Grand Totals

Hours- 42

Money- $222

The Final Test

October 1-2

My family and I have decided to take a journey to the Branson, Missouri area. We decided to stay at Bass Pro Shop's Big Cedar Lodge. It is an extremely nice resort and is furnished just like a regular Bass Pro. One of my activities while I was in Branson was to fly fish, by myself, on a tributary of the famous White River. The White River is home to thousands of trophy sized Rainbow Trout and is not for the beginning angler. However, my experience did not disappoint. I fished 2 days for 4 hours each day. Each day, I caught over 15 trout, a good day's haul for any fly fisherman. I used the same egg and nymph pattern I used on Thomas Creek in West Virginia and it worked beautifully. I used all of my own equipment so all I had to pay was approximately 30 dollars for the license and fishing fee. I feel that my training throughout my fly fishing experience has finally payed off.

Fly tying at home

September 23

Yesterday, I went to Walmart and bought a lot of arts and crafts supplies so that I could tie my own flies. I bought foam and pillow stuffing because I thought that would look nice. I spent about 20 dollars and about 1 hour shopping. I spent 2 hours tying flies.

Serious Fly Tying

September 21

Today, I drove with Dr. Kovacich to his friend Richard's house. I used his tools to tie several smallmouth bass flies. We used feathers, foam, rubber legs, and chenilles. It took me about 10 minutes to tie each fly, however it only took Richard approximately 3 minutes a fly. I spent about 1 hour at Richard's house learning to tie flies.

Post-Greenbriar Equipment Purchase

September 17-19

I decided to get my own equipment after using the guide's at Greenbriar. I found a White River CV2 rod (5 wt) at Bass Pro Shops (heaven in a fisherman's eyes) for $60. I also found an extra fly fishing reel my dad had at home. It was manufactured by Orvis and is of good quality. I purchased a new pair of forceps, a pair of clippers, a spool for tippets, new flies, and a new fly box. In total, I spent $120, which is pretty inexpensive for a rod and that much new equipment. I went fishing at my pond and caught 5 perch. I spent 2 hours shopping and 2 hours fishing (excluding 4 hours of drive time).

Greenbrier Trip

Labor day weekend, my family and I traveled to the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia. One of our activities included fly fishing on a local river called Thomas Creek. We fished for rainbow trout and brown trout with roe flies with a nymph backing. A roe fly is basically a ball of yarn that looks like a salmon egg; it does have a hook but is primarily used as a strike indicator. A nymph is a small fly that sinks because of the wire-wrapped body and metal (usually brass or tungsten) head. The trout usually go for the nymph because it resembles an emerging, underwater insect. We also used several different levels of tippet. We started with a fairly thick 1x, then went to about 4x, then finished with 6x. The string that connected the nymph to the roe was 8x. I caught about 4 large trout including one that weighed 5 pounds. In order to cast in the fairly cramped conditions of the stream, I had to learn how to roll cast. A roll cast is where one casts without bringing the line back. You simply pull the line closer to you then drive it forward as if you were punching out in front of you. We fished from 8 to 2, totaling 5 hours. I also had a guide with me that assisted by tying tippets and flies. He also told me the best places to fish in the stream. I spent approximately 12 dollars on flies for the Greenbriar trip; I used the guide's equipment. I fished on a stream on the Greenbriar property for about 2 hours as well. I did not catch anything there.

Another day on the New River

August 21, 2010

Today, I went out on the river again with Dr. Kovacich. He was very impressed with my improvement on regular and long casting. We fished for about 7 hours today (from 9 am to 4pm), and I caught 10 smallmouth bass. We used a different, custom made, fly today and it worked beautifully.

I have found that fishing next to the shore and in calm pools provides the most fish. I have a new-found hate for the wind; it makes fly fishing nearly impossible. If the wind is approximately 15 mph or higher, your back cast is ruined. I used Dr. Kovacich's equipment again today but I plan to buy a new rod soon.

Pictures of Practice Day One

This is the biggest fish I cought. It is a 3.1 pound large-mouth bass. I cought on the popper pictured above.

Practice Makes Perfect

August 15-17, 2010

Over the past couple of days, I have practiced a lot on a pond located on my property. Over the past three days, I have spent five hours fishing on said pond. I caught about a dozen small perch and one 3 pound large-mouth bass. I feel that I have gotten much better at making the extended casts than before.

I have spent about 20 dollars during this period of time. 3 dollars went to tippits (line used for a leader) and 17 on flies, forceps and clippers. I will be fishing with Dr. Kovacich in the next couple of days. Hopefully he will see how much I have improved.

My first day in the river.

Day 1-August 14, 2010

Today was the first day I have ever fly fished. I have to say, it was pretty difficult. Compared to regular fishing (trolling and casting), it is incredibly difficult and pain-staking. I have found that there is almost as much happiness in making a somewhat "fishable" cast than there is in actually catching the fish.

Dr. Kovacich was probably my best choice for a mentor. His method of fishing is so scientific that he takes temperature readings of the river in certain places to find the best area to fish. It's almost as though he has memorized the certain aspects of the river over his many years of fly fishing. Today, he taught me how to do the basic cast and the double cast. The basic cast was pretty easy to figure out, however the double cast is taking a lot longer. In order to perform a double cast, you must execute a single cast, then before the fly touches the water, you must cast again. This method helps when the fish are far away or are hard to get near.

Today, we were fishing for Smallmouth Bass in the New River. Unfortunately, I did not catch any fish, however Dr. Kovacich caught six. I think that it is just a matter of time before I begin to get the hang of fly fishing. Dr. Kovacich said that the Smallmouth Bass were very elusive and hard to catch so I'm not too disappointed. I believe that, after I practice, I will be much more inclined to catch a fish.

We fished from about 9 am to about 3 pm which totals into 7 hours. Today, I didn't spend any money except for about 20 dollars in gas. Dr. Kovacich allowed me to borrow his fly-tying set so maybe I'll try to tie some of my own flies in the next few days.