When Andy said he and his brothers wanted to get their Dad Mark a float trip for Father's Day naturally it sounded like a good idea to me. Mark had never fly fished but has fished for bass for several years. Andy had been in a couple drift boats but said he was essentially a rookie. It's nice when angler's let me know their abilities and in Andy's case he was underselling his casting stroke.
We made it to the usual gravel bar and pushed the drifter off the trailer. I worked with Mark just a little before heading off to run the shuttle. When I returned Mark was laying out some pretty nice casts in spite of being only 30 minutes into his fly fishing career. If you have been following this report for any time at all you know what happens next...yep we started the mend discussion.
We slid into some moving water and began discussing mending techniques. I'm sure the guys got tired of me being so picky with their mends, but before the day was over they would understand currents and how the mend would push the fly along at just the right pace. Pace of the fly is important.
Andy put the first fish in the boat and I bet that rainbow was thankful for catch-n-release. After the first fish Andy followed-up with a brown, while I kept working with Mark. Mark had a few "touch-n-releases" and I kept reassuring him the fish would come. There were several canoes and kayaks on the river and a group was passing us when Mark's indicator went took a slow dive. Mark raised the rod tip and he was hooked up. You could see small head shakes in the rod tip as the fish tried to free itself from the fly it had chosen to sample. Mark brought the fish to the net and slipped it in. He had caught his first trout on the fly and everyone in the drifter was happy about it. We continued on toward lunch...
We grilled some burgers for lunch and had good discussion. I took a few minutes to drift a nymph through a likely hole, managed to lose a couple fish and get hung in a tree...note to self, need to fish. We loaded the boat up after lunch and slipped off the gravel bar. Mark went to work and took over the afternoon. Andy was in his realm and catching fish, but clearly Mark was getting more dialed in with every cast. His drifts began to get more smooth and he began "to fish". I could tell he was starting to pick his spots and concentrating on a the drift, raising the rod tip when the indicator twitched, all while putting some numbers in the net. It was easy to tell when it all really came together, the guys began to trash talk. Both had a lot to talk about.
With the afternoon passing quickly it was time to get to the ramp. We caught a quick glimpse of an eagle on the way to the ramp as it flew across the river in front of us, but it must needed to be somewhere because it didn't circle or cross the river again. We loaded drifter on the trailer and headed back to Murfreesboro where the guys began their push back to Indiana.
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It was pretty cool that Andy and his brothers were able to get Mark on the river for Father's Day. It was also nice to see another angler begin a fly fishing trip trying to cast a fly rod and by the end of the day stepping off the drift boat knowing how to cast and mend as well as how to properly set the hook all while bringing fish to the net with regularity. Yep it was a successful day all the way around. Andy thanks again for booking the trip it was a real pleasure to spend the day with you and Mark.
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To see the latest fishing report click here and for more booking information see our rates page. If you are a seasoned angler or have never picked up a fly rod and want to set up a day on the river just email or call/text 615-796-5143 to book a day on the water.
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