"50 BEST TAILWATERS TO FLY FISH"

I have always loved fishing ever since I can remember. In fact I spent a good deal of each day as a kid dreaming of catching all kinds of different fish in all kinds of amazing places – a practice I still enjoy today.

The only things that kept me from realizing those early dreams were a driver’s license and school. Okay…and maybe money too. I mean how far can you really get on your own when you’re just 10 years old!

I would often replace the books that where required reading during school with any kind of fly fishing material that I could find. This put a dent in my grades, but for someone who hated school, it was a welcome escape from the classroom. I read about giant king salmon in Alaska, West slope cutthroat trout in Montana, steelhead in British Columbia, Atlantic salmon in New Brunswick, and the list goes on and on.

Since those early days of intense fly fishing research I have been able to wet some waders in a few of those far off places. But I have also come to realize that some of those early dreams may never be realized, and that’s okay because I am making new dreams come true with my kids.

Stonefly Press's most recent book release “50 BEST TAILWATERS TO FLY FISH” by Terry & Wendy Gunn brings me back to those early days of daydreaming. Its wonderful photography gives a pleasant pause to the reading of all the lovely details that we fly fishermen can’t live without and can never seem to get enough of.

Each region is filled with its own unique tailwaters accompanied with maps, detailed information on gear, hatches, and much, much more.

It is truly a great book to sink your teeth into if you are like me and spend way too much time daydreaming. Who knows….when my kids get older and are getting ready to fly the coop, maybe, just maybe we will be able to head on out to one of the “50 BEST TAILWATERS TO FLY FISH.”

Fishing with Bob

Bob holds a big male Chinook salmon that measured 42"

It has been at least a good year and a half since I last spent some quality time in the company of my good friend Bob Burrows. And to me, that’s a year and half too long. 

The story of our friendship really started years ago when we both worked for a small newspaper out of Canandaigua New York. We spent a good part of our lunch break talking about fishing, and on our off days we would often get out and fish together. In fact, it’s those early years of our friendship that we spent the most time out on the water in search of fish. And it allowed us to really fine tune our fly fishing skills. He is one of those guys that can help elevate your fly fishing skill set by just spending time with him on the water. 

But more than that, he has given me and my family lots of support through the years, and I am very proud to call him my friend. 

My biggest of the morning

So when I did eventually leave the newspaper for a new job, and things started to get busy with lots of little feet around, I always found time to stay in touch with Bob and even tried to get out fishing at least a few times a year. Some years it would work out really well, and we would get out on the stream two or three times. But for whatever the reason, these recent few years have left us with very little opportunity.

So when I got a call from him yesterday morning saying that he was up at a local WNY tributary, and that he was spotting fish moving upstream, I jumped at the chance to get out there, even if it was for just a little while.

Bob with his second fish of the morning

By the time I met him on the stream, he had already landed two salmon and had watched a good ten or more move past him. Even as I was setting up my leader and tying up for the morning, several fish moved up from downstream and blasted through. And even though the water was on the low side, it was cold, and until the sun moved up over the trees the fish seemed content on running.

We spent our time that morning walking upstream in search of resting fish that might be willing to take a fly, and talking about all those memories from fishing trips past. We even fished around some fall downs and undercut banks in search of an early lake run trout or two. And even though we didn’t find any trout, each of us managed a few salmon to hand before our time was up – Just like we used to do it back in the day.

The release

We may not be able to spend the time out on the water like we used to, and it’s probably a good thing that we don’t – our families would suffer for it. But that doesn’t mean we can’t get out every once in a while and make some new memories.

Thanks Bob!

Fishig with the kids - Part 2

Katie, Jonathan and cousin Helen fishing on 4th lake

Well…the kids are back in school and it’s been a bit busy around here with all the new schedules and changes in work, lessons, and sports, etc. But I feel as though we are starting to hit our stride and find some sense of order.

So before our glorious WNY fall tributary season starts to kick into high gear, I wanted to share some of the adventures in fly fishing I had with the kids this summer.

Katie's largemouth

Ever spring, in anticipation of the upcoming summer break, I start to mull over some ideas for fishing with the kids. I spend a great deal of time day dreaming about new locations and new fish, but in the end, reality never really lines up all that well with what I envision. But it’s all good!

Jonathan's largemouth bass

Ethan holds a rather nice rock bass

This year we spent time on Oatka creek in search of picky wild small stream trout, we threw streamers, poppers, and nymphs to bass and panfish at our local ponds and Black Creek, we fished under the dock at my parents camp at Fourth Lake, and we even found some time to cast some flies at Honeoye Lake at a family get together where Katie caught a beautiful largemouth bass all by herself.

Jonathan with a nice Black Creek largemouth

And just before the kids went back to school we hit up Black creek one more time. And it did not disappoint. The kids caught a bunch of fish and even dad got to tangle with a few. If there were ever a way to put an end to the summer fishing, to "go out on top,"

Katie and I with a big Black Creek smallie

this was as close to perfect as we could get.

The kids and I will now be regulated to a few choice times to get out and fish together. And It may not even be all of them at the same time, but that’s okay – We still have next summer!

Fall Tricos

Some fall color along the path to the stream

If there was ever a month in the year in Western New York that could reinvigorate the outdoorsman in all of us, it has to be September. 

The mornings are noticeably cooler, we start to receive some cool fall rain, leaves start to turn, apples are now ready to be picked, hunters are preparing tree stands, and fishermen from all over the world start watching for the first reports of salmon being caught in the local tributaries. And some will drive long distances to just a few select rivers that get early runs of fish for just the chance to do battle with that first chromed out king salmon. And I don’t blame them one bit!

A #20 female trico dun

But before the fall migration of Lake Run salmon and trout get into full swing out here in Western New York, don’t forget that there is still plenty of time to take full advantage of some other equally amazing fly fishing. And don’t get me wrong either, I like those giants from the lake just like anyone else, but when you still have an opportunity to get into some fantastic dry fly fishing at your local inland trout stream, you gotta go for it!

Since the end of July, the tricos have been going strong. And even now with the weather and seasons changing, they are still out in force – And so are the trout.

A nice small stream brown taken on a #22 trico spinner

These small mayflies will start at a robust size #20 at the beginning of their hatch cycle and will gradually diminish in size until the fall where they are now a size #24-#26. So not only will it be a challenge to see the fly on the water, it will now be difficult to hook up and land fish.

Wading carefully and precise casts with long light leaders is now the name of the game. 

Even the rain can't stop the bugs...or the trout!

#24 trico spinners and their smaller companions

Fishing early in the morning with small dun patterns or emerger patterns have worked well for me in the past. And once the spinner fall gets going your standard trico spinner pattern will work just fine in a matching size or smaller.  But your cast and drift will have to be right on the money to get consistent action. I would also recommend having some small midge patterns in white and the ever popular Griffith’s Gnat or other midge cluster patterns in your box, not to mention any other small variation of ultra small dries you may want to try. The point is – it pays to throw something different at the trout even during an amazing spinner fall to differentiate your fly from all the rest. And if any of you have seen the amount of biomass that falls into our local stream during the spinner fall, you already know what I mean.

The fishing reports from all the local inland trout streams are really solid. And until we get those first few days of frost, it should remain that way.

#22 trico spinner does the trick again

A rising trout taking advantage of a spinner fall

A nicely colored up brown trout ready for fall

See you out there!

Trout at Midnight

Jessie Hollenbeck ties a fly on by headlamp

At some point in the early part of the summer, when the dry fly fishing begins to lose some of its luster and the trout start to settle into their summer holding patterns, my friends and I start to talk about fly fishing at night. We vow to make room in our schedules for a late night rendezvous during the dog days of summer in late July and August, when the water is low, and the fish - hopefully the big trout - wait until after dark to feed.

When the time is right and the phone calls are made, we all make the drive to the pull-off and with nervous hands we try and tie on our first choice of flies as quickly as possible – flies we all hope will bring interest from the trout.

 With a parade of headlamps leading the way, the walk down to the stream is filled with small talk measured in the cadence of a quick step that is only paused for a warning of a fallen tree or rock under foot.

Even the smaller fish can't layoff a big meal

Then the path finally spills out onto the bank, and the stream lies before us. 

With headlamps turned off, we wait for our eyes to adjust to the dark before taking those first few steps into the water.  Our sight now becomes a liability.

Fly line is peeled off the reel and the whistling sound of it slipping through the air as it carries the fly off to a target unseen seems so much louder without the aid of our eyes. Even the pull of the rod as it waits to spring forward the fly line seems greater. We are now fishing blind and we are better for it.

Flies like these draw explosive strikes

Now we must wait for the fish. Even though we can hear them thrashing at the surface in the hopes of destroying the fly, it is the pull that we are after – And a patient hand is rewarded.

This year I was joined by Jessie Hollenbeck of Wide Sky Flyfishing, Mark Mckelvie (AKA Fly Master) and Rich Pecora. And even though our trip is now a couple of weeks old, the memories of trout and friends still remains.

Throughout the course of that evening we all took turns working our own stretch of water, and even managed a few fish for our efforts. The only pause in the action was for a quick photo or to let another angler work into a productive run. 

A nice small stream brown taken on a mouse by Jessie

In the end, Jessie and I stood knee deep in one last stretch of creek for one last chance at a large trout. But by now the time between strikes, splashes, and the push of water became greater, an

d we found only one more trout willing to exact its full measure on a fly. If only its determination would have been matched equally with size – it would have been a bigger fish. But in the dark, all fish are monsters.