I was in Virginia (still am, actually), and I wanted to spend some time with a local guide on good water. My research led me to Mossy Creek Fly Shop in Harrisonburg. On a Friday, we arranged for a ‘half day’ of guided fishing on one of their private waters, leased from owners, giving them exclusive fishing rights. I was scheduled for the following Monday, and my guide, Nick Secrist, phoned me on Sunday to introduce himself, discuss my interests and any special needs, and to explain the outing as much as possible. We met at 9:00 am at the fly shop, and he helped me through the byzantine process of getting a non-resident license for a non-American. Thirty minutes later we were on the water – the eponymous Mossy Creek itself. This is a very small spring creek, something I had never experienced, since they don’t much exist in my area. While I had all my own equipment and flies, he offered to let me instead use the shop’s rod and reel, and encouraged me to use their flies, as well. Within half an hour, I was onto my first wild rainbow, a nice 13” beauty, which he netted and released with great care. Over the course of the day, we caught and released several rainbows, including a very nice 19” fish that would be my best rainbow so far. I also missed a couple of much larger browns, and I think he was more disappointed than I was. I hooked a couple of large fallfish as well, and I was very impressed that he treated them with the same care and respect as the trout. He was as delighted with my successes as I was, and played down my screw-ups. He asked me if I wanted to nymph fish for a while and I told him I had little experience with it, so he set me up and gave me a quick tutorial, and lo and behold, I managed to hook a fish that way, too. We had a great day. He was able to answer all my questions about local fish and fish management, where he would recommend that I go to fish on my own, and a whole lot of other topics well outside the realm of angling. He was enthusiastic, congenial, affable and thoroughly entertaining. His enthusiasm kept us on the water well past the anticipated time, mainly because he wanted me to try different ways to get one of the big browns to come back for a fly. Even after a long day on the water, we chatted all the way back to the shop, and he took me inside to show me some of the flies we had discussed for bass fishing later in the season. I almost never use a guide, but I can say with certainty that, when I return to the area, I will once again contact the Mossy Creek Fly Shop to set up another outing with Nick. He and the shop provide excellent value and professional service. I highly recommend their shop and Nick’s guide skills. Brent
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