Fishing with the kids

Ethan with his first bass of the spring

After looking through a few recent posts from Cameron Mortenson of the famed Fiberglass Manifesto I had to get after it! And I'm happy to say I finally did it. It took a lot of time to get there, but I did it.

I finally got the kids out fishing this spring – YES!

In fact, I was able to spend a little time with them on two separate occasions for some really great warm water fishing.

Last week after my son’s baseball practice we had a little time before work so we hit up a local pond to see what was swimming. 

The pond looked great and there were fish everywhere in the shallows. Even the bigger bass were easy to spot - Fish that my boys referred to as “2 footers.” And even though they did not get to hook into any of those fish, they did manage to hook and land plenty of large bluegill and a small largemouth or two. 

Jonathan with one of many sunfish and bluegill for him

Our next adventure landed all three kids and myself at one of our favorite warm water destinations – Black Creek. This is the place where all my kids have had plenty of great fly fishing successes in the past, and today would be no different. 

My oldest son quickly went to work with his five weight custom JP Ross fly rod and landed the first fish of the day – a gorgeous smallmouth bass which by the looks of it, had been feeding rather recently.

The other two had their spin cast rods working in overdrive – sending lures flying everywhere. It’s amazing that they don’t get snagged more often than they do. But the excitement that comes with tossing lures changed after Jonathan’s next fish.

Jonathan with a fine Black Creek smallie

While I was working with the two younger kids (most likely untangling lines) Jonathan had moved to another spot just downstream from a father and son who had been catching some very nice fish while using shiners for bait. He began to fish his streamer upstream and jig it back down next to shore. He soon got a fish to respond but after a quick head shake or two it was off. He raised his line to check the fly and discovered he had been bitten off – PIKE!  I searched through my bag for some heavier tippet and another fly. Ten pound test was all I had, and that would have to work. After re-rigging his line he went back at it. Within the next few minutes he managed to hook up again and this time he won out. And even better, he landed his first ever pike on a fly!

Jonathan holds his first ever fly caught pike

That was it! The other two now wanted a fly rod of their own. So back to the car we went. After a few minutes of re-rigging two more rods, we headed down stream. Again Jonathan hooks up first, and when he said “trout!” I had to ask again what he said, as I have never seen a trout in this warm water stream. And sure enough it was a brown trout. But as he was working it up close to shore, it pulled free. 

Katie ended up rounding out the day with nice little smallmouth bass of her own before she and Ethan decided they had had enough and began to play in the water.

Jonathan and I fished a little more but found no other willing fish so we called it a day and headed home. What a great day!

Katie with her smallie

I am constantly amazed by my kids, and their ability to try new things, including fly fishing. And I'm so glad that they enjoy being out there with Dad, tossing flies at fish. I feel truly blessed!

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!

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!