This week I had the opportunity to leave the coast and spend a few days in the mountains with Daniel Boone. Daniel runs Nantahala Fly Fishing Co. in Robinsville, NC.
Not only is Daniel the premier guide in these parts, he has a fully equipped rod smithing shop. So I headed up to the hills with rod blank and parts, waders and high hopes to build my first rod and catch my first fish on a fly rod.
I arrived yesterday evening. Daniel, his friend Michael from Georgia and I got acquainted over a bushel of oysters I brought up from Hampstead. They were some of those awesome Stump Sound Salties. Then we proceeded to get set up for the next day of rod building. Daniel has a wonderful spread in a beautiful setting.
Today I spent most of the day learning and building my first rod. We took lots of pictures and will post a "how we dunnit it" thread later in the week. Daniel proved to be a very acomplished teacher with the patience of a saint!
Then about 3:30 we knocked off and headed for the Nantahala River for some fly fishing instructions and fishing. Once again Daniel showed his skill in transfering his knowledge and expertise to his student. Having never tried to Fly Fish, I was very anxious about my first attempt. Daniel had me casting with confidence in no time.
I was casting into the eddy current and then letting it drift down stream as I stripped and fed out line. On my second cast, wham - fish on. I pulled in a decent sized native brown trout. Next cast, wham, rainbow in the net. Next cast, you got it - a brookie. A Mountain Trifecta in my first 15 minutes of fly fishing. Then it was time to learn a few more casting techniques for different conditions and practice them. I managed to net two more fish and lost two others. What a day! Built my first custom rod and caught my first fish on a fly rod!
Folks - if you ever want to fish these parts or learn to fly fish or build rods - Daniel Boone is the MAN! He is a true professional and a gentleman. And he knows a thing or two about fishing for sure!
