It was only a couple days ago and Irondequoit Creek was blown out. See my picture in the previous post. Yesterday afternoon I went out and fished at normal water levels with the water almost crystal clear. It was a nice sunny day with a light wind with temperatures about 60 degrees. A nice black stonefly hatch came on around 3pm and lasted for about 1/2 hour. After lighting up a nice Montesino, I caught one 12 inch brown and a rainbow on a size 16 pheasant tail nymph. If it were not for the shadows I was casting, I think I would have caught a few more. Spring is here. Get out and fish!!
Well, I was able to get away for a few hours on Saturday to do some fishing. I went to Irondequoit Creek and was pleasantly surprised to find my friend Wil there fishing too. It was overcast and about 40 degrees. The water was a light chocolat milk color and very cold so we tied on some highly visible beadhead pheasant tail nymphs and tried our luck. It took a while put I was able to pull in this frozen Brown. He seemed a bit pale. I would guess that is because he has not had much to eat lately plus the cold temperatures. I also used my new Lamson Velocity Reel that I got for Christmas. I love it. Real high performance at a great price. Visit Cabelas to pick up your own or go to Madison River Fishing Company and pick up a Hybrid version for only $139. Just click on the link below and put IJ-319668 in the “search products” box.
Craig and I decided to get up early on Saturday to try our luck at Russell Station on Lake Ontario. Our hope is that we would get into some Salmon or Steelhead. We found that there were a lot of Salmon being caught but they were being caught right off shore. The lack of rain and very warm temperatures have kept the fish from coming into the tribs. I think we will see a good run in a couple weeks though. Here is a Salmon that one lucky guy caught at the mouth of the Genesee River.
Well I decided to go down the end of road from where we are staying, near Indian Lake NY, to the Cedar River. I have tried fishing this river a couple times without any success. I thought I would give the ol’ Sirloin a try. On my second cast I watched a Brown go after it pause and then hit it hard. Not a big fish but fun to catch. Shortly after that I caught a little small mouth. I can’t wait to get the Sirloin into some more big fish environments.
Last night we had the privilege to fish with Rich Garfield from Fly Fish The Adirondacks. I hired Rich to take me out about 6 years ago and never forgot the experience. Rich didn’t disappoint last night.
My father-in-law, Al, and I got to Wilmington NY (Near Lake Placid) at 3:30pm yesterday to meet up with Rich. I asked Rich if we could fish the Au Sable. He convinced me that we should go up to the Saranac River. He said we would catch more fish and have a longer window of time to fish because the river is protected with a lot of trees. I was a little unsure of Rich’s advice because I have always wanted to fish the Au Sable but Rich has guided this area for almost 15 years so I deferred to his knowledge. I wasn’t disappointed.
Rich started out getting us used to fishing these tight mountain streams by throwing out stimulators to small brook trout. After a bit of instruction and patience Rich led us into some larger pools where we saw some bigger fish. I started off landing a 12″ brown in a small pool next to a large rock. I can’t tell you how exciting it was to see an aggressive wild Brown hit my stonefly in a spot where I did not think a fish would be holding. We went to a couple more spots where we got hits. Unfortunately once you get one hit in a hole holding a fish you are finished. It is rare to find two browns holding in the same spot on this river.
As darkness started to drift in, we hit the last two holes that would possibly be holding large fish. I went first. I threw out a large stonefly and immediately got a hit from a 12″ Brown but was unable to hook up. Rich told me to shake it off and cast a few feet ahead of the strike. Bam! I hooked up a 17″ Brown. Playing this fish on this type of river is a bit different. It is real important not to let him run. If you do you’re finished. I immediately guided him to the net and Rich was able to net him with no regard for his own safety. Thanks Rich! What a thrill!!
Lots of high fives later we move on to the last pool. Al made a beautiful presentation with a stonefly and got a Brown on right away. After trying to follow a bunch of excited commands from Rich and me (Sorry Al) Al broke the fish off. It looked like it was at least 17″. Rich told Al to give it another try even though we probably disturbed the pool. Al threw the stonefly in again. After a couple casts the water boiled and Al had another one on. Not again! This fish broke off. Okay one more try just for kicks. Al put it out there and got another hit! The water boiled one more time and the fly was expelled with the force that only a wild brown could produce. That was it. That was all the pool could give Al. What a thrill that was for someone who only started fishing a few months ago.
I can’t say enough about the job Rich Garfield did. He is an excellent teacher with an incredible sense of humor and energy. I have yet to meet a guide with his skills and enthusiasm. Next time we are in the “North Country” we will be calling on Rich.
Not only do I recommend Rich I also recommend his orginal fly called the “Sirloin”. We used this fly in pools where we were not getting any surface action. Although we did not land any fish with the “Sirloin” we always got a big hit. It looks to me like the secret is the the coyote belly fur that is used for the wing and tail. It really gives it a unique look that the fish cannot resist. Rich will be selling this fly online in the coming months so keep visiting his web site for details.
I am here in the Central Adirondacks, Indian Lake, for the 4th of July vacation. I decided to fish the Indian River today. The NYS DEC stocks this river so it is full of 12″ rainbows. Just below the Lake Abanakee Dam there are quite a few of these well educated rainbows. I was able to get quite a few hits but could not keep these fish on my line. I watched a number of them take my fly or emerger and spit them out before I could set the hook. It was very frustrating but I was able to pull in a beautiful 14″ Rainbow.
Tomorrow my father-in-law and I go up to Wilmington, NY to fish with one of my favorite guides, Rich Garfield. The weather had been very dry, cool, and plenty of wind. It will be interesting to see where Rich takes us.
This past weekend my friend, Craig Dennison, filed this report from the West Branch of the Delaware River. Thanks for the Report Craig.
Just a friendly summer reminder to my angling friends that one of our Crown Jewels of Angling (West Branch of the Delaware), continues to fish well during the early summer months. On Saturday morning I enjoyed fishing a riffle stretch w/ a few trout feeding on caddis. Fun to pick off several fish in faster water on the surface. The rainbows really run and are acrobatic in the Delaware!
Later in the afternoon, I fished the Lower Trophy Water and enjoyed nearly four hours of solid sulphers, from size #16 to #20. Long leaders, accurate casts, numerous pattern hanges (cripples/emergers/duns) and I landed several quality fish from 12″ to 21″. There were times my fly couldn’t compete w/ the dozens of nearby naturals. I won’t be able to fish it again for a few weeks, but wanted to let you know that there can be some great riffle and sulpher fishing over the next month. Hope that you have a chance to check it out.
This is my first post and I am hoping this blog will be interesting and informative. Well, here we go.
Last weekend I took my yearly trip to the West Branch of the Delaware River. I love this trip every year because I always learn so much from my friends from our our Canandaigua Trout Unlimited Chapter. My friend Craig always does such a great job organizing this trip to the West Branch Angler every year.
I arrived Thursday night and only had time to get my gear ready to fish the next day. We stayed at the “White House” at the West Branch Angler. There were eleven of us and most of the guys got there Thursday morning. WBA has done a nice job renovating the White House. They blew out the wall that divided the house which created a big common area with some nice couches and chairs and a big TV. I think it is a much better configuration. Once I got settled in the guys got back from their day of fishing. A couple of the more experienced guys caught some nice fish. I do think they were all under 20″ though.
Friday morning we got up and had a great WBA breakfast to fuel up for the day. When we got ready to go fishing I ran into a small problem. My car wouldn’t start. It is a Volkwagon Passat with only 20,000 miles on it and could not imagine what could be wrong with it. Like any dedicated Fly Fisherman I hopped into another car and left my troubles behind. We fished the “Main Stem” of the Delware past Hancock NY. We found some nice water. The water levels had been low but this location showed some promise. After fishing there for a few hours none of the four of us had success. No rises, nothing. After this, my friend Wil was kind enough to go back to the White House and hang out with me while I called AAA. After some confusion about my location, AAA was able to send someone to try to jump my car. While we waited Wil and I decided to fish in the pond next to the White House. What fun! I think we each caught 15 twelve inch rainbows. About an hour later the mechanic showed up and said that I blew a cell in my battery because I left my Sirius Satellite radio on all night. He said that I would needto get a new battery. He didn’t have one for my car so he told me to call NAPA Auto Parts in Deposit NY. They did a great job and help get my car running again.
Now that I got all of this nonsense out of the way I could concentrate on fishing again. On Saturday we decided to fish the West Branch Gamelands and I had much more success. When we got to our location I decided to put on a sparkle pupa with a trailing pheasant tail nymph. After a few casts I hooked a nice brown trout. I played him for several minutes. He ended up being a 17″ brown with shoulders. Unfortunately he flopped out of my hands just as my friend Wil was about to take the picture so you will have to take my word for it.
Not long after this I landed a fiesty rainbow. This fish was not big but for those of you who fish the Delaware know what I am talking about when I say fiesty. I also hooked up and lost one after my tippet broke. Something that I should have replaced after catching the rainbow. Delaware River wild trout will always put your tippet and hooks to the test. After loosing a few fish to poorly tied knots, weak tippets, and stressed hooks, I have learned to always check and replace my setup after catching fish.
