here's the result (these are coffin flies - the spinner phase of the green drake):

[J Castwell]

Way to go! Anxiously awaiting more details. Thanks.

[wizard]

Just want to Thank everyone who made that Fish In possible, Randy, Bruce, Ed M, Jack, John, Gene, Dave, Chris, Bob, and of course Flyman 3 ("Hey Buddy", "My compliments to the cooks", "There ain't no bugs on me!") and even some guys who popped in and out, and whose names I either didn't catch or just can't recall. Never met a group of guys that big who were just totally awesome to hang and fish with. The sharing of knowledge, little tips, great spots etc, was truly impressive, and what can you say about the food that hasn't already been said, truly OUTSTANDING!!! My favs were the deep fried turkey and of course, THOSE COBBLERS were to die for! Even stuffed full from the main meal you couldn't resist the call for dessert, and I really don't care for dessert usually.

Especially guys thanks, I was really leery of coming down and exposing my crude beginners tactics to you obviously veteran flyfishers, I actually hadn't yet managed to catch my first trout on a dry fly, the hatches just haven't been good here in western NY yet. That event is now well behind me and I wasn't made to feel anything other than welcome the whole time I was there. Phil and I actually fished our way back to NY on Saturday and actually the fish were probably the most cooperative then of the entire week! That was until the downpour hit around 3 pm, but it didn't last long and we actually got to stop and fish the Pine around Galeton and I finished off my stream trout Grand Slam with an nice 11" brookie on an Adams. I'm already penciling in next year on the calendar. I'll post a few of my photo hi-lites when I get the software on my camera downloaded. Wizard "OUT".

[wizard]

The photo hi lites I promised from the Pa Fish In, NY contingent of Phil (pspaint)and Dave (wizard).

Phil's first fish of the trip, 15" 'Bow.


Dave's first Dry Fly trout!


Dave's biggest fish of the trip, 16" 'Bow, caught another that might have been slightly larger just at dark so no photo.


Storytime!


Again guys, thanks for the great time!

[gzacckey]

I have to second Wizard's comments.

It was a great time, great fishing, great people and unbelievable food. Even the 30+ mile bike ride Heritage and I took couldn't prevent my belt from tightening by the end of the week. Special thanks to Randy and Bruce for the exceptional cooking and to Flyman 3 for the constant entertainment. To everyone else thanks for a great time and all the useful information. I was amazed at how much I still don't know about this sport.

Like Wizard I will be there next year.

[J Castwell]

Holy Cow,,, those are some darn nice fish! Thanks for all the details.

[Heritage Angler]

Another resoundingly successful PA Fish-In is in the books. FAOL is more than just another message board - it's a place where people come to share their life experiences - some good, some not so good, some painful. Many folks freely share things here in the ambiguity of the internet that they might not share face to face. I feel a large part of this is the non-threatening, and family friendly environment provided by our hosts. It allows folks to share without fear of retribution of any kind. FAOL is just a bunch of good folks brought together by goodwill and a common bond - fly fishing.

This spirit of goodwill is well represented at the PA Fish-In. The founders of this event, Randy Emerich (bigdadyrods), Bruce Herb (wetflyguy), and Bruce Schneck (dryflyguy) started this event with primarily a local crowd. Their hospitality and welcoming nature soon began to draw people from all over the East. Everyone feels welcome because they truely are!

The PA Fish-In isn't about the individual - it's a "melting pot" of fishing skills that EVERYONE adds to. The coal region of PA is known for it's excellent anglers that have carried on the old traditions of our sport - skills and techniques that have been forgotten or just pushed to the back burner in favor of the newest, latest, and greatest ideas in other areas of the world. But these old techniques and fly patterns are still very effective today, and just because these guys honor and cherish the traditions of the past, doesn't mean they're stuck in the past. Skills old and new are all added together and shared fully with everyone at the Fish-In. The end result is that everyone comes away a better angler. Rookies are no longer rookies. There are no secrets - everyone learns and benefits from this experience.

The spirit of goodwill is contagious - and not to just FAOL members. Even some businesses are getting caught up in the spirit of this event. The manager of the Way Mart grocery store in Pottsville PA (John Hudock) took extra special care of us by providing select choice cuts of meats (steaks, turkeys, hams, sausage, etc.), and he even brought one of his workers up to share in the good fishing (and paid his way). They caught fish and had a blast - they are already planning for next year. The owner of the local fly shop at the Fish-In, Glen McConnell (McConnel's Country Store) even offered all the PA Fish-In attendees a substantial discount (without being asked to do so). He didn't have to do that, but just wanted to pitch in!

I personally came away from the Fish-In with some very fond memories: The amazing green drake (coffin fly) spinnerfall on Friday night - tying flies with Chris (a soon to be member of FAOL) - meeting Wizard, pspaint, Deezel and all the NY State crew (wow - did they ever fit right in!) - doing a 32 mile bike ride with Gene (gzacckey) on the Pine Creek rail trail (like a dope, I forgot my camera - spectacular scenery!) - finally meeting John (Quill Gordon) - spending time with all the old Fish-In crew - flyman3 (in that raspy Louie Armstrong voice) singing "...There ain't no bugs on me..." - and of course, all the great fishing!

All of the PA Fish-In guys are special to me, and I can only offer the highest compliment I know of - "I'd fish with you guys anytime!" I'm in for next year too - wouldn't miss it. Randy and Bruce are already planning for next year's Fish-In, and it promises to be even bigger and better. Don't miss out on all the fun - plan early on attending the 2009 PA Fish-In. And remember our motto: "Gee, I hope you guys are hungry!"

P.S. - Please feel free to send me any photos from the Fish-In - I'll add them to the photo album. I can add them anytime, but it's probably a good idea to email them to me so we don't hog up a lot of bandwidth here............Ed


Photobucket album of the 2008 PA Fish-In:
http://s46.photobucket.com/albums/f1...0PA%20Fish-In/

[Joe Valencic]

Looks like a fantastic Fish-In. Thanks for sharing all the pictures with us. Oh, I also gained three pounds just looking at the food. That alone is reason enough to attend.

Joe

[pspaint]

I'd also like to thank all the guys who put the fish-in, together. Randy, Ed, Bruce..you guys did an excellent job. Sorry, if I missed some names. I was in a sleep deprived coma the entire time, but it was defintely worth it. lol. Thanks so much for everything. It was a great time! You guys weren't kidding about "bringing your appetites"...the food was awesome! The turkey, the steaks, the homemade doughnuts and of course, the cobbler. I had a hard time making it back to the stream, after that. lol. It was great meeting all you guys and putting faces to the screen names.

Also, a big thanks to flyman3, for all the tying tips, materials and most importantly, keeping me laughing. lol. Ed, i'm tying some of those variants for my next outting.

Next year, i'm coming down much earlier...and i'm sleeping in a bed! lol.

[rgregorchik]

I too, am grateful for the great Pa. fish-in by all the guys in attendance! Randy and Bruce and everyone made me and everyone feel very welcome, regardless of where they hailed from. The food, the comraderey, the fly tying lessons, the new friendships, everything was a great experience. I'm already looking forward to next year's fish-in. And I WILL be bringing my Mt. bike so I can fish the canyon! Heck, I'm already tying another variation of green drake to match the ones we picked off the stream Thursday evening. And , at the afternoon fly tying sessions, I finally learned how to tie those great looking "woven stoneflies". All in all a very enjoyable experience!! Ron G.