- Home Waters, No. 3
- Home Waters, No. 2
- Home Waters, No. 1
Stream Savvy with Dave McMullen
Most members of the Spring Ridge Club probably need no introduction to our resident fly-fishing guru, Dave McMullen. Those who have had the opportunity to fish with Dave as their guide are undoubtedly aware of the vast amount of fishing knowledge and experience he possesses. But even spending a day on the stream with Dave is rarely enough time to fully appreciate his understanding of and dedication to fly-fishing for trout. Let¹s take a closer look at Dave¹s long and distinguished angling resume.
Dave has been fly-fishing for 45 years. A native of central Pennsylvania, and the list of streams he has fished throughout his home state is literally too long to list. But ask him which of those many waters did the most to shape his angling career, and he¹ll quickly acknowledge Penns Creek, saying, "I have stood on every rock in Penns Creek from Glen Iron to Spring Mills."
Dave first fished in Montana in 1967 and has been to the Big Sky country at least 17 times since. He has also pursued trout in New York, New Jersey, West Virginia, Virginia, Vermont, Wyoming, and Idaho; north of the border in Alberta, Canada; and on the other side of the globe in New Zealand.
In 1981, Dave founded Angling Fantasies, probably the first formal fly-fishing guide service in central Pa., with partners Jim Gilson and Bill Conn (both of whom are currently members of the Spring Ridge guide staff). Along with building the guiding business, Dave began to expand his involvement into other areas of the fly-fishing business, including fly-tying and custom rod building.
Dave is no longer one of Pennsylvania's best-kept secrets, having been featured on several TV fishing shows filmed in central Pa. and aired on ESPN and the Outdoor Life Network. Last spring, Dave was selected to fish in the ESPN Great Outdoor Games eastern qualifier, as well as being invited to compete in the Outdoor Life Network¹s Fly Fishing Masters northeast regional that was held in July.
In spite of such a long list of accomplishments, the one aspect of fly-fishing that probably brings Dave the most satisfaction (beside just getting away and fishing) is instructing. Dave ran six fly-fishing schools together with legendary angling professor George Harvey over the years and was also an Orvis-endorsed fly-fishing school instructor.
With all that stream savvy just waiting to be tapped, we felt it only fitting for Dave to contribute at least a handful of fishing information to our newsletter. And in future issues, Dave will offer expert advice, tips, and techniques on a variety of fly-fishing topics, maybe the next best thing to actually spending a day on the stream with Dave.
