Tributary fly fishing with friends

Bob giving some instruction to Kim as they fish the head of a long pool

The fall run seems to be well underway with plenty of Chinook salmon entering our local tributaries each day. There have been reports of some trout making there way into our WNY tribs as well. And the number of trout in each system will depend on where you fish. For instance; Oak Orchard creek will have more trout than smaller freestone streams this time of year. But, as October nears it's end, more and more trout will be found in all the WNY triubutaries.

This past week I had the opportunity to fly fish a local tributary for Lake Run trout and salmon with some really good friends that I don’t get to hang out with that often.

Bob burrows is a very dear friend of mine that helped me get settled out here in the Rochester area, and at my job, back in 2000. He took the time to talk me through all the various streams, lakes, and ponds found throughout Western New York, and even took the time to show me a few spots. In short – We spent some really good time together tossing flies to the local fish.

It is a friendship that I still cherish today and try to take full advantage of when I can. So when he called me up and wanted to get together and fish on October 15^th, just like we did last year, I had to make it happen.

A rather fresh hen Chinook salmon ready for release

In fact – Last year Bob landed a rather large 42” inch male Chinook salmon, the biggest of the day, just as I arrived at our meeting place and was glad to be the one to take a photo for him.

Kim was also one of those great people I had the blessing of meeting through the same job years ago. She was always very kind and would always listen to my stories and adventures.

Both she and Bob are now married and often find themselves on the stream fly fishing together….what an amazing couple.

They had already both caught fish this fall and so had I, this meeting was more about spending some time together and finding fish that weren’t pressured by the growing number of anglers in pursuit of these lake run giants.

There were plenty of other cars in the parking area and we wanted to find our own stretch of water to fish, so we headed way downstream in search of some vacant water….and found some!

And, YES! I did find a trout!

Kim and Bob set up shop at the top of the pool and I ventured to the tail-out. I was in search of some big lake run trout. We saw a few fish, and began to make adjustments and work the pool.

In the end I was able to land a few and Bob hooked up quite a few times himself. But with six pound test tippet you aren’t going to land a whole lot of salmon.

At the end of my time I had remembered why I enjoyed fishing with them so much. They both enjoy being out there and learning about the sport as much as I do. And more importantly, it wasn’t about the number of fish we caught or didn’t catch. It was about fellowship in the stream and enjoying the experience together.

Hope to see you out there!