Cold Weather = Prolonged Spring Steelhead Season.

Our first Steelhead of the spring

I guess spring is here…isn’t it? I mean all those giant snow banks are gone and the grass is starting to become green again, trees are starting to bud, and I have even seen a few flowers starting to poke out of the ground. But there is something not quite right. We had snow yesterday and this morning’s temperature was a mind numbing twenty three degrees. 

High stained and cold water didn't help on this morning

Before yesterday every indication that spring was really here as pretty much a foregone conclusion and maybe that was the problem. Day time temperatures soaring into the upper seventies made it all too easy to envision resident small stream brown trout rising to those first emerging Hendrickson duns that struggle to work their way free of their nymphal shucks, and dare I say…even a little top water fly fishing for bass? 

We daydream of those first fish caught on dries before giving the spring steelhead season it’s due. 

Problem solved - The cold weather and snow gave us back our steelhead season!

Jonathan with his first largemouth

We needed that shot of cold air, snow and sleet to extend our tributary season. If it warms too quickly and stays that way for a prolonged period of time, our spring steelhead season will be shortened. And I for one would love to be able to fish for these big fish for a little while longer if I can. Besides we also want those big feisty drop back browns to take full advantage of our big swung streamers…right?

So, for now we are back on track.

The boys and I did however take full advantage of our brief stint with near summer like conditions with a few trips to a favorite lake Ontario Western New York tributary and a local pond.

Ethan with his 1st fish on his new fly rod

Our first trip produced no fish at the local tributary as conditions were not very favorable due to high, stained and very cold water. Luckily we did find some willing participants at a local pond that seemed more than willing to help us out on that day.

A few days later and we were back at our favorite WNY tributary.  And on this morning we were able to connect with a few fish and even land a nice twenty six inch steelhead buck. We even started to see many suckers moving upstream for their annual spring spawn. It won’t be long now until it will be difficult to drift through a pool and not hook up with at least six or seven suckers to every trout.

The warmer weather and our first dry fly action will come, but for now, I will welcome the colder conditions.

Jonathan's fly rod and fishing with the kids!

There it was. Leaning up against the corner of where the door frame met the side of the house was a long triangular shaped box. Shipping labels and stickers covered its length, but the one that was most important read JP Ross Fly Rods & Co. It was Jonathan's new fly rod, built especially for him by Jordan Ross, the owner of a small custom fly rod company out of Whitesboro, NY.

Jonathan could hardly wait to get the package open, and when he did, his big smile said enough. He was so excited to get his new rod, and spent a good part of that afternoon admiring the craftsmanship and testing out the action out in the front yard. The eight foot five weight Blue Line series rod looked great, but the one thing that stood out to me right away was the beautiful cork handle. It was amazing and was a perfect fit for the hands of a nine year old with room to grow. But the part of the rod that put it over the top, was the name inscribed on the blank above the handle, and it read – “Jonathan Bradfield.” This meant that it was his fly rod, not Dad’s or anyone else’s…His!

I have known Jordan for a while now, and have had the privilege of working with him for a number of years. And the one thing that sets him apart from other major rod manufacturers is his ability to create a rod for the individual that is incredibly unique. Sure you can get a run of the mill rod with all the industry standards, but that would be like telling Rembrandt to paint stick figures. The point is his talents are best used when he is creating a rod for the client, not building one!

You can get pretty much anything you want from Jordan, from a custom nine foot salt water stick for striped bass on the coast to a small stream five foot two weight for catching those native Adirondack brookies and everything in between, including fiberglass! And even though you could spend as much as you would ever want to on a custom fly rod many of his choices are surprisingly affordable. Make sure to check out the website here www.jprossflyrods.com and enjoy looking through the many choices that are available. And when you are done with building your own dream rod, make sure to jump over to the staff web logs where you will find plenty of great stories and tips on fly fishing all around New York State and points beyond.

So what do you do with a new fly rod? You fish with it of course! And on that Sunday afternoon, all three kids and I took a trip to some local water in search of bass and panfish. It didn’t take Jonathan long to hook and land his first fish on his new fly rod. And as the afternoon wore on everyone caught a few nice fish. Jonathan now keeps his rod in his room patiently waiting for the next outing when he can add another species to the list of fish caught on his JP Ross fly rod.

Thanks Jordan!