Winter fishing in WNY

After a what has seemed like an eternity, I have found my way back to the stream. Not that I was lost mind you, but rather, I have finally found some time to chase trout.

I have been able to get into trout at both an inland trout stream and a LO tributary. The tributaries have provided me with both a brown trout and a steelhead that averaged somewhere around 4-5 lbs., while the inland streams have given me practice in my light line and small fly fishing.

The trout that have come from the tributaries have been caught while using large streamers. And in both cases the flies were fished low and slow, giving the fish plenty of opportunity to catch up to the fly and eat it in very cold weather.

The inland stream has been fishing really well with plenty of action coming on small midge larvae and scuds. And when the fish have been pressured, I have been able to show them something different and still catch fish. And that fly has been a #10 silver BH gray woolly worm.

I have also witnessed fish starting to spawn on the inland stream, which is a wonderful sight because it does not get stocked and is completely dependent on the successful spawning of it's wild trout. And even thought they are smaller than there lake run brethren, I would consider them just as beautiful, if not more so.

So our cold winter continues with plenty of snow and frozen streams, lakes and ponds. But that doesn't mean the fishing has to be put on hold. In fact it may be one the best times to find your own piece of water, before the hordes descend down onto your favorite water in another month or two.

Guys Flies & Pies Event

Yes laddies and gents, it's almost here - The 2011 Guys, Flies & Pies event!

With all this wonderful snow and cold weather we have had, many of us have been spending time catching up on our fly tying. This means filling up our boxes, tying some new patterns, and maybe even trying to learn a few new tricks at the vise. And if we are lucky, we get to go to a fly fishing seminar or a fly tying event that will keep us on our toes and inspire us to stay focused on tying.

Good thing Michael Simmons was on the ball this year because we have the Guys Flies and Pies event to go to!!!! And this year it will be held on February 19th from 3:00pm till midnight. And with all the door prizes, raffles, and pizza (can't forget about that!) it's really a no-brainer!! Plus you get to meet a bunch of great local fly fishermen and tiers from the Western part of the state....what could be better?

This is truly a wonderful event that Mike and his wife Crystal put together every year, so check out their website www.guysfliesandpies.com, look around, and make sure to let him know that you will be attending this year. And don't forget about their facebook page either!

Make sure to bring your vise, materials to tie with and an empty belly to fill....and maybe even a tall tale or two.

See you there!!

A new perspective!

The new year often coincides with new things, or for that matter, new beginnings. Not that last year wasn't good or that I really needed to start something new, but sometimes a new perspective is needed. And that is precisely what I wanted to do - gain a new perspective!

Last year provided a glimpse into that world. My oldest son, who I have taken with me on many fishing trips, finally began to understand how to dead drift a nymph. Not only did he finally grasp the concept, but he began to excel in every aspect of this type of fishing. This technique was something that I had wanted him to learn for a while, and at times it was tough for him to fully understand and execute. Of course we would spend time at other places where the fishing was easy, and all he had to do was get the fly in the water to catch fish. But I knew that if he wanted to go on trips with Dad in the future, and be successful, he would have to work on getting this technique down. I can now say without hesitation, that he has finally figured it out! And I was very happy to be a witness to his success last year when he managed to catch trout after trout in a tough local trout stream. In fact - on one particular day, he managed to land a beautiful 14" inch wild brown trout all by himself.

His success did not happen over night. It took years of work, patience, persistence, and a great deal of understanding on my part. I learned that he needed to work on learning much of the nymphing technique all by himself, which meant that I had to put my desire to jump in there to help him aside. And I must admit this was at times very hard to do. But throughout this process I gained a new perspective....letting him see the world of fly fishing through his eyes and not mine!

Yesterday I took another step forward in my attempt to broaden that perspective and set up a few fly tying vises at the kitchen table. Yes...I was going to have two kids at a time trying to tie flies. And once things got underway I began to think "what did I get myself into?" Kids were reaching into boxes grabbing feathers, dubbing and boxes of hooks. I was jumping between each kid as they took turns asking questions, trying to stay on top of things so that they wouldn't get frustrated with the process. I tried to teach my oldest the technique of palmering hackle, but that backfired as I was busy trying to stop my other son from opening a box of size #18 nymph hooks all over the table. I felt like calling it a success after each child got to tie one fly, but I knew that wouldn't be good enough, so we all stuck it out. The kids eventually settled down and tied many flies together, some with Dads help, and some without. It was great to see each of them play with all the different materials and come up with their own designs. And I must say that I was very surprised to see how well my 6 year old daughter handled the bobbin, the materials, and how to apply them. I think she may have the best handle on this whole fly tying thing out of all the kids. And I can honestly say that I look forward to the next Bradfield family fly tying event....even though I know it will be a bit crazy!!!

Winter is here!

Yes winter is here, even if the calendar doesn't agree quite yet....it's here!

Cold and snow have raged continuously for the month of December, piling up impressive numbers, at least for us out here in Western New York. Temperatures struggle to get into the 20's when we are supposed to be in the 30's. And we are now just over 40" inches of snow for the month of December, and we are only at the half way point - the December record for Rochester, NY is 48" inches. I think it it relatively safe to say that it will be broken this year!

The fishing has changed as well, and small tributaries are now beginning to freeze up, making tributary fishing for giant lake run trout a little on the difficult side for this angler. So I now must concentrate my time on fishing inland streams that are close, and still open to fishing.

But in the midst of this crazy change in weather, I did sneak out for some fishing here and there, and even found a few trout that were willing to take a fly - both of the inland and lake run variety.

Maybe this would be a good time to challenge some of my other fly fishing friends to pick up their fly rod and brave the elements to pursue trout in below freezing temperatures. We could be a part of a club, a club in which the only requirement is to catch a fish (yes just one fish will do) in temperatures below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, or if your not from the US, 0 degrees Celsius....either way...it's cold. And even though the requirement will only be one fish landed, more fish in the net will only enhance your status. Other things that can enhance your status would include; frost bite, falling in, hiking in a mile or so in waist deep snow, fending off starved wild animals, reaching into the water to dislodge a snagged fly, etc.....I think you get the idea. But you still must catch a fish to get the bonus points. Falling in and fishing for the next two hours is great, but it means nothing if you can't get a fish to the net.

All we need now is name for this little club...any suggestions?

A change of heart!

A week ago I found myself fishing a small LO tributary that has been very kind to me this fall. In fact it has probably produced more big brown trout in the past few weeks than it did in just the past few years. The reason is simple....water!

We haven't had any big rain event where we see an inch of rain or so at one time, but just enough here and there to keep this particular stream a good 4 to 6 inches above what I have seen in the past 4 or 5 years. And because of that fact, we are seeing large numbers of brown trout make their way upstream. And last Friday I was able to capitalize on the current state of affairs, landing 5 trout in a few hours. And better yet...I was able to enjoy it with some friends, who also caught a bunch of trout.

This week I made it back to that same stream hoping to find conditions in much the same manner as I left them last Friday. But in the back of my mind I had a sneaky suspicion that I was in for change. And that change came in the form of an excess of water, both from mother nature and man.

Every year at this time many of the streams that empty into Lake Ontario along the Western part of the state get a boost of water from the Erie canal. The draining of the canal has been in the past, a way to get a fresh push of fish during low water periods. And in those years, we eagerly await this event because it greatly improves the fishing. This year however, we received plenty of rain to go along with the Erie canal water, and on Wednesday the stream was the color of chocolate milk.

So...yesterday Ethan and I made our way to a small inland trout stream. And I'm glad we did! And to be honest, I missed fishing it's crystal clear spring water that is filled with wild trout. It's a much different game than the one we play with tributary fish. It's a light line and small flies king of game. The fish are a bit smaller too, with the average trout being somewhere in the 10-12" inch range, and not the 6-8 lb. average of the typical tributary brown. But there is something special about fishing to these fish that draws me back to this stream, even in the midst of an incredible fall tributary season. I could have gone to another tributary yesterday that is a tail water and doesn't suffer the same as the smaller tribs, but I didn't. Maybe the reason I headed inland was for the chance to get a wild 15" or 16" inch brown on something smaller than a size #10 egg pattern. Or maybe it was just that I was lazy and didn't want to drive the extra 20 minutes to get connected with a monster. Either way, I was more than happy to be spending my time casting my 4 weight to a smaller foe.

Good water = Good fishing!

We have been blessed with enough water this fall to keep our Western New York tributaries flowing at near perfect conditions since the beginning of October. And now that we are into the middle of November much remains the same!

I can't tell you how important rain is to these wonderful great lake tributaries, and in years past it has been tough going because of low water. The fish just aren't there in big numbers when we don't have a good flow. Last year I would see just a few big trout holding in the same section that I would see a good 10-12 fish this year. Having a good water flow means that fish have more cover to hide in, they can move freely whenever they want, and will spread out throughout the whole system, which means we should have a great winter and spring of fly fishing ahead of us!

I am now seeing good numbers of lake run trout in most sections of all the tributaries, and have been able to take advantage of it from time to time. And it now seems as though the female brown trout are starting to show up in greater numbers, and should be paring up with males in the next few weeks to spawn. Try and concentrate on fishing the pools and deeper runs where you wouldn't see spawning fish - it is best to leave those fish alone, and allow them to do there business. The only exception to this would be fishing to steelhead and lake run rainbows that will station themselves behind the spawning trout and feed off the lose eggs.

All fish as of late have been caught on #10 sucker spawns, nuclear roe bugs, and a few other small egg like patterns.

In the next few weeks we should see a flow increase in all the are tribs regardless of whether we get rain or not. And that will be due to the draining of the Erie Canal. And when that happens, look for even more numbers of trout entering our local tribs....especially steelhead!

The brown trout are coming, the brown trout are coming!

November is typically the month to fish for lake run browns. It is the time when they run the rivers and streams in greater numbers as they make their way upstream to spawn. But before they do - spawn that is - they can often be seen sitting behind salmon picking off loose eggs.

It is an exciting time to be on the stream for sure. Sometimes you can sight fish to a half dozen lake run brown trout that are pushing the 10 lb. mark or better. But there are also other opportunities. Steelhead and Atlantic salmon also make a good push at this time as well, and if you happen upon the right place at the right time, fishing can be amazing!

But we must also be careful to handle each fish carefully and take as much time and effort in releasing them carefully as we did in playing the fish out. It is an amazing and wonderful resource that we must take care of if we want it to continue to be as good as it is.

Over the past few weeks I have had the opportunity to fish with family and friends, both new and old, and even land a few really nice fish in the process. To see more photos from some of these friends please check out Lucas Carroll's flickr page and blog, and Graham Owens flickr page and photography website. They do a wonderful job of capturing both the fish and the fishing, and are able to do it in an wonderfully artistic style of their own.

As the fall progresses into winter the fishing will change again. The brown trout will eventually come off the spawn and the steelhead numbers will continue to build before the small tributaries are locked up with ice. When this happens, we will have a small window of opportunity to take advantage of a wide spread feeding frenzy. Egg patterns will still work well, but don't forget nymphs as well when dead drifting under an indicator. And if you really want to have some fun, break out those big streamer patterns. Playing around with large streamers can be a blast, and you never know what can happen when fishing these flies....let's just say you had better be prepared for anything, so fish accordingly.

See you on the stream.....