I previously lived 15 minutes away from a trout paradise known as the Platte river in Wyoming. Then I found myself married and moving back to Iowa where my wife and I both grew up. It only made sense since both of our families are here. Obviously the trout fishing is not as lucrative, but the hawkeye state has some great areas to fish.
My wife knew nothing of fly fishing until we got married. After a few outings with our fishing crew and a couple of backpacking trips out west, we finally convinced her to give it a shot. It didn’t take long and she was asking tons of questions. She was hooked like a driftless brown taking a juicy hopper in September.
We started her off with the basics, putting a rod and reel together, stringing a rod, the difference between fly line, leader and tippet. She found it interesting how much their is to know before a fly even hits the water.
We even spent time on the tailgate at home practicing knots with string just to make it easier to learn. Through the spring and summer she has fished in Wyoming, Colorado and Iowa. She is now proficient at reading water and has an understanding where the fish tend to hang out. She is quickly learning and the different ways to cast and mend her line to get that fly where she wants it. After our last trip to northeast Iowa, her favorite two fly combo is now the hopper dropper. It is fun to watch her progress in her knowledge and skills. I find it as exciting as she does when she hooks up, and share in her frustration and laughter when she misses.
After a great day on the stream we find ourselves back on the tailgate talking about the day and enjoying our favorite craft beer. She always has one last question, “when do we get to go again?”
