I took a guy from the office fishing. He'd been asking to go for a while, but it took ages to get the schedules all worked out. I always enjoy indoctrinating new acolytes. As we live on opposite sides of Tokyo, we decided to meet at a river a couple of hours to the North of the city, with a good head of carp, bass and catfish. Nothing too difficult on the casting front and with plenty of opportunities so he'd be in with a chance.
Gerard told me he had fished before, but when we got down to the river and I handed him the rod, it quickly became clear that he had been a bit confused on the difference between fly fishing and bait fishing. We spent an hour or so on a quiet pool going through some basic casting before making our way along the river in search of willing fish.
It took some time but after a while he managed a couple of decent short shots that were good enough to get an eat had they gone in first time. It was getting close. It was great to watch help with spotting fish and try explaining how to present the fish, especially as Gerry didn't let the failures get him down. He stayed enthusiastic and really seemed to enjoy just being on the water. As much as I enjoy the river I sometimes forget just how novel and exciting being in the nature can be for some people. His reaction to the swarms of grasshoppers and cicadas on the bank or seeing a pack of smallmouth bass herding and crashing into schooling chub was priceless.
As we continued along Gerry managed a couple of eats but he was too slow on the strike so the carp swam free. he'd done the hard part but without the reward and I was starting to get a bit worried that he'd not manage a fish by the end of the day. Carp aren't the easiest after all. but we kept plugging away as we made our way down the river. After stopping by a junction pool for a drink and a rice ball I spotted a couple of carp repeatedly cruising in and out of some slack water within easy casting range with little current between them and us. Perfect! Gerard made a short cast, that landed behind the fish, but fortunately one wheeled and sucked in the fly like it was supposed to. This time he got a hook in and after a short fight we landed his first ever fly caught fish, and a carp to boot.
It wasn't a monster but he's fucked like the rest of us now, I've already been peppered with emails looking for another trio and asking for rod buying advice. I'll probably fish myself this week but I'll definitely take him out again and ensure he radically depletes his disposable income as he amasses a quiver of rods.
Gerard told me he had fished before, but when we got down to the river and I handed him the rod, it quickly became clear that he had been a bit confused on the difference between fly fishing and bait fishing. We spent an hour or so on a quiet pool going through some basic casting before making our way along the river in search of willing fish.
It took some time but after a while he managed a couple of decent short shots that were good enough to get an eat had they gone in first time. It was getting close. It was great to watch help with spotting fish and try explaining how to present the fish, especially as Gerry didn't let the failures get him down. He stayed enthusiastic and really seemed to enjoy just being on the water. As much as I enjoy the river I sometimes forget just how novel and exciting being in the nature can be for some people. His reaction to the swarms of grasshoppers and cicadas on the bank or seeing a pack of smallmouth bass herding and crashing into schooling chub was priceless.
As we continued along Gerry managed a couple of eats but he was too slow on the strike so the carp swam free. he'd done the hard part but without the reward and I was starting to get a bit worried that he'd not manage a fish by the end of the day. Carp aren't the easiest after all. but we kept plugging away as we made our way down the river. After stopping by a junction pool for a drink and a rice ball I spotted a couple of carp repeatedly cruising in and out of some slack water within easy casting range with little current between them and us. Perfect! Gerard made a short cast, that landed behind the fish, but fortunately one wheeled and sucked in the fly like it was supposed to. This time he got a hook in and after a short fight we landed his first ever fly caught fish, and a carp to boot.
It wasn't a monster but he's fucked like the rest of us now, I've already been peppered with emails looking for another trio and asking for rod buying advice. I'll probably fish myself this week but I'll definitely take him out again and ensure he radically depletes his disposable income as he amasses a quiver of rods.
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