Wait....summer is over?

Evening on Fourth Lake, Inlet, NY

A busy day can turn into a busy week without much thought. And before you know it, that week spawns several others just like it, and a whole month is gone!

That kind of thinking is usually reserved for the school year, when we find ourselves running around doing our best to just keep up. But it’s the end of summer and I feel like I’m breathing way too hard for a race that hasn’t even started yet.

At least I got a few water breaks in between all that running.

We found a small bit of time to visit my family up in Inlet, NY. A few day excursions to the stream proved fruitful as my oldest son and I found everything from Landlocked Atlantic salmon to fallfish to brook trout and even a heavily spotted rainbow trout.

Landlocked Atlantic salmon

The boys and I also ventured to the top of the state to visit my father in-law’s hunting and fishing camp and to wade some new water with family in search of big smallmouth bass, pike, walleye and musky. And even in the midst of some very low water, where conditions were not great, we managed some very nice bass and had a rather frightening introduction to a rather large musky while wading. An encounter that Jonathan will never forget. On the way home we made a stop at the Salmon river in Pulaski, NY where I got the opportunity to show my boys where I fished at their age.

Jonathan's rainbow trout

Wild ADK brook trout

Jonathan fishing on the St. Regis river

Musky Country, Deer river flow

I even found some time to hit up the inaugural “Knots at the Net Shop” fly tying event at Streamwalker Nets headquarters. Thanks to Leif Mermagen and Bill Banser for being such wonderful hosts. Our fly fishing community here in WNY is awesome!!! 

Lastly, I found myself hanging out with a friend who just so happens to own some land that the Oatka creek flows through. So with a little arm twisting, I grabbed the fly rod and made an effort to find a fish or two that wouldn’t mind eating a fly. And as luck would have it, I did manage to find such a fish. A wild nineteen inch brown trout. My biggest to the net on this stream. Thanks again Nathan!

Ethan with a nice Deer river smallmouth bass

St. Regis river Fallfish

Being busy really isn’t all that bad, it’s a part of life after all. Watching my kids work out their God given gifts through extracurricular activities like gymnastics, playing in jazz bands, robotics, and music lessons, Flower city work camp, church, etc. helps with the long hours of driving, the late nights, and the occasional teenage meltdown. In the end it’s worth it!

You just have to mix in a few water breaks.

Knots at the Net Shop

Ethan and Jonathan at the lower fly zone

Deer river smallmouth

Leif gives fly tying a thumbs up

Nineteen inches of Oatka gold

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Time for a second wind!

Spring Scouting Trips

34 inches of death

During the last week of April I had the chance to scout a local stream for the up and coming warm water fly fishing season. And leading up to that weekend the water levels of many of our local WNY streams where starting to come into shape even with some recent rain.

Black Creek in Churchville, NY was still running a bit on the high side but the water clarity had improved drastically since my last visit. In fact it looked down right fishable! So I guess it was a good thing I brought my gear along with me just in case…heehee.

I did not anticipate a great hour of fishing, in fact I found myself daydreaming of tangled lines, lost flies to submerged boulders and trees, the constant task of trying a multitude of flies in the hopes of finding one that worked and in the end no fish to show for it. And even though early season scouting missions can and will often turn out like this; it is those few trips where you find a bit of fly fishing heaven that keeps you going.

And on this afternoon, for an hour, it was fantastic!

1 of 2 Largemouth Bass on the day

I did not catch a lot of fish, but the quality of what I caught made me realize that Black Creek should be fished earlier than when I usually go in early May.

Three fish came to hand - Two nice Largemouth Bass and a rather large and very thin thirty four inch Northern Pike. They all fell for a weighted number four rabbit strip streamer pattern. And just like in years past, the fish took the fly on the drop as I would lift and strip, lift and strip, lift and strip, lift, stop….fish on.

Scouting trips are usually those throwaway trips that you don’t really count. Sometimes you don’t even fish. As a busy father of three and Husband I have learned to appreciate any time I get to spend on the water – “Scouting trip” or not!

But I will say that some of the best fishing I have had, has come from those short little “scouting” trips.

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!

Pond fishin'

Pond fishing has a lot going for it. For one, the fishing is usually always good. And depending on the pond, you have a nice variety of fish to throw a fly at. But perhaps the best feature about fishing ponds is how close they are to almost anywhere you happen to be at the time you get the urge to fish.

This past winter at the Guys, Flies & Pies event (WNY’s Premier fly tying party), Michael Simmons (the event organizer) and I had a conversation that ended the way most do at an event like that – “Let’s get out and fish together.” I quickly agreed and secretly vowed to be one of those guys that actually followed through with what I said. And lucky for me, I remembered. And when summer rolled around I made a few calls to try and get some dates together for a family picnic/fishing trip, or as Mike likes to call it a “fishnic!”

This past Monday ended up being the day to go. Mike e-mailed me with a map to the pond and a meeting time. When my family and I got there 15 minutes early to see a man dressed in purple pants sleeping on a picnic table under the pavilion we were supposed to eat dinner at, I thought we were off to a great start! The picnic was fantastic, with everyone enjoying some great conversation and laughs, but that can only go on for so long before the fly fishermen need to get a fly into the water.

The layout of the pond was perfectly set up for fly fishermen. With a long cast you could reach half way across to the other side, giving you plenty of time and distance to work a popper back to shore the way you would like.

After setting up the kids with flies, I tied on a small caddis and began working the shoreline with my JP Ross beaver meadow 2 weight, and quickly got into a sunfish. But Mike, who is always up for a little competition, quickly upped the ante and got the first bass of the night. And then, a few minutes later, another nice pond largemouth bass came to hand to which he said “I see your panfish and raise you one!” And so the competition began. The kids also got into the action as well and had plenty of fun holding the fish, releasing them, and even catching a few themselves.

The night ended with a tie score, and Mike and I have vowed to go back another day to try and find a winner. That is if there is such a thing when pond fishing with family, but maybe we’ll have to find some time to get out solo and really go at it.

I would like to give a big thank you to Mike & Crystal and their wonderful family for playing the perfect hosts for this great family adventure. Way to go guys!!!