Thank God for Bluegill

The school I am now teaching at recently had an outing for all the guys that included some time at a small lake. Being the ever ready fisherman, I had all my gear in the trunk just waiting for an opportunity. Unable to be near that much water for long without fishing, I finally succumbed and started assembling a fly rod. Several of the guys were excited to try some fishing, especially fly fishing, since most of them either had never fished or only rarely with very limited success. I assured them that when I go fishing I normally catch fish and if they wanted I would let them try it out for themselves.

Water temperatures were rather low since it is still only early spring. Walking the banks, I found a few small bass in the shallows but only got one to commit to the fly and missed the hookset. Later, I moved over to the dock to give the bluegill a workout. Thankfully there were plenty in the lake and I was soon sight-fishing small simi seal leeches to the hungry fish. After landing a couple, I began to give the guys instruction on how to catch some for themselves. Previously I had allowed them all a chance to really cast the fly rod but this was close fishing and I had them fishing with just a couple of feet of line out past the top guide. I acted as guide, spotting fish and giving a steady stream of mostly worthless instruction but they were soon hooking fish.

The look on their faces says everything: