GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) - What makes life on the Coast so special for many is fishing, and now a Navy veteran is doing his part to introduce people to a type of fishing not usually associated with coastal areas.
“Most people don’t know it, but we live in one of the better fly-fishing places in the country right here,” Jay Hyer said.
Hyer has lived all over the country and has been fly fishing for decades. When he moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast a few years ago, he didn’t see any reason to give it up.
“Everybody has the preconception about fly fishing is like from a River Runs Through It in a trout stream, but actually anything that bites bait will bite a fly,” said Hyer. “It’s like all saltwater fishing, you flip it out there, you don’t know what you’re going to get. You could catch small lady fish, or I had a friend that caught a shark over there, throwing a fly, then I caught a ray about 30 inches round.”
Hyer says the style of fly fishing brings a little more satisfaction than traditional fishing.
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“The tranquility of it, or maybe it’s the poetry of the casting, there tends to be something about the fly fishing that fills a different need than just going out and catching fish. I’ve taught hundreds, maybe thousands, to fly fish.”
Now, at 83 years old, he’s not done teaching. Hyer is offering an introduction to fly fishing classes.
“There’s a lot of people that need to learn the basics, so here we are doing it again. You can learn the basics of fly casting in 15 or 20 minutes and be proficient enough to go out here, or to a pond, or trout stream.”'
There’s more to fly fishing than casting. The bait is called the fly, and you can make it yourself.
Hyer uses his flies to hook the biggest fish he can find. He’s also using his classes to hook a new generation of fly fishers.
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“Just to give you the confidence of being able to go out some place and try it without spending a whole lot of money. Then if you like it you can get into it as deep as you would like.”
Even after casting for so many years, Hyer still feels a great sense of personal satisfaction every time he gets a bite on the line.
“I tie a fly, I tie it for me, and I go out and catch a fish with it, I have a lot of fun with that. Some of my best memories were collected around a fly rod.”
If you’re interested in taking part in the introduction to fly fishing classes, visit the Mary C’s website.
The first class is coming up on Thursday, September 11, at the Mary C. Cultural Arts Center in Ocean Springs. There will be five more classes through September, October and wrap up in November.
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