fly fishing zen: My Fly Fishing Experiences

Welcome to my blog! While I consider myself an outdoor enthusiast, I am actually just a guy in search of beautiful places, and enlightening experiences. As a professional educator with a Ph.D. level education, and 3-sport coach, I have an extremely busy lifestyle. When I am not teaching, coaching, or enjoying time with family and friends, I make every effort to experience the outdoors as well as finding balance and peace through nature. Most specifically, releasing beautiful wild trout caught on my own hand tied flies. I plan to chronicle those experiences here throughout the year. One of the most exciting, will be my solo cross-country trip to Montana in June. Stay Tuned!
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5/8/15
Hey everybody! It's been a while since I posted, but I wanted to share the link to my video of my pre-trip run through on my truck. I leave for Montana in 1 more day, so stay tuned for updates! https://youtu.be/4iK7-zL-x-c

4/10/15
Tonight I got out for about 2 hours. I visited Wyomissing Creek through Mohnton. I was able to pull out a few stocked Rainbows and a couple colorful Browns. The colors on one of the smaller Rainbows was as bright and vibrant as any I have ever seen on a stocked fish ; Just beautiful. The flow is a bit on the low side. The local streams can definitely use a little rain. Water temperatures are coming up, and I ran into a nice BWO hatch. All fish were taken on the BWO soft hackle or the Copper John.
Tight Lines!

4/8/15
I got a few requests for a materials list for the BWO Soft Hackle Emerger. Therefore, I'm uploading a better picture, materials list, and basic tying instructions.
Hook - TMC 3769, sz 18
Thread - UNI 8/0, Rusty Brown
Tails - Hungarian Partridge, Olive
Body - Hairs Ear Plus dubbing, Olive
Rib - Small Ultra wire - Green
Hackle - Hungarian Partridge, Olive

4/5/15
Happy Easter! As I awoke this morning, I heard the birds chirping outside my window, and suddenly got the urge to fish (as if that isn't always the case). Understanding there was a good possibility to see some BWO, I tied up some soft hackle emergers. They just happened to be the ticket.

It didn't take long for the fish to start taking the emerger. I didn't get a water temperature on the small "class A" stream, but I would guess it was around 45. Being a small stream, the brownies weren't huge, but pretty. The catching wasn't outstanding, but after a long winter and very few good fishing opportunities, 8 trout seemed like a pretty good day. I just feel it in the air... great fishing is right around the corner. This stream still looks baron, but I'll bet it will be in full bloom in a few short weeks.

A few fish from today...

3/28/15
Tonight, Pat and I had a nice little tying sesh. I had a chance to tie up some foam body x-caddis in various colors and sizes. Here's a sample.

Foam Body X-Caddis Materials
Hook - size 14 TMC 100 BL
Thread - 8/0 Uni, black
Shuck - brown Antron
Body - razor foam, black
Wing (underside) - CDC puffs, black
Wing (top side) - synthetic poly from old carpet.
Collar/Legs - US Ice Dub, black

3/26/15
My brother Pat and I hit Tully Creek tonight. It was a beautiful evening with air temperatures in the high 50's, but the water was still a frigid 39 degrees. I tried virtually everything in my fly box, but I couldn't entice a strike. No luck tonight.

3/25/15
I guess I'll start by adding a few old photos of family, friends, and past fishing excursions... Until next time, tight lines.