tommyboyNJ
New member
So. I made it up to the gorge for the first time today. My intention was to make this more of a recon visit for a future visit later next week as we had decided to make it a family trip for a nice hike. However, my wife convinced me to throw the gear in the car as in her words "you would just be grumpy if you didn't fish for a bit". We got to the gorge about 8:30am after an early departure from Jackson (you don't get those Saturday morning sleep ins with a 22month y/o). This was to be my first experience fishing moving water. I'm new to fly fishing and have been having a lot of fun at local lakes but really wanted to get out onto a river. Finding the lower lot was a little troublesome. However, with some help from the locals we got there ok.
My wife is training for a half marathon so she quickly threw the little one up into the baby carrier on her back and started up the road. I set myself up and decided to fish a few of the small runs and pools close to the car. Id fish for 15 minutes or so and then get back up on the trail and walk with the wife. It was a beautiful morning with only a few other anglers on the road. We both remarked how stunning the gorge was and decided that it was poor form on our part having not visited the area since our move to jersey 6 years ago.
Around 10am we had to make a stop to let the little one stretch her legs and I found a nice pool to fish. I was using a little caddis larva and after the second cast I realized i was fishing a little deep as I got hung up on both drifts. Then it happened
. The third drift I found the water closer to me was a little deeper. I let the fly move through the water and at the end of the drift the drag began to move the fly up in the water. I got bit! 5 minutes later I had a stunning brown trout of about 12" unhooked and swimming free to fight another day. I was over the moon. My first trout on the fly. The next cast I did the same thing and low and behold the fly got taken again. This time a smaller fish in size but far grander in beauty. A little brown but with vibrant red spots.
Iv been fishing in some form or another all my life but only recently started trying with the flyrod. I can honestly say that the walk back to the car was the best Iv had in years. Those little fish fought admirably. The location was stunning and to top it off, my wife and daughter got to enjoy the experience also.
Tom
My wife is training for a half marathon so she quickly threw the little one up into the baby carrier on her back and started up the road. I set myself up and decided to fish a few of the small runs and pools close to the car. Id fish for 15 minutes or so and then get back up on the trail and walk with the wife. It was a beautiful morning with only a few other anglers on the road. We both remarked how stunning the gorge was and decided that it was poor form on our part having not visited the area since our move to jersey 6 years ago.
Around 10am we had to make a stop to let the little one stretch her legs and I found a nice pool to fish. I was using a little caddis larva and after the second cast I realized i was fishing a little deep as I got hung up on both drifts. Then it happened
. The third drift I found the water closer to me was a little deeper. I let the fly move through the water and at the end of the drift the drag began to move the fly up in the water. I got bit! 5 minutes later I had a stunning brown trout of about 12" unhooked and swimming free to fight another day. I was over the moon. My first trout on the fly. The next cast I did the same thing and low and behold the fly got taken again. This time a smaller fish in size but far grander in beauty. A little brown but with vibrant red spots.Iv been fishing in some form or another all my life but only recently started trying with the flyrod. I can honestly say that the walk back to the car was the best Iv had in years. Those little fish fought admirably. The location was stunning and to top it off, my wife and daughter got to enjoy the experience also.
Tom
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