My 2016 Fall Tributary season.

1st Chinook of the fall

The 2016 fall salmon run is done and gone and with it goes the last remnants of autumn. It seemed to arrive late and leave early this year, or maybe it just seemed that way to me because my focus has been on a busy family schedule. Either way, the leaves are down and as I am writing this, wet snow is falling.

Black bead head copper and brown buggers worked well this fall

The amount of time spent on the water these past few years has diminished from years past, so I really try to make the most out of each trip. And even though I didn’t get out as much as I would have liked (when do I ever?), I did manage to catch a few fish for myself and even help guide some others into a few of their own.

Guide Jessie Hollenbeck of Wide Sky Fly fishing coaching some clients

Water, or the lack there of, has once again been an issue for our local tributaries. This summer’s drought was severe enough to reduce the water table to a point where even the most robust rainfall couldn’t restore it in time for the fall. Even when we did get a bump in water flow, it didn’t last long. In fact, even with all the precipitation we have received this fall, I believe we are still running a deficit.

Even with less than ideal conditions, we found a few good windows of opportunity.

Ethan trying to turn a Chinook

During one of those post-robust rainfall events in mid-late October, I managed to be at the creek at the right time to find the water level up and stained. Many large Chinook salmon where moving upstream in good numbers. I worked the tail outs of pools and deeper runs, swinging natural colored buggers in front of resting kings, sometimes having three to five fish at a time to work my fly to, with at least one or two of them willing to intercept. 

Jonathan helps Ethan hoist his catch

As the fall run progressed, more and more big lake run trout began to enter our WNY tributaries to take advantage of all those loose eggs being deposited by the spawning salmon. And once again I found a couple of great windows of opportunity to take full advantage. It is at this time that using egg patterns will produce the most consistent action. 

Once the spawning is done, streamers and large nymphs and wetflies will begin to produce a good number of fish until a good slug of water dislodges eggs from all the spawning reds and once again putting fish back on the egg bite.

Jonathan with his spawned out Coho salmon

And so it goes, Summer to fall. Fall to winter. Winter to spring, and spring back to summer again.

Large 10+lb. lake run brown trout

Landlocked Atlantic salmon brought to you by Streamwalker Nets.

I can’t wait to get back out there, See you on the stream!

WNY Spring Tributary Season

Drop Back brown in the Stream Walker net

Spring seems to have arrived a little early this year. Warmer than average temperatures have cleared up all the ice and started to warm up the water in all of our WNY tributaries. Add in a good steady stream of precipitation, and you have the perfect ingredients to help draw in plenty of fresh steelhead from the big lake.

And if you just happen to be in the right place at the right time you can intercept both the newly arriving steehead and the drop back brown trout that have wintered over in many of the area tributaries. In fact, just after ice out is probably one of the best opportunities you will have to get into good numbers of brown trout. 

White woolly bugger did the trick - Photo by Tony Horton

Male steelhead in spawning colors

As temperatures start to climb a good bit above the freezing mark, thus warming the water, and all the spring run-off has run off, the brown trout numbers will continue to diminish as they drop back into the lake. By the end of April they are all but gone, with the steelhead soon to follow.

Ice out drop back brown

Maybe the weather pattern will revert back to what is normal for WNY, with cold and snow, and prolong our spring tributary season. But I’m not holding my breath.

So get out there and enjoy….I’ll see you on the stream!

Fishing with the kids in the New Year

Katie with her first ever fly caught lake run brown trout.

It had been a while since I had the opportunity to take all three kiddos out fishing, so my expectations for a tangle free, stay warm, don’t fall in fun fishing day where admittedly a little on the low side.

And just to make things even more interesting - We would also be joined by my Father in-law, brother in-law and his son to make up a rather large fishing party, at least for the stream we were fishing.

Jonathan hooked up with 3 large trout, landing one - this nice male.

The kids and I stuck to fly fishing while the In-laws used their spinning gear.

Over the next few hours we all took turns fishing a few different locations. Some of us spent time fishing a couple of nice pools while others took to walking the banks for likely holding spots. And in between taking turns fishing, the kids played in the woods just behind us, built forts, and set adrift a good sized branch or two.

Katie gets ready to release my first catch of the day

Those who fished flies did the best on this day. The kids and I dead drifted woolly buggers under and indicator and hooked seven fish with another hook-up coming via an egg pattern. And even though we tried fishing a swung streamer, no fish wanted to move that much for a meal, so it wasn’t all that surprising that the spin fishing crew couldn’t get anything going with the lures they fished. I think we may have a couple of new fly fishing enthusiasts on our hands.

Both Katie and Jonathan hooked and landed their very first lake run trout, and at the end of the afternoon we put five fish in the net and all of them were brown trout.

Ethan and Katie found a little time to build a streamside shelter

If we continue to have a milder than average winter, we just might be able to find open water to fish right through till spring.

Ethan pulls hard on a nice lake run brown trout

Getting ready to release Ethan's fish

One last fish

All fish were released

Have a great new year!