Fly-fishing on the Musconetcong River at Stephens State Park in Morris County on the 31st of July. An early morning start – 8:30 AM to be exact – but for me, living all the way down in Cherry Hill, in Camden County, the day began at 5:00 AM. As I arose, I asked myself "What am I doing?" Usually I’m inspecting my eyelids until at least 7:00 AM. My drive would be a 2½-hour scenic route of New Jersey.

Upon my arrival at Stephens State Park I was greeted by some familiar faces which I had the pleasure of meeting the weekend before at the Pequest Hatchery for NJ OWL’s Fly Fishing Basics workshop with Rosemarie Hight. In attendance were NJ OWL members Betty Lou, Cindy, Carol and Cathy, and instructors Agust, Keith and Rick.

Once we donned our waders and rigged our 8’ 6", 6-weight fly rods we were taught about the river’s food chain. Creatures like the midge larva (which reminds me of a micro mini inchworm in shades of yellow or orange), to the stonefly nymph with only two extensions off the rear of its body versus the mayfly nymph, which has three, are what the river’s fish thrive on.

Insects live on the surface of the water, beneath the surface and along the bottom of the riverbed. As fly anglers we wanted our artificial flies to duplicate, as exactly as possible, the life stage of the insect that the fish were feeding on.

Trout season is usually in springtime or fall when water temperatures are 70°F or below. Trout will hunker down amongst rocks, trees, weeds, deeper water and shaded areas. Three species of trout that are stocked in New Jersey freshwater are brook, brown and rainbow. In the spring the Musconetcong River is supplied with trout from the Pequest Hatchery. This means I’m bound to hook something, right?

Our original location was switched due to the annoying sounds of a gas powered weed whacker and blower. The new location was just perfect. I had envisioned the river as being immense in width. Imagine my surprise when I came upon a narrow flow of water surrounded by trees and rocks of various sizes. Talk about obstructions. Last week at the Pequest Hatchery I learned to forward and back cast in an open field. Even the Pequest Education Pond was fairly unobstructed. Today would be different.

The Musconetcong River is long enough for us to divide and conquer. Agust and Carole stayed upstream closer to our vehicles. Keith, Betty Lou and I took the middle section. Rick and Cindy went further down stream. Cathy, being the videographer/photographer, was everywhere.

Did I mention the obstructions on the river? There were just a few. Trees, rope hanging from trees and my boot lace, all of which I caught at least once while trying to cast. To keep from doing this Keith taught me how to roll cast instead of backcast. A roll cast is when a loop of line is sent along the water to deliver the fly some distance away. I also learned to cast upstream into the current so my fly could "dead drift" downstream at the same speed as the water.

We watched the bubbles on the water’s surface and a strike indicator that was attached to my line to check the current’s speed. The strike indicator also helped us to detect any subtle underwater takes. I didn’t realize that hooking a fish meant that I had to feel the take and react by moving my rod and line to hook the fish. I finally caught on (reel play on words!).

Location on the river is everything. I was fishing our little section with no luck. I guess the fish got our email that we were coming. Anyway, Betty Lou and I switched spots and darn if she didn’t catch a fish right off – her first sunny. After a while we moved down river to a calmer part of the Musconetcong. It was here that I could listen to the babbling brook, feel the gentle breeze and the warmth of the sun on my skin. I felt such a oneness with nature that I caught my first of 3 red-breasted sunfish and one rock bass. What a thrill I had caught! All smiles for the camera.

I had the best time ever. Thanks to Agust, Keith and Rick whom are all quite well informed in their areas of expertise. These men truly enjoyed imparting their knowledge onto us and helped us all enjoy the day.