2008 PA Fish-In Wrap Up

FAOL Community Fly Anglers Online
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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):




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Way to go! Anxiously awaiting more details. Thanks. :slight_smile:

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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”.

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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!

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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.

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

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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/f123/edmon03/2008%20FAOL%20PA%20Fish-In/

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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.:stuck_out_tongue:

Joe

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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.

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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.

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Heritage Angler, we do appreciate your involvement with FAOL - and especially the PA Fish-In…for those who have never attended one, it’s like super Boy Scout camp without adult leadership. The comradeship, friendships made, and information shared, new things taught and learned - all are more than anyone could expect or imagine. We’re delighted this one has been so successful. It’s called sharing the knowledge, ain’t is grand? S

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Though a new face to both FAOL and the PA Fish-In I did not feel at all like a stranger. My highest regards to the group that made it to the Fish-In. The wealth of knowledge, senses of humor, and personable attitudes of everyone made the Fish-In a great success. Not to mention Randy and Bruce can cook almost as well as they fish (and they are great fisherman)! Many many thanks to everyone that took myself and my dad (Bob) under the wing to show us some great water. Also, thanks to Ed M, Uncle Ed, and Bruce for sharing patterns and techniques. Ending the trip over a few bottles of scotch/rum could not have closed the Fish-In any better. Great fishing, great stories, great people, and most of all great food!

Any thoughts of a few day trip at Erie this Fall/Winter? I’d be willing to help coordinate if anyone is interested.

Many Thanks!

Chris

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Hi Chris - Welcome aboard! You and your Dad were really great to fish with. I enjoyed tying flies with you, and I can’t even imagine how good you’ll be 20 years from now! We’ll be reading about you in the magazines, I’m sure. Do some poking around on this site - the amount of info here is staggering!

I’ll get that cd I promised you and your Dad out in the mail tomorrow afternoon, along with another cd I think you’ll like. :wink:

An Erie roadtrip? I’m in! Keep in touch - we’ll make plans as we get closer to the fall…Ed

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Chris, you made it over! Welcome!
If you guys want to venture up to good 'ol New York, for the steelies, i’d be happy to play guide! We’ve got some excellent steelhead streams, that don’t get nearly as crowded as the Erie ¶ tribs, do.

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----any bugs on me----- ready for next year, i don’t know if we can beat this one the fly tying was great, but it hard to be got out of bed at 1 am to do my thing. great to here all the good time everyone had. was good everyone like my pattern book, i will see if i can think of some old fly for next year. flyman 3

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Uncle Ed, you have some old patterns tucked away, I’m sure. Stop sleeping with your fly patterns.

Well, It looks like we had good year. The butcher is lining up the steer for next year. If we get more people for next year, we’ll have to have a pig roast…Ed, get no ideas here!!!
Both Bruce and I caught a cold on the way home. Maybe it’s because we have only 12 hours sleep the whole week. Imagine that!!!

I talked with the campgrounds on the way out and we told them that we were looking at having the same digs as this year. I wonder if they could build an extension onto the lodge???

I think everyone was happy with the results of the Fish-In this year by the way it sounds. I would like to thank Dryflyguy for masterminding this, as he is the originator of the first Fish-In here in PA. If he didn’t have the forethought in the beginning, we wouldn’t have a PA Fish-In to speak of. he other is two guys are flyman 3 and wetflyguy. Both individuals have helped greatly in the planning and the entertainment. There is only a handful of guys that have made all three Fish-Ins.

We already have plans laid out for next years event. I’ll be talking with most of you throughout the year and I’ll keep you posted. If you have any ideas or suggestions, let one of know. This years idea of having a cleaning crew for washing up the dishes really helped Bruce and I relax. thanks again.
Heritage-Ed- I sent some pics to your email.

To great friends, food and fish. have a safe summer…and don’t forget to bring your appetite next year, we still have leftovers.

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Hi Randy - Oddly enough, I picked up that cold too. Just starting to feel better today. Guess we can thank old “Typhoid Jack” for this! No wonder he left early.

Just to clarify things again, I’m just the unofficial “voice” of the PA Fish-In. Randy and Bruce did ALL of the work before and during the Fish-In. I can attest to the fact that at least one of them was up before the crack of dawn every day, slaving in the kitchen. It takes a special person to do that job, and you two are fully deserving of the accolades.

Randy, now about that Sister of yours that is single…Can she cook as good as you? :wink:

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Did I hear that Randy had a sister who could cook as well as he does? lol.

Randy, you guys did an awesome job with the whole event. Big thanks! I definitely plan on making it next year, albeit a few days earlier. Pig Roast, sounds excellent!!! I’m bringing a doggie bag!

It sounds like everyone caught that bug. Dave started feeling it, on the way home. I started feeling it Sunday. Everyone bring Sudafed, next year…or surgeons masks. lol.

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Or tell Jack to stay at home…

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If Jack stays home who will set up the cleanup schedule? On the serious side the only suggestion I have for next year is to keep it the same week, so that we get all those good hatches, and don’t run the risk of low water and hot temps. plus the added benefit of a Holiday week and only having to use 4 vac days to get the whole week off! And this is serious too, my wife put me on a diet until I get back under what I weighed when I went down there! At the rate I’m going it’s going to be at least a couple more weeks to get there.