Oatka Gold

My time on the water this spring has been great. I haven’t been able to go as much as I like, but then ask any die hard fly fisherman if he would like to spend more time on the water, and his answer will always be a resounding yes! So I make the most out of every second. I make it count.

A nicely colored Oatka brown

When I do get out I have been trying to find some decent dry fly action on my local inland trout streams while fishing my JP Ross seven foot two weight Beaver Meadow. And Oatka Creek has been on fire. If you like fishing multiple hatches with lots of bugs, then this is the time to do it. Plenty of Sulphurs, March Browns, Caddis, midge, BWO’s, a spattering of Golden Stones, and maybe a Green Drake or two fill the air this time of year. The afternoon through evening will be the most dramatic, and can often be a good learning experience for matching the hatch. But don’t forget mornings. This is the time, when conditions are right, where you can find a good hatch or spinner fall without the pressure of someone casting right on top of you. In fact I have found myself completely alone more often than not. And fortunately for me, that’s usually when I can sneak out for a little while.

Release point

A male sulphur spinner

Fish like this are a whole lot of fun on the JP Ross 2 weight Beaver Meadow

Depending on the air temperature of the previous evening and whether it can stay warm over night will depend on what kind of fishing you will have the following morning. And by no means is this an exact science, it’s just a reference point. When there has been a very warm humid day with enough cloud cover to keep the heat through the night, then you can expect a decent to extraordinary spinner fall the next morning. It is usually done by about 9:30am - 10:30am. But you will also find small sporadic hatches as well, and even though it may be tempting to throw a dun pattern, it will probably be more productive to throw a spinner, parachute, or a low riding emerger pattern. Rise forms will be the dead giveaway. Look for fish sipping, or dimpling the water’s surface. A rusty spinner is a good overall choice, but don’t be afraid to play with slight variances in color at the bench, because that’s what you’ll see on the water.

If you can’t get there during a peak hatch period be ready to fish nymphs. I have had success with #14-#20 flash back pheasant tail nymphs, hare’s ears, and black all purpose nymphs. It is also the time to break out the midge box as well. Depending on the day, fishing small midge larvae and pupae in sizes #20-#24 in black and brown, may provide some of the best fishing of the day.

I hope you all enjoy your time on the water this week…tight lines!

A great beginning!!!!

I have been a bit derelict in my blogging as of late. So I must start again, trying to catch up, if that is at all possible.

My spring steelhead season was very short. Other commitments and bad timing left me reading other fly anglers good reports and viewing photos, instead of taking part in the action myself. And to be honest I felt a bit left out. But then the first mayflies started to show up, trout began to rise, and I began to feel much better. Which is a huge improvement over last year when fishing conditions were a bit reversed. Last springs wet rainy cold weather prevented me from getting into trout on a dry until mid-summer. But the steelheading was fantastic!

So I sat and waited for my opportunity. It came. I fished with dry flies, and I caught fish! Lots of fish. And even though I have yet to fish a full blown hatch, I have witnessed enough action on top to make last year a distant memory. In short....the dry fly fishing has been great!

The Hendricksons are now on, with BWO's and caddis to come. My best pattern so far has been a snowshoe winged hendrickson pattern in a size #14, with a parachute pattern a close second. These patterns have been absolutely perfect for this early hatch when the trout line up in the slower water below a slight riffled section to take emergers, cripples, and duns. In fact it has been a whole lot of fun to take some of the bigger fish right off the bank!

And so the yearly cycle of hatches moves forward, one after the other, until the cold sets in and we are forced to turn our attention to the big fish from the lake once again. But not until this angler makes up for last year.

So far we are off to an excellent start!!!

Lucas Carroll Photography

For those of you who have viewed my blog or my work on the JP Ross Fly Rod website, you will notice that I try to put some great photos along with my writing. A good portion of those have been contributed by my very good friend - Lucas Carroll.

Lucas and I have fished together for a while now, and I have had the privilege of watching him develop his craft in both fly fishing and photography. It started with a few photo competitions(several of those he has won!), and has grown into so much more! Over the past few years he has had many of his photos grace the pages of several fly fishing magazines such as: Eastern Fly Fishing, The Drake & the Fly Fish Journal. His images have also found a home at several fly fishing websites that include www.MidCurrent.com, and of course www.jprossflyrods.com

So please stop by his photography website www.lucascarrollphotography.com and look around. You will see fly fishing stuff of course, but there is also much more that will catch your eye. You can even order prints if you find something you like....so take a few minutes and enjoy!

The Banner Says It All!!

About a year ago James sent me an e-mail that really caught my eye. It was about a local fly tying party that would be fueled by the consumption of mass quantities of pizza. It sounded great and I let him know that I was ready to go, but that was a year ago, and with family and jobs and everything else that life throws at you, I kind of forgot about it. And I know what your thinking..."How in the world can he forget about a fly tying event?" But I did!

Fast forward to yesterday - I get an E-mail from Mike Simmons from Guys, Flies & Pies with an official invite to this years event. And I must say that it was very nice to hear from him. He had found my blog and made mention of who he was and that we fished many of the same spots. It's nice to connect with local guys who have the same interests, especially when it comes to fly fishing! So I am going to try and go to this year's event and redeem my forgetfulness.

Party starts at 3pm on February 20th(That's a Saturday) ans runs till midnight! Pizza at 6pm and raffles at 8pm.

Hopefully we can all go and meet some new fly fisherman and learn how to tie some new patterns. But most of all....talk "Fish" for a while.

So click here to find out more about his years event!!

Pond fishing with the boys!

Katie has been going to her summer gymnastics camp this week so....This morning I took my two boys to the local pond for a little dry fly fishing. We took two four weight fly rods and rigged them up with 4x tippet and #12 stimulators. It was great to see them both casting a fly. And even better to watch them catch fish. The best part, besides catching fish, was them watching the fish come up to the surface to take the fly. A shadow would appear below the fly and then in an instant it would dissapear in a swirl. My oldest son Jonathan was doing very well and caught many sunfish all by himself. And even my 3 year old hooked up once by himself.

This kind of fly fishing is perfect for kids! They don't need to cast well or try and get the right drift to catch fish. For the most part just getting the fly in or on the water will get a strike. And this is important because they won't get frustrated or bored becuase they aren't catching fish. They even let their Dad catch a few!!

It is also nice because you don't need a lot of equipment. Just a few fly rods, flies, pliers and a camera. You're good to go! Ho yeah...and some snacks and drinks! You can't forget those.

Finally....you can not replace the time that you spend with your kids. You may have to untangle some lines and keep them from falling in the water. And you don't often get to fly fish yourself very much. But, it is worth it! They get to be successful at catching a fish on a fly. How cool is that!
Tight lines!