Fly fishing

[Allen Peterson 44]

I spent the last few days up in the mountains of Virginia Fly fishing with some friends. Great fun.

[John 39]

Done it quite a few times, lake and chalk stream, but don't like to eat trout unless it is smoked, and you need a big fish if it is worth the trouble. Once caught a 13lb rainbow so smoked that. Delicious! Have now given up fishing because seldom able to see the quarry so most of the time casting into empty water. Also, still married, so busy with chores!

[Allen Peterson 44]

John I have never seen a 13 pound rainbow trout. A 5 pounder is a trophy fish here. Native brook trout are about six inches. Fly fishermen usually just catch and release here. Lake trout are quite large but I would not eat one. Salmon are big and I like to eat them. Cold water lakes in the north have pretty good rainbow and brown trout that are very good eating.

[John 39]

The best trout fishing I ever had was for brown trout on a chalk stream in Hampshire (UK). Caught 4 of 3-4lbs each in one morning. Catching the 13lb one was a bit disappointing in that it was in a lake and right next to the bank. I let my black nymph sink right down and thought I had got caught on a log - but it moved slowly a few yards out into the lake. There was no fight at all, I tried to bring it up and succeeded only after about 10 minutes. The lake owner was not very pleased with me, he had bought the fish from the fish farm only a week earlier and had told everyone except me about it. He didn't want anyone to catch it.