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!

Oatka Creek Trout Goodies!

Sulphur nymph in a size #16

Taking stream samples can be a challenging endeavor to say the least. For starters you have to make the decision that you aren’t going to fish for a set period of time and that is and has always been extremely hard for me to do. I would rather spend my time fishing. The other part of this whole experience is in making sure you have all your gear together to make the most out of the time you set aside from fishing. And believe me, taking a little extra time to make sure that you have the right stuff makes the job go by much faster and in the long run allow you to enjoy the process. Besides, there is a whole lot of great information that you can gain from taking stream samples - Information that will provide you with better flies to match the hatch with, where to fish those flies, and lastly how to fish them.

Hendrickson nymph in a size #14

I have always used a trout net with a fine mesh bag to collect my samples. But that has changed recently as I have ruined my net in doing so. It doesn’t take long to wear down the polyurethane coating on the wood when you’re jamming the net into the bottom of the stream while kicking up rocks which then in turn ruins the wood.

So this year I have fashioned a make shift seine of my own based on one that a good friend of mine Lucas Carroll first made several years back. He used fine white mesh to make his. In fact he said it was material that one would use to make a wedding veil. Can you imagine the looks he got in the fabric store that day!!! He then took that material and fashioned it to two wooden dowels with duct tape. This would allow him to roll the seine up and stuff it into a pack with ease. And the cost was very minimal.

Golden Stone - Size #8-#10

This makeshift seine has worked very well and is very easy to use. You can plant those posts into the stream bottom and kick up a few feet of bottom with a good two to three feet of mesh capturing everything.

I will be back to the stream soon with seine in tow, and work different sections of the stream to see what those sections might turn up.

In the mean time, enjoy these photos of just some of the aquatic goodies I found on my home waters of Oatka Creek.

Tiny Sulphur nymph - #24

March Brown nymph - #12

Hendrickson nymph - #16

Caddis Larve - #12

Here is the seine I made. I have added some duct tape along the bottom of the veil material to add some support.

We are starting to see good numbers of Hendricksons coming off with some really encouraging reports of fish looking up. Time to get out there and fish!

Spring Fishing & Lots of Rain

A gnarly looking dude that couldn't lay off a #14 OS

Up until this past week there has been some pretty good fishing to be had around WNY. Not that I have been able to get out mind you, but I have seen the photos and read the reports.

Bigger tributaries to Lake Ontario, like Oak Orchard creek were still fishing well even with the low water. The smaller tribs have been a little tougher, but there are still fish to be found. Even the inland trout streams were in prime shape. That is until the incredibly large amount of rain we received over the past three days which has raised many local water ways to near flood stage.

This will put the fishing off for a while. So in the mean time I will post some photos from some of the late winter/early spring fish I was able to tempt with a fly, when I had the opportunity to do so - Photos that include an epic day on one of my favorites - Oatka creek, and a local trib.

I hope everyone can find a little time to get out this spring and enjoy a little fly fishing adventure.

If we don't get any more rain, and things start to dry out, we should see streams come down to a good fishable level at the end of next week.

Remember our first good mayfly hatch of the spring is almost upon us - Bring on the Hendricksons!

 

Another inland wild brown with the fly of the day - #14 OS

A nice 26-27" drop back steelhead ready for release.

A very colorful drop back female lake run brown trout.

Fishing with Dad Part 2

My Dad with his first ever solo fly rod caught brown trout.

Before my parents made their trek back to their home in the Adirondacks, my Dad and I had one last chance to fish together. 

Pink scuds are often a good choice

With cold weather persisting and no sign of spring approaching any time soon, we made our way to a local creek that holds some beautiful wild trout that we were hoping would be hungry enough and foolish enough to eat a few of our finely dressed hooks.

Standing in forty seven degree water seemed warm considering our last trip that required us to wade and fish in near freezing water of a local tributary in search of Lake Run trout – a trip that produced no fish. 

My Dad playing a wild brown

For the next hour or so we took turns fishing a pool that held a good fifty or so trout. The clear water made them easy to see, but agonizingly frustrating at times to try and take a fly. After several fly changes, adjustments to indicator and weight we managed to put some fish on the rod. And I am happy to say that my Dad caught his first ever solo caught trout on the fly. Even the cold wind that started to blow through every layer of clothing couldn’t convince us to leave early – There were fish to be caught, and we were doing it together!

#16-#18 red worm patterns also catch their fare share of fish

We ended the day with a few more fish to hand for each of us. And by then, the cold had really started to set in and the walk back to the van was welcome as it gave us some warmth.

I’m very glad that we stuck it out on this day. For some reason I seem to pick the worst times to get out on the stream when my brother and dad come in for fishing trips. They always hear me say “you should have been here last week” or “yesterday there were fish everywhere” and I can never seem to replicate those experiences when they come out with me. We made it happen though, and I’m glad we could finally put a good trip in the bag.

Another golden brown that fell victim to a well placed fly

Thanks for coming out with me Dad!

Fishing with Dad!

Here is a photo of my Dad swinging a big old streamer, trying to temp a big lake run fish to take a streamer.

This is not a blog about me fishing with one of the kids, rather it is about fishing with my Dad.

He has never been a fisherman. But he has been an outdoorsman all his life, at least I consider him to be so.

He has always involved me and my brother and sister with hiking and camping throughout our young lives. And we have enjoyed some great times together as a family scouring the High peaks and beyond of the Adirondacks - This also included winter camping and skiing.

Even though it was tough for them (my parents) to gather all of us together and get us to participate in these camping trips, it was worth all the effort, I am very glad they did. It is where I learned survival skills, how to make a fire, hanging the food away from camp so the bears won't get into it - and us, sleeping under a tarp, hiking for miles when you don't know the destination, etc....the list goes on and on! The point is he did what he needed to do to make us prepared for camping and hiking anywhere!

I was always a fisherman first, everything else was second. In fact I used to get teased for it by my family, but I didn't even care because I loved the sport so much.

Now....years later we go together fishing when we can, and this past Thursday we had the opportunity to do so.

Our outing was at a local WNY tributary in search of lake run trout, big lake run trout.

The water was perfect, if not a bit cold - just above freezing - and it had great color. These are the kind of conditions you want. The kind of conditions you pray for!

We spent a few hours throwing big streamers, and even a little time dead drifting an egg, but no fish came to hand. In fact no fish were seen or even felt on this day. And everyone we ran into on the stream had the same story to tell.....no fish to show for their effort.

But no fish to show for our efforts does not make it a bad day. In fact I had a lot of fun working several different runs with my Dad. We would set up with him at the point swinging a streamer, then I would follow behind swinging something different, sharing the stream, hoping for a pull from a fish. I really have a desire for me to be there when he hooks his first tributary fish while swinging a fly and put a net under it, but I will take any time I have with him. And I know that at some time it will happen the way I see it in my mind.....And I will rejoice!

I always say that we learn more from when we fail than when we succeed, and I stand by that. Especially when it comes to fly fishing - Remember it’s not always what you bring to the stream that will make your day success, but what you take away from it.

I'll see you out on the stream.....

Brian Bradfield