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I'm going to try and put in words my personal thoughts on my first
FAOL Fish-In, which was held in Michigan. WOW!!!! WOW!!!!!
WOW!!!!! Now that was actually easier than I thought it would be,
but I guess I should expand on this for those of us who have never
attended a FAOL Fish-In.
Did I have reservations about attending the MI Fish-In, sure I did,
I'm a creature of habit and when I get warm and comfy in my own
little fly fishing world, which I have been for years, it is hard for me
to budge.
In my mind here I was looking at driving 600 miles one way, one way
no less, to stay in a area I was not familiar with, to fish where I have
never fished before, to meet people I have never met in person, and
all that time and effort to do what? Well in my way of thinking to put
my marginal fly fishing abilities out in front of the "REAL FLY
FISHING EXPERTS!"
If I had been younger and still working I probably would have passed
on the whole deal. I'm so glad I didn't, because NONE of my concerns
were realized, and I met some of the best folks you can imagine and now
have a new group of friends, which I expect to interact with for the rest
of my life.
I had an absolute wonderful time, and had the pleasure of meeting the
President and first Lady here on FAOL, commonly called JC and
Ladyfisher.
Let me tell you, there are two "class Acts" if there ever was any.
But that's only where the fun started. JC and Ladyfisher made it
known to all that they were there to help anyone, anytime, who
felt they needed assistance in their fly fishing and casting skills. I
jumped on that with both feet. Now realize I have fly fished since
I was 12 years old, and that's a long time ago, but I wanted JC
and Ladyfisher to observe my cast and make suggestions where I
could improve, especially since I have been casting an 11 foot 8 wt
rod for several years, I needed all the help I could get. It only took
a few casts and they pointed out where I could improve. I really
didn't have a double haul, I had part of a single haul in both directions,
and I started my forward cast to quick. When I started to really
concentrate of the things they pointed out and showed me how to
correct, I could actually feel and tell my cast was improving right
on the spot.
If you're not shy you get to do this in front of anyone that is present,
and there's always some "good natured" ribbing going on and that
only made the good times better. BTW - JC and Ladyfisher, in just
a few short minutes had helped me improve my cast 10 fold. They
corrected things that I did not even know I was doing wrong. They
have now given me the proper skills that I can take forward and, if I
practice these skills, will enjoy fly fishing at a higher level in the future.
I was even presented a SA 9 foot 5/6 wt fly rod, reel, line, and DVD,
for the most improved cast. I asked them to sign the cork handle and
haven't made up my mind if I'll fish the rod or not. Probably will take it
out a few times anyway, but them signing the rod made it that much
more special.
Things started rolling and coming together on Monday. Bill and Jean
DeSavage had the welcome tent setup, and were there to pass out
name tags and point any and all in the right direction. And the cookies,
can't forget the home baked cookies, were sitting there for the taking.
Thanks Bill and Jean for all your help.
To kick off the Fish-In event on Monday afternoon we had a "Meet & Greet,"
in which everyone got a chance to say hello and shake hands with all who was
there at the time. Snacks were provided by whoever wanted to bring something
and were enjoyed by all. Of course I couldn't say anything about this part of the
Fish-In unless I mentioned Joe "The Bread God" Valencic. Joe brought 8 to 10,
maybe more, loafs of his homemade bread in all types of different flavors.
THANKS Joe, the bread sure was good and enjoyed by all.
During the week you just fished with who you wanted, where you wanted,
and when you wanted. In the board room some of the members had a
swap table, and a free table with stuff for the taking if you needed it. Jack
Hise and Brad (Kaboom1) had furled boards set up and put on demos
from time to time on how to make a furled leader. HRH Betty made her
first furled leader and it sure was a beauty.
HRH's first furled leader.
Since I have never been to Grayling MI before I was lost. But as
fate would have it I bumped into John Campbell, a retired career
Army Colonel from Lexington KY, which is just up the road from
where I live. John had been to the AuSable previously and knew
his way around. I asked if he minded if I tagged along with him and
he was more than happy to take me under his wing. We had a ball
wading long stretches of the river while swapping flies and lies. You
won't have any problem picking John out of a crowd; he'll be the
one with a well chewed, various lengths, but never lit, cigar.
On one section of the river we got into the little Brook Trout and
John was tearing them up with the soft Hackle flies. I believe he
pulled in more than 15 of those little beauties.
This experience was another aspect of the Fish-In that was truly fun.
I was grabbed by someone I had just met, who knew the ropes, and
hauled along like it was meant to be. Things like that don't happen very
often in most fishing environments.
After I had made up my mind to attend the Fish-In I had posted to the
FAOL BB a thread asking if anyone would be willing to take me under
their wing and show me the basics of dry fly fishing, something I had not
done. Several folks on the board volunteered, as I expected they would,
but Jim (Rainbow Chaser) ended up being the lucky one, or un-lucky
depending on your perspective. So Thursday morning we headed out
for a lesson in dry fly fishing. Jim not only spent half a day with me, he
spent the whole day. I learned a lot in those hours that Jim unselfishly
gave up from his own fishing to help me, and this again is something you
just don't usually see in "run of the mill" fishing experiences.
I want to personally THANK Jim for his expertise, his knowledge,
and his generosity, AND FOR HIS PATIENCE!
Jim THANK YOU.
Jim (Rainbow Chaser) and Butterfly.
Friday afternoon JC put on a casting demo and answered any
questions that were forth coming from the numerous in attendance.
Between JC and LadyFisher there is a wealth of FF information
and assistance just ready to be unloaded on anyone who should
ask. This was something that I took advantage of, and "once again"
something that is just not found in most fishing ventures.
I don't know if anyone captured some of the "looks" that were on
the canoeist faces as they would come down river and passed this
demonstration, but believe me they were priceless.
After the demo we attended the distance casting competition. All had
fun, no matter what your level of casting ability. It's not like "you're up
there on display," while "you are up there on display," it was just plain
fun. We all kicked in $5.00 to help a couple of causes, and after the
casting was over we drew names out of the hat to see who would win
another SA FF Rod donated by SA and FAOL.
Then it was on to the cook out, and just plain great food, great times
and great camaraderie. Below you can see two of the main folks,
Brad and Bill, making sure that everything was "just right" for all in
attendance, and a GREAT JOB guys.
Then, all too quickly, Saturday morning arrived and I was facing checkout
and the long trip home. BUT, What a great time all week. The fishing was
so-so, and will be much better the next time now that I have a feel for where
to go, but attending the Fish-In and meeting all the folks was what the FI
was all about.
My main purpose of this story was to try and convey the great time I
personally had at the FAOL MI FI, and convince anyone who is on
the fence about attending a fish-in to do so if at all possible. I have to
believe that all the FAOL Fish-Ins would be similar to the one I attended,
meaning; no matter what the fishing turns out to be, it's the "fly fishers"
you meet and the good times you have interacting with those great folks
that make a Fish-IN the great success they are.
I don't know if I can make it to any other FI's across the
country, but after MI I sure wouldn't hesitate to try.
~ Bob Tibbetts (rst)
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