A mouthful of Strolis

I ventured out very early Wednesday morning, before work, to try out a few new toys. Well, not totally new, just some stuff that has been sitting in my office since the holidays and I have not had the opportunity to try them out. I had been wanting to add an 8wt rod to the collection however, with no serious reason to get one, I hadn't taken the plunge until I got a crazy deal from Orvis on a 2pc 8wt Clearwater paired with a BBS reel. For less than $170, how could I go wrong.

I headed out to some deeper pools on the Farmington and fished some streamers that local fly tier Rich Strolis created for my upcoming Delaware River trip. With the seriously low flows, I just did not have it in me to fish other areas that are lacking water. I was on the water just before sunrise and, no joke, second cast and strip of this streamer, the Ice Pick, I think, I was into a beast...correct me if I screwed up the streamer name.

Early on in my fishing life, I learned the hard way, that not being prepared to set the hook on your first cast is a HUGE mistake. As lazy as I feel making those first couple casts, I am always ready to set that hook. This was one of those times. I was about 3 or 4 strips into the retrieve when this fish came out of nowhere and nailed it. Many times, I have watched a fish following before deciding to strike or turn away. This fish gave no warning. The crappy image above is evidence of the strength of this one as I did all I could to get 1 picture before a quick release. I moved around to a few other pools within walking distance and had some decent success on what looked to be holdover fish. Perhaps the early, lowlight hours had some of the bigger guys out feeding?

If you aren't familiar with Rich's site, check it out - good quality & quick turnaround.

http://www.catching-shadows.com/catching-shadows/Home.html