Craig and I decided we were going to take a couple hours and do some New Years Steelhead fishing.  We went to one of our favorite Lake Ontario tributaries and was greeted with bright and shiny Posted signs. We found what we believed to be a public section of the tributary and gained access through that point. A bit further downstream of this unposted area, we ran into an angry land owner who told us to leave or he was going to call the cops.

Of course we left immediately and it started a conversation between Craig and me about what New York State actually says about fishing rights in the rivers, and creeks we fish so often. There are two things to know when fishing private land. One is the “navigable in law” rule and the other is Public Fishing Rights. This is what we found out.

• New York allows the right to navigate on freshwater waterways that are non-tidal even if that waterway is private property. This is how the DEC defines this New York State Law:

Q.
May a person travel in a boat or canoe on a waterway which is posted?

A.
The answer to this question depends in part on whether the waterway is subject to the tides. Waterways that are affected by the tides are considered to be “navigable in law” and the public automatically has a right to navigate on these waters, regardless of who owns the bed or if the waterway is posted.  The issue of whether the public has a right to navigate on freshwater waterways not affected by the tides is more complex. The public has a right to navigate on freshwater waterways that are publicly owned, but has a right to navigate on freshwater waterways crossing private property only if the waterway is “navigable in fact.”  The courts have held that a waterway is navigable in fact if, in its natural state and ordinary volume of water, it has practical utility to the public as a highway for trade, travel or transport. Both utility for commercial use and capacity for recreational use can be considered in determining whether a waterway has such practical utility. If a waterway satisfies this test, it is navigable in fact regardless of whether a court has ever made a finding on the issue, and regardless of whether the property owner posts no trespassing signs on the waterway.

A waterway may be navigable in fact even if it is not capable of being navigated against its current and even if the capacity of the waterway for supporting navigation is not continuous over time, as long as the capacity necessary to support navigation continues for a sufficient length of time to make the waterway useful as a highway for trade, travel or transport. A waterway may also be navigable in fact even where it contains occasional rapids, falls, dams or other natural or manmade obstructions so long as it nonetheless is useful as a highway for trade, travel or transport. If a waterway is navigable in fact, the right to public navigation authorizes a boater to get out of the boat to pull it around obstacles or to get around obstacles by portaging over private property, so long as the portage is by the most direct and least intrusive safe route possible. The right to navigation does not authorize the public to go on private land for purposes not directly related to navigation, such as camping, hunting, or hiking. Also, the public may not cross private property for the purpose of accessing or leaving a navigable waterway.

Q.
If I have a right to navigate on a waterway, do I also have the right to fish from my boat on that waterway?

A. It is clear that the public has a right to fish in tidal waterways and publicly owned non-tidal waterways.  However, the fact that a particular freshwater waterway on private property is navigable in fact does not by itself mean that the public has a right to fish in the waterway. The right to fish on a privately owned, navigable in fact waterway depends on several factors, including: deeded rights of the property owner; whether the State has acquired public fishing rights from the land owner; and whether the public has acquired the right to fish as a result of a history of fishing without landowner permission. A 1997 New York Court of Appeals ruling found that the public did not have a right to wade in the water to fish, or anchor a vessel to fish, in thenavigable in fact freshwater Salmon River where it crossed property owned by Douglaston Manor.  Wherever fishing is permitted, you must remember to acquire any necessary permit and comply with all applicable laws and regulations.

Conclusion:
The issues of whether particular freshwater waterways are navigable in fact and whether the public has a right to fish in privately-owned waterways that are navigable in fact can be complex. When in doubt, the prudent paddler or angler will consult with the landowner and, if that does not result in a satisfactory resolution, Department of Environmental Conservation personnel.

• New York State Public Fishing Rights

I know that most of my fly fishing friends know these laws but as we travel around the country and sometimes other countries sometimes the laws get a bit muddled and we tend to forget the laws of our home state. I for one will be quite a bit more cautious when fishing private land.

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 run brownies.  Have you ever noticed that really good tributary fishing for brown trout, coincides with Brownies dropping off Girl Scout Cookies?  It’s what I call “Brownie Time”.  When Brownies start delivering cookies,  count on plenty of lake run browns in our tributaries.

Recently, two friends and I enjoyed a stellar day of brownie fishing.  We arrived at dawn to a mid-sized tributary that was reported to hold large numbers of browns.  We chose a lower stretch of the creek, within 1/2 mile of Lake Ontario.  We knew that water levels continued to stay low and that this would encourage lake run fish to remain in the lower stretches.   On smaller creeks, low water forces fish into limited, deeper holes.   We were not disappointed.  Over the course of the day we saw hundreds of fish.  We each landed over a dozen and tangled with plenty more.  It was an epic day of catching browns.   We enjoyed several double hook ups.  While there were a few fish on gravel, the majority were holed up in deeper water.  If you could avoid spooking the pod of fish, you stood a better chance of hooking up.

I can’t say that it was terribly technical nor challenging fly fishing.  It was more about getting outside, leaving work behind and spending quality time on the water.  It was also about the pure, unadulterated fun of pulling on quality fish with friends.  We caught browns on all types of egg imitations and managed a few on streamers.  Over the course of a day fishing, we noticed several trends and/or observations that might help fellow tributary anglers.  These include:

Small, realistic, muted color egg patterns were most effective.  Some of our best patterns were the size of a pea, on a #10 or #12 hook.  There was a particular stretch in the afternoon when diminutive egg patterns out fished egg sacks.  A spin fishing friend and I fished one stretch together, fishing side by side.  It’s rare for my flies to out fish his scented skein.  When I fish near my egg sack fishing friends, they have a tendency to hammer fish.  In this case, the large, scented chunk of egg sack was too much for these fish.

In slow water stretches, I used an indicator, no weight and lightened my tippet.  Fishing 6lb or 7lb tippet allows the fly to get down faster and I didn’t need to add any weight to the fly.  FYI, I tie some of my egg patterns on a heavy wire live bait hook (Mustad #9174).  The pure weight of the hook is enough to get the fly down near the bottom.

The indicator was essential in detecting the strike.  In some holes, there were thirty or more fish.  If your indicator twitched and you tightened up your line, you might foul hook a fish.  There were that many browns, that they were constantly swimming into the leader/fly.  You had to rely upon the indicator to plunge/stop/abruptly move, discerning it from the casual movement caused by a fish swimming into the line.  After practice, you can distinguish an indicator that’s moving because of unintentional contact with the fish, versus a fish that has actively bitten your fly.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with different color streamers.  With such a dense concentration of fish, target opportunistic fish that might chase down a streamer.  On this particular day, my white chenille soft hackle streamer and an olive bead chain bugger were most effective.  All you need is one aggressive,  rogue fish to make it worth streamer fishing.  Curiously, browns preferred the white chenille soft hackle streamer and steelhead preferred the olive chain bugger w/ a chartreuse head

Be on the lookout for greedy steelhead.  One run may have forty browns and two steelhead.  Odds are that the steelhead will be the most aggressive fish in the group.  You want a steelhead willing to track down a moving streamer.  I sight fished two particular steelhead with streamers, amongst a pod of browns.  It’s awesome to watch them weave in and out of fellow brownies, tracking down a twitching streamer.  My best steelhead of the day, a well-colored 28″ male took on my 3rd presentation.  It lazily followed the first two times, then lunged as I teasingly stripped it out of reach.  It might have helped, that my two steelhead streamer fish, both came on an olive beach chain bugger with a chartreuse head.  It’s not always true, but chartreuse can be a hot trigger color for these guys.  I like to think that one streamer caught fish is worthy several caught on egg patterns.

As we move closer to Thanksgiving, support your local Brownie Troop and enjoy some cookies.  As important, give thanks to the wonderful fisheries that we enjoy in Upstate New York.  We are richly blessed with abundant angling opportunities in the Empire State.  Let’s continue to protect our water quality, give thanks for our great fishing and remember to take a kid fishing!

April  delivered a record 5.8 inches of rain.  So much rain, that larger tributaries were rendered not fishable for days at a time.  Cool springtime air temperatures also held tributary temperatures below 50 degrees.  All this rain, coupled with cooler temperatures, work to keep steelhead in tributaries later through the season.  While the bulk of the spawn is over, there are always late spawners, holdover fish, slower drop back fish and even the odd fresh fish to target.   Our early May weather continues to support cool tributaries with plenty of water.  This may be one of the best years of recent to target steelhead later in the season!

To celebrate the start of May, a friend and I fished a well regarded tributary West of Rochester.  To our surprise, there were no cars at the access area.  The creek had a decent 2′ plus of visibility and was still running high.  We like these conditions for swinging flies.  We hiked downstream and proceeded to prospect each hole.

I fished my JP Ross Switch Rod and attached a 6′ custom tip of T-14 to my Rio 8 weight line.  For a leader, I employed a short 2′ stretch of 20 lb fluorocarbon, blood knotted to a 2′ of 12 fluorocarbon tippet.  When swinging flies or actively fishing streamers, my leader is almost always under 4′ or 5′.  When a large predator decides to inhale a bait fish, leader shyness is not a factor.  I want something that I can fish close to bottom or structure.  It also needs to get down quickly and provide me with solid control.  Water discoloration eases any concern about leader shyness, or having to drop down to a lower pound test.  With 12 lb test, you can pull on fish and keep them from structure, or taking off downstream.

Each of us  fished a different fly pattern.  I tried darker browns and olives, while my friend opted with a standard white zonker.  Over the course of the morning, we only hooked two steelhead (not counting chubs/fingerlings).  Both fish were bright, solid and acrobatic.  The female hen that I landed, smashed my fly as it swept across  the head of a pool.  One steelhead on the swing is worth five fish nymphed.  On the aggressive strike she became self hooked and instantly cartwheeled across the surface.  Thrashing about and darting around the pool, it was a rush to fight this fresh female.  She was valiant,  bright and fresh from the lake.  To our surprise, she was also loaded with eggs.  This goes to show you that not all of the spawn is over by May.  Your odds of landing plenty of steelhead in May are typically diminished.  At the same time, the probability of having less crowded water, aggressive fish and catching one on the swing is greater.  Those are angling odds that I like.   A bright streamer caught fish during May is a bonus.  Finally, it’s awesome that we can catch steelhead in Upstate NY from September through May.  Nine months of targeting steelhead in tributaries sure wets the angling appetite!

Daffodils are blooming in front of the house and birdsong welcomes each day.  It must be springtime!  The soaking rain we enjoyed last night gave a nice boost of water to our tributaries.  Before the rainfall, small tributaries were especially  low and clear.  We’re now into mid-April and by now, many of our small creeks  experienced an active spawn of steelhead over the past six weeks.  Steelhead spawn sooner in small creeks.  Water temperature warms quicker and they tend to do their business before their brethren in  large tributaries.  While larger systems such as the Cat, Oak Orchard, Sandy, Genny, Oswego and Salmon River all fish well through the month and into May, small creeks can be more fickle.   Low water, quickly warming temperatures and bright sun, convince steelhead to linger less in small creeks.  While there are always stragglers and exceptions, fellow anglers shouldn’t be surprised if the see fewer fish from now until the end of the month.

At the same time, April steelheading offers some of the finest action of the year.  I’m particularly attracted to sight fishing and swinging large streamers for these chromers.  Catch numbers may be down, but the ferocity of strikes, aggressive nature of drop back fish and improved fight make April steelheading a wonderful option.  Here are a few  strategies that you might consider adding to your bag of angling tricks:

• Look for the shadow, not the fish.  Darker fish blend in well and a shadow can give away a non-moving steelehead.  Bright, overhead sun can be your friend.  Use it to your advantage to look for shadows and strive to keep your shadow off the water.  The picture shows a 28″ female that is easily detected by her shadow.
• Look for that crimson slash around the gill plate, the white of a mouth, a quivering tail, or the gentle sway of a holding fish.  Unless they are actively on gravel, most larger tributary fish will prefer deeper holes during bright sun, or gravitate towards logs/boulders/undercut banks.
• Find spawning suckers and you will likely find a few opportunistic post spawn browns or steelhead.  Look for the darker shapes, larger figures or nervousness of suckers as telltale signs that larger tributary salmonids are present.  It’s tough to beat a sucker spawn fly w/ a dash of chartreuse to entice that greedy steelhead!
• Spooky steelhead require different, lighter tactics.  Drop down your tippet size (4lb to 6lb), lengthen your leader (10′ to 12′), minimize the flash and color on your fly, and deliver your cast with as much stealth as possible.  I prefer to use a white yarn or black yarn indicator that barely makes any splash.  These are less likely to cause alarm with a wary, shallow water steelhead.
• My best streamer success with low, clear water steelhead comes with sparse, realistic minnow imitations.  I sometimes fish lightly dressed, translucent saltwater bait fish patterns.  These are more realistic in profile than a typical rabbit zonker and offer a more subtle approach.
• Target the most aggressive steelhead in the bunch.  Also, there is no need to make dozens and dozens of casts to a fish that sees your fly, yet doesn’t respond.  Switch flies, vary your patterns and make each cast count.  When a fish actively moves away from your fly, then your presence is likely detected.  If I don’t dupe a fish within my first ten casts and I know that my fly has been in the zone, I switch patterns or techniques.  Or, I continue to scout other areas of the creek that might present more cooperative fish.
• Lastly, leave those wonderful reproducing females alone!  It’s a magnificent sight to witness steelhead spawning.  If a female is on gravel and in shallow water, let her be.  It’s a treat of nature to enjoy this spectacle.  She merits protection.  We have several waterways that actually have a degree to natural reproduction, well worth preserving.  Besides, she’ll be a fine target as a drop back fish in another few days.

Steelhead fishing has improved the last two weeks.  The betterment of conditions is most evident in small tributaries.  These clear quicker after snow melt or a heavy rain.  They warm sooner than large systems.  Based on our weather conditions, I’ve focused my attention on two tiny Western New York tributaries that flow into Lake Ontario.  It’s easier to locate fish in smaller, more shallow water.  I also find that these conditions coincide nicely with improved streamer fishing for salmonids.  Perhaps it is the mildly warmer water temperature, but these fish are more likely to aggressively pursue a streamer.  After a winter of primarily dead-drifting flies, swinging beefy steamers sure sounds appealing.

I’ve managed to fish twice within the past few days and fooled fish each trip.  While more fish came on a size #14 mottled pale egg pattern, I duped one each trip on a swung streamer.  An aggressive fish hammering a streamer, is worth several dead drifted caught fish in my book!

Today’s streamer caught steelhead was memorable.  Over the last two years I’ve fished a large bridge pool with considerable success.  All fish were caught from a downstream position.  On multiple occasions I’ve fished nymphs, egg patterns and streamers from above the bridge with no luck.  As a confident angler, it never made sense to me that I couldn’t entice a fish from an upstream position at this particular hole.  I love the current sweep, drop off, shelter and general ambush points, especially  underneath the bridge structure.  Until today, I couldn’t find a fish to agree with me.

I roll cast a chartreuse bead head, white rabbit zonker underneath the bridge.  On the third cast,  my streamer was intercepted as it swept across the current.  The forceful attack jolted the fly rod and I was tight to a leaping steelhead.  She cleared the water with acrobatic jumps, then tail walked downstream using the strong current.  I wasn’t certain that I could bring her back upstream, positioned directly above her and fighting the current.  After a tug of war, I succeeded in winching her upstream and levering her away from the current.  She was a beautiful 26″ colored hen.  Sometimes a fresh fish has moxy and this wonderful gal has it in spades!  My persistence fishing that particular location finally paid off with a smashing take and and special steelhead.

In previous blogs, I’ve chronicled an increase in Posted/No Trespassing Signs on our tributaries.  Today, I enjoyed a pleasant conversation with a landowner who posts his property.  He politely denied my request to fish his posted property.  I showed him a large handful of monofilament that I picked up, as well as a trash bag that I use to pick up stream side trash.  To no avail, he wouldn’t grant access.  He cited recent DEC/angler incidents next to his property, as well as a drinking angler altercation below his property requiring police involvement.  The visible angler trash near his yard didn’t help matters.

I don’t intend to get too preachy here, but let’s all continue to be vigilant regarding our precious waterways.  I picked up yards of discarded monofilament, egg containers, beer bottles, soda cans and general refuse.   I carry a plastic bag in my waist pack.  My simple strategy is to pick up trash on my way back to the car.  I’d like to think that this act of stewardship helps model responsibility for fellow anglers.  At very least, it removes some pollution from the banks of our waterways.  Even better, I feel good about the contribution that I’m making.  If we aren’t vigilant in safeguarding our waters, who else is going to do it?

The combination of melting snow and weekend rain raised water levels in our tributaries.  An additional 5″ to 7″ of snow that fell Sunday will eventually add more fresh water to creeks and rivers.  Couple our existing snow pack and gradual warming temperatures, and our tributaries will continue to be in good shape for steelhead.  It’s early March, prime time for swollen creeks and we are due to witness  steelhead on the move.

This afternoon, I convinced my brother to take a break from his home improvement project.  We hadn’t fished together in a few months and were due for some brotherly time on the water.  Problem was, it was nearing dark and we barely had 30 minutes to fish.  We promptly drove to a local creek.  We were glad to see that there weren’t any other cars around.  A benefit of fishing during cold weather is reduced crowds.

Grabbing the JP Ross Switch Rod, a large net and my waist pack, we  hiked to a deep plunge pool.  We didn’t have time to put on wading gear.   I tied on a chartreuse estaz stonefly pattern and  lobbed a few casts next to a fallen log.  Within a few drifts, the line came tight and I pulled tight against a pulsing fish on the other end.

Since I spend a lot more time on the water, I convinced my brother to take over the fly rod.  The steelhead began a tug of war, jumped acrobatically and then took advantage of the ripping current to depart downstream.  She crossed under a log and was moving towards the next bend.  Despite not wearing waders, I grabbed the net and jumped in the icy creek.  My plan was to keep her out of a brush pile downstream and to drive her upstream, towards a shallow gravel bar.  After several valiant runs and narrowly dodging the net, I managed to slip my net under this beautiful 27″ female.  We were all grins and I was pleased to share this special moment with my brother.

March conditions may be fickle, but the promise of quality steelheading is strong.  Another friend of mine landed 1o browns/steelhead in a similar, small creek over the weekend.  Here are a few tips to help get you started:

• Capitalize on fresh run fish that enter during higher water.  These fish often stop to rest below  water falls, plunge pools, around logjams, behind boulders and in deeper water.  Lake run fish often gravitate towards downed trees and the protection they provide.
• Choose a tributary that has a minimum of 1′ to 2′ or more of visibility.  Bright egg patterns and streamers tend to be effective in discolored, high water.  Darker, more realistic patterns tend to be favored in clear, low water conditions.  That said, it’s tough to argue with the color chartreuse.
• Spend your time learning and fishing one or two particular tributaries.  Angling hours and quality time on the water build up your knowledge base, hone powers of observation and allow the angler to become more intimate with a particular fishery.  There’s also a lot to be said about gaining confidence in a particular fishery.
• Constantly make adjustments to your presentation.  This is especially true if you know you are fishing a pool that contains fish.  They may want a dead drift, slight swing, major swing, minor twitch.  Adjust the weight of your fly, tinker with the distance of your indicator, taper to lighter tippets in clear, pressured water, vary your fly pattern.  Sometimes, pressured fish require a very subtle, realistic patterns such as a #14 dark nymph, #16 caddis larvae or even a #16 mini-egg imitation.  Other times, larger, bright egg patterns seduce new tributary fish.
• As the season progresses, keep those polarized glasses handy and with stealth, walk the banks looking for fish.  Dress in drab colors and pay special attention towards downed logs, drop offs and other structure.  These lake run fish gravitate towards stream structure.
• Before you cast, make a mental note of how and where you intend to land the fish.  Visualizing and anticipating a promising landing spot, helps your fish fighting, decision-making process.  I like to carry an over sized net with telescoping handle.  This is great for safely netting these larger fish.

Our slight warming trend got the best of me.  All that snow melt running into our creeks was too much temptation.  When Monday’s temperature pushed above forty degrees, I knew that I had to find a way to get to get on the water.  I wasn’t as concerned about the WNY Flood Watch, as I was finding an hour to fish.  After work, I had a darn dental appointment that I couldn’t cancel.  That left me precious little time to fish.  I reluctantly attended my dental cleaning and secretly hoped that there would still be time to fish.  Sitting in that dental chair and putting up with poking and prodding, my anxiety was soothed by the prospect of rising water and fresh fish.  Once done, I hurriedly threw my waders and gear on at the medical parking lot. 

Within minutes, I’d driven to a tiny creek that was less likely to be blown out.  I initially hoped to fish Irondequoit Creek, but the snow melt turned it a chocolate brown.  Irondequoit Creek was also flowing near the banks and moving at a fast clip.  The smaller creek that I chose had fresh, moving water and a tolerable, foot plus of visibility.  As I tied on my fly (purple & pink soft hackle bead head), I looked down and noticed tiny, early black stone nymphs emerging.

What an awesome sight to behold, as they are a pleasant harbinger of warmer weather and hatches to come!  The size #18 nymphs crawled about and enjoyed the sun, readying themselves for their imminent molt.  The body of these tiny black stones were much thinner than my more robust, imitative flies.  I captured a few macro photos and savored the scene.  I can’t write enough about the symbolic hope of what these early black stoneflies represent.  To the angler, they are the first non midge/baetis hatch of the year, they occur towards the end of winter and represent the gradual warmth of the season. I’ve never seen early black stones in Dec or Jan, always late February and early March.

I’d like to tell you that I tied on a perfect stonefly imitation and promptly got into fish.  Instead, I decided to stick with my purple and pink soft hackle bead head.  The water had a slight tinge, was up and I wanted to present something that stood out for these lake run fish.  I positioned myself next to an ice shelf and cast along the edge of the ice, letting the current sweep my fly under the ice ledge.  On my  fourth cast, my leader stopped in an unnatural drift and I pulled tight to a hefty steelhead.  The fish initially burrowed against the bottom, then thrashed about on the surface.  Finally, it wizened up and took off downstream.  Crossing under two logs and around the bend, I finally netted a chunky female just short of 30″.  She had a gorgeous broad tail with plenty of dark spots all along her backside.  It was a treat to admire this beautiful fish.  I safely returned her into the current and watched her power into a deep holding slot.

I ambled back upstream to the other side of the pool, hoping that the first fish hadn’t disturbed everything.  Within a dozen casts, I hooked a slightly smaller female.  This smart gal rolled several times, then darted downstream.  Close to a hundred yards later and through several snags, I netted a brighter, 27″ female.  I even took a portion of my rod apart to get it under a downed tree that she took advantage of!  After letting her go, I gave thanks and knew that it was time to head home.  I had an hour to fish and this was a great way to end the month of February.  Let’s hope that March is even better.

The mini-heat wave that we enjoyed around New Year’s is a distant memory.  Colder, winter weather is here to stay.  Our ten day forecast calls for a high of 26 degrees.  Even with dropping temperatures, fish will bite.  Opting to ward off pre-cabin fever, I went to the water to swing streamers slowly!

I decided to fish a creek that I hadn’t visited in two decades.  It was time to push myself out of my cozy confines of catching fish in local tributaries.  I drove to Maxwell Creek and walked past the lean-to that I used to camp in as a Boy Scout.  Just the remnants of that old camp site brought back scouting and fishing memories.  For as long as I can recall, Maxwell Creek has been regarded as a reputable salmon/brown/steelhead producer.  It especially has a reputation for giving up large steelhead each season.  At the same time, it receives plenty of attention from local anglers.  The well tramped banks and three parking lots attest to the fishing pressure.  Almost a week earlier, friends  fished Maxwell Creek and enjoyed double digit days on steelhead, fishing with spinning rods.  One report talked of an older gentleman landing over thirty steelhead during the warming trend.  Well, I was several days late and only fished Maxwell for two plus hours  during a late afternoon.  I was the only fly fisherman present.  However, there were another ten center pinners and spin fisherman within two hundred yards.

Now that we’re well into January, there is little spawn activity occurring.  Salmon are done, most browns have spawned and are dropping back, and steelhead are holding, moving, preparing to spawn in another two months or so.  Temperature dictates fish location.  Cold water and less activity, mean that fish have less need to hang in fast, pocket water.  They prefer deeper, dark bottom, slower holes and easy resting places that conserve energy.  I chose to fish the slow, open froggy water.  In particular, I paid specific attention to slow current bends and dead tree clumps.  There is something special about dead fall tree zones in our tributaries.  They provide shelter, comfort, ambush possibilities and are a haven for holding, lake run fish.

This portion of Maxwell Creek flowed at a leisurely pace, perhaps equal to that of a person slowly walking.  The depth wasn’t more than 5′.  I didn’t need a sink tip and fished with a 10′ leader and split shot above the fly.  I incorporate weight into all of my streamers (bead head and wrapped wire).  Casting slightly upstream, I would make an upstream mend to allow the streamer to further sink.  Once the fly was below me, I would gently allow the fly to slowly swing across the current, lifting off the bottom.  I fished a zonker style white bunny pattern, a dark brown sculpin bugger and a rusty brown, egg sucking leech.  Each pattern produced a brown.  My largest brown came off a drift that I mended and mended, sweeping the fly into the mouth of a logjam.  It was great to feel the take and see that large male brown break water, shaking it’s head.

Oddly, I never moved a steelhead.  In fact, during the time I fished, most of the nearly dozen anglers never landed a fish.  I did see several steelhead caught above me, but fishing was generally slow.  I’ll be the first to admit that a capable center pinner, fishing wax worms (spikes) or egg sacks, has the potential to be a fish catching machine.  It’s an unusual day when a fly fisher out produces bait fisherman, especially on slower, flat water.  Thus, I was pleased that I was able to hook up among so much competition.  It could be that swinging more realistic streamer patterns aggravated the post-spawn browns.  All I know, is that it beat sitting on the couch.  Hook ups tend to be less common during winter months, especially on the swing.  A several fish day is memorable, especially when you return to an old fishing haunt and enjoy success.

These past few weeks life has gotten in the way of fishing.  A busy Christmas season, coupled with home projects kept me off the water.  I finally managed to paint our nursery and playroom, in anticipation of our second baby.  As a reward, I reasoned that it was time to drop the paint brush and grab a fly rod.  Those fumes must have been getting to me, because I was ready to paint trout on the nursery walls.  My zeal to fish, also coincided with warming temperatures and a snow melt.  Best of all, we were still on Holiday Break from school and two of my nephews wanted to fish.

With the recent snow melt, I knew that all but our smallest tributaries would be discolored and swollen.   We drove to a smaller freestone tributary around Rochester that displayed decent water clarity.  It was up several inches and there was close to 20″ of visibility.  At our first stop, three friends were already camped out at a popular hole.  They had already enjoyed several hook ups and invited us to join them.  Isn’t it great when fellow anglers make way for young anglers?  I love the camaraderie that exists among fisherman.  Especially, consideration to give kids prime spots.  An angler that gives up his own fishing spot/time to support a youth angler, acts as a steward for the outdoors. Never underestimate the long term benefits and good will generated when we take or support kids fishing!

I thanked my friends for their offer and opted to fish upstream, over non-pressured fish.  Locating fresh, not spooked tributary fish may enhance odds of success.  We located a large, deep pool that has a chute of fast water at the head and a shallow gravel tail out at the base.  There is plenty of dark, slow water in the middle, along with a few current breaks.  Perfect for post-spawn tributary fish that prefer to conserve energy.  I brought along my switch rod and two spinning rods.  Both boys decided to start fishing egg sacks (one of my friend’s from downstream donated these).   Over the next two and a half hours, they fished the float/egg sack combo and managed to hook 8 browns, netting 3.  The takes were subtle, the head thrashing and slashing jumps, anything but subtle.   All were post spawn female browns looking for an easy meal.  We never saw a steelhead, nor male brown.

I wore waders and they wore boots.  So, they stayed on the muddy bank.  I crossed the creek back and forth assisting each boy.  I was busy helping them and didn’t have time to fly fish.  That said, we had a blast.  It was great fun to follow the cork, anticipate a strike, reason why and where a fish might be holding and to land these beautiful creatures.  For winter water trout, their fight was surprisingly stout.  It was awesome to see their faces light up when they held the trout.

I’d like to tell you that I had a longing to break out my fly rod.   I didn’t.  It was pure fun taking them fishing and seeing them purposefully work the spinning rod, lift the mono line off the water, reposition the float, react to movement, etc.  The similarities between my high stick nymphing with an indicator and how they fished were solidly comparable.  Even fishing with a float, they had to read water, make adjustments and track the float/indicator.  They see me out catch them all the time with a fly rod, so they know how effective it can be.  Bottom line, they were fishing and enjoying a positive angling experience.  Furthermore, we had limited time, didn’t want to break out the waders and spinning rods were perfect in this scenario.  There’s plenty of time in 2011 for them to take advantage of the longer rod.  If you want to add another New Year Resolution to your list, why not set a goal of taking some kids fishing during 2011?  The style and technique of fishing isn’t as important as the experience.  Happy New Year, tight lines and go invite kids to fish with you during 2011!

The mild thaw this weekend made for comfortable air temperatures.  The surge in warmth melted plenty of snow, adding water to our creeks.  It was a perfect break in the weather and prime time to go fishing.  Indeed, air temperatures in the forties seemed almost balmy, especially without wind.  Any day that we can fish in the Winter without gloves is a bonus.   One never knows what windows of opportunity Winter might present, so it’s wise to take advantage of favorable conditions.

A new angling acquaintance and I had been trying to arrange a time to fish.  After several failed attempts, we agreed to fish on Sunday.  We met late morning and due to time restraints, only had three hours to fish.  We had never fished together.  I wanted to share a generous small tributary with Jim.  As we approached the hole, we noticed trampled snow along the bank from previous anglers.  We also witnessed plenty of discarded monofilament on the bank, knotted line stuck in bushes, plastic tackle bags, drink cans and other refuse.  Nonetheless, we were glad to discover that we had the place to ourselves.  After a quick trash pick up we proceeded to rig our rods and then took and turns prospecting the hole.

Over a period of three hours we enjoyed fine fishing.  Our tally included seven browns and four steelhead, with a few more missed fish.  We dead drifted a deep slot of water, employing strike indicators to help determine subtle takes.  Without observing that subtle movement of the strike indicator, we likely would have each missed several takes.  This was especially true for the more lethargic browns on the bottom.   On the other hand, steelhead slammed the fly, forcefully moving the indicator upstream.  Our leader rigging was basic (5′ of 12 lb test knotted to 4′ of 8 lb test).  A single split shot was placed above an overhand knot, 12″ above the fly.

Water conditions can play a critical role in determining what color egg pattern to fish.  We experimented with a variety of egg colors, sizes, and smaller nymph patterns.  Smaller egg patterns on a #14 hook were the clear favorite, with fish favoring a pale yellow/chartreuse combination.  I prefer to tie and fish mottled egg patterns.  As the day warmed up and snow melted, we noticed an increase in the volume and discoloration of water.  Once the water had a tinge of murkiness, I switched to a chartreuse pattern and experienced quick success with several steelhead.  It’s fascinating how post spawn browns prefer more natural egg colors, while  steelhead  really warm up to brighter pinks/purples/reds/lime green, etc.  The steelhead bite definitely improved with the increase in water flow and minor discoloration.  In fact, I didn’t hook another brown once the water rose.  That’s an important conditional change in water that merits angler attention.  Pay attention to subtle changes in water conditions.

Our warming trend didn’t last very long.  It’s snowing again and the present temp is hovering around 11 degrees.  It’s special days like Sunday that fuel us during the long Winter.  I may not be able to fish again for a few days, but take comfort in yesterday’s adventure, good angling company and excellent fishing.  Looking ahead, I hope to take advantage of our next mini-thaw!