The Beauty of it All

I have wanted to write this story for almost two months now. It has been the apprehension that my words will fail to do justice to the scenes I found myself in that has kept me from writing.But the desire to relive the experience in my mind has grown stronger than my apprehension so I will try to put in words the beauty I have seen.

There are moments in fishing, and I believe particularly in fly-fishing, when the fish play the supporting role as the setting itself takes center stage. It was late August on the Jackson River.I had come to fly-fish a river I had heard and read about many times, a river described as a classic western trout stream tucked into the mountains of Virginia. I came dreaming of the Jackson’s trout having no idea it was the Jackson itself that would become dreamlike.

The sky was powder blue and the sun bright on the water creating long streaks of shimmering light reflecting back to their source. A light breeze blew as lofty white clouds moved steadily across sky. The river was wide and flowed with the determination of a force on a journey. It would not be rushed but neither would it ease its flow to accommodate those who would step from the shore to enter its realm. The grasses and trees that lined the bank were thick and healthy with rich hues of dark and light green. The mountains reached above the tree line in the distance looking down on the scene with approval. Their rounded off peaks stood like sentries keeping guard both upstream and down. The river was king.

For long casts and small flies the Jackson would yield its bounty. Rainbow trout painted with nature’s silver, brown, pink, and purple were brought to net, brought to hand, photographed and returned to the water. Late afternoon slid seamlessly into evening. The sun set behind the mountains and the clouds turned a rose like pink as if to remind the trout that they too have colors of a rainbow. As daylight faded the half-light of dusk fell over the land and the once lofty clouds descended upon the river in a mystical mix of fog and mist. And the river rolled on.

As the mist and fog floated around me I was captivated by the beauty of it all. My line was in the water but I wasn’t catching fish. I didn’t need to catch fish. It was no longer about the fishing. It was bigger than the fishing. It was bigger than the fish. It was about the fog, the mist, the half-light fading to darkness. It was about the stillness, the river flowing through it all, flowing through me, and God’s spirit all around, thick as the fog, strong as the river, filling my heart, filling my soul.

copyright 2009 Rick Ridpath

Fishing the Jackson

Salvation on Mossy Creek

This is actually the first fishing story I wrote. It was for a writing contest I didn't win. Since I didn't win the prize or publication I figured this was the right place to share the story. Thanks for reading. rick

I was as new to fly fishing as a Mayfly dun drying his wings in the sun. Besides a handful of bream and a few juvenile Smallmouth my fly fishing experience was limited to a couple of trips to the mountain streams of Virginia. I had fished the Rapidan and Rose Rivers, and by the grace of God and a Parachute Adams, managed to hook two native Brook Trout on each river. Catching a couple of natives on a dry fly in Shenandoah National Park can fill a novice with confidence that defies the truth about the catch – stumbling into a pool and making a clumsy cast on a leader too big for dries made it just short of a miracle the skittish Brook Trout had been caught at all.

But, the reality of a situation is often not seen until much later. All I knew was that I’d caught native trout on a dry fly… twice! I was a fly fisherman. More than that, I was a trout fly fisherman. I had done it, and I could do it again. My pride, my confidence, was full. I was just waiting for that next trip.

Later that summer the next trip came. My good friend and fishing buddy, Chuck, invited me to fly fish for trout at a place called Mossy Creek. I jumped at the chance; after-all I was a trout fisherman now. Mossy Creek is one of Virginia’s most famous trout streams. A spring-fed creek, it runs not over mountain boulders and rocks but through rolling valleys and meadows of private farm land. It’s a special regulation stream – no live bait, no wading, fly fishing only, catch and release. It is known for its trophy Brown and Rainbow Trout, and for being deceptively difficult. When I told my more experienced fly fishing neighbor about my plans he simply shook his head and sighed, “Mmm… The Mossy is tough.” No problem, I can do it. I’m a trout fisherman. So I thought.

We arrived at the Mossy early. It was a beautiful August morning. The sun was bright, the day full of potential. Gearing up, we could hear the bloop-bloop of trout steadily feeding on the morning Trico hatch. My heart raced as we crossed the bridge to the public side of the creek. This is why I came, to catch trout. There they were, just steps from the parking lot eagerly rising to a hatch my friend told me would happen. I was ready.

Stepping off the road and onto the trampled grass of the farm, over the electric fencing that kept the cows out of the creek, we approached the water. I was fishing a small Trico dry fly on a 9 foot, 4X leader with a 5X tippet. We quietly walked to the bank and made our first cast just steps from the bridge. Small white flies were hatching and gently floating away. Trout steadily sipped them off the surface as they emerged to take flight. The water low and clear, I could see the fish in their feeding stations darting to the emerging flies every few seconds. I’m using the right leader, the right fly; I can see the trout rising. I can do this. Heart racing I make several casts. “Nice cast. Nice drift,” my friend Chuck tells me. I’m doing this right. Any cast now. My fly drifts right between two trout. One leaves his station and rushes toward my fly. He rises, inspects it carefully, then returns to his station. I make more casts. I drift the fly directly over a trout, watch in excitement as he rises, only to take an emerging fly right next to my offering. I switch to a small Parachute Adams and make several more casts. Still nothing. A Blue Wing Olive - nothing. The hatch faded as the August sun turned morning to midday. Hours had been spent fishing rising trout and not a one was landed. We decided to stop for lunch. I wasn’t defeated, but I had started to doubt.

After lunch, we crossed the bridge again and fished our way up the creek. Each of us tied on a Dave’s Hopper for the afternoon terrestrials. Grasshoppers were all over the place. This had to work. Within minutes Chuck landed a Brown Trout. His skunk was off. Mine was just starting to stink.

Looking at Mossy Creek, it’s easy to think casting shouldn’t be a challenge since there are no trees along much of the bank. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. That hot afternoon I found every way possible to hang up my fly. I snagged the mossy grass in the middle of the creek. The 5x tippet broke off and the hopper was lost. Too long of a back cast and the three feet tall weeds behind me grabbed the line and tangled my fly. The one stick in a wide-open stretch was somehow hooked, stranding the fly. The no wading rule made flies snagged in the middle of the creek out of reach and lost. An old fence post appeared from nowhere to grab my back cast and knock it down along with the rest of my confidence. I set down my rod, took off my vest, and sat on the ground leaning against the fence post. Just about every fly in my box had been tried and the closest I had come to landing a fish was a roll at my hopper that couldn’t be hooked. I was hot, tired, and dejected. I guess I was wrong. I can’t do this. I guess I need to fly fish for bass. Trout are hard and far away. It turns out I’m no trout fisherman. Meanwhile I hear the excited shout of, “Fish on!” as my friend lands his sixth trout.

There are two stretches to the public section of the Mossy, an upper and lower section. Having had enough of the upper section I headed back to the truck alone. Chuck approached with the light step of someone who has caught multiple fish. Afternoon was winding on but he wanted to fish that lower section before we left. We drove to the next bridge crossing and dropped down. I tied on another hopper figuring I had nothing to lose… I couldn’t catch any less fish. The lower section of the Mossy is known for having bigger trout hiding elusively in small pools and grassy runs. The challenge is that the banks are steep with lots of brush. Promising looking spaces often offer no way to actually reach the water. The no wading rule looms large over this stretch. We walked and fished. The best sections of water are the hardest to reach. Several casts and nothing for either of us. I can’t do this. I’m done. I want to go home. The Mossy had won.

Walking to catch up with Chuck, I passed a nice little stretch that seemed to call out to me. It was a nice brush-covered, washed-out bank with a small clearing to drop to the water’s edge just in case. I dropped the hopper over the brush into the run. As if in slow motion, a large silver head thrust out of the water, hammered the hopper and smacked the water with its tail as it raced back into the pool. In shock and excitement I raised the rod as the slack turned to tension and the tip bent. The trout made a run down stream, the reel singing that sweet song of line being stripped off by a runaway fish. My heart raced with excitement and fear. I’ve got a fish on! A nice one! I can’t lose this fish!

Chuck heard the splashes of the trout trying to throw the hopper and rushed over with his net. “Let him run. Strip in, strip in. Keep him out of that brush. You can do it. Keep the tension on the line.” The trout made a series of runs up and down the narrow stream. We dropped down the small clearing I had eyed and stood on the water’s edge. The trout was wearing out and I carefully pulled him close to the shore, still fearing a last burst that could set him free. Chuck reached out and I guided the trout safely into the net. Grabbing the net, I rushed up the bank letting out a thunderous “Whoo hooo!!!” It was a beautiful Rainbow Trout. I quickly measured it – 14 inches. Far from a trophy, but a giant to me. I knelt on the ground and held the fish with my fly rod across my lap. Chuck quickly took some pictures. Thank you Lord. I took another long look at the trout and carefully set him back in the creek thanking him quietly for letting me catch him. He disappeared into the same hole from which he had so dramatically appeared.

I climbed up the bank a new man. Chuck patted me on the back as I picked up my rod. The excitement turned to relief. Exhaustion overtaken by adrenaline. As a trout fisherman I had been born again. All of the dejection, doubt, and despair of that long day had been washed away in one moment of hooking, fighting, and landing that Rainbow. The rest of the words of my neighbor came to mind, “The Mossy is tough. If you catch one fish on the Mossy you’ve had a good day.” I had caught one fish. It was a great fish… and it was a great day. I was still a fly fisherman. I was still a trout fly fisherman. In that one fish my trout fishing career had been saved. I had done it. I would do it again. Salvation on Mossy Creek.

copyright 2009 rick ridpath

A Chance at Redemption

Friday, July 21, 2009. Ray and Dale are long time fishing buddies with Chuck and started fishing with him years before I joined the group. The three of them took me on my first fly-fishing trip and I’ve fished with them many times since. Sometimes my trip is with Ray, sometimes with Ray and Dale, but always with Chuck. With my main fishing buddy planning to be out of town a lot over the summer and already gone for a week the time had come for me to branch out. Dale sent an email that began several exchanges about my last experience on Mossy Creek and eventually asking what I was doing on Friday… “I think I’m going to the Mossy with you!” was my quick reply.

Yes! I’m already heading back to the Mossy just a week and half since I lost that monster. Maybe I’ll get another chance. The ride up with Dale was great. Lots of talking and getting to know each other better and two and half hours later we’re deciding which section of the creek to fish first. I knew what I wanted – the lower section where I had caught all of my Mossy fish. He agreed and by 8:30 we were geared up and dropping below the bridge. I had replaced the San Juan Worm flies lost on the last trip with an order that arrived just two days before. The order was for all pink but the seller threw in an extra green one saying he had caught both Rainbows and Smallmouth with that color. I tied on the extra fly and made a few casts with no interest from the fish. I was working my way to where the big fish were feeding, the place I had broken off the monster Rainbow. This is no time to play around. The green worm fly was taken off and a pink San Juan Worm tied on… tight. We carefully approached the trees that marked the stretch that held some of the biggest fish in the creek. Dale stood very still behind two small trees as I stood about 30 feet up stream and off the bank so as to not spook the fish. We were both scouting out feeding trout to cast towards when Dale quietly called out that he could see a big dark fish in a feeding lane on the far bank. “Go get him Dale!” I said, though quietly disappointed I hadn’t spotted the fish. “No, if I move from this spot he’ll see me and I’ll spook him. You get him.”

Such generosity could not be turned down. I dropped to my knees and inched toward the bank to get in position, staying as low as possible to keep from spooking the fish. He wasn’t the fish that had been lost on the last trip but was definitely big. The trout was on the far bank and it would take a good cast to get the fly into his lane. I made a few false casts up and down the bank to get out enough line without spooking him. With several yards of line in the air I directed the cast towards the far bank about three feet up stream from the trout. The fly drifted close and he darted to take it but missed. Shoot! In one motion the line was off the water and cast again to the same spot. The trout saw the fly coming and again struck at it but missed! Trout are unlikely to strike a fly they’ve already missed once and even more unlikely to come back for it a third time. But I had to try. With a sense of urgency the line was in the air and the fly almost immediately back into the feeding lane. We both watched as the dark fish moved to strike with a look of determination not to miss. The hungry trout engulfed the fly. “He’s got it!” Dale cried out. I set the hook and stood up to start the fight. This is why I came… to hook a big fish and get it right this time, to finally land a big one.

Following the advice of a guide familiar with Mossy Creek I was using my new 3-weight fly rod instead of my usual 5-weight. The 3-weight rod is lighter and shorter than my 5-weight, and for big fish was something I hadn’t considered using. His advice was huge as playing the large trout on the shorter and lighter rod was much smoother than my last fight had been. With memories of my recent mistake fresh in mind I took my time with this fish. He made a run down stream and I let him go. He ran upstream and I stripped in the slack. Back and forth he darted around the stream. I gave him all the time he needed, just making sure to keep him out of the weeds and brush. Dale waited patiently on the bank with his net. Finally the trout tired and, having been worked close to the shore, Dale netted him and ran up the bank. I had done it! I had redeemed myself. The trout was smaller than the fish broken off on the last trip but was still one of which I could be proud. I had landed a big one at the Mossy. The Rainbow measured 18 and a half inches, was dark in color, and strong even on shore. Kneeling on the ground with the trout and fly rod across my lap Dale quickly took a picture. I carefully held the fish in the water to let him regain his strength and then swim back into the current.

A text message of what I’d just done was sent to Tracey and Chuck. It was only 9:30. The feelings after the fish was released were surprising. It wasn’t as much a feeling of elation as it was of redemption and also completion. It was as if catching this nice Rainbow Trout was as meant to be as losing the other large Rainbow had been a week and a half before. I had come here for a purpose and that purpose had been achieved. I was at peace with Mossy Creek.

Thanking Dale again for allowing me to go after that trout he said he was glad to do it, he knew I needed a big fish. He was right. I didn’t catch a single other fish that day. Dale caught four – three in the morning and one in the afternoon. Catching only one fish that day didn’t matter. I had landed a fish that let me feel, as a fly-fisherman, I had finally arrived.

copyright 2009 Rick Ridpath

Unfinished Business

July 8, 2009. It hadn’t been long since my three day Rappahannock River float but being summer I was eager to get back on the water. Getting to the trout stream, Mossy Creek, was high on my list. I had not been to the Mossy since a very cold and fruitless day in mid March and had never fished it before in the spring. Virginia had plenty of rain this spring and early summer so the creek was running at a good level and the dog days of August had not slowed the fish yet. Chuck sent out an email asking about July 8 and without even having to be asked Tracey put it on the calendar. A great wife is a priceless necessity in fishing – greater than any high-end rod.

So we were off to the Mossy. It was our usual 5:30 rendezvous at Chuck’s, then off to WaWa for donuts, coffee, and sandwiches for the day. Two and a half hours of chatting later and we were gearing up to take on Mossy Creek. We started with the upper section by the church. Both of us tied on a beetle fly. The sky was clear blue and the sun bright and getting brighter. We worked our way down the stream for what was a very slow morning of fishing. Going for such a long time without a strike, when I finally got a nice trout to rise, it actually startled me and I missed the fish. Working my way back up I tried the same hole again and missed the fish for the second time. It was like watching instant replay. Chuck had managed two fish on the upper section with his usual, “Fish on!” cry. I was happy for him but not surprised. He is very good at this. I didn’t catch any fish on the upper section, which seems to be what I am good at. On the walk back to the truck at midday I passed an older angler and asked how he was doing. He was even less experienced on the creek than I was and had the same morning results. “The Mossy is tough,” I replied and headed on. Walking back I found a small box of flies that I recognized. Approaching Chuck I said I had a present for him – my usual announcement that I have found something he had lost but didn’t realize yet. We had no idea at the time how important that fly box would be.

We had lunch and headed down to the lower section, dropped below the bridge and started working our way up the creek. Within minutes… “fish on!” from Chuck. Of course! The fish was in a tight spot so I netted it for him and took a few pictures since we were separated from each other during his morning catches. Frustration from the morning over took me and I called him a bastard. He knew I didn’t mean it. Later I apologized and he said not to sweat it – “I’ve been called worse by less,” he said. We spotted a trout in a feeding lane steadily sipping small insects floating down the stream. There was nothing easy about this spot. A dead tree leaned over the water with thin bare limbs branching out like several umbrella frames. To get a fly in that feeding lane would mean a cast somehow underneath those branches. I could get the fly in the water but not far enough over for the current to take it to the fish. The trout was so focused on feeding he was oblivious to my several attempts at placing the beetle fly. With the trout continuing to feed I kept up my attempts to cast under those limbs. Finally, after almost ten minutes of trying, the beetle landed close enough for him to notice it hit the water. The trout quickly darted over and I was certain he would let it pass. He didn’t. He took the fly and I set the hook. Chuck came over and assisted with the net and pictures. The brown trout was released and I was relieved. Chuck asked if he was still a bastard. He wasn’t.

We continued to work our way up the creek. Trout were everywhere and feeding aggressively. They were feeding aggressively on anything other than my flies. Mossy Creek gets a lot of fishing pressure and the trout see many flies. I decided to switch to a fly I thought was unlikely to be used my most Mossy Creek anglers – a pink San Juan Worm. I’m not sure, but I think some fly fisherman look down on the San Juan Worm as being too much like fishing with real worms, or “bait dunking.” I figured a fly that looked like a worm was no different than fishing a fly that looked like a grasshopper or beetle. So I tied it on and started getting action right away. The San Juan quickly hooked my best brown trout. The worm fly would later attract my third trout of the day – the most I had ever caught on the Mossy. Unfortunately, that number would quickly be overshadowed.

I cast the San Juan Worm toward a few nice fish and a large Rainbow pounced. I set the hook and was stunned by its size – easily over 18 inches and probably more than 20. I started stripping that hog in and working my way to the shore with my net. Chuck asked if I needed help. “I can get it, but it’s a big one,” meaning I’m going to want you to take some pictures. The fish pulled hard and wanted to run. I was afraid to give it slack so I kept the line tight and the fish close. The trout turned on its side and lunged to the other bank, breaking my line. Ughh… I was so close to landing possibly a fish of a lifetime and I broke him off. The worst thing is that I knew better! What do you do when the fish makes a run on light line? You let him run and try to keep him out of the brush. What do you not do? Try to horse him in. What did I do? Try to horse him in. And what happened? He broke the line… Chuck asked if I was ok and I said yes. I thought I was at least.

Shortly after that Chuck perfectly played, fought, and landed a monster 19 inch Brown Trout. What did he hook it on? A spider fly from his box I had found on the upper section. As I kneeled on the bank waiting to net the fish for him the magnitude of the fish I had broken off began to hit me. I netted the fish and took pictures for Chuck. It was a career Trout and I was happy for him. All I could do was imagine the pictures of that Rainbow Trout that was lost, but it was not meant to be. We fished till about 8:30, which is very late when you still have two and a half hours of driving to finish a day that began at 5:00 AM. I had fished my best day at the Mossy – three trout and one of them being my biggest Brown. But all that was lost in the frustration of losing that monster Rainbow. On the drive home it hit me: I am addicted to Mossy Creek. I have got to get back there… I have unfinished business with that fish.

Copyright 2009 Rick Ridpath

Unfinished Business Pictures

My Brown Trout from under the limbs

My biggest Brown yet

Chuck's monster Brown Trout

First Cast

This is my first blog. I'm probably not even doing this right. I intend to use it more as an online journal than a "blog." But I'm giving it a try anyway. I started fly-fishing in the spring of 2008 and quickly fell in love with this type of fishing. Since then I have been to many streams, creeks, and rivers throughout Virginia. I enjoy reading good fishing stories so I've decided to begin writing about my own fly-fishing experiences around Virginia. Writing these stories takes me back to the experiences and allows me to relive them for a moment. It also helps me to preserve the memory of that day. I enjoy writing these stories and hope you will enjoy reading them.

Please bare with me as I figure out editing of the blog. Thanks for taking the time to read my stories. - Rick