It had only been 191 days, but who's counting? 191 days since I last felt the rush of cool, flowing trout water rush past my waders... 191 days since I last felt the singular moment of sensation when my rod tip violently jerks downward indicating "fish on."... 191 days, but who's counting?
As a Navy JROTC program director / senior naval science instructor at Nease HS in Ponte Vedra, Florida, my days of traipsing around the Shenandoah Mountains and Valley with Matt seem like a lifetime ago. So when the opportunity arose to wet a line in the Shenandoah -- I was all in.
Over the summer and fall, I held a series of fly casting sessions in St. Augustine with a young lady named Julie. Over a very short period, I observed her fly casting improve with both grace and fluidity to the point where laying out 50-foot casts with pinpoint accuracy became the norm. Julie had never caught a trout and I broached the idea of taking her out on a Virginia river in a scenic countryside setting where I was fairly certain she would experience what we all have come to treasure. We chose New Years Day on the Rose River. Though the morning air temps began in the 20s, it wasn't long before both the air the fishing turned on.
Swinging streamers down and across the current, Julie's very first cast - bang - fish on. And that's kind of how the day was. The Rose was vintage Rose and many trout -- mostly rainbows but a brown as well were brought to hand over the course of the day.
Julie is already looking to plan her next Virginia trout adventure.
I guarantee it will not be another 191 days before the next trout.
