An initiative by Orvis and Trout Unlimited will open 1,000 more miles of opportunity in America
Written by Erin Block for Angling Trade / Spring 2014 issue
Erin Block paints a portrait here that brought me back to my roots. With obvious experience, she explains how she and most of us got hooked on the gateway drug called fly fishing. I can still remember hundreds of little creeks and streams of our native western Pennsylvania that built my confidence. As Bob Hope signature song said – ‘Thanks for the Memories,” Erin.
[dropcap]O[/dropcap]ne of the best assets a fly shop can have is a local and healthy small stream. If there is a hook in fly fishing, a point of addiction where there’s no turning back, I’ll posit that many times a small stream is it. Especially for youth or beginners, these feeder creeks are places where you can get by with minimal gear and where the trout are eager and willing, albeit perfectly palm sized.But when you’re at that point, when you’re at the start, it doesn’t matter how big the fish is or how far you have yet to go; what matters is that you can bring a fish to hand. On your own. These are the places of independence, the places where many firsts happen, like a tree carved with initials, we remember the pools and runs where we were successful. Also those where we were not. And so we return to good spots again and again, for there are many things to learn there … even still.
Small headwater streams of Colorado are the places etched into my beginnings: branches of Boulder Creek and high lonesome forks of the Saint Vrain. My homewaters, the places that are close, within a 20-minute drive time radius, tops.
I fished this Allegheny National Forest small, scenic stream maybe a dozen or more times. It’s named Minister Creek and it’s one of the best wild trout streams in the region. Photo credit TU.
These were the places I first went to hone my skills and learn to observe, to prove I could lay a cast without spooking gin-clear pools, match my flies to nature’s, tie a knot that would hold. To prove I would not fail (or get lost), at least not every time. For many folks, introduction to fly-fishing comes through a friend, spouse, or family member, by a guide of some sort ushering them on their way. But eventually the time comes when they’ll want or need to have a go solo, and in many cases, small streams allow the space, independence, and curiosity necessary for creating lifelong anglers who will resultantly become ardent conservationists. Small streams, you might say, can work very well as a gateway drug.
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