2011 Fly Tying Symposium in Utica, NY

It's time to gear up for the 2011 Central New York Fly Tying Symposium in Utica, NY.

Next weekend, March 19th, I will be making the journey to Utica to visit with some of my fly fishing friends, tie flies, and speak on fly fishing some of our wonderful Western New York waters.

The fly tying symposium is put together by Jordan Ross (of JP Ross fly rods) and the Central New York FFAA. The event is free and all throughout the day there will be plenty of great seminars, some amazing fly tying demos, a kids fly tying room, and plenty of wonderful vendors to peruse through. So bring the while family for an hour or two or three, as their is plenty to do and see for everyone!

And make sure to check out some of our other very talented Western New York fly fishing alumni while your there. Lucas Carroll will be tying flies and doing a seminar on photography, and Michael Simmons and his wife Crystal of Guys Flies and Pies fame will be doing some fly tying demos as well.

I hope to see a lot of new faces at this years event!!!

For more info please make sure to check out all the details at the JP Ross fly rod website.

Late winter tributary fishing

Before our most recent big melt/rain event(which has blown out our streams for at least a week), many of our local WNY tributaries were fluctuating between ideal and close to ideal fishing conditions. And when they have been ideal, they have been fantastic! This is nothing new for this time of year. We always seem to have a nice little window of opportunity before everything gets blown out for a good week of high muddy water. But even then, there is a silver lining that comes with high water….it will draw in a lot of fresh spring steelhead!

A few of us hardy souls have been making some trips here and there between the ups and downs of our local stream water levels, hoping to hit it just right so we could put a few fish in the net. And I am happy to say that for the most part, our plan has worked out perfectly….so far!

This is a great time to fish the tributaries. We will not only have a great spring run of steelhead entering our LO tributaries, but also the added bonus of some big drop back lake run brown trout. And they are hungry!!!

The spring drop back brown trout fishing can be fantastic, but it does somewhat depend on the fall run and winter conditions. If we have a good amount of water in the fall, the brown trout run will be a good one. Combine that with a cold winter that locks up some of our WNY freestone tributaries, and you have a lot of fall run brown trout that can get trapped in the system until spring – that means there will be a lot of very hungry brown trout that will eat just about anything!!!

The flies we choose and our presentation will need to vary depending on water levels and temperatures. A good thaw will raise water levels and draw in fresh fish, but it often will cool down the water temperature by a few degrees because it’s all from snow melt. A nice warm rain will have the opposite effect, and we need to be watchful of how that comes into play. Colder water temperatures may mean that we need to slow our presentations way down, and be more precise with our drifts to get fish to take. And when they do take, it can often be very light. So managing your line well can make a huge difference.

Many of us know that there can be big difference between fishing the morning hours and afternoon and evening hours in the winter, but it can be even more dramatic in the fall and spring! I have witnessed this change many times myself over the years, and I am still amazed by it. I have had mornings start off cold, both with the temperatures and the fishing, and I struggle to get any fish to take a fly. I concentrate on dead drifting nymphs and egg patterns through the slower pools and holes, picking up a fish here and there. Then by midmorning I start to see fish moving out of the holes and into the deeper runs and riffle sections. The fish are now more aggressive and fishing becomes hectic as I work hard to land fish after fish, trying to take it all in before it stops. Then, in another month and a half all this craziness will be done. The drop back browns will be back in the lake, and the steelhead, which have finished their annual spawning ritual, will have joined them.

All I can say is..."It should be a fantastic spring!"

Father daughter fly fishing trip

This past week I had the chance to fulfill my daughters wish and make good on a promise to take her fishing. And although the temperature hovered in the mid-30's, she still wanted to go for it, and boy did we!

Our objective for the afternoon was to get into a few lake run steelhead or drop back browns. Conditions proved to be a little difficult, especially when slush drifted past us all morning. But we prevailed and found a few willing fish to take a fly. Katie had a lot of fun fighting, landing, netting and releasing several nice brown trout before the cold got to her - a problem that was solved with a stop at the corner gas station for snacks!

All in all it was an amazing few hour of fishing with my daughter. I can't wait till next time!

Winter Trout - Inland Style!

With conditions being what they are on most of the WNY tributaries, I have been turning my attention to our wonderful inland trout streams, and have been having a blast doing it!

Lot's of trout have already been caught this cold and chilly year while dead drifting all kinds of scuds, midge larvae, nymphs, and small buggers, with a certain local stream being very good to me this year already. But recently I have been wanting something a bit different....

For a while now I have wanted break out the big streamers and give them a swim through some of WNY's finest trout water. And last week was my first opportunity to do so. It turned out to be a great experience, and it filled that void for doing something different. But even when I got a few good fish to move to a fly, I couldn't get one to commit 100%, and therefore, couldn't bring one to the net. Then I got a report from Lucas Carroll, who hit up that very same spot a few days later, that described a much better day of catching then I had had. He and Jim Guida received more attention from the trout than I did and were able to put several nice fish in the net. Good news!! But I still was thirsty for my first inland brown caught on a streamer, so when I saw that the recent warm weather had brought stream levels up to near perfect conditions, I got my stuff together and made it happen.

Fishing turned out to be great. I moved some good trout, and had several fish commit to take the fly. All the fish were taken on a large weighted rabbit strip streamers. And unlike low water conditions when fish usually swipe at the fly mid current, these trout were right up next to the shore, and would eat the fly after a strip or two away from the bank.

Boy do I love this kind of fishing!!!

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!!!