72 years ago today.....

iveofione · Jul 28, 2023

......I caught my first fish on a flyrod! It was the day after my 13th birthday and I was fishing just below the confluence of Laurel Creek and Beaver Dam Creek in Damascus Virginia. I had received a new True Temper tubular steel fly rod for my birthday, got it rigged with a wind up self retrieving reel and a primitive fly line. The fly was a Black Gnat wet fly sold in a cellophane pack at a local store for .25. The fish was about 16-17'' long caught in a long riffle beneath a waterfall. I checked it on Goggle Earth a while back and it looks just the same now as it did then. It looks like I could go back there today and catch a fish in the same riffle.

Turning 85 yesterday and looking back, July 28, 1951 was a turning point in my life that helped define what the rest of my life would be. I have caught thousands of fish since then and still look forward to the next one eagerly and with much enthusiasm. The fish have been great and the fishing buddies equally so. Trout live in beautiful places and I have visited their homes in many areas around the country and Canada. Fly fishing has been an adventure that never grows old and I have been blessed to be able to do it well at such an advanced age. Since any outing now could conceivably be my last I treasure each one and treasure the outstanding fishing buddies I have made over the years.

Thanks for the memories gals and guys, nowadays you are the real reason I still go fishing.

Long_Rod_Silvers · Jul 28, 2023

Happy belated birthday young man!!
That's awesome you remember the exact day you caught your first fish on a fly rod.

Zak · Jul 28, 2023

Happy Birthday! I enjoy your posts very much and wish you fish in the coming year!

Scott Salzer · Jul 28, 2023

Happy birthday, Ive.

Nice story.

krusty · Jul 28, 2023

Happy Birthday Ive! We'll hit it hard when the first cold winds of autumn cool the lakes down.

Brute · Jul 28, 2023

Live Long and Prosper!

Northern · Jul 28, 2023

Happy Birthday, Ive!

Salmo_g · Jul 28, 2023

Whad'a'ya' mean "advanced age?" You're still a kid, just one who has been around the block a few times. Happy birthday Ive!

Flymph · Jul 28, 2023

Happy Birthday, mine was the 27th. Do you suffer from prickly heat??? Grandma used to say those of us born in late July will pay for it with prickly heat. Needless to say I no longer wear long sleeves and any time of the year!

Canuck from Kansas · Jul 28, 2023

Well done sir, Happy Birthday, and hopefully many more.

SteelHeadDave · Jul 28, 2023

Happy birthday!!!

Greg Armstrong · Jul 28, 2023

To heck with birth”days” I’ve, since we all missed yours… get out there and make it a happy birth”week” instead! Maybe go fishing!
Always look forward to seeing your posts!

SurfnFish · Jul 28, 2023

iveofione said:
......I caught my first fish on a flyrod! It was the day after my 13th birthday and I was fishing just below the confluence of Laurel Creek and Beaver Dam Creek in Damascus Virginia. I had received a new True Temper tubular steel fly rod for my birthday, got it rigged with a wind up self retrieving reel and a primitive fly line. The fly was a Black Gnat wet fly sold in a cellophane pack at a local store for .25. The fish was about 16-17'' long caught in a long riffle beneath a waterfall. I checked it on Goggle Earth a while back and it looks just the same now as it did then. It looks like I could go back there today and catch a fish in the same riffle.

Turning 85 yesterday and looking back, July 28, 1951 was a turning point in my life that helped define what the rest of my life would be. I have caught thousands of fish since then and still look forward to the next one eagerly and with much enthusiasm. The fish have been great and the fishing buddies equally so. Trout live in beautiful places and I have visited their homes in many areas around the country and Canada. Fly fishing has been an adventure that never grows old and I have been blessed to be able to do it well at such an advanced age. Since any outing now could conceivably be my last I treasure each one and treasure the outstanding fishing buddies I have made over the years.

Thanks for the memories gals and guys, nowadays you are the real reason I still go fishing.

The best thing about your post is the obvious stoke you still have for fishing and living!
Wishing you many more fishing adventures!

DimeBrite · Jul 28, 2023

Thanks for sharing the story of your first fly rod fish and happy 85th. Celebrate by going fishing!

I was 11 when I caught my first fly rod fish (a rainbow) on the Madison River. My younger brother and I shared the rod that day, and he caught his first a few minutes later (a Brown trout). We shared that rod and fished side by side for the next 2 years until we each bought our own rods, reels, and lines.

Steve Vaughn · Jul 28, 2023

Happy Birthday Ive. What a wonderful memory.

joefromchicago · Jul 29, 2023

iveofione said:
......I caught my first fish on a flyrod! It was the day after my 13th birthday and I was fishing just below the confluence of Laurel Creek and Beaver Dam Creek in Damascus Virginia. I had received a new True Temper tubular steel fly rod for my birthday, got it rigged with a wind up self retrieving reel and a primitive fly line. The fly was a Black Gnat wet fly sold in a cellophane pack at a local store for .25. The fish was about 16-17'' long caught in a long riffle beneath a waterfall. I checked it on Goggle Earth a while back and it looks just the same now as it did then. It looks like I could go back there today and catch a fish in the same riffle.

Turning 85 yesterday and looking back, July 28, 1951 was a turning point in my life that helped define what the rest of my life would be. I have caught thousands of fish since then and still look forward to the next one eagerly and with much enthusiasm. The fish have been great and the fishing buddies equally so. Trout live in beautiful places and I have visited their homes in many areas around the country and Canada. Fly fishing has been an adventure that never grows old and I have been blessed to be able to do it well at such an advanced age. Since any outing now could conceivably be my last I treasure each one and treasure the outstanding fishing buddies I have made over the years.

Thanks for the memories gals and guys, nowadays you are the real reason I still go fishing.

Firstly, happy birthday salutations. In just 15 days, I get my first shot at an age that starts with a seven.
Can't even remember when I caught my first fish on a fly but it was a brookie in some punchbowl of a lake in the Gifford Pinchot, the name of which I don't even remember, that the Captain drug me to. But I do remember it was caught on an Adams.
I too have fished the West from Nevada to North California to Idaho, Utah and all other points west.
Some of the best memories of my life.