The seminars are conducted by Fernando Tabor, a flyfishing guide and owner of Fly Fishing Etc. in Petaluma. He limits the size of the class to four anglers since "any more than that prevents me from providing the personal attention required for the seminar to be a success." He said, "There is a lot of information that has to be presented and demonstrated in two days." For this seminar there were three students, Sheri Walker, Yvonne Donahue and Jan Dolan. Sally Collins, and myself, experienced yet novice fly fishers, would be working to be working and attempting to learn what we could..

The guests all arrived around 6 p.m. on Thursday. We were greeted by Sheri, who soon had a gourmet feast on the table, featuring stuffed pork chops and home-made apple pie (I was in seventh heaven already). After dinner we sat around and got to know each other a bit. Fernando actually started the seminar that evening, albeit informally, by explaining the life cycle of aquatic insects and their importance in the trout's diet.

I was awakened by coyotes howling in the distance just in time (fortunately) to enjoy a magnificent sunrise! Ash Creek is big sky country. The light was playing off the mountains and the clouds were spectacular. It was a wonderful way to begin the day.

After a huge country breakfast, our class started out on the verandah (this is not just a deck, believe me) overlooking the valley and the creek. The different elements of fly fishing equipment were fully explained, including different rod blank materials and their performance, different types of fly lines and leaders and typical field applications of all.

Fernando handed out pieces of nylon yarn to everyone and "knot class" began. Under his instruction, everyone was tying double surgeons, the improved cinch, and the 100% knot in a very short time. We were given a demonstration on how to tie a nail knot, a knot that not only takes quite some time to perfect but can be costly, too, since it is attached to the flyline by a relatively permanent and not often replaced piece of mono-filament.

Then it was off to the reservoir to learn how to cast. The reservoir covers about 10 acres and is a much easier place to learn how to cast than the near waist-high grass along the bank of the stream. Fernando demonstrated the basics of perfect timing and rod position, and went through techniques for keeping the old wrist locked. He patiently worked with each of us, while emphasizing the bigger picture, such as the effect of the wind, where you were attempting to place the fly, and how to avoid tangles. I must say, we all untied a few wind knots before we headed back to the lodge for lunch.

We spent the heat of the day lounging around the "decks" of the lodge, while Fernando spiced things up from time to time with short discussions about different bugs and the flies that imitate them. "The fish aren't very aggressive during the afternoon", he said, "and if you do catch one, the heat is an additional stress factor for the fish." After a light dinner, we all headed anxiously down to the creek to test our newly acquired skills.

As we stood on the bridge overlooking the stream, Fernando gave a short explanation of riffle and pool, bottom structure and where the fish was most likely to be, and where the food they eat was most likely to drift by them. Within an hour you could see the improvement in the quality of the casts and presentations, and sure enough the fish began to hit! Now it's one thing to fool a fish, but its an entirely different matter to catch one. As sunset neared, everyone was finally figuring out how to set the hook and Jan landed her first rainbow trout.

One of the reasons I love fly fishing is that it gets you involved with nature. The unexpected can happen at any time. It was about 20 minutes before dark when some large insects began to appear on the surface of the creek. They looked almost like cotton balls floating by. Fernando was getting excited, as big fish rose to the surface to inhale these bugs. We were experiencing a hatch of hexagenia mayflies, which are usually over for the year by the Fourth of July. This was the middle of August! Hurriedly, we attempted to tie the largest flies we had in our boxes to the hair-like tippets in near-dark conditions. It is was frustrating to see fish breaking the water at your feet and not be unable to do anything about it. We excitedly walked back to the lodge, discussing exactly how we would entice those trout tomorrow. Everyone was determined, now, to catch at least one.

Saturday morning, our skills of hooking and catching improved. Changing a fly had become automatic, and tangles almost non-existent. Camaraderie had developed among the group and when someone would hook-up, the rest would help by shouting to them to "keep the line tight" or "watch that rock" or other obstacles on the bottom. We would be ready if the hex reappeared this evening!

We spent the afternoon tying hex patterns, sharing fish stories and enjoying a barbecue dinner, as the anticipation built for the "Main Event". We had all caught fish over 14" in the morning, and had even seen a couple in the 16 inchers, but everyone knew these were not the monsters we had seen feeding the night before.

The moment had finally arrived! We were not a group of beginners, any more, heading down to the stream. No, we were ready! This was a group of avid anglers, all knowing we had a shot at that trophy fish. Each of us picked out our section of the stream and waited for the moment of truth. Jan was the first to hook-up (again). She was just practicing her casting and, bam!, hooked a 16" rainbow. It was a magnificent battle, as we all egged her on, and by the time she landed the fish, the hex were beginning to hatch.

The hatch wasn't as prolific as the night before, but the big fish could be seen rising to the occasion. Jan had found the hot spot and soon she had hooked yet another. This was the big fish! Fernando encouraged her throughout the fight. I was fishing on the other side of the stream and as Jan's fish took her down stream, I saw another large fish rise in the same hole. I cast above the fish and saw the fly hit the water. It was too dark to even follow the fly, but I saw the water break and set the hook. My rod doubled over....but enough about me, if you would like to read my story, click here.

Jan continued to fight her fish for over twenty minutes, way after complete darkness had set in. Yvonne could be heard through screams of excitement as she hooked and, unfortunately, lost two more. It was complete pandemonium. Fernando, overcome with all the excitement, (you could hear it in his voice), was wishing he had a rod in his hand for such a special event. This is what fishing is all about... the many days an angler spends on the water so that they can be rewarded with the epic battle, win or lose...