Hey, everyone! I finally got onto the water for a gorgeous day of fishing in the somewhat chilly (48*F) streams around Southeast Pennsylvania, USA. I'm new to this area, so got 'skunked' at a few streams that I later found out hadn't held fish in years due to massive pollution and such... BUT I did manage to catch a lil' stockie (8" or so?) on other better water, so my first day of the season wasn't for naught. I don't know if I should be proud of this or not, but I'll tell the story anyhow... I was false-casting a BWO emerger with a copper john under it, just under a 10-foot high "bank" made of a retaining wall. All was proceeding fine until I heard an odd hissing sound. I looked for snakes and saw none, looked for other obvious things and saw none there. Then out of nowhere, a canadian goose (who's nest was on the top of the retaining wall, just out of sight) decided to swoop down and attack the copper john! I was so shocked that I jumped back, in the process hooking the fly into the goose's beak! Well, the copper john's tippet-connector to the BWO emerger snapped, sending the emerger sailing towards my forehead at near-light speed (Well, I never saw it coming... does that count?) Before I could duck, WHAP! the emerger slams against my forehead, leaving a red welt in the perfect shape of a size-16 dry hook. (For those concerned, both the goose and I are now better, though I do still have the remnants of the welt). I guess it is good to know that my flies look like something edible... now all I have to do is get the right species! Hope this brought a smile to your face.
OH! Also, to throw this into the same post, I saw literally hundreds, if not thousands, of Hendrickson nymphs both floating freely and attached to the undersides of rocks... and the closest pattern I have is a dry fly using pink fox-belly fur and other things. Could people please suggest nymph patterns for a size 16 (or 15?) Hendrickson nymph in a medium grey / Hendrickson pink color? Thanks everyone, and tight wraps, Pete
