Dave and KD, ERO guides, took two enthusiastic Florida anglers out on Gore Creek for an afternoon session. With one client dealing with mobility challenges, the focus was on comfort and smart fishing rather than covering miles of water. Despite the mid-summer flows, both anglers found success with consistent eats in the deeper seams — including one angler who landed her very first trout fly-fishing.
Conditions & Approach
- Water: Classic mid-summer flows, clear and wadeable. We stayed in one productive stretch longer than usual to limit movement.
- Access accommodations: One client has 5 fused vertebrae and bad knees, so we brought a folding chair streamside. It got plenty of use. The plan was simple: find good water, post up, and let the fish come to us.
The Fishing
- Action: Both anglers hooked fish. Eats weren’t the issue — we got consistent looks and takes from trout holding in the deeper seams.
- Challenges: Fighting and landing fish from a seated position in Gore Creek proved tough. We lost every fish we hooked from the lawn chair. Angles were awkward, line control was limited, and the current did us no favors.
- Highlights: His partner brought pure energy and landed her first-ever trout on the fly. We managed to get a photo for her to take home, which made the day.
Tactics That Drew Eats
- Presentation: Dead-drift nymph rigs in slower pockets and inside seams
- Patience: Because mobility was limited, we committed to holes longer than we normally would and let them rest after missed fish
- Focus: Keeping flies in the strike zone and adjusting weight/depth rather than moving spots
Takeaway: It wasn’t a numbers day, but it was a good one. Everyone hooked up, we hit a first-trout milestone and took a photo, and we proved the chair setup works — even if landing fish from it on Gore Creek is still a work in progress.
We love finding ways to make fly fishing accessible to everyone. Some days you measure success in smiles and firsts, not in the net. Tight lines.
