IA Born Report post Posted June 27, 2016 Our kids have finally developed a strong interest in fly fishing. They've both landed a few fish that I've hooked over the years, but they're finally showing enough interest to head out on their own. My daughter, Sydney, has used two of my rods to cast, hook, and land an Apache trout before (couple of times, if memory serves me correctly). We got her a Cabela's fly rod/reel outfit for Christmas 2014 (8' 2-pc 5-wt) and only used it once on Lower Lake Mary that following spring (2015), but to no avail. Life got crazy after that and we never made it back out until a couple of weeks ago. She finally got to learn better casting (even from me) and managed to land a juvy rainbow on a dry fly. It was great to watch as the trout were small, even for a #16 elk hair caddis, and she had something like 30 strikes before getting one to take the fly completely. I landed a juvy brown on a pheasant tail nymph earlier, but I really only celebrate those caught on dries, so no pics posted of mine. Syd was so excited to catch that trout! She thought catching one with par marks was better than catching an adult (coolness factor over size!!). That was it for us that day, but she can't wait to go at it again. Syd's First Trout on Her Own Fly Rod Our 8-year old son, Jacob, used some of the birthday/Christmas money from this past December that his grandma (my mom) sent him and bought himself the exact same outfit as his sister since Cabela's had a great Father's Day Sale. It got here a week ago today and we took off last Friday morning after his dentist appointment. My cousin, who is in town visiting, is an avid hunter/fisherman, decided he wanted to learn to fly fish so I hooked him up with my spare 5-wt, I grabbed my 3-wt, I took the day off, and we took off for a favorite spot. I hadn't planned to do much fishing because I was the teacher and wanted to concentrate on helping them. My plan was to cast a few times to show them and then work with them. We ran some nymphs through the holes upon arrival, teaching them to cast and get the hang of it while we waited for some risers. We finally got some risers around 1330 and switched to dries. Jacob struck first and landed the same size trout as his sister. It was all kinds of wiggly and hit the dirt before I could get it off the hook. We snapped a quick picture and got it back in the water. I don't know who was more excited, him or me, but there were lots of high fives, hugs, and fist bumps. After that, he decided to hang out and play around a little to "..give you and Matthew a chance to catch one now..." (his words). Jacob's First Trout on a Fly Rod When given a chance like that, I don't pass it up, although I asked Jacob several times if he wanted to start fishing again. My cousin and I both missed several hits from those small ones and then noticed a larger strike nearby. We both ended up missing that one, me with a #20 midge cluster and my cousin with a #18 elk hair caddis. After trying several more times in vain to get it to come back, it was getting close to time to head home, so I thought to myself "Throw something big and ugly. What the heck." I tied on a #12 Royal Wulff and on the third cast, the "big one" took it. It turned out to be a 12" bow, but it felt great on my 3-wt once it got to close to the net and, in true rainbow fashion, finally decided to fight. Jacob made a great net man after some coaching. I snapped a quick pic with my phone and released it back for the next trip. Jacob asked me yesterday if we can go fly fishing again this Friday on my next day off. I'm pretty sure Jacob, Sydney, my cousin, my wife (new rod for her, also, after a trip the week prior), and I are headed out again! My 12" 'bow My favorite part about all of this is that, like the song says, my kids think we're just fishing. #troutbums 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lucky2hunt Report post Posted June 28, 2016 Outstanding! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildwoody Report post Posted June 28, 2016 Awesome, now take them somewhere with bigger fish.. priceless Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IA Born Report post Posted June 28, 2016 Awesome, now take them somewhere with bigger fish.. priceless That's the plan. When I saw that bigger trout rising, I triedto get Jacob to go after it. I'm tryingvto figure out if we can make a trip to the San Juan still this summer. A trip to the White Mountains is also in the works. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
