Angler's Workshop this Weekend In Rochester, February 4th
Fly Casting instruction for the beginner to advanced. Challenge yourself duing the Fly Casting Competition using a JP Ross 5wt.
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Read Full StoryFishing Log
Fly Casting instruction for the beginner to advanced. Challenge yourself duing the Fly Casting Competition using a JP Ross 5wt.
Is it worth retrieving that fly?
This hot bead, white chenille soft hackle took several minutes to tie. Was it worth spooking several fish for?
We’ve experienced some decent rain this week and I was itching to fish. A half an inch or more of rainfall has the capacity to bring in fresh steelhead. Recently, I managed to free up two hours of fishing time and drove to a small... Read Full Story
Mid winter fishing in WNY
Good sized streamer caught brown
Now that the weather has finally decided to follow its regularly scheduled broadcast, I can go to a variety of my local streams and find myself alone! And up until this past week, the on-stream traffic was more like what you would find during the height of the lake run brown trout run. Every hole had a pair of waders in it, or walking to it. It’s as if a dinner bell was going off somewhere and everyone and their brother was hungry. I guess the fact that the fishing has been fair hasn’t helped either, and I really can’t blame them I was there too!
Read Full StoryBottom fishing for perch with streamers
A perch caught in a lock
In december, I tied some streamers to fish for perch and zander, by "scratching" rocky bottoms.
I could test them last weekend in the river "l’Oust". This wide river was almost completely transformed into canal in the early nineteenth... Read Full Story
An Angling Wish List for 2012
May all of your angling dreams come true in 2012
Every year that we fish is a good year. It’s tough to be cynical about any year that offers quality angling. Still, there’s always that missed fish, missed hatch, or squandered angling opportunity. Any fly fisher who spends a minute on piscatorial reflection will uncover missed... Read Full Story
Lessons from carp
After a rewarding year of fly fishing for carp, the activity of my play mates is slowing down, and it’s time for me to make some assessments. If I have fished only in ponds, the variety of situations is big enough to... Read Full Story
Angler's Workshop - More Instructors & Sponsors Welcome
It's an entire day devoted to fly fishing, learning new skills, networking with fellow anglers and ways to improve your craft.
Angler’s Workshop is a fun, one-day fly fishing event that provides informative content to promote fly fishing and broaden the angler skill set. Angler’s Workshop offers six, 50 minute workshop sessions on various workshops for the beginner to the experienced fly fisher.
Read Full StoryBack from AK
Chrome Bow
I got back from Alaska almost 2 months ago, and have been meaning to do this post for some time. I had a great season working at a fly out lodge on the Kvichak River. Flying out ever day meant fishing a lot of different water. I was fortunate enough... Read Full Story
Making Good On Promises To Fish
Follow that drift all the way down and even let it swing once finished
With moderate rain over the past two weeks, several smaller tributaries enjoyed a fresh push of rainbows. There were rainbows actively spawning, on gravel, digging redds and chasing each other around. Around Thanksgiving and for days after, there were some epic quantity catches of... Read Full Story
Fly Fishing with friends - New and Old
My first brown of the day - Photo taken by Matt Smythe
...After a recent blow out of our local WNY small tributaries, I decided it was time to get back out there and get into full swing mode…at least in the beginning.
It was also time to make good on a promise to get out with a new friend of mine Matt Smythe, the creator of fishingpoet.com. He is a writer and a darn good one at that. And his blog fishingpoet.com gives you a taste of his wonderful writing style that brings you into his world of fishing and hunting. Please make sure to check his site out, and leave a message.
Matt and I met on a local small WNY tributary at around 9:15am, got our gear together, and made the long walk down to the water via a very muddy path that had already seen its share of wading shoes that morning. But we were undeterred and made our way to an uncrowned section far below the bridge.
Read Full StoryFly Fishing on the swing, Fishing NY Tributaries
Coho on the swing
We have certainly enjoyed some great warm weather recently. And before this recent batch of cold weather rolled in, I was able to get out on the water a few times over the past few weeks.
The brown trout spawn has been done for a little while now and the fish are starting to acclimate themselves to post spawn life. This means that the female brown trout will be the first to chase down a streamer, as the males still haven’t figured out that the spawn is done. And in another week or so the males will follow suite and really start to go on the feed before the cold of winter sets in for the long haul. The only thing that will change this behavior is a high water period brought on by heavy rain. This will break loose some of the spawning reds and put eggs back in the system causing the fish to change their diet. In fact, it is not a bad idea to search out the little dishes that form on the downstream side of reds. There you can often find a waiting steelhead or post spawn female brown waiting patiently for an egg to drift by. And because these spots are often found in gravel sections, it is a good idea to approach them with caution, and if at all possible, without wading. Once the water comes down, and enough time passes without another high water period, the fish will again go back to chasing down streamers.
Read Full StoryLake run browns in WNY
Joe fishing a downstream section
The weather out here in WNY is changing and so is the fishing.
Cold, snow, and the start of the release of canal water are all new developments. And that can only help in the long run. Fishing has been great despite low water, with many brown trout still being caught along with some great looking steelhead. Egg patterns are still taking the majority of fish, but as we head into winter, that will change and swinging streamers will become more and more productive along with dead drifting nymphs.
This past Friday I had the chance to fish with both old and new friends. Joe Kayafas, who I have been corresponding with for some time, but until that morning hadn’t actually met, started the morning off with a good deal of hookups with big brown trout, with Lucas Carroll taken it all in with his camera. By the time I arrived an hour or so later he and his friend Matt made good on those hookups and put them in the net.
Read Full StoryBrownie Time
Low water tends to bunch up lake run browns. Proceed slowly, these fish will spook.
Like many Americans, our family recently received boxes of Girl Scout Cookies. I purchased mine through a Girl Scout in my classroom. My wife bought some through a local Brownie Troop. Enjoying these cookies is an annual Fall tradition. Another Fall tradition is chasing lake... Read Full Story
Fly Fishing WNY tributary update!
Big male brown that took a swung bugger.
Fly fishing WNY has been really good as of late. The salmon are done, the lake run trout are really showing up in great numbers, and depending on the day and the water you fish, you may find yourself with few anglers in sight.
The only downfall has been the lack of rain over the past few weeks. Sure we have had a sprinkle here and there, but nothing to bring the water levels up to where I would like to see them. For me, a perfect water level is high and stained, and the up and coming Erie Canal water release should provide just that.
The most productive flies for me have been single egg patterns in size #10, nymphs and wet flies in size #12, and woolly buggers in sizes #6 - #8 while swinging. But I have found that the fish’s mood can often change dramatically from day to day, and sometimes hour to hour. This is the time of year when the morning will fish vastly different than the afternoon.
Read Full StorySmall Creeks Need Water and Genny Update
As of 11-5-2011, there isn't much water in our small creeks for tributary fishing
We haven’t received significant rain in the past week. As a result, our small creeks are low. Tributary browns that ran upsteam several weeks ago are mostly hunkered down in deep holes, waiting for more rain. There are some male browns on gravel with the... Read Full Story
Fly fishing for mullet
Some places to fish for mullet
Morbihan, the department in which I live, is a coastal region that offers some interesting conditions for sea fishing.
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Tributary Water Conditions During October
Enjoy the foliage and sunlight while it lasts
As autumn leaves color our landscape, we are still waiting for significant rainfall. We need days of soaking rain to push more water into smaller and mid-sized tributaries. Recent rain over the past week barely elevated water levels. The ground is so parched, that most... Read Full Story
Fishing for lake run salmon & trout - Part 3
Rich plays out a nice steelhead
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Finally! The last segment of this whole ‘Three Season’s on the Tributaries’ thing. It’s been fun to write about, but when I’m writing I can’t help but day dream, and therefore it’s taken up more time than I would like to admit.
This third part of the fall tributary trimester is probably my favorite time to fish in the fall. The weather and water that have been the catalyst for the fall migration are now a bone chilling cold. Mix in a little rain, or in some cases lake effect snow and you have the typical Great Lakes Steelhead day.
Read Full StoryFishing for lake run salmon & trout - Part 2
A female Chinook salmon resting
In the last blog I went over my thoughts on the fall lake run salmon and trout season, and how it could be broken down onto three separate parts. The first, as I already have gone over, is the early part of the season when temperatures are still warm, the first fish are pushing in daily but not in great numbers and fishing can be a bit sporadic because of it. I also went over some ideas on fly patterns and where to fish them, and also where on the river to look for fish in this early part of the season, in both larger and smaller rivers and streams.
The second part of the fall lake run salmon and trout season is different in many ways, some of them are subtle, but most I have found are huge differences that even the casual observer can notice.
During this second part of the ‘Lake Run Trimester,’ the fish have been building for many weeks if not more, the weather is cooler, and for some of us, we have had at least our first frost. For the larger rivers, there have also been several big runs of salmon when most everyone has seen action in the lower end of the river when they first come in, but it is now during the second phase of the fall run that the upper and middle sections of the river that are seeing the biggest change. These upper sections of river are now seeing those big numbers of salmon that have been building since that very first small early run, start to settle back down onto gravel sections to spawn. You can often see a pair working a red, and in some cases, a whole stretch will have many, many, pairs of fish working a long riffle section. The trout numbers are starting to really increase as well, as many lake run steelhead and brown trout will target the easy free meal of eggs that are deposited by the salmon during the spawn. It is during this time that I have often hear the phrase ‘The river is loaded’ as evidenced by the often huge numbers of fish that can inhabit the middle and upper portions of larger rivers. Smaller tributaries will have these fish spread out more, and in less concentration, but there will be fish at every little riffle and gravel area. It is also at this time in the fall run when angler traffic is at its highest. Expect to see people at your favorite spot, and if you go to one of the major pools, expect to see it elbow to elbow.
Here are some observations and tips for this second part of the fall tributary salmon and trout season.
Read Full StoryGetting My "Salmon Fix"
Depending upon where you fish, the Salmon River may be crowded.
Salmon are in! Those three magical words mark the start of promising Fall tributary fishing. Recent rain raised water levels and cool nights dropped water temperature. While larger systems like the Genesee and Salmon River have known the presence of salmon for weeks, smaller... Read Full Story
Fishing for lake run salmon & trout - Part 1
Fishing the Oak
I know the fall tributary season has been going on for some time now, especially at the Salmon River. And our WNY tribs are starting to see some fish too, but that has been a more recent development. So before our tributaries really start to heat up, I want to take some time to share some thoughts on making the most out of this early part of the season. And in my experience, there is a difference between early season salmon and trout fishing on the tribs as opposed to mid and late season salmon and trout fishing on the tribs.
First of all let’s break down the season. For those of you who fish the Salmon River, you already have figured out that it is quite a bit different than most of the other rivers that flow into lake Ontario, and therefore gets the best early run of fish, sometimes as early as late August. And for that reason, it is the exception, not the rule. For most of the other area tribs, they will see fish a bit later, usually early to mid September, as do most of our bigger WNY tribs. When and why the fish start to run is a debate that has been going on ever since I can remember, but in the end, it is up to the fish. So in this first installment I will go over some of the lessons I have learned over the years.
Read Full StoryFall fishing in WNY - 2011
Lucas Carroll casting to rising fish.
Fall is officially here! And for me, it’s time to put the trout rods aside and break out the big guns for the upcoming 2011 tributary season.
But before I do that, I would like to say that I did get out to do a little dry fly fishing….finally. And it was just what I needed!
Do to cooler overnight temperatures, the trico hatch was now starting later in the morning, so when I arrived on stream at around 9:00am, there were still duns on the water. The fish were actively feeding, and with the water slightly stained and running a little higher than its normal summer low, I could get away with my less than stellar casting to fool a few trout, especially when I have not been able to really hit a hatch all season. Most fish took a small #22 rabbit’s foot female dun pattern that I have found to be particularly effective when duns are on the water. And as the morning progressed they eventually switched to a spinner, but not before I had my fun.
I have also been watching the fishing conditions progress on the Salmon River since late August. And I have to admit that I have been secretly hoping that our WNY tributaries would soon follow. But not until this past week, can I now say that we are starting to see our first fish push into our largest WNY rivers. And by the second week of October all of our WNY tribs should be getting a good steady push of fish.
Read Full StoryFamily, fishing, and the Adirondacks
Ethan holds a rock bass he caught on the fly
Every year my family and I head up to Inlet, NY in the Adirondacks to visit with my parents for a week. We try to get up there more than that, but this year we could only manage the last few days of August and the first few days of September – Our last summer vacation of the year!
We spend our time relaxing by the beach while watching the kids swim, take day trips into Old Forge and points beyond, eat lunch at the Tamarack, take numerous boat rides, and sometimes, visit with friends. Oh, we fish too! In fact we spend a lot of time doing that.
Each kid takes a position on the walk-way and dock that is just feet from the front door, and fishes the water with either fly, worm, or lure. It is a time that they can all catch a whole bunch of fish, while getting guided by dad for free - And I don’t even mind that they don’t tip.
Read Full StoryEnd of summer fly fishing in WNY
Jonathan displays a small brown trout he caught while nymphing
The end of summer is always bitter sweet for me. I am sad to see the last of the summer hatches end on my favorite WNY inland trout streams. And there is always a transition period at the end of summer that can be at times difficult to wade through, which only means that fishing can be at times on the slow side.
This year, however, many things have been a bit different from the get go. Spring decided to extend its self into summer and dump copious amounts of rain that put off much of the great fishing that can be had during the first early season hatches. And for me personally, it put an almost permanent damper on any successful dry fly fishing for the year. I also had many projects to attend to this summer, both in and around the house, which also contributed to my frequent absence from the stream during those peak hatch times. But as you may have guessed, I did find some opportunities to stretch a line, even when the fishing may have been less than stellar, and have found success. And a part of that was due to the fact that I was able to take part in a different kind of fly fishing – but that is another story that I will tell at a different time.
Read Full StoryThe "dancing corn" : fly fishing or not ?
No sunburn this summer...
With a dry spring and a cool and rainy summer, year 2011 is one of the worst I have known for trout fly fishing.
I made a dozen outings with my beaver meadow rods in my... Read Full Story
Soggy Day and Olives on the West Branch
Fog covering the river makes it tougher to spot rising trout.
Timing is everything on the West Branch of the Delaware. If I manage a trip to the WBD in late August, I try to coincide my fishing time with overcast conditions. The absence of bright sun and heat seem to improve the quality of... Read Full Story
Pond fishing with family and friends
Mike hooks up with the first bass of the night
Pond fishing has a lot going for it. For one, the fishing is usually always good. And depending on the pond, you have a nice variety of fish to throw a fly at. But perhaps the best feature about fishing ponds is how close they are to almost anywhere you happen to be at the time you get the urge to fish.
This past winter at the Guys, Flies & Pies event (WNY’s Premier fly tying party), Michael Simmons (the event organizer) and I had a conversation that ended the way most do at an event like that – “Let’s get out and fish together.” I quickly agreed and secretly vowed to be one of those guys that actually followed through with what I said. And lucky for me, I remembered. And when summer rolled around I made a few calls to try and get some dates together for a family picnic/fishing trip, or as Mike likes to call it a “fishnic!”
Read Full StoryChasing Away Summertime Blues with Canal Carp
Watch for subtle body language signs when a carp sucks up your fly.
Late August is not known for prolific hatches and stellar angling in Upstate New York. We are between seasons and waiting for temperatures to cool. During these dog days of August, I sometimes turn to chasing carp on the Erie Canal. Bright sun, heat, minimal...
Read Full StoryFew Bugs on the West Branch of the Delaware River
There's more room to cast on the WBD in August.
My cousin and his pre-teen son recently took up fly fishing. They live in Massachusetts and we hadn’t yet enjoyed the opportunity to fish together. We agreed that it would be nice to take an overnight fishing trip and decided upon the West Branch of... Read Full Story
