A Day of Firsts

Sometimes you have days when there are a bunch of firsts. First fish, first species, first fish caught with a new method. Sometimes its not a day of firsts, sometimes one fish can be the first of many things. I know this isn't making any sense yet, but bare with me.

I'll give you an example. Last year DJ caught a trout in Beartooth Lake in Montana. That one fish was his first wild trout. His first fish on a fly rod. His first fish on a dry fly. His first fish caught from a mountain lake. Lastly, it was his first cutbow ( a cross between a rainbow and a cutthroat trout). Maybe these "records" don't mean much. To a 14 year old boy, catching that one fish ten minutes before dark was something that he talked about the rest of the night. He was particularly proud of it being the first trout on the fly rod. I had never caught a trout on the fly rod so he was quite happy to beat me by 21 years. For the record I had to wait one more day.

Today was like that for me. Nothing as significant as a kid getting his first trout on the fly rod. None the less a fun and productive fishing day.As you can see from the post that is below this one, I caught my first stripers on the year today. I didn't catch them on any special tackle. Just a 3/8 oz. jighead and a zoom fluke. The three stripers are also significant for me in another way. They are the first stripers I have ever caught during mid day. I always fish for stripers in the evening and well after dark. I used to fish from 2 am until dawn when I was a baker. When I first started striper fishing I'd be at the Cape Cod Canal at first light and fish the herring run. Once I stayed until 9 am. I hooked a big striper right before I left. It was a bright day. Still the bass were at the run for one reason- TO EAT HERRING.

Never in my wildest dreams, have I ever thought about fishing for stripers in the middle of the afternoon. Since I struck out carp fishing and was 3 miles away, I thought I'd make a few casts. Low and behold, I caught three stripers in four feet of water.

Tonight after playing taxi driver for my son, I went fishing for trout at a pond I had never fished before. It is a fly fishing only pond in Rhode Island. Even though I'm having a fun year for trout, I had yet to catch one on the long rod. I've only had the chance to use it a couple of times. Falls Pond really isn't a good place to fly fish from shore. All the fish I've caught with flies are with the casting bubble.I got to the lake about 6:20 giving me about 1 1/2 hours before dark. I caught a crap load of sunfish. I could have caught tons more. There was one spot on the lake I caught 6 sunfish in about 2 minutes. I had to move from that spot. I ended up landing one rainbow about 13 inches long.

The significance of the fish for me was huge. First it was my first fly rod trout of the year. Also it was my first fly rod trout ever in New England. Remember I caught my first last summer out west, well after the 2010 spring trout season. Today's rainbow was also my largest fish caught on a fly rod to date. I do expect that record to be destroyed within the next two weeks when I catch my first striper on my saltwater fly rod.

So I had a bunch of firsts today. I know most of these "records" don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world ( Casablanca quote paraphrased ). I know most of you reading this could care less what today's fish signifies. I'm not writing this to brag about one 13 inch rainbow or three stripers under 22 inches. I am writing it for myself. Catching a trout on a fly for me is an accomplishment I am proud of. These are goals I set for myself. I could care less if I ever get married. I could care less how many friends I have. I sure as hell could care less about going clubbing, but for whatever reason, the gods made me want to catch a trout on a fly rod and catch a striper in the middle of the day