Family fishing in Inlet

We recently made the three and a half hour trip to my parents place on fourth lake in the Adirondacks for the 4th of July weekend. The weather was perfect, and everyone had a great time. It was also a busy weekend, filled with lots of people and kids who needed to do things. Things like swimming, visiting Old Forge, boat rides, fireworks, and of course a little fishing. In fact the very first thing my kids wanted to do when we got there on Saturday evening was.....fishing. My oldest son wanted to know where the worms were and how soon I could get my act together for fishing. The only problem with this whole idea is, that he doesn't quite understand that asking dad every second if he can go fishing won't make it happen any faster. In fact it tends to slow the process down. The good thing is that he's eight years old. And when I explained this to him, he seemed to understand. So, after what seemed like hours to him, we finally made it out to the walkway that spans the water and began to fish. Of course we had to use the fly rod because the worms at this point weren't bought. This troubled my son a little, and as he explained..."you don't catch as many fish with flies Dad!" Being a dedicated fly fisherman, I had to quickly point out that much of his fishing success has come in the form of casting a fly to fish. Being satisfied with the answer, he and the other kids had fun casting and catching a few fish before it was time for them to go to bed. I guess fly fishing wasn't so bad after all!!! The rest of the weekend went off without a hitch, with lots more fish for everyone. In fact a few of the other kids who were there, enjoyed catching a fish for the very first time!

Before the weekend ended we all went for a boat ride with the kids, and as we were cruising around the lake I noticed something sitting underneath a handrail on the boat. I got closer and soon realized it has a large mayfly - a Hex! And as soon as we got back to camp I ran in and got the camera to take a few shots. As I was taking some photos I got the idea that I could try and put it on my hand for a better look and perhaps a better photo. This ended poorly as the giant hex took off in the air and dissapeared. I only wish I could say that this was not my last encounter, and that there was a big hatch that fish rose to for hours. But that really never happened, and I was left to day dream of such things on my way home.

On other news - Tricos should be getting underway out here on our WNY streams, along with the tail end of some light cahills and small sulphers. The trico fishing can be great, even though you need to fish small flies. It is one of the best hatches of the year, and can last well into September if the temperature is right. Small balck flies with a light wing tied on #20-#26 hook should match the male tricos well enough - the females will have a pale to light olive abdomen. Flies tied in a dun, emerger, and spinner imitation will work well to match the hatch. But also remember to tie up some Griffith's gnats in #18-#22 and other larger patterns that may give the trout the idea that they may get a bunch of those little guys in one bite. You can tie a double fly pattern on a larger hook (up to a #16), that will make it look as though there are two flies laying right together. This makes it easier for the angler to tie on and track in the water when you are fishing. In the past few years I have had great success with a snow shoe rabbits foot emerger pattern in size #20-#22. I will post some photos along with tying instructions in my next post.

Stay cool!

Posted July 11th, 2010 at 11:29 AM by Brian Bradfield