Offbeat Tactics That Catch Trout
with Ed Engle
7:30 p.m., Thursday, June 11, 2015
San Marino Masonic Lodge
3130 Huntington Drive
San Marino, CA 91108
There is no shortage of very skilled fly fishers in the world. People you look to who are seemingly able to catch fish in any situation, in any location, in the worst of conditions. Plenty of us catch fish most of the time through some combination of skill and luck—the exact proportions of which we tend to alter when stories are shared later on. Truth be told, having a good guide for the day usually makes the difference. But what happens when you’re on the water alone, the fish seem impossible, the conditions are miserable, and you’re looking for a hook-up, perhaps just one, to feel justified in claiming you’re actually not a pretender in this sport? Who would you want by your side for ideas, potential solutions, consistently, time after time?
My first choice would likely be Sofia Vergara dragging an ice chest of beer My second choice would definitely always be Ed Engle, our June speaker. (I feel very confident sharing these choices because my wife doesn’t read Fish Tales, nor does she view Ed as a threat…).
I’ve had the pleasure of having dinner with Ed a few times, basically once a decade, and then tried to absorb his programs after. Ed’s presentations are not collections of pretty fish porn on specific locations, or feel-good intros to our sport. An evening with Ed is like a master class full of varied information, where if you momentarily lose your attention, you feel like you’ve missed something vital to your future. In terms of mannerism, he’s like that one college prof you really liked, who taught you more than you can remember, and gave you a few laughs along the way.
Ed Engle is obviously educated, his material is well-organized, and this isn’t his first presentation tour. He started fly fishing 40 years ago in Colorado, collected a biology degree at the University of Colorado Boulder, and started writing articles on nymphing in the 1970s. Ed’s articles and photographs have appeared in almost all of the fly fishing and outdoor sporting magazines, from Sports Afield to Fly Rod & Reel to Gray’s Sporting Journal. His six books include Fly Fishing the Tailwaters (Stackpole, 1991), Seasonal: A Life Outside (Pruett Publishing, 1989), Splitting Cane: Conversations with Bamboo Rod Makers (Stackpole, 2002), Tying Small Flies (Stackpole, 2004), Fishing Small Flies (Stackpole, 2005), and Trout Lessons (Stackpole, 2010). Try one of them, and you’re likely to end up with all of them eventually. His website at www.edengleflyfishing.com is full of beautiful photos and lots of info, where you can also find Ed’s Lone Angler Journal blog, regularly updated with serious discussions and great images.
If you want to maximize the experience with Ed Engle, you should come to the program with an alert mind and a notebook. Join us Thursday evening, 7:30 p.m., June 11th, at the San Marino Masonic Lodge, 3130 Huntington Drive, San Marino, 91108.
Program Chairperson
Seymour Singer