I joined FAOL in 1997, just a few years after I started fly fishing. I learned a great deal from the people who wrote on this site.

Standing in the cold fall waters my attention was drawn to a fallen red maple leaf adrift on the current. The stream carried it in my direction in a lazy spin, and my eyes followed it down to my waders where it bent slightly as if it would cling to my leg, then slowly peeled away only to be drawn into the lie formed just below me. The respite was short-lived however, as two rotations later it was caught again by the main current and whisked away downstream and out of sight. Would it make it to the Chesapeake or end its journey in a lazy eddy, where it would become part of a caddis larva’s case? Did the temporary lie formed by the obstruction of my waders have an impact on the ultimate course of its travels? Or was I simply one of many obstacles it would be required to navigate along the way?

“I, The Chronicler, taught angler’s knowledge, and I pondered, searched out and arranged many articles. The Chronicler sought to find appropriate words and to write words of truth correctly. Words of wise anglers are like goads, and masters of these words are like well-driven nails. However, my fellow anglers, be warned: the writing of the many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.” [Loose Paraphrase from The Bible, Ecclesiastes Chapter 12: 9-12]

For the entire season the river had not lived up to its reputation, the water levels rose and fell without regard to the normal flows of proper water management for a world class tailwater trout fishery. The water clarity was less than desired, furthermore it had been reported that the trout population was in decline and many had cancelled their trips to this world class fishery. We had not!!