Fly Fishing with Lee Powers in Delaware

So Fly: Fooling fish with feather and fur

by Bob Yearick | Photographs by Jared Castaldi Published March 16, 2012 at 01:27 PM

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Powers prepares to remove the fly from a trout and return the fish to the creek.

While some fly fishermen take a somewhat haughty view of those who cast worms, cheese, or metal lures into creeks and ponds, the guys at the Marblehead shop eschew such an elitist attitude. Their philosophy is simple: Enjoy fishing, no matter what kind of tackle you use, and respect the fishing laws and the environment. Some, like Rick Bender, consider themselves as much naturalists as they are fishermen.

“I always have a camera with me when I fish,” Bender says. “I’ve seen eagles mate, fish spawn. I’ve seen rare birds and plants. It’s about more than just catching fish.”

Says Kahn: “I love wading the streams, and tying flies that imitate insects to catch fish—that keeps you in touch with the habitat. You’re trying to fit into it.”

But make no mistake; these guys love to catch fish. And they all have their secret spots, places they don’t reveal even to each other.

For beginners, there are plenty of well-known, easily accessible areas to get started. In New Castle County, Bellevue State Park and Carousel Park offer ponds that are great for practicing casting as well as catching the occasional bluegill or even bass. Brandywine Creek has plenty of smallmouth bass, bluegill and crappie, and Wilsons Run, in Brandywine Creek State Park, is stocked each year with trout.

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