Sunday, May 25, 2014
May Showers Bring June Flowers?
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
May Steel?!
Got out to the Genny earlier this evening for some late spring steel. It was the highest I've ever fished it successfully at a gauge reading of ~2,800 CFS. I'm not sure I'd visit at much higher flows for swinging as much of the bank disappears and the change in depth of the (now underwater) banks varies too much for my liking.
Turbidity was perfect considering the higher flow at 20 and water temperature was downright balmy at 55F! Perfect swinging conditions and those chromers responded! 3 hooked and one half landed in the couple hours I had available. I say half landed because as I went to handle him and remove the hook, he squirmed away and popped the hook on me. Darn it!
That fish was my first ever Lake Ontario steelie and what battle it had in it! A quick jolt out of my swinging cadence, 3 runs, and 5 butterfingers later makes me yearn for the next time I get to catch one of these beautiful fish.
A snag in the rocks ended my day but it was one of those days, like that first fish on the fly, that I'll never forget.
Turbidity was perfect considering the higher flow at 20 and water temperature was downright balmy at 55F! Perfect swinging conditions and those chromers responded! 3 hooked and one half landed in the couple hours I had available. I say half landed because as I went to handle him and remove the hook, he squirmed away and popped the hook on me. Darn it!
That fish was my first ever Lake Ontario steelie and what battle it had in it! A quick jolt out of my swinging cadence, 3 runs, and 5 butterfingers later makes me yearn for the next time I get to catch one of these beautiful fish.
A snag in the rocks ended my day but it was one of those days, like that first fish on the fly, that I'll never forget.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
High & Muddy
Really just a note for myself but here it goes. I got to spend a couple of hours fishing the day after opening day on our local trout streams and unfortunately confirmed what we already knew. The 6-8" of snow we got only a few days ago, coupled with a warming trend, has blown out most of our area streams. I-Creek was no different and anglers I chatted with confirmed it was even worse than the day before.
The flow and height gages were ~750 cfm and ~7' respectively, so here's a reminder to me. Stay home and tie flies or go to a small spring fed creek somewhere! On the other hand, I got to practice casting heavily weighted systems for a while!
Aloha kakahiaka!
The flow and height gages were ~750 cfm and ~7' respectively, so here's a reminder to me. Stay home and tie flies or go to a small spring fed creek somewhere! On the other hand, I got to practice casting heavily weighted systems for a while!
Aloha kakahiaka!
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Fly Fisher's Workshop 2014
For all you WNY based fisherman, come out to Fly Fisher's Workshop held at the Brighton Twelve Corners Middle School from 9AM to 430PM on Saturday, February 8th.
The premise behind this event is to gather vendors, guides, and other notable individuals within WNY's local fly fishing community to promote the local fly fishing scene as well as present informative content to broaden fly fishing skill. The general breakdown is there are multiple concurrent presentations every hour throughout the day on various subjects including fly tying, casting/presentation, rod building, tips for our local creeks and rivers, and much more!
Multiple vendors have also showcased their wares in the past including JP Ross Custom Fly Rods, Mad River Dubbing Company, Bill Nesbitt's Custom Fly Rods, and Rob Hess's Fine Art! The Rochester Orvis store is also a sponsor this year, so I'm sure they'll be showcasing some product as well.
This will be my second year attending and if last year was any indication, I'll be hoping the day doesn't end!
The premise behind this event is to gather vendors, guides, and other notable individuals within WNY's local fly fishing community to promote the local fly fishing scene as well as present informative content to broaden fly fishing skill. The general breakdown is there are multiple concurrent presentations every hour throughout the day on various subjects including fly tying, casting/presentation, rod building, tips for our local creeks and rivers, and much more!
Multiple vendors have also showcased their wares in the past including JP Ross Custom Fly Rods, Mad River Dubbing Company, Bill Nesbitt's Custom Fly Rods, and Rob Hess's Fine Art! The Rochester Orvis store is also a sponsor this year, so I'm sure they'll be showcasing some product as well.
This will be my second year attending and if last year was any indication, I'll be hoping the day doesn't end!
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Fishin escapades
I've kept myself busy over the past couple weekends getting out and doing some fishin', so I thought I'd update with some notes on the experiences.
The weekend of 11/2 we went out to Syracuse to help out with car related stuff for the old lady's brother, so after that I decided to take a quick drive up to SR for my first time fishing there during lake run season! Conditions were in the forties with clouds and some drizzle. A glance at the water flow before I left confirmed that the river was flowing a bit heavy after the few days of rain we had had as it was flowing at ~2200 cfs. Being my first time there, I didn't really know what to think about the water level, but after finding a handful of cars at the better known spots, I thought what the heck and started having a go.
At least with limited time at Sportsman pool and spots upstream of it, I couldn't find a good position to get good casts in to start working a run. I did seem to find spots I'd have more room to cast on the North side of the river, but decided to try another spot altogether instead of drive to the other side.
A call to the friendly staff at Whitaker's had me try out the upper fly zone in/near? Altmar. I now know why they're named "fly zones" at least in reference to the river side features. A good 1,000 feet of river bank on either side is fairly clear of large obstacles to get a good back cast going if needed and the river edge doesn't drop off too quickly for easier wading if flows allow.
Alas, the water flow skunked many of us fishing from what I saw during the few hours I was there. I did see one hook up a bit further downstream of the upper fly area on the North side of the river, but that was really it. I called it a day once it started raining a bit harder but that urge is always there to actually catch a fish, you know?! Luckily, I got out to try again the next day!
As flows at SR were still high on Sunday, I called it a weekend on trying to catch my first lake runner and did some inland fishing at a small stream near Marcellus. Unfortunately, the only gear I had was my 9wt! I thought, "oh what the heck" and went out anyway. It was much of the same action wise, though I'm sure much of it had to do with the giant 30-20-10 lb leader I had constructed for the big guys. But I did actually hook up once! High sticking a run with a small size 20 PT on 6x? tippet I left attached yielded a cutesy of a brown, the only fish of the weekend, but hey, you win some, you lose some :)
This past Sunday featured more inland fishing as I was too lazy to make it out to my favorite spots on "Granular Particles" Creek west of Rochester lol. Conditions were cloudy in the 40-45F range with 10-20 mph gusts. This made casting tiny nymphs on light line with my Kabuto 7043 a bit difficult, and after an hour of errant casts, I decided to move on.
Trying a few of my favorite spots at another creek nearby that's tributary to the Genesee River yielded a bit more luck. Nymphing at this particular stream is still not my forte. There are many lies that seem like they could be fruitful, but I need to spend many more days on that stream to make those determinations. I decided to go with some small woolly buggers as a searching pattern and after moving to a couple of different spots, I finally found one that produced some action. Interestingly I had most of the action at the end of my swing in the few moments the fly was just hanging out below me. I hooked into two and missed a few more opportunities, but the angle I need to set the hook proved my undoing and I landed no fish on the day. Not quite as frustrating as the previous weekend, but it beats working!
I recently read an article on Midcurrent and the author wrote about a problem I've been having in my fly tying hobby. It was that early in his fly tying "career" he would always tie these onesie, twosie type extravagant but unique patterns because he would get bored, then keep moving on to the next one. Over time, and as he gained experience tying flies, he began to notice the "systematically" tied flies began to yield more success in actual fishing than his one-off type of flies. At least in his case he realized that his "systematically" tied flies allowed him to approach certain sections of a stream/river he wouldn't necessarily approach with his other flies because he had more of them. He wasn't afraid of snagging on the bottom or in the trees because he had multiple back ups. That elimination of timidity allowed him to cover more water, and so his strike percentage increased.
Reading that article really helped me move forward in my fly tying. In the end, it's still about adding creative touches in patterns here and there, just need to tie more of them at one time!
The weekend of 11/2 we went out to Syracuse to help out with car related stuff for the old lady's brother, so after that I decided to take a quick drive up to SR for my first time fishing there during lake run season! Conditions were in the forties with clouds and some drizzle. A glance at the water flow before I left confirmed that the river was flowing a bit heavy after the few days of rain we had had as it was flowing at ~2200 cfs. Being my first time there, I didn't really know what to think about the water level, but after finding a handful of cars at the better known spots, I thought what the heck and started having a go.
At least with limited time at Sportsman pool and spots upstream of it, I couldn't find a good position to get good casts in to start working a run. I did seem to find spots I'd have more room to cast on the North side of the river, but decided to try another spot altogether instead of drive to the other side.
A call to the friendly staff at Whitaker's had me try out the upper fly zone in/near? Altmar. I now know why they're named "fly zones" at least in reference to the river side features. A good 1,000 feet of river bank on either side is fairly clear of large obstacles to get a good back cast going if needed and the river edge doesn't drop off too quickly for easier wading if flows allow.
Alas, the water flow skunked many of us fishing from what I saw during the few hours I was there. I did see one hook up a bit further downstream of the upper fly area on the North side of the river, but that was really it. I called it a day once it started raining a bit harder but that urge is always there to actually catch a fish, you know?! Luckily, I got out to try again the next day!
As flows at SR were still high on Sunday, I called it a weekend on trying to catch my first lake runner and did some inland fishing at a small stream near Marcellus. Unfortunately, the only gear I had was my 9wt! I thought, "oh what the heck" and went out anyway. It was much of the same action wise, though I'm sure much of it had to do with the giant 30-20-10 lb leader I had constructed for the big guys. But I did actually hook up once! High sticking a run with a small size 20 PT on 6x? tippet I left attached yielded a cutesy of a brown, the only fish of the weekend, but hey, you win some, you lose some :)
This past Sunday featured more inland fishing as I was too lazy to make it out to my favorite spots on "Granular Particles" Creek west of Rochester lol. Conditions were cloudy in the 40-45F range with 10-20 mph gusts. This made casting tiny nymphs on light line with my Kabuto 7043 a bit difficult, and after an hour of errant casts, I decided to move on.
Trying a few of my favorite spots at another creek nearby that's tributary to the Genesee River yielded a bit more luck. Nymphing at this particular stream is still not my forte. There are many lies that seem like they could be fruitful, but I need to spend many more days on that stream to make those determinations. I decided to go with some small woolly buggers as a searching pattern and after moving to a couple of different spots, I finally found one that produced some action. Interestingly I had most of the action at the end of my swing in the few moments the fly was just hanging out below me. I hooked into two and missed a few more opportunities, but the angle I need to set the hook proved my undoing and I landed no fish on the day. Not quite as frustrating as the previous weekend, but it beats working!
I recently read an article on Midcurrent and the author wrote about a problem I've been having in my fly tying hobby. It was that early in his fly tying "career" he would always tie these onesie, twosie type extravagant but unique patterns because he would get bored, then keep moving on to the next one. Over time, and as he gained experience tying flies, he began to notice the "systematically" tied flies began to yield more success in actual fishing than his one-off type of flies. At least in his case he realized that his "systematically" tied flies allowed him to approach certain sections of a stream/river he wouldn't necessarily approach with his other flies because he had more of them. He wasn't afraid of snagging on the bottom or in the trees because he had multiple back ups. That elimination of timidity allowed him to cover more water, and so his strike percentage increased.
Reading that article really helped me move forward in my fly tying. In the end, it's still about adding creative touches in patterns here and there, just need to tie more of them at one time!
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
But autumn's here!
Date: 10/12
It's been a few months in the making, but I finally got all my gear together to tackle some autumn tributary fishing. Being somewhat skittish of tackling a larger river like the Genny for my first time out, I decided on a small creek to the west of the city. It was Columbus Day weekend which made it out to be a bit more populated than normal I guess. No matter, just a little stroll downstream a bit got me to a small pool I could have to myself. Now I hadn't seen a fully grown salmon in real life before (I mean alive, yes, salmon fillets are large) so I hadn't really prepared myself to see a 3+ foot monster swim past me on the way down! If I didn't catch a fish, this was definitely going to be an experience!
Conditions: partly cloudy to sunny, 70-75F
Time: 8:00-11:30
Autumn means tributary fishing in our little corner of the world, but I'm dismayed to say that I hadn't tried it out....until today!
It's been a few months in the making, but I finally got all my gear together to tackle some autumn tributary fishing. Being somewhat skittish of tackling a larger river like the Genny for my first time out, I decided on a small creek to the west of the city. It was Columbus Day weekend which made it out to be a bit more populated than normal I guess. No matter, just a little stroll downstream a bit got me to a small pool I could have to myself. Now I hadn't seen a fully grown salmon in real life before (I mean alive, yes, salmon fillets are large) so I hadn't really prepared myself to see a 3+ foot monster swim past me on the way down! If I didn't catch a fish, this was definitely going to be an experience!
Conditions seemed to be less than optimal after talking to a few other fisherman. We haven't had our typical fall weather lately and it's showing in the water level and and air temperatures. I had tied up a few bunny leeches in white, purple, and chart with hourglass eyes in sizes 2 and 6 for the occasion and chucked them out there. With the water so low and only tying weighted streamers, I didn't have much choice except to swim them past and keep them out of the weeds.
By the end of my time there I had seen about 10 salmon truck past me, but hadn't hooked into one. It seemed they were somewhat skittish of the swung fly and may have responded better to a dead drifted presentation.
Next time, I'll tie a few lightly dressed flies to deal with the low water. I also learned something new yesterday in researching more flies to tie for trib fishing. Salmon actually eat eggs! I was under the impression that they don't eat at all while migrating/spawning. Whoduhthunk?! So I'll tie up some egg sucking leeches and other egg pattern flies for the next time out.
Till next time!
By the end of my time there I had seen about 10 salmon truck past me, but hadn't hooked into one. It seemed they were somewhat skittish of the swung fly and may have responded better to a dead drifted presentation.
Next time, I'll tie a few lightly dressed flies to deal with the low water. I also learned something new yesterday in researching more flies to tie for trib fishing. Salmon actually eat eggs! I was under the impression that they don't eat at all while migrating/spawning. Whoduhthunk?! So I'll tie up some egg sucking leeches and other egg pattern flies for the next time out.
Till next time!
Friday, October 11, 2013
Aaaandd summer's gone...
Date: 9/29 Conditions: Sunny, no significant wind, 74F
Time: 8:30-13:00
Predominant Bug(s): Big ol trico swarms
Gage Height: 2.43'
The day's journey started out at my favorite partially spring-fed inland trout stream. Though the calendar says summer's pretty much over, the weather said otherwise and it shaped up to be a beautiful day indeed. The creek is definitely still in summer flow mode with basically no rain for the past week. That meant our fishy friends dropped back to some of the deeper pools for some extra cover over their backs.
Alas, with the day shaping up to be so beautiful, the fishing ended up being slooowww. All manner of ants, beetles, nymphs, and streamers couldn't rouse some of the more adventurous trout. After a good hike upstream to a few of my favorite spots, then back down again chucking a streamer in vain, I called it quits.
Because I'm such a poor blogger, I hadn't written anything about the Kabuto 7043 rod build that I had introduced in the past. I loved the personalization opportunities that come with building your own rod. Every component and detail meant something and it truly becomes one of a kind. Well I finished that rod, it was sitting right in the car, beckoning to be cast. That coupled with the irresistible urge to, you know, actually catch a fish...
So wandered over to our spring-fed creek nearby, intent on only spending a half hour at most before heading home. I had taken somewhat of a risk in choosing a fiberglass blank for my new fly rod, but I didn't expect it to be so sweet! Effortless roll casting from 5-20' and no false casts from 20-30'. Trout responded well to size 20? PT nymphs but no action on size 18 midge larva. 6 hooks but only two landed, probably could have had more with a size change. Could be the fishing pressure they see all the time, but I noticed these fish respond well (don't spook) when they're lined, though maybe a 4 wt line is light enough that that doesn't happen? I don't know. I had my fair share of errant casts and the targeted fish stayed in their feeding lane or didn't move.
Overall, a nice day to get out on the water!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)