As you walk between the cabins and the lodge at Triple J guest ranch you see the Trout Pond. It’s a calm and pastoral setting and I am positive there are plenty of trout there. Ranch owner Ernie Barker has agreed to do a fly-casting and fish-catching demo for five of us.
Today is cooler, a little cloudy and my eagle eye is predicting some moisture. I’ve always heard that fish bite best when it’s cool and rainy so Ernie’s task may be easy to accomplish. OK, we have a little bit of pressure here – five women lined up on a bench, cameras in hand, just waiting for Ernie to catch a fish. Several casts, no bites, one more cast, he thought there was a bite but no fish. He decides to change the fly he’s using, then realizes he left his fly tackle at the lodge. He scurries to the lodge knowing full well that we expect him to deliver a fish at the end of the line.
After he changes the fly he explains the rationale for using something different, continues casting and I can almost hear a silent prayer that says – please let me catch a fish for these women! Well, we just sit and watch, making sure our cameras are ready for the big moment, if it ever happens.
Finally, a fish is hooked and we realized that it really didn’t take long! Ernie may disagree. I could almost hear his sigh of relief when the fish was reeled in. Of course, this pond is catch and release only so we didn’t have much time to shoot memories. Ernie releases the fish back into the pond. And we applaud!
Since the pond is close to the lodge and the individual cabins, it works great for teaching flycasting, also for kids of all ages who are eager to get started on their fun. The ranch also has amazing streams and rivers nearby and they offer backcountry fishing trips too.
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