Fishin' hole: A Connecticut Yankee discovers America through a 6-pound fly line

Chris Santella flicked his translucent fly line into a Connecticut River some 30 years ago and didn’t know he also was casting his future onto its green waters.

Santella was 15 years old and fly fishing looked like a great New England adventure, something out of Walden pond with a dash of Huck Finn. He wanted to learn its secrets.

The first time he tried was a season opener on the Norwalk River.

“What I love about fly fishing is the chance to get outdoors,” Santella said. “You can spend quality time with close friends.”

Yet, fly fishing is perhaps the most humbling sport in history next to golf. Santella only had a vague concept of things needed to hook a fish which possesses the cunning of a fox and spirit of a pit bull: timing, strategy, creativity, technique and happenstance.His father was an architect who wished him luck but had no interest in getting his feet wet. His mother dropped him off at the chilly bank. She saw her son’s excited smile and didn’t wait around to see whether it morphed into the pouty face of a frustrated teen.

“You’re just as likely to catch a boot on the Norwalk as a trout,” admitted Santella, author of "50 Places to Fly Fish Before You Die."

To everyone’s surprise Santella had the time of his young life. He waded into the river without hesitation and eyed experienced fishermen scattered along its bank. A local newspaper photographer caught Santella tugging at the line, and his picture ended up on the front page of the Norwalk Hour.

“The photo looked like I had hooked a big fish,” recalled Santella, whose his parents were proud and friends delighted. “I actually snagged a limb or something.

”Teen-agers always dream about turning hobbies into income. Santella’s idea involved hiking to America’s finest trout habitat and getting paid to do it.

His vision floated before him like a caddisfly lure. It bobbed and rolled and circled the eddies of his mind, but drifted tantalizing out of reach. Growing up and getting a real job kept getting in the way.

“Working for a living was a means to an end,” Santella said. “My passion was for fly fishing.”

Santella spent two decades clocking time as a marketing and public relations professional. He felt the ever-present tug of five-weight line and was given the opportunity of a lifetime during the recession of 2001.

“I got laid off,” Santella said.

Santella didn’t bother thanking his big-city employer. He came home, grabbed his fly rod and sought the irenic solitude of an Oregon river. Then, he began to write and hasn’t stopped for nearly seven years.Santella has authored a series of outdoors books under the brand, “50 Places to Go Before You Die.” He also contributes regularly to publications such as The New York Times.

“Fly fishing is one of those pursuits where there is always something to learn,” Santella said. “It does not require great strength and power. It’s a finesse game.

“A lot of women are entering the sport. They tend to be more patient then men and have a more delicate touch on the line.”

What does Santella suggest for beginners?

“Fly fishing is harder than it looks,” Santella said. “Find an experienced friend and go out for a day to see if you like it. Then sign up for a class at a local college or sports store.”

Fly fishing gear is fairly simple albeit expensive if you purchase high-end equipment. The most basic needs are a rod, reel, flies and desire.“Dip your toe into the sport without investing a lot of money,” Santella said. “Avoid high end equipment when starting. Your preferences for gear change as you improve.”

Santella has written about places all over the world where anglers go in search of slippery prey—Argentina, Mexico, Spain, Zambia, New Zealand. He considers American’s backyard as some of the world’s finest trout habitat.

“One of my friends was using a GPS locator on the Kanektok River in Yukon Territory,” Santella said. “We ended up 10 miles off course and stumbled across a fantastic fishing spot.”

They fished until the Alaskan sun set at 11 p.m. The buddies laughed at their dumb luck as silver salmon quickly snapped at huge pink flies and somersaulted out of the water.Santella had the following recommendations for beginning anglers:• Spend a day fly fishing with a friend before investing heavily in the sport. Fly fishing takes patience, strategy but most of all desire.• Enroll in a course at a local sports shop or college. You will have more fun when you understand the basics—choosing the right line, selecting a lure, how to cast, etiquette and safety.

• Avoid buying expensive gear at first. Preferences change as you improve, and you can outfit yourself for as little as $400.• Start out with a five- or six-weight rod with floating line.

• Select a “click-and-paw” reel for trout fishing. It is inexpensive and lightweight. You can swap spools of different weight line as needed.• Get a good pair of waders; it is critical for staying dry, safe and warm. Nylon is inexpensive but not breathable and can cause sweat accumulation. Breathable materials available on the market (like Gore-tex) are more expensive but their durable, lightweight and much more comfortable.

• Ask local anglers about hot spots or take a guided tour. Beginners often get frustrated when they can’t find any fish.

“Trout live in some of the most beautiful places,” Santella said, reciting his favorite quote. “It’s a great way to spend time with friends.”

Here are some of Santella’s favorite fly fishing spots in the Western US:

• Deschutes River, Oregon, for high desert fishing for native rainbow trout and steelhead (ocean-going rainbow trout, a tremendous game fish).

• Green River, Utah, where the water is very fertile, and you can find almost 10,000 trout per river mile in some sections. It also offers tremendous western scenery.

• Silver Creek, Idaho, for “spring-fed” creek fishing. You will find large rainbows and browns in crystal clear water. Santella says the fish here are “very educated and requires careful casting.

• John Day River, Oregon, which offers one of America's greatest smallmouth bass fisheries. It is ideal for beginners. It is a good adventure drifting through pristine canyons with lots of Indian petroglyphs.

• The Firehole, Wyoming (Yellowstone National Park). Born of fire and ice, the Firehole gurgles alongside geysers and bubbling fumaroles – unique geo-thermal properties that inject hot water into the river’s snowmelt-cold headwaters, resulting in a mineral-rich broth that fosters abundant insect life that sustains healthy populations of wild brown, rainbow and cutthroat trout.

• San Juan River, New Mexico. The San Juan is a classic tailwater fishery, with ten miles of easily accessible trout water. The first four miles below Navajo Dam boast some of the highest fish densities of any blue ribbon trout stream; some years, there are as many as 20,000 fish per mile, averaging 17” to 18” – and a fair number over 20”.

Article by Jay Alling, editor of Sensible Driver. Write to jay@sensibledriver.com.