Fall Tributary Season 2020

Ethan works a nice pool

 

Has it really been that long since my last post.....really?

Jonathan with a nice October King

Oh well.

Here it goes.

I will try and put up a few posts in short succession to highlight some of the past fishing trips over the course of the year.

I will start with this fall tributary season, and hopefully add some backlogged stories as I go.

This year’s WNY tributary season was pretty normal, at least from my experience.

We had water, not a lot, but more than what I had seen in some past years. And that allowed for the salmon migration to start right on queue. Fish moved up all fall, and even had some opportunities to push way up into some of the smaller freestone tribs with the occasional pulse of rain and/or canal release.

Ethan with a streamer king

Even though we caught some fish, we didn’t ever seem to find a good group of fish, and had to put in a lot of steps just to find the few we were able to catch. But, that’s fishing. Each year is different, and some years are better than others, especially when it comes to finding plenty of fish that are willing to take a fly.

Our best flies this year were woolly buggers tied in olive, brown and black and in sizes #4-#6. We primarily dead drifted pockets and pools and swung them in tail-outs and runs. Or, a combination of the two.

Woolly bugger king

As the fall progressed, we started to find more and more trout in the local streams. And like every other year, we match the hatch with egg patterns. As the salmon run winds down and the spawning is complete, the lake run brown trout start to pair up to begin their spawning. Here is a great opportunity to target the pools, deep pockets and runs for early lake run steelhead/rainbows and other brown trout that have yet to get on the gravel to spawn. You can also witness some of the spawning that takes place, like the salmon, in the shallower gravel sections of the stream. But remember, these fish are trying to naturally reproduce. And even though there isn’t a high success rate in natural reproduction, it does happen, and it is recommended to leave actively spawning fish alone.

Once late November comes around, the brown trout start to come off the spawn and will eat almost anything and everything…..including a swung streamer!

Jon's first fall lake run brown

In a couple of weeks winter will officially be here, at least meteorologically speaking. That means the fishing will slow way down as the stream temperatures drop. And that’s when the fish will start to pool up and hunker down. We will need to slow our presentation down, and keep those flies in the zone. Fishing the afternoon will usually be better, because as the day warms, so does the water. And any warming of the stream will mean the fish will become more active.

Enjoy the upcoming Holidays….and hopefully I’ll see you on the stream.

Make sure to check out these links of local guides and craftsmen, along with other major brands that we use while on the stream

Wide Sky Fly Fishing

Streamwalker Nets

JP Ross Fly Rods

Waterworks - Lamson

Jay Peck Guides 

Cortland Fly Fishing 

Rio Fly Fishing 

Temple Fork Outfitters

Ethan and a big post spawn hen

Egg patterns and post spawn lake run brown trout

Jon with a big drop back

Ethan with a nice streamer caught male brown trout

First fall lake run rainbow

Early fall fly fishing on Oatka

Mid-September on Oatka

Before all the lake run salmon and trout really get going, I decided to get out one last time to my favorite trout stream – Oatka Creek.

Early fall fishing on Oatka can be amazing. Not only is there some fall color starting to show itself, but I often have the stream and the trout all to myself, and some pretty nice trout at that!

One of the best ways to put fish in the net during this time is dead drifting small midge patterns, especially in low clear water like I had on that afternoon.

I started with a #16 PT nymph pattern, and when that didn’t produce I switched it up and tied on a #18 red worm pattern as my point fly with a smaller #20 zebra midge as the dropper.

A two fly rig can sometimes be a bit of a hassle, but the payoff can be more than worth it. And fishing this rig can often be the big difference maker for the day.

Smallest of the day. Caught on #20 zebra midge.

Several casts later I was into my first Oatka brown of the day. Not a big fish mind you, but at least I was on the board. Every fish from then on was a bonus, and I didn’t stop working the pool until I was joined by my friend Curtis. He took over and quickly landed his first fish – A gorgeous fifteen inch wild Oatka brown.

I only landed one more fish before I had to leave, but by then Curtis was well on his way to taking control of the situation, and later verified it by a few photos.

Oatka gold

I may not get back to Oatka for a while, but after a great afternoon of fishing like the one I had, it should make the wait bearable. 

We don’t always get the opportunity to get out and fish when we want, and when we do, the fishing isn’t always great. So as always, I make the most out of every chance I get and am thankful for it.

Another golden brownie caught on the #18 red worm pattern

#18 red worm strikes again

A beautiful brown landed with the help of my JP Ross 4 weight and a #20 zebra midge

Curtis with his nice 15" brown

A #18 red worm pattern was the fly of the afternoon

See you on the stream.

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!