BY JULIE CREMATA
Special to Western Outdoor News
KERNVILLE – I headed out on the Kern River with my two older brothers for my very first day of fly fishing. After a few casting and technique tips from guide Guy Jeans (KernRiverFlyShop.com). I hooked my first fish on a fly rod within about 10 minutes, and as soon as the fish surfaced, both Guy and I knew it was something special.
The trout made three powerful runs before I was finally able to bring it to the net. When we got a good look at it, we couldn’t believe its size. Guy said it might be the biggest fish landed on the Kern this year and called it a “fish of a lifetime.” I can’t say whether it will be the biggest fish of the year, but I know it will always be the fish of a lifetime for me.
This year marks five years since my dad passed away from cancer. He was my first fishing buddy and, until that day, my last. Fly fishing wasn’t really his thing, but he took me fishing dozens of times growing up, on the lake, the river, and the ocean. I know he was with us on the river that day, and he would have been laughing the hardest as I outfished both of my brothers with my very first fish on a fly rod.
