By Eddie Hudon
My friend James Serra, from Georgia, and I planned a trip to Fires Creek, North Carolina on March 3rd. I enjoy fishing with James. We have good chemistry together. The day was a pretty cold one and the water was high and moving fast: Tough conditions to say the least. For me, the morning session was slow. Caught plenty of fish but not the usual high-count day. (James was doing better than I was ) We decided to break for lunch then go back at it for the afternoon session.
While looking for a spot on the river, we came across two young couples. Adam Dunton and his wife, Ladson, and Caleb Stewart and his wife, Julie. Ladson is the Marketing Coordinator for SweetWater Brewing Company out of Atlanta. I asked Adam how he was doing, he said, “Caught a few but my wife hasn’t got anything yet.” I asked if I could assist her. He said, “yes”. Here I go, butting into someone else’s business. But I can’t help myself.
So, I asked Ladson to bring in her line and let me check it out. I changed her fly, put one of mine on, added some weight, and lengthened her indicator. With a little instruction on where to cast, Ladson made her first drift. Well, the fishing God’s have always been good to me. On that first drift, she hooked and landed a nice little rainbow. Were we excited? Oh ya! After a quick photo and release, she had some confidence, and it showed. A few more casts and she hooked into and landed a Brookie. WOW! This is more fun then me catching fish (well, almost LOL)
I explain that she needed to catch a Brown to claim the Fires Creek Slam. Like I said, I’ve been blessed. Indicator goes down, I yell set, and she pulls out a Brown. SLAM – and she goes on my Wall of Fame – Bronze Status. At this point, I felt like the Lone Ranger. “Come on James (Tonto), our work here is done.” LOL
I love to fish. Always have. But I can honestly say, that when I guide or “bump” into someone and put them on fish, it’s the best feeling for me. HOW SWEET IT IS.
Eddie Hudon is the Owner of Blue Chip Fly Fishing headquartered in Whittier, NC.
