Dry Run Creek on Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving Day 2013 turned out to be a beautiful day – temps in the 60's, very little wind and three youngsters that wanted to try their hand at fly fishing on Dry Run Creek.  The kids, Evie, age 12, Ellie, age 8 and Nicolas, age 3 were eager learners and ready to hit the creek.  I told the kids that only one would be able to fish at a time so that I could give them my full attention.  So, the first dilemma was trying to settle the argument as to who was going first.  I decided that we would go by age, the oldest goes first.  Ellie felt that I should select the middle kid but she did not have much of an argument. 

I wasn't sure how the venture was going to go since I have never taken three kids to Dry Run Creek at the same time.  Fortunately these kids are very well behaved and they have parents that really make them toe the line.  So, Evie and I picked out our first spot on the creek and I showed her how to cast.  Evie picked up the side arm casting right away and on her third cast she hooked her first trout.  I gave her instruction on how to fight the fish and she brought it to the net like a pro. 

Next up was eight year old Ellie.  After a little casting instruction Ellie said she wanted to cast on her own.  She put the two fly combo right where it needed to be and after several casts she had her first trout on the line. 

Unfortunately Ellie lost a few fish before she landed a 17' rainbow.  After netting the fish, Ellie reached in and grabbed the fish and then struck the 'pro' pose for a couple of pictures.

Next to the rod was 3 year old Nicholas.  Nicholas took a little more help with the casting but he quickly caught a really nice rainbow and brought it to the net.  Unfortunately Nicholas didn't want anything to do with holding the fish, which was a really nice rainbow.  Instead he kept his distance for the picture.  

The kids took one more rotation through the fishing and all caught nice fish.  On this particular trip to Dry Run Creek we did not catch any monsters but did see numerous big boys. 

The kids all had a great time and the parents enjoyed watching their kids catch fish and learning the basics of fly fishing.

As for this old guide, I had a blast.  Anytime I have the chance to take a kid fishing, especially on Dry Run Creek, I jump at the chance.  The kids are the future of fly fishing and we need to make their day on the water a memorable one for them.  Thanks Evie, Ellie and Nicholas for a great day on the water.