Trip Report: Death March

Today I went on a death march through the woods in search of trout. My friend Jesse and I fished a nearby stream that endured a fish kill a couple years ago. We were curious to see how trout populations were recovering and what type of insect life we'd find. We arrived on stream around 9am with temps in the mid 70's, cloudless skies, and clear waters.

We planned to push deep into the woods so we very briefly fished through the pasture section. I worried that the stream may not have recovered too well after the first few sections of stream but was relieved to hook into two little brown trout which took the Quill Bodied Mayfly dry/emerger.

After catching these spunky little ones we pushed on.

This was our last glimpse back toward civilization. Jesse was rockin' the skunk until just upstream from this spot. He landed three or four around 13-14 inches.

 As the day went on Jesse's luck slowed and mine picked up. The size of the trout also improved!

This was my big fish of the day! He took a Pink Squirrel of Prey fished through a riffle to run transition. We found most of the fish holding in deeper, faster moving water. I stuck to the Pink Squirrel of Prey for most of the day. I spotted only one rising trout. No insect activity either.

We probably hiked around 4-5 miles total. A good amount of that was trudging through knee deep muck or thrashing through vegetation over our heads. I got home exhausted! I won't be able to get out fishing over the next week or so but that'll be ok...there is a lot of tying to be done.

Trip Report: Kayaking Fishing with Tim

Today my friend Tim and I kayak fished a local trout stream. We started off at around 9am and fished until around 6pm. Tim landed fish on a number of flies and I landed mine on the Pink Squirrel of Prey and Quill Bodied Mayfly dry/emerger.

We fished out of the Kayaks when we could but tried to get out and work the better pieces of water. Because we floated downstream I spent most of my time fishing down and across.

We didn't see many fish rising initially but hatch activity picked up as the day went on. 

As I floated downstream I noticed these clouds which look to me like a guy with a mullet! 

This decent rainbow was probably the biggest fish of the day. Tim took him on a nymph fished deep through some faster water. Fish seemed more oriented to faster, shaded water throughout the afternoon.

 We landed more brown trout than rainbows but the biggest fish we caught were bows.

 

This was my big fish of the day. He took a Pink Squirrel of Prey fished deep through faster water. I turned a number of decent fish today but focused much of the day on fishing the Mayfly Dry.

It was a great day to be out fishing. We must've landed at least 30 trout between the two of us with most between 10-12 inches. Can't wait to get out again!

Trip Report: Some Fishin'

I got out a few times fishin' over the last two weeks. I'm not getting out as much as I'd like because I've been inundated by fly orders. Not a bad thing!

This has been the hot fly catching both fishermen and fish. It's a Quill Bodied Mayfly Dry/Emerger. It fishes well on the dead drift and swung just below the surface down and across. Check them out over at Whitewater Valley Flies

Finding clear water hasn't been easy lately but I've found fishable water even right after heavy rains. I've been using the 6 weight in hope of tying into something big but it's been a slow summer for me. I plan to get out kayak fishing this weekend and hopefully we'll see some bigguns!

 If anybody is interested in parachute flies I also tie this quill bodied trout treat. I can make these happen in sizes 18 and 20.

Trip Report: Yak Fishin'

Today my country ass got out fishin' with my friend Sean from the cities. We saddled up the kayaks and hit the stream around 930am. We started both fishing a size 16 Quill Bodied Hairwing Mayfly Emerger swung down and across. I landed numerous small fish as well as a few bigger ones in the first run. Sean took a minute to adjust to fishing this style but began to bring them in with some frequency as we proceeded.

The water was crystal clear except for the deeper pools which carried just the right amount of sediment. Many fish caught on the Emerger came from the transitions from clear water to the perfectly stained green spots. After the sun came on strong around 2pm we switched to using nymphs through some of the deeper pools. The Pink Squirrel of Prey, prince nymph, and early stage caddis emerger fished really well.

Sean prodded the depths of this typical riffle-y run to no avail. We missed a ton of strikes today, probably because we're both a little out of practice right now:( I hope to change that over the next few weeks, stay tuned.

Turns Out it was Broken!

Turns out it was broken. I've got a solid boot now though so I'll be back to fishing pretty quick:)

Trip Report: Awe Shit

Today I had a pretty bad awe shit moment. I arrived on stream at 920am ready to slay some easily spooked trout. With a San Juan Worm on my line and a great stain in this headwaters stream I was ready for a great day of fishing. As I approached the stream I planned to wet wade, despite the cold weather. For some reason I changed my mind at the last minute. This meant I'd have to jump across the stream, swollen and soaked from recent rains. I took a few steps forward and launched myself above the stream. Unfortunately I didn't launch myself quite all the way over the stream. My foot jammed awkwardly into rock on the other side of the stream and my foot and ankle gave. I felt my plans for work and upcoming vacation slip away. I felt a sharp tearing sensation over the top of my right foot and around the outside of my foot. I hit the ground like a ton of bricks. After rolling around for a minute or so I started thinking with more clarity. I crawled to the stream and soaked my foot while it throbbed. My shoe quickly tightened around my swollen foot despite the numbing water. While my foot soaked I slowly crawled my way upstream toward a decent looking pool with a perfect stain. 

Worms crawled around on shore which made the San Juan Worm boss. I landed fish on almost each of the first 20 casts. After than they continued to come in at a decent rate.

 While I was somewhat surprised at how well the great fishing detracted from the pain. After landing around a dozen and a half I had to tie on a new San Juan Worm. Then back to it!

The three weight held it's own with fish like this one. After around around an hour of fishing it was time to call it a day. I struggled to my feet and immediately hit the ground after placing the smallest amount of weight on my right foot. So shit, this wasn't going to be so easy! I rose to one foot and decided to hop to a decent sized log that looked about the right height for a crutch. Perfect. I hobbled over to the stream with this water logged crutch, forded the river with the aid of said crutch, then struggled the 30 yards back to the car. The drive home sucked. I had to drive with my left leg which feels pretty weird. 

After a quick run to the Acute Care Clinic in Rochester I learned that it's not broken. It's definitely sprained and there may be some damage to the tendons or ligaments. Damn.

Trip Report: Gillies

Even though the areas been hit pretty hard by rain over the last week fishing has been alright! There's only one trout stream in the area that I know isn't blown out and I plan of fishing that tomorrow. Otherwise I've been hitting the Gillies!

The bigger fish put a great bend in the rod! Fish have been eager to take the San Juan Worm. Earlier in the week I found this bullgill along with three or four bigger ones and at least 50 smaller ones.

 The rain beat down pretty hard on the surface for the two hours I fishing this morning. My first two fish were chunky little perch. I hoped to tie into a few really nice ones but no dice.

This colored up gillie at the worm. I plan to continue fishing gillies and some bass soon, but tomorrow will be for the trout!