Fishing Report - June 28

Greetings:
Got up at 4:45 yesterday morning and went to the Davidson River. The water was very low and when I checked the temperature, it was 64 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Laurel was in full bloom and I took some neat photos. The blooms were a delicate pink at the base, shading into the white petals.
In spite of conditions, a few fish started rising about 9:00 and I caught a pretty little brown trout. As I brought him near, a nice brown of 18 or 20 inches rushed him and I thought he was going to take him off the fly. After the release, I switched to a big black wooly booger with white hackle and a black marabou tail, but no takers!
I fished a little longer and caught a small rainbow. I could see some fish rising, but they were taking extremely small flies. I went down to a size 20 and it was still too big.
I quit early due to the warm weather and headed home. It was a fun outing with some nice photos, but water conditions and temperature have just about shut down the fishing for a while.This is a good time to concentrate on some bream.
Gene and I are planning on a trip to a local pond next week to see if we can catch the makings of a fish fry.I hope you are all surviving the hot weather.
Get out and walk, run or bike early to beat the heart.Have a great weekend.
L. Woodrow Ross

Return to Oak Hill

Hello Readers:

I am posting the prologue and first two chapters of my novel on this blog. I hope you enjoy reading it. If you would like a copy, you can order it from my website (www.lwoodrowross.com).

RETURN TO OAK HILL


PROLOGUE

Oak Hill Farm is a picturesque and tranquil setting that has been a profitable horse farm operation owned by the Thomas family for three generations. The peacefulness is shattered by the untimely death of one of the family members, but the farm has now settled back into the routine that they have come to expect in rural South Carolina. The setting is in Camden, which is known for breeding some of the finest horses in the southeast.
After his father’s death, Aaron Thomas has emerged as an exceptional businessman and has built the farm and other real estate holdings into a comfortable fortune. He enjoys his life, and is immersed in the business activities, but his social life is minimal.
Aaron’s best friend is John Crain, and after losing touch during their college years, they have renewed their friendship. They meet a number of times each year and enjoy hunting and fishing together. John has always been an admirer of Jenna, Aaron’s sister, and even had feelings for her after she married a man she met at college.
Jenna’s life is turned upside down after a tragic event in her life. Aaron and John come to her aid, and get caught up in a whirlwind of danger and violence that takes them to Mexico. That danger follows them back to the formerly tranquil farm setting.
Interspersed throughout the adventure is the involvement of the faithful farm manager, Roosevelt, and Sam, his son, as they help to build the farm into a showplace. They get caught up in the dangerous series of events that occur.
Join them as this web of danger ensnares them, and they are pulled helplessly from one situation to another. Their devotion to each other will be tested as they pursue a plan to restore Jenna’s life to one of happiness and fulfillment.
Copyright © 2006 L. Woodrow Ross

10-Digit ISBN 1-59113-977-5
13-Digit ISBN 978-1-59113-977-5

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

Printed in the United States of America.

The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.


L. Woodrow Ross
For contacts: www.lwoodrowross.com
2006


CHAPTER 1

Jenna sobbed as she twirled the cylinder of the revolver. The loud click shattered the silence of the dimly lit room where she had been sitting for the last two hours. She alternately placed the gun against her forehead and then against her chest. She couldn’t bear the thought of the burning lead bursting through her skull and spreading blood and gore through the room, leaving her lifeless body to be found by some anonymous member of the cleaning staff.
What did she have to live for? The man that she loved had betrayed her, taken her inheritance and ruined her reputation. Worst of all, he had taken their beautiful child from her, leaving her to lead a life that had slowly gravitated into a deplorable state of despair and addiction. She had fought with all her might; but in the end he had won.
She could have contacted her brother, but she still had enough pride to want to succeed on her own. All her life she had depended on others, and it had to end somewhere. Well, look what it had gotten her. She was thirty-three years old, alone and sitting in a drab room in a flea-bag hotel contemplating suicide.
Jenna reached for the bottle of vodka and turned it up, but there was only a drop in the bottom. She hurled the empty bottle across the room and it bounced harmlessly on the threadbare carpet, coming to rest near the wall. She couldn’t even use alcohol to ease the suffering that she felt. As she picked up the revolver for the hundredth time, she thought of her brother Aaron. He was the exact opposite of Jenna in so many ways. He was strong, loyal, and independent; and so many other things that Jenna had always desired to be. The Thomas family had always been so proud of Aaron and his success in life.
Jenna actually smiled as she remembered her thirteenth birthday party, and how one of the boys made a crude joke about her. Her little brother, four years younger, had smashed a paper plate with cake and ice cream into his face. It seemed that all her life he had been protecting her and trying to clean up the mess that she had made of her life. This time it seemed that he would not be able to save her. She had made her mind up to end it all here in the early dawn light.
Jenna had purchased the gun from a seedy looking character in a pawn shop, and it looked as if it had not been cared for very well. It was a reflection of her life and how she had abused herself. She had never been a classic beauty, but was considered attractive by most that knew her, but now her hair was matted, her make-up streaked by tears, and she was gaunt and haggard from the excessive drinking and drug abuse.
The old gun was loaded with ammo that had green corrosion around the lead slugs, and as she raised the barrel toward her forehead once again, she could clearly see the ends of the slugs in the exposed portion of the cylinder. Each one had the potential to end a life. She thought, “What a useless life I’ve lived in the thirty-three years I’ve spent on this earth”. She finally squeezed the trigger and there was a loud noise; but not at all like the sound that a .38 special usually made. The last thing that Jenna remembered was that sound, and a piercing pain in her head as the darkness enveloped her. She slumped forward onto the wrinkled bed and blood flowed from her forehead.
CHAPTER 2

Aaron Thomas was one of those athletic, beautiful people unaware of how lucky they are. In spite of his good fortune, he was a very humble and gracious person.
As his horse Samson galloped along the trail that meandered through Oak Hill Farms in Camden, SC, his mind was occupied with thoughts of his sister Jenna. He had not spoken to her in weeks and the last time that he saw her, he was heartbroken by her condition. He had offered to help her with any problem she was having, but she was too proud to admit how bad her life had become.
Aaron had ended his week on a high note with the sale of some investment property that he had purchased a few months earlier. He was a wise investor and luck seemed to perch on his shoulder. His friends were constantly amazed by the deals that seemed to come his way. His best friend, John Crain, said that Aaron would have to be twins to have more luck. The recent investment property sale had netted him a neat piece of change.
Samson speeded up as they approached the paddock and Aaron reined him up at a watering trough and let him drink, slaking his thirst fully after the long ride that they had taken. Aaron loved this old horse farm and loved riding the rolling hills and meandering streams that coursed through the lowlands. The farm had been established by his paternal grandfather, and the mark of his wisdom in shaping the land and the buildings was evident as Aaron scanned his surrounding as he had thousands of times before.
Joshua Thomas had been a hard man, but a just one. He ran the farm with an iron hand and a will to match. He brought it through the depression in good shape and handed it over to his son Ezra as a thriving operation. The lineage of thoroughbreds that he had raised was pure and excellent and commanded a premium in the market. This had been supplemented by other agricultural enterprises and investments during hard times. Similar to Aaron, he was a wise investor and had left a sizable inheritance to his only son Ezra, and one daughter Sarah.
Sarah had taken her inheritance in cash and other investments and Ezra had retained the farm. Unfortunately, he did not prove to be the businessman that his father had been, and the farm fell into disrepair and much of the bloodline of Arabians was sold off. Only some brood stock was kept for the future. Aaron could remember seeing the downward spiral of the state of affairs, and his father’s inability to understand what he was doing wrong. Had it not been for his mother’s wise investments of her own inheritance, the family circumstances would have been worse and the speed of Ezra’s decline would have been more rapid. It had all reached a climax while Aaron was away at college. During his senior year he received a call at Georgia Tech from his sister telling him that Ezra had fallen into a deep depression and taken his own life. He had hanged himself in the barn. It took several years for Aaron to be able to enter the barn without thinking of the pain that his father must have felt to drive him to such lengths.
Aaron had loved Ezra in spite of his failures. Even with his faults, he had loved his family deeply and had tried to do his best for them. Aaron must have gained his strength from his mother Jane and his grandfather Joshua. It is strange how some traits seem to skip a generation. Aaron could not imagine the depths of desperation that it must have taken to drive Ezra to such a state.
Jane Thomas was distinctly different from Ezra. She was a strong, intelligent woman and tried to steer Ezra in the right direction, but inevitably he would use his own poor judgment and come up lacking in the end. Jane had threatened to leave him a number of times; but he was like a child in some ways, and when she broached the subject, he would fall apart. She couldn’t bear to turn her back on him. He did allow her to make investments with a portion of the income in the early days, but he had no idea of the sum that she had amassed.
Jane had her own personal inheritance and with the amount that Ezra had given her to invest, she had saved quite a sum. She felt guilty, but she knew that with his poor business judgment, if he had access to the money, it would be gone in short order. When he took his life, it was a burden on her conscience because of the fortune that she had attained; but she knew in her heart that if she had not done so, it would have all been gone and the children’s future would not have been secure.
Soon after Ezra’s untimely death, Jane was stricken with cancer and lost the will to live. She spoke with difficulty on her death-bed to Aaron, telling him, “Watch after Jenna after I’m gone. She’s like her father. She can’t handle adversity in life. She may need your help and guidance”.
Aaron thought at the time that it was strange, since Jenna was older than he and seemed to have her life in order. She had graduated from Winthrop College and had joined a real estate firm and had done well. Her mother had tried to guide her in her investments and she seemed to be financially secure.
Jenna had met Marco Rodriquez, a Mexican businessman, through a mutual friend and after a whirlwind courtship had married a year after her mother’s death. Shortly thereafter she had become pregnant. She had a handsome baby boy and Aaron thought that all was well with her; but since she was living in Memphis, Tennessee, he had little direct contact. He had seen her shortly after the baby arrived and she seemed well.
Jenna had appeared progressively tense and withdrawn each time that Aaron saw her after that. When he spoke to her about it, she brushed it off with a weak smile and told him that she was just tired running the household, working and taking care of a growing boy. Michael was an active little boy and was growing like a weed, but Aaron didn’t fully buy what she said. She seemed almost fearful, as if she were expecting to be reprimanded like a child.
Five years had passed and Aaron was ashamed that it had been a year now since he had seen Jenna. He was caught up in his successful business ventures, and was living an active lifestyle. He didn’t have any shortage of romantic opportunities, but was not consumed by his romantic interests. He enjoyed the companionship, but his drive to succeed in business, and his other wide ranging interests in sports and travel would not allow him to devote himself to a relationship at this point of his life.
Aaron was an avid fly fisherman, having traveled to the far reaches of the earth in pursuit of the various species of salmon and trout. In spite of the demands of his business ventures, he managed to become a superb fly fisherman and wing-shot. In the winter months, he would take some time to pursue the native Bobwhite Quail in the surrounding counties of South Carolina, and would make at least one annual trip to hunt ducks with his friend John Crain.
They would meet at the Santee Cooper Lakes; Moultrie and Marion and spend several glorious days in the swamp regions taking a generous bag of Mallards, Canadian Geese and assorted other waterfowl. They would usually get in a day of quail hunting, following John’s beautiful English Setters, enjoying something they both loved dearly.
John had grown up in Camden near Aaron, but had gone to Clemson University and later moved to Charleston, SC. Then there was a span of several years when they were out of touch, and now hardly a week passed without them speaking on the phone, talking about old times, or planning another trip. There was the usual banter in the football season about Georgia Tech and Clemson, and who was the superior team.
Aaron led Samson toward the stable for a brisk rubdown. Roosevelt, his trusted foreman, met him at the door and took the reins. “I’ll get Sam to rub ‘im down and cool ‘im off befo he’s stabled.” As Aaron entered the barn, the wall phone rung and he looped Samson’s bridle over a hook on the wall and lifted the phone to his ear.
“ Mr. Thomas”.
“Yes”, Aaron replied.
“This is Dr. Johnson in Memphis, Tennessee”.
Aaron felt a twisting sensation in his gut as he replied, “Yes, what can I do for you?”
“Mr. Thomas, I’m afraid I have some bad new for you. Your sister Jenna has been hurt and is in critical condition. I’m her family doctor and was contacted by Dr. Jenkins who is attending her. He thought that I might have some family contact information”.
“What about her husband Marco”, Aaron asked tersely?
“I’m afraid that Jenna has not been living with him for some time”, answered Dr. Johnson.
“That’s news to me, but I haven’t spoken to her in some time. What happened”?
“I’d rather not discuss it over the phone. If you could come to Memphis, I can fill you in on the details.”
“Damn it man, she’s my only sister, I need to know what happened”.
“Alright, but I’m sorry to tell you that she tried to commit suicide”.
“My God”, Aaron gasped, “Why”.
Dr. Johnson paused, “Did you know that she was in therapy for alcohol and drug abuse”?
“Hell no, I don’t believe it”, shouted Aaron.
“Well since the divorce-------“.
“What divorce? What the hell are you talking about”?
Dr. Johnson replied, “You must have been out of touch for quite a while. She has been through hell and she has been in a downward spiral for some time now. Her husband took the child and she has been on her own”.
“Oh no”, Aaron spoke softly, feeling the guilt as he remembered his mother’s words asking him to look after Jenna.
“Dr. Johnson, give me your address and phone number. I’ll be on the next flight to Memphis, and I want to talk with you after I see Jenna”.
Dr. Johnson proceeded to give Aaron the address and phone number and assured him that he would be happy to talk with him.
“What are her chances, doctor”?
“I’ll be honest. She has a 50/50 chance at this time. She’s young and that is good, but she has to have the motivation to live. I hope you can give her that. She is semi-conscious now. The only reason that she is alive is the old revolver that he used had ancient ammo in it, and it appears that the impact was less than 100%. She had a lot of powder residue on her that had not burned fully, indicating that the full charge did not ignite properly. Thank God for that. I’ll give you a better report when you get here and of course, Dr. Jenkins will give you a full report also.”
“Well, don’t worry about the expense Dr. Johnson; I am financially capable of taking care of any cost involved. See that she gets the best of care until I get there. Tell her that I love her and her brother is on the way. She has to hang on. She’s the only close relative that I have. I don’t know what I would do without her.”
Dr. Johnson said, “Don’t worry about the details. All that can come later. You just get here and talk to her and let her know that someone who loves her is close. That’s the important thing now. She desperately needs your support.”
“Thank you very much doctor for tracking me down. I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

Thanks to all for your support. I hope you are enjoying the blog.

Regards, L. Woodrow Ross

Dream Trip

Here are some thoughts from a slow day at the office. I hope some of these echo happily in your mind and inspire you to head for the river with your fly rod. That old saying is still true: "a bad day on the river beats a good day in the office".

DREAM TRIP

Reflections from a slow day in the office in March, 2004

By: L. Woodrow Ross
© L. Woodrow Ross March 25, 2004

Here I sit looking out the window when I should be working. The trees are blooming and the first leaves are forming. The nights have been cool, but this weekend is supposed to be great. We may have some more cold weather, but the trout are on the move and I am frustrated by being trapped behind this desk! What in the heck did I do to deserve this? This is a free land, so I have a choice, and my choice is that I need to eat and pay my bills, so I guess I’ll keep on working.

At least I can dream. I remember the Yellowstone and the big Cutthroats last summer. When they were feeding on top, the big noses pushed through the surface and were as big as my fist. They were powerful and beautiful to behold, and as we fished, the bison forded the river behind us and made us thankful to be in such a beautiful place. As my friend Gene often says, “It just doesn’t get any better than this”. The biggest one hooked escaped, of course, but he fought a long and valiant fight and deserved to get away. We would have released him anyway, but it is his job to seek his freedom and our nature is to pursue.

The cutting room manager just walked in and interrupted my reverie, and we had to conduct some business; but now my mind can let me ease into the Birkenhead River in British Columbia in 2002. The current is swift and has the chalky look of water that recently collected at the base of a glacier and began its long, circuitous journey to the sea. It has a green cast, and the current is swift, whipping the water into a green tinted froth. There is little insect activity, but the Dolly Varden holding in the slower pools respond to the egg patterns. They are beautiful as they slip into the net. They are gently eased back into their ancestral waters and I watch as they slip into the green depths.

I hear the voices in the hallway, but it doesn’t keep me from slipping further into my inner self that longs to hear the water speaking to me and feel the gentle breeze upon my face. I can feel the tug of the current at my waders as I ease further out into the stream. I am in the North Mills River in North Carolina. It is a delayed harvest stream. It is springtime and I am having my best day ever there. The fish are 10” to 14” and are healthy and fighting well in the cool spring water. There is a good mixture of rainbows, brooks and some browns. I catch some of all three species and they are a delight. The rod bows repeatedly under the strain and the fish come grudgingly to the net. Several of the rainbows are strong fighters jump high out of the water as they rebel against the sting of the hook and the pressure of the leader. What a day to remember! Over 40 fish and many missed hook-ups.

I had to answer some e-mails, but I am back. What a drag having to work today. At least one of the messages was from my middle daughter, the musician. I had sent her a new poem and she will supply the music and maybe it will be enjoyable and useful to her. Now I can resume the tour of my favorite spots again. I have slipped back into my gear and find myself on the North Mills again, but it is only a couple of weeks back. I have caught some good fish, but have started back upstream with Gene and am staying close to him. He has only been fly fishing for a couple of seasons and is still having problems with detecting and hooking the fish. It is especially hard nymphing and we don’t normally use indicators. I stay close to him and try to coach him. We stopped at a pool that we had checked on the way down, but it had been fished by someone else and the fish were spooked. Now they had been rested and I moved in near him.

“Keep the rod tip up, but don’t raise it so high that you can’t strike to hook the fish. Try to keep it more horizontal, but as high as possible in that plane”. A few more tries and he still come up empty. I could see that the nymph was too high in the water column and I told him to try again and keep the rod tip a little lower and I pointed to a deep slot and told him, “Take another step out from the shore and drift the nymph right there. There is a fish right in that spot”. He made a perfect cast and managed a good drift right through the sweet spot and instantly had a hook-up. He fought and landed the feisty rainbow (about 12”), and I said,”Let’s do that again. See that rock that the current is swirling around? If you will cast two feet to the left of it, there is another fish there”. Gene made a good cast and another good drift with the rod in the correct position. He had another immediate hook-up and was delighted. After a brief fight, the fish escaped, but Gene was happy with his effort. I think that he really connected with the technique and I was very happy to see his instant success.

Nymphing is like that. You have to be able to get the nymph down and bump it along the bottom and be able to interpret the subtle movement of the line or leader. Any slight movement or hesitation in the movement should elicit a strike from the fisherman. It doesn’t have to be a big sweep of the rod to set the hook, just a lift of the rod will suffice. It is almost a magical thing to be able to read the water and know when a fish is taking the nymph. You may feel it, but usually not. You may see a flash as the fish turns if the water is clear and not too deep. You might even see the wink of white as his mouth opens to take the nymph, but that is not normally the case. It just seems to be almost instinctive and the reaction is something that is hard to explain to someone that has not experienced it. Once you make the connection, it all seems so simple.

Another minor interruption just occurred when our financial manager came in and dropped my check on the desk. I can live with that kind of interruption any time. I handed her an invoice from one of our contractors and discussed a deduction that needed to be made from the invoice and she departed.

Now where was I? I have left the North Mills and moved all the way to the Madison River, near Ennis, Montana. My grandsons and I have been fishing and catching mostly small browns. We had fished the braided channels above Ennis Lake and used a small emerger pattern that I had copied from a book that I bought that spring. We had a great time and I had a chance to spend some quality time with my family and still get in some trout fishing. We stayed on the water until about 10:00 pm one night.

That reminds me of an incident several years back when we were in Whitefish, Montana and the weather was extremely hot all week. The fishing had been lousy and my grandsons had not done well at all. There was a small pond near the condo and we had told Steven one evening that if we got back from dinner early enough, his grandmother and I would take him to the pond to fish. It was nearing dark as we returned, but true to our promise, we grabbed his rod and a few flies and walked to the pond. I didn’t have much faith in him catching anything in the pond, but on about the second cast, he caught a small cutthroat. He was ecstatic. He was fishing with a Madame X and cast again and again and finally landed another similar to the first. It was black dark by that time and no moonlight to lighten the sky. There had been some problems recently with marauding bears getting into garbage and Margaret was getting nervous. Steven kept saying, “Just one more cast”. He repeated that over and over and finally we had to insist that we leave. It was a wonderful experience and the Madame X was his favorite fly after that.

Well gosh, look at my watch! It’s 4:52 and I’ll be leaving at 5:00. Where does the time go when you’re having fun? You’ll have to join me on my next trip. I take these frequently and they are always enjoyable. Of course, we always remember the good days and the bad one fade into obscurity, but it’s my day dreaming and I’ll do it my way.

I hope you enjoyed these random thoughts. Join me again for some more outdoor/travel topics.

L. Woodrow Ross

Fishing Update

Fellow Flyfishers:

Here's a fishing report that Buck Denton of Mountain Bridge Trout Unlimited forwarded to us.

From: "Dane Law" <danelaw@southeasternanglers.com> > Date: 2007/06/25 Mon PM 02:14:59 EDT > To: "FISHING FRIENDS" <danelaw@southeasternanglers.com> > Subject: Fishing Report Update > > > THREE GOOD PICKS FOR JULY > > > Hiwassee River - TVA is running two turbines from 11:00 a.m. until at least > 7:00 p.m. every day. This is a typical summer flow and the water conditions > are great with clear flows and temps in the mid 50's. We are drift fishing > from the powerhouse to Reliance through the quality section in the gorge > daily. Fishing is better than this time last year. Dry fly action is good. > We have Isonychias, some BWO's, and a few sulfurs and caddis. Afternoons are > almost exclusively dry flies and the stair steps are fishing well. Cloudy > days are best. We have caught a few real nice browns on top lately. > > Holston River - Low lake levels provide for floatable water most everyday. > Water temps on the lower river are in the low to mid 50's and the fish are > loving it. The dry fly fishing is a little sparse. When the bugs are > happening were seeing sporadic sulfurs, black & brown caddis, and > craneflies. The fish will eat dries when the time is right, however, the > best results are coming from nymphs and light streamers. The key now is to > be versatile with your nymph rig. Keep your depth adjusted to allow your > nymphs to tick along the bottom. Catch rates, fish size and quality are very > good. > > Clinch River - TVA has settled into a summertime flow regimen that allows > float trips on the lower river. Most trips start early in the morning. The > weekends see our best flows for drift boat fishing. Water temps are cold. > Morning to midday are best fished with the usual Clinch River setups - light > tippets, yarn indicators, and small midge pupas. The afternoons are wide > open. Light midging is still productive. However, the sulfur hatch is still > going and the fish will respond to a well drifted dun for some dry fly > action. The pickier fish will move on emergers and nymphs in the surface > film. Mayfly nymphs fished deep also work well. Catch rates are good with > very healthy fish. Southeastern Anglers, 866 - 55TROUT. >

Good Fishing!

L. Ross

Photography Tips

Hello to my internet friends:

If you are an outdoor person, I hope that you record your favorite pursuits with a camera. If you do, here are a few tips that will serve you well.

If you have not already, you need to invest in a digital camera. Even if you prefer film cameras, if you do a lot of photography, a digital is a helpful tool.

Before you shoot a lot of film, compose your picture with your digital and decide what angle, how you will compose the photo, will you bracket the scene with some feature in the foreground, etc. By doing multiple set-ups with the digital camera and reviewing them, you can pick out the best composition for shooting with film.

If you are shooting in a location that is commonly photographed by a lot of visitors, consider doing something different. Take a ladder to the location if feasible and shoot from a high angle. Lay on the ground to get a low angle shot. Shoot from a greater distance with a telephoto. There are many ways to get a new look from and old location.

One beauty of the digital format is that you can shoot an unlimited number of photos. You only have to print the best of these and delete the rest or save on computer files for future reference. Shooting a lot of photos will allow you to grow more rapidly in your photography skills.

Try bracketing your landscape photos with a tree branch or something in the foreground to give the viewer a point of reference and perspective. It will lend the photo a more intimate quality in many cases.

When choosing a digital camera, try to get one that will use AA batteries. You can purchase rechargeable AA's and a charger and you'll never get caught without batteries. Also, purchase an extra memory stick or memory card so that you will have a large capacity for a long expedition.

Watch for more tips in the future. We'll be posting more periodically to help you capture those prized moments outdoors.

Have fun with your camera!

L. Woodrow Ross

Flexibility on the Trout Stream: Tip of the Day

Hello Sportsmen:
If you are a fly fisherman for trout, you should be aware that throughout the day, conditions are constantly changing.
You may be fishing nymphs and then you begin to notice subtle rise forms. It is time to switch to emergers or perhaps dry flies. If the rises are more like "bulges" in the surface water, the fish are probably taking emergers just below or in the surface film. If there are bubble on the surface when the fish rises, then dry flies are in order.
This activity may slow down slowly or change change fairly quickly. When this happens, be ready to go back to nymphing or streamers.
I love to dry fly fish as well as the next guy, but when the fish start feeding sub-surface, you can bet that's where I'll be fishing. I'd rather have the action than to keep casting dry flies and not be raising any trout.
Observation of what the fish are doing and how best to pursue them is the mark of a good fisherman. Don't get stuck in a rut and stay with one method of fishing regardless of what the fish are doing.
Chuck Patterson (Foothills Fly Fishing) told me that he killed a Timber Rattler recently. Keep an eye out when you're fishing. Always look over the rock or log before you step over it and when you're climbin, never place your hand in an area that you can't see.
Good luck on the stream.
L. Woodrow Ross

Life's Unexpected Events

Greetings and salutations:
One never knows what may be around the next bend in life. My stepfather, Bill McNeely, recently learned that he has to have cancer surgery. We are headed to the hospital today to support him and my mom as he undergoes this surgery. We pray that everything will go well and would appreciate your prayers for him as well.
Our friends Gene and Sherry Cunningham are in their 10th week now of dealing with the serious brain trauma and surgery of their son Rich. He is improving, but it is a journey of small steps. They are feeling the physical and emotional strain of the ordeal and your prayers for them would be appreciated as well.
We have a trip planned out west for three weeks (last week of July and two weeks in August). Gene and Sherry are planning to join us for the last two weeks we are there and we are excited that Rich is improving and look forward to them getting some well needed "R & R".
Our daughter Andrea, her husband Elliott and the children ( Ross, Alex and Claire) will be with us the first week. We are excited to spend some quality time with the family in one of God's beautiful places on earth.
We'll be in Utah, Wyoming and Montana and hope to enjoy the beautiful scenery, animals and some good fly fishing for trout. It will be a first fly fishing adventure for Elliott and the boys and I hope they will learn to love it as much as I do.
Montana is like home to us. We have spent a lot of time there and it is always good to get back. We love to go other places like Canada and Alaska, but it just doesn't seem the same when we miss going to Montana in the late summer or early fall.
I am currently working on an article to submit to some fly fishing magazines and am mulling over some more projects.
My wife Margaret spotted a gray fox in our back yard last evening about 7:00. It was beautiful as it glided gracefully along in front of the bamboo that grows near the little stream. I grabbed a camera, but he was gone too quickly. We are in a residential area, but it is amazing the wildlife that we see. Raccoons, foxes, turkeys, squirrels, doves, hawks, crows and an amazing number of songbirds are regularly seen. We keep bird feeders in the front and back yards filled with black oil sunflower seeds and keep suet available. Magaret maintains about a half dozen hummingbird feeders and we enjoy the antics of those gorgeous jewels of nature daily.
If you like birds and are new to feeding, try black oil sunflower seeds. They are probably the single best food that you can supply. It is readily available and priced reasonably.
We maintain about a dozen feeders and really have a good selection of species to enjoy.
That's enough rambling for now.
Don't forget the requests above.
Have a great day and remainder of the week.
L. Woodrow Ross

Fun Day

Hello to All:

Today was a great day. Our grandsons were visiting from Charlotte and we purchased some entry level fly rods for them yesterday. Last night we loaded the reels with backing and fly lines and this morning we went to the park for a casting lesson. This is new to them, so they had to start at the beginning.

As usual for beginners, they tended to use too much wrist and dropped the rod too low on the back cast at first, but they were doing good after a short while.

We are looking forward to visiting Utah, Wyoming and Montana this summer and I hope they can catch some nice trout to whet their interest.

If you are new to fly fishing, or think that you may be interested, it is a great sport. It seems very difficult at first, but with the proper instruction and diligent practice, you can master it.

Once you learn to handle the basic casting, the next step is learning to achieve the technique to lure a big trout to your fly. Learning to eliminated drag is the key factor in dry fly fishing and keeping contact with the fly in nymphing is foremost.

A booklet is available on my websites (www.flyfishnorthamerica.com and www.lwoodrowross.com) that is packed with tips to help you avoid many of the common mistakes that beginners make. It will lead you through the steps to improving your fishing and being successful. The title is "Fly Fishing Tips for Success". It is a god investment if you are serious about your fishing.

"Fly Fishing Tips for Success" includes sections on dry fly fishing, nymphing, and streamer fishing. It will be a guide that you can look to for direction again and again.

We shot a few practice rounds with the compound bow today also. Here's hoping for a big buck this fall. The practice is fun and the rewards may be some prime venison for the table. Last year's venison is getting low in the freezer, so we need to re-stock.

Get out there and enjoy the summer. It's hot here in the south, but early morning and late afternoon are bearable and you'll feel better staying active.

Take a kid on an outdoor excursion. They may acquire an interest that will serve them well throughout their life.

All the best to you and your family.

L. Woodrow Ross

Welcome to New Readers

Here we are at the beginning of summer. We are going full speed ahead.
Earlier this week, we went rafting at the U.S. National Whitewater Center near Charlotte, NC and had a ball with a couple of our grandsons. We did the class I and II rapids first and then did the III, IV and V. Alex fell out once and another time we were trying a maneuver in the heavy water and five of us were thrown out. It was a ball!

If you are a bow hunter, now is the time to sharpen those skills and be ready for the Whitetail Deer season. It opens in September here in South Carolina.

Have you tried the new G5, Montec broadheads? I just bought some and they look great. If they work as well as they look, I'll be pleased with them. I bought some of the small game heads also. If you have used these, give me your comments. I'd be interested in your feedback.

The spring trout fishing in upstate SC and western NC has been fantastic. We have caught and released loads of Rainbows, Browns and Brookies. Check out my website www.flyfishnorthamerica.com for some neat information on fly fishing and some great photos.

I also have a site dedicated more to writing and photography (www.lwoodrowross.com). Check out my novel "Return to Oak Hill".

We are getting excited about heading to Montana for three weeks again. We hope to have some great fishing. We'll shoot tons of photos and keep you updated on our progress. Some of the grandsons will be there for a week and will do some fly fishing also.

We will offer guided deer hunts at Lonesome Trail Lodge this fall. If you are interested in information and photos, go to www.flyfishnorthamerica.com for details.

We offer some guiding for fishing, custom tied flies, wading/hiking staffs, instruction booklets on fly fishing, travel and photography.

Save us on your favorites and check back frequently for updates.

Be a good steward of our natural resources.

Your friend,

L. Woodrow Ross