Alex Argyros
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Thanks, Doug.
Nice to hear from you, J.C.
The Fisherman’s Paradise holds some nice memories for me. When I was considerably younger, I would go there occasionally (it was a fair drive from Manhattan). I don’t remember many details, except that I would catch most of my fish on a little green and black Corkie (a terrestrial made out of cork). The Corkie made a delicious splat on flat water that trout, thankfully unaware of who was casting it, found enticing.
While you’re fishing Central PA, I’ve been pounding the Guad. I’ve been doing a lot of drop shotting lately, and having some success with eggs (Otter’s and pegged). The way I’ve been fishing isn’t comp legal, but then, either am I.
One final note. Like you, I’ve tried to figure out why I’m obsessed with fishing, especially trout fishing. I don’t know what the answer is, but I do know that whatever it is, it isn’t pretty. Thank you Dr. Sigmund.
Alex
Thanks, Kev.
You write as if you knew something about “cantankerous senior citizens.”
It was great running into you on Monday.
Alex
I need to chime in here. I have always been respectful to John. In fact, he invited me to use his extra parking space.
However, John is good talker, but a poor listener. As a result, he doesn’t hear other points of view. The straw that broke the camel’s back for me was a day early last summer when I was fishing JDL. Two young people waded up from Whitewater and started fishing below me. They seemed nice, so, when they asked me some questions about fly fishing, I was happy to help them out.
Then John shows up. After a few perfunctory comments, he started getting increasingly belligerent towards the two young anglers. It really got a bit ugly, so I had to jump to their defense. Things got worse, so we all decided to leave.
Why was John angry? It was clear that he considers the stretch of the Guadalupe in front of his house to be his, and, even worse, the trout in it. For him, they’re his pets, and anyone who doesn’t fish for then the way he deems appropriate is treated very poorly, to the point of verbal abuse.
I understand that John is a conservationist and wants to take care of the river. For that he is to be commended. But taking care of the river and being its lord and master aren’t the same thing.
Alex
There is a whole lot of wisdom in what you say, Jimbo. There are days when I do very well in terms of numbers, but I’m still not satisfied with myself because I think I should have done better. On such days I envy the angler who catches one fish all day, but is absolutely thrilled and delighted by his accomplishment.
Alex
BTW, love your shots of the river, Jimbo.
Great essay, Jimbo. And yes, JC, numbers are only meaningful if measured against a constraint, such as the tackle we choose to use.
I consider myself very fortunate to live near the Guadalupe because, as anyone who has fished the river for while knows, the default behavior of our trout is to eat below the surface. And, I love nymphing more than anything else. I’ll put up with a dry fly if I really have to, but for me, catching a trout on a nymph is the most sublime angling experience. So, day in day out, I am the most fortunate of men, fishing for trout that allow themselves to be caught the way I like to catch them.
One more thought: it’s true that numbers can become a fetish that replaces what we’re really after, namely the experience of fly fishing. Nevertheless, I do count my fish. I do so not to show off to other anglers (I try to avoid answering with a number when someone asks me how my luck has been, preferring to say something like “the fishing has been really good (or bad, or mediocre).” The reason I count fish is that I’m an inveterate tinkerer. I’m always trying new nymphing techniques, and I want to have a sense of which are most successful. Fully realizing that fishing against yourself is hardly scientific, I still enjoy comparing the relative success rates of different ways of enticing trout with nymphs.
Alex
You probably already have some of those flies, Rhino. They’re called “eggs.”
Alex
That’s John DeLoach, and the site is eponymously nicknamed JDL. He does feed the fish, as well as numerous species of birds and deer on his property. And yes, he has a very tenuous relationship with many of the anglers who fish in the stretch by his property. He has been know to berate some of them, even though what they were doing is perfectly legal. And, apparently, someone once called the cops on him.
Now, fishing on the Guadalupe is legal if you access the water legally. And, as I understand it, feeding fish on a stretch that abuts your property is also legal. So, we have a bit of a standoff.
The good, or bad, news is that John no longer wants GRTU stocking from his property, so the numbers of fish there will slowly decline, and with that, the fishing pressure. But it’s a prime stretch of water, so some trout will always find their way there, especially with the banquet John provides.
Alex
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Very eloquently stated, Jimbo.
To be clear, the request was to post the stocking sites to LAP members, on the LAP members-only board, after the stocking. I haven’t heard any whining, just a reasonable request. And if LAP member are “catching and keeping fish” then their membership should be immediately suspended. Of course, I doubt that any LAP members are engaged in such scurrilous activity.
Alex
P.S. Except for this point, I find Jimbo’s impassioned post compelling.
Paul,
I sent you a pm Sunday night, but it occurred to me that you may not have checked your messages. I have your rod.
Alex
Good work, JC. And, I agree about Eggstacy. All my egg patterns now are variations of Devin Olsen’s Taco Tungsten Egg. I especially like the cream color.
Alex
My opinion is that all lease members, by virtue of being lease members, should know which sites are stocked. However, other details, such as where big fish are put, numbers, etc., should be spoils for those who do the hard work of stocking.
