New To The Forum.

[curtis bias]

I'm dropping in to say hello to all of you fine folks. I am new to fly fishing and don't even own any fly fishing gear other than an old Wal-Mart Fly rod and reel that dates back to the 70s. I tried my hand at fly fishing on our family's pond back when I was about 10 years old. I learned how to cast and roll cast and caught some bream. Fast forward 29 years to 2009. Some good friends of mine invited me to try my hand at fly fishing with them in Arkansas. I jumped at the chance to get together with these good friends and they let me borrow their gear. I just brought along a boat motor so we could hook it up to my friends newly aquired boat.

We set out on the White River and enjoyed the scene. We also fished Gunner Pool and Mirror Lake at Blanchard Springs. All I can say is that I had a blast. We caught some rainbow trout and generally had a good time. The result of the experience is that I am certain that I enjoyed the experience enough that I'm going to invest in some fly fishing gear and fly tying equipment.

I have been attracted to fly fishing for some time and have enjoyed creating art with fishing themes. Several pieces are fly fishing related. I teach art for a living. Until now, I hadn't had the opportunity to try my hand with more modern equipment than my old Wal-Mart special. The newer equipment seems far more user friendly than the gear I had in the garage. It was easier to get involved with some good company and excellent instruction from my friends. Again, the result is that I had a chance to get my feet wet and decided that fly fishing is good fun. The experience has also added new insight into the sport of fly fishing and will provide new experiences and fuel for my art habit.

I'm going to scrape together some cash and sell off a couple of things I have sitting around the house in order to buy some fly fishing equipment. I enjoy building and making all sorts of things and I know that I will enjoy tying my own flies as well.

I'm going to lurk around on the forum and see what kind of info I can digest. I look forward to stepping into the dialog once I have something worthwhile to share. For now, I'm just a newbie down in Louisiana. Fly fishing doesn't seem that popular here. At least, I don't see a lot of equipment unless I hit the local Bass Pro Shop. I'll be browsing the ads on this site to try to locate something used at a reasonable rate.

I was directed to this site by one of my friends who is at the very least a talented and avid fly fisherman. He is eaten up with it.

[curtis bias]

My first fish on the fly. Looks like a minnow to me.

Between the three of us, we caught a few rainbows. The catch may not be a big deal to some of you seasoned veterans. To me, it was the start of something big.

(I'm not sure how you guys and dolls feel about photos in posts. If the forum ettiquette calls for limited photos to save on bandwidth, I'll be glad to yank the photos. )

[zander]

I have known Curtis for more years that I could know offhand. More than 13 though since I remember when his oldest son was born. Anyway, welcome officially to the forum. And I am not the avid fly fisherman that he was talking about, that is another one of our friends

[tippett7]

Welcome to the forum. Since you are an art teacher, you might have a natural gift for what is known as artistic flies. They sell for quite a bit of money. I met a guy, don't remember his name from Mountain Home, AR and all he ties is art flies and they are pretty. He sells them for around $400 a piece.

[curtis bias]

I would likely feel guilty for selling an artistic fly for $400. Unless they are big ole' honkin' sculptural things. That might be interesting. Now I make make a few real tiny autistic ones for my own personal use ( no offense intended for those that suffer from autism). One step at a time for this grasshopper. I'm still learning the ropes.

[ozark trout fisher]

Welcome to the forum.