April 27, 2024 – I Did a Mitzvah for SleepySheep – Wissahickon Creek

Alex starting to dial it in!

A couple of weeks ago, I responded to an earnest sounding post on the PAFF forum from a new fly fisherman looking for someone to help him figure out the mighty Wissahickon.  He went by the handle SleepySheep, he lived in Philly, and he found the Wissy as much of a refuge from the big city as I once did as a long-time urban dweller myself.  He had found the right man for the job!  Not to get morbid, but some of my ashes may still be scattered on the downlow in this crick someday.  It was the cheapest therapy a young man could hope for.  I don’t love the crowds or witnessing the degradation caused by getting too much love these days, especially from all the swimming dogs illegally off-leash killing the riparian buffer and filling “my holes” with sand, but if I squint a little harder than I used to, I can still imagine I am in an old growth forest in an unspoiled wilderness.  Scranton, Easton, Reedsville, even parts of Centre County cannot match the beauty of the park even if they all have far superior fishing, and one can’t even escape car and truck noise in most of the aforementioned places.  Billy Penn had a vision, perhaps through those same squinting eyes (or sporty spectacles? or eyes half-blind from syphilis?).  I am one of the many who still appreciate that foresight. In fact, I had a random meeting with a co-worker and his fiancé out for a hike today, a couple West Philly folks enjoying this City gem.

The SleepySheep finding success in the pocket water and faster runs.

Anyway, “I met a couple of strange men in the woods,” one of whom goes by SleepySheep, could have ended in many ways, but my instincts were spot on with this one.  Alex (his real name) and his partner Bryant were good dudes who loved the Park.  Bryant hung out and spin fished for a bit, but he left Alex and me to the fly fishing after about an hour.  Alex has loved fishing for some time and is now diving headfirst into fly fishing as the next step in his angling journey.  With a busy career, the Wissy is about as exotic as he can usually get these days, but he has put in the time.  It is much easier to teach someone to be a better fly fisherman when they have fished before and have a basic knowledge of how to read water, tie knots, etc.  He owns a couple kayaks and is a multispecies angler, even a little tenkara.  As far as fly fishing, he has done the practice casting, watched the videos, put in the time, basically.  I don’t envy the guides I know who regularly take out total newbs, but I probably have the right demeanor to take on that challenge someday, maybe as my retirement gig.  I never thought I could be one to be a spectator to fishing, but I did really limit my own fishing today and thoroughly enjoyed Alex figuring stuff out.  He was a quick study and understood the adjustments I suggested, which made my job very easy.  He was also just good company, which is always a bonus.

Some trout were caught.

I guess the true measure of the day was the text he sent me later in the evening.  We parted ways around 1 PM after a particularly successful hour of fishing when the weather warmed up and Alex got in the groove.  He shared that he had landed a couple more trout on his own after he left me.  Honestly, he caught his first of the morning on his own too, so he is going to continue to have success.  I left myself open to future questions and even a future outing.  I still value the idea of figuring it out oneself, and I put a lot of solo time into all my various fishing journeys over the years, but I would be lying if I didn’t share that several dudes shortened my learning curve with their most precious resources, time and knowledge.  Before Sam, there were a handful of my father’s friends like Chris, Kurt, and Barry.  As an educator, I know full well that you learn best by teaching too.  As a way to pay that generosity forward, I have mentored a mitch or two myself over the years (still working on Eric and Sandy Dunkin), but like today the vicarious rewards of being a part of someone else’s success far outweigh the effort expended in giving a little time to the cause.  You probably would not catch me dead chasing stockies on a spring Saturday, otherwise, but even that was not so bad today.  We found elbow room, and I even stuck over half a dozen bows while Alex was addressing the tangles that come with learning the indicator (and split shot; I was reminded how much I hate split shot) nymphing game!