Humility!

Okay, I had to change the title. It bothered me...and it wasn't really a great thing to say. Plus I think there is a better way to explain my failure to catch any steelhead over the past few days! So here is the story - I have had the good fortune to fish this past Wednesday for a few hours and then again on Thursday for about an hour.

Wednesday I met Luke at Irondequoit creek for what we thought would be a few hours filled with epic battles between man and steelhead. Well...it wasn't! We flogged the water with all sorts of flies and techniques waiting for Mr. or Mrs. steelhead to show up...they didn't. We hit up all the spots were we knew fish would be, and were we have caught them before....they just weren't there.

On Thursday I had about an hour to try for steelhead on a stream just to the west of my home, Sandy creek. And just like Irondequoit creek, Sandy looked just about perfect! And again I flogged the water for an hour with no fish. And trust me, I searched all the "good" spots I had caught fish at before. Nothing!!

After two days of fishing with no fish landed, or even hooked for that matter. I have come to a conclusion. I either suck!!! or the spring steelhead run hasn't gone into full swing yet. Sure there are always a few fish here and there, but if you don't have the time to drive around and find fish, you are at the mercy of hitting the right spot at the right time. And obviously, I haven't hit anything right yet!

Wait...there's more! I also lost at least ten flies to various snags on the bottom of each of the streams I fished. I even left a marker at one of those snags (Luke you know where it is) so I wouldn't get hung up again. The marker looks very similar to a flo-orange strike indicator.

There is some good that has come out of all this. There has to be, or I would take up knitting blankets and sweaters. One - I get to spend more time at my half broken vice, tying more flies. Two - I was able to spend time with a good friend, and that is always a plus. Especially when you are blessed with amazing weather! Three - I was able to practice and perfect my fly fishing knots. And four - I get a humbling lesson, in which I have learned that no matter how well you think you have things figured out....you don't. And that is a good thing. It keeps me grounded and gives me incentive to keep at it until I find success!

Besides it is all worth it in the end, when you slide that 12 lb. silver sided trout on to shore after he pulled you downstream for a hundred yards or better.

Brian

Jessie's first Steelhead

Photo by Lucas Carroll
It is always nice to go out for a bit of steelhead fishing, especially after a rather harsh winter. The tributaries are just about perfect right now and so is the fishing. It is a good time to get out on the water and search out a few nice steelhead. Some friends of mine did just that yesterday on Irondequoit creek.

They both have plenty of experience on the many smaller trout stream in the area and have started to pick apart the tribs. They both have had success on the tribs before, but it is the steelhead that has been somewhat elusive. Luke did well this fall and landed a very nice male of about 10lbs. And yesterday morning he started off even better with two fish landed before Jessie met up with him at around 12:00pm. Then it was Jessie's turn!

He worked on getting the right drift with the right fly, and soon was into a good fish that took a little while to bring in close. But it was not to be! The fish thrashed, snapped the tippet, and was gone! But I'm sure not forgotten. These memories of "fish lost" tend to burn themselves into your brain, and they never leave. Fortunately for Jessie.....he would have a second chance. His next fish was his first steelhead landed in his career as a fly fisherman. And if he is anything like the rest of us, it will not be his last. It was a beautiful female steelhead bright with all the freshness of the lake still in her. A few photos later and she was released to continue her journey upstream for the spring spawn. They landed 3 out of the 4 steelhead they hooked and Luke added a pair of brown trout to round out a great day on the water.

I only wish I could have been there for his first steelhead and to get a few photos of Luke holding his steelhead. But that will have to wait till next time I guess! And although I may be a bit jealous right now, I am more than happy to post their story here, and enjoy the fact that some good friends caught fish. And not just any fish....STEELHEAD!

Almost all fish were caught dead drifting a beadchain eye white woolly bugger under a strike indicator. And to make it even more impressive.....they did it all on 5 weight fly rods!!!

Nice job guys!

Spring Creek Video 1

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Spring Creek Video 2

Spring Creek: January 31

This morning was an excercise in perseverance.

Cold temperatures that struggled to get up into the low teens were the order of the day. And to make matters even more interesting we chose to fish "Spring Creek". A creek that requires light rods, fine tippets and small flies. But hey, since when do freezing conditions and technical fishing stop dedicated fly fisherman from pursuing a worthy foe....NEVER!!!

The morning started off a little slow with a few fish here and there for the first half hour or so, with Jessie having the hot hand early. Then we changed flies(a time consuming process in freezing conditions.) Small pink scuds in #16 and #18 were tied on, and that made all the difference in the world. It was as though we triggered an internal switch in the trout that made them go nuts!

Fish were now being caught in a rapid manner, and on occasion, would take our flies on three or four drifts in a row. Fishing like this keeps you busy and warm! And we kept at it for a good while hoping that it would last until we had to go home.

Then Luke and Jessie headed downstream in search of some bigger trout. It was at this moment that I hooked a fish that turned out to be the biggest trout of the day, a beautifully colored male brown trout. I guessed it to be about 15" to 16" in length. I'm guessing becuase I didn't want to expose my hands any longer to the elements while trying to measure the fish. Jessie then came back upstream to see what I was yelling about, and took a few photos for me. He then stayed upstream and left Luke to his own madness of retying his rig in the frigid air. In fact I heard him yell something about it! I'm not sure what though....I think my hearing was being effected by the cold at this point(if that's at all possible.)

The fishing stayed hot untill the sun went behind some clouds to stay. The fish new what was up, and quickly turned as cold as the weather. But not before we caught close to 25 to 30 fish and lost many others.

We all manged a few photos and Luke even shot some nice video. It's just like him to pick the most challenging day to shoot video. Nice job guys!!! So I'll try and post the video if I can, but for now....just the photos.

Brian

Streamer fishing the Tribs 1

It was late February and we were fishing one of our favorite western New York tributaries for steelhead and lake run brown trout. We had a nice warm stretch of weather and the streams had been free and clear of ice for a few days. The water was high but not muddy and we knew there would be fish here.

My friend started upstream from me fishing an egg pattern through some pocket water. I stayed at the bridge and started fishing the back end of the pool with a streamer. I was using a 5 foot sink tip that I could loop to the end of my floating line. I then looped 5 foot straight piece of 10lb. tippet to the sink tip and then tied on a size 6 white bucktail streamer.

I stripped out about 20 feet of fly line and threw a roll cast just upstream and to the far side of the creek. I then threw in a big mend and let the fly sink and drift. When the current started to drag the fly, I started to strip the fly in at a slow and steady pace, two feet at a time. Soon I could see my fly downstream from me and near the shore. And right behind it was a lake run brown trout of about 7 or 8 lbs. The fish was following the fly but it didn't seem to be very aggressive. So I stopped stripping the fly to see if the fish would take. The fish then turned and swam back into the middle of the pool. I took a deep breath and tried not to yell at myself for making a poor choice. I then made another cast and mend, trying to replicate the same drift in the same spot. I was hoping that the brown would still be interested. It was! As I was stripping the fly in, I saw the fish follow my fly for the second time. This time I kept up the slow steady pace, drawing the fly closer and closer hoping for a take. Then in an instant the fish accelerated, opened its mouth and drew in the fly just feet below where I was standing, fish on!.

This scenario does not always play out like it did for me that morning. Sometimes the fish will see the fly drifting near the bottom, follow it, and wait until it starts to swing to gently take it. Then the fish turns downstream, slowly putting a bend in the rod until you realize that a fish has taken your fly. Other times the fish will follow and slash at the fly with such aggression that they almost rip the rod out of your hand. The important thing to remember is to be ready for anything!

And if you don't have a sink tip....don't worry, you can fish weighted streamers on a longer leader with just your floating line. The best thing to do is have a variety of weighted streamers such as cone head, bead head or bead chain eyed woolly buggers and rabbit strip leach patterns to cover all water conditions. I sometimes add 10 or 12 wraps of lead wire behind the cone or bead for really high water. And depending on the water you will need between a 7 or 9 foot tapered leader tapered down to 8 or 10lb test. You can make it your self or buy one. The longer leader will allow the weighted fly to sink better and have less drag from fly line. I try to use a 7 foot leader for moderate to lower water, and 9 foot leaders for higher water. This set up is also easier to switch from streamer to nymph rig much more quickly especially if you only have one rod with you.
As for fly color....I have heard a guide say "You can fish any color as long as it's white." This is probably the best all around color to use, but I would also carry some darker patterns like black, olive or brown as they may be a better option in stained water under low light conditions. They would also work well on very skinny water where small patterns in natural colors may work better.

Okay already! Enough writing, time to go fishing!

Brian

High Water Part 2

Photo A.) Looking upstream from the cow bridge during "High Muddy Water." There were branches and trees that had washed up against most of the upstream side of the cow bridge creating a dam.

Photo B.) Looking downstream from the cow bridge. You can see that the water is high, but much more manageable due to the make shift dam on the other side.

This next installment of “Fishing High Water” is more of a compilation of information that I have gained from observing and fishing in those conditions. And I must add that I am still working on being a better “High Water” fly fisherman.

First, I have noticed that there is a difference between “high water” and “high muddy water.” High water for me is a water level that exceeds the normal flow and fluctuations for that particular stream or river without running over the banks and becoming muddy. An example of this would be during the spring when you have a good amount of run off due to rain or snow melt. The water is above normal levels for this time of year and it has a light to medium color to it, such as a light green or light brown. Visibility is still fairly good and you can still make out much of the structure of the stream and the seams, riffles, pools and runs still hold much of their appearance. This is great water for streamer fishing or drifting large nymphs along the bottom. And during periods of high water like this in the late spring through summer, you can still find good dry fly fishing. At this flow most fly fisherman are still very successful and enjoy the change from the low water of the summer months.

Things change however when the stream starts to run over its banks and the water turns muddy. This is when the fishing becomes difficult. The stream or river now takes on a very different appearance. The water is saturated with silt, dirt, sand and other debris. The main current of the stream or river is very turbulent and is now un-fishable. Visibility is now between 6 inches to maybe a foot or so. At this flow many fisherman stay at home and tie flies, waiting for water levels to come down. I am here to say that I have had some of my best fishing days during “high muddy water.”

Here are the things that I have come to take notice of that may make your experience fishing in “high muddy water” more successful.

First – I would start by choosing a stream that you spend a lot of time fishing. Knowing before hand where all the little holes, undercut banks, shallow gravel areas and so on will cut down on the time spent on trying to find these areas on a stream you don’t know.

Second – This is probably the hardest part of fishing high muddy water – “Finding the Fish!” Look for slower water like back eddies, seams, side channels, small feeder streams and downed trees or debris that may slow the water down. These places will concentrate the fish. Just imagine a stream during normal conditions. The fish may have dozens of options of where to hold and feed all through a section of stream. But, when you have high muddy water fish cannot hold in those same areas. They will only be able to hold in one or two spots. And once you find these areas, you should catch many fish out of that one spot.

Third – Fly selection and fishing methods are probably the easiest aspects of fishing high muddy water. Dark nymphs in sizes #12-#8 and buggers and streamers from size #12 up to #6 are the best bets. They can be weighted or un-weighted, but I prefer fishing a weighted nymph or bugger so I don’t have to add split shot to the leader (fish the fly, not the weight concept.) A strike indicator works the best, but you can high stick nymph since you will be fishing pretty close to shore. Make sure you strike at every little stop you feel. I tend to use a little heavier tippet such as 5x or 4x for inland trout streams and 8 to 10lb. test for tribs. And I use fluorocarbon as it sinks and regular mono does not. With a few adjustments to the indicator for water depth, you should be ready to go! I usually set my indicator as close to the depth of the water as I can.

My favorite rig for “high muddy water” is fishing a weighted bead head woolly bugger under a strike indicator. I have caught the majority of all my fish with this rig. And whether it’s on an inland trout stream or a great lakes tributary, the fish just can’t resist taking advantage of a good sized meal during “high muddy water.” You just have to find them!