I met Tony last year at a retirement party for his mentor, friend and colleague at a funky little bar on Cherokee Steet in Saint Louis, MO. In the past, he had lived in Italy, and when he caught wind of my love for fishing the mountain streams of the Dolomites, we found we had some things to talk about.
A few months later Tony contacted me with some questions and I was happy to help get him connected to my friends and partners at Sarca Fly Fishing on the waters of the Alto Sarca in Trentino-Adige, where Stefano and Diego provided first-class instruction of proper European style Nymphing technique, and made it possible for him to catch his first of several Marble Trout!
A few days later, he joined Matteo de Falco of the Italian Fishing Guides the Upper Piave river near Belluno. Here again, Tony was able to enjoy the beauty of an Alpine stream, and was able to catch several hybrid trout (marmo x fario), a nice brown, and a big rainbow.
I asked Tony to contribute to this blog post, and this is what he had to say:
Wow! Erik – I can’t thank you enough for your help in planning my fly-fishing adventure in the Dolomite mountains of Northern Italy. Although I happened to catch a rainy spell, it couldn’t put a damper on the beauty of the locations or the quality of the fishing. I’m still seeing those marble trout in my dreams! I really appreciated your help in arranging spectacular guides who were fantastic mentors in the techniques of the Euro-nymphing style, and your willingness to answer all my questions ahead of my trip. I hope I get the chance to return with you one of these days and enjoy some world-class fishing and some streamside lunches on the Alto Sarca and Piave. Tight lines, mate!
