2013 Guys, Flies & Pies Event!!!!

Michael Simmons conducting a fly tying demo.

If you live anywhere near WNY or within an hour or two, may I suggest an event that you may want need to attend on February 16^th.

It is of course the annual Guys, Flies and Pies event!

I cannot say enough good things about this event. You will have the opportunity to share a table with some fantastic tiers from all over WNY, and beyond. You will also have an opportunity to win prizes donated by some of the best in the industry, and the cherry on the top (at least for me) is the mass consumption of some great pizza! I mean…come on….who really expects to go to an event called guys flies and pies and not take part in eating…right?

Jordan Ross of JP Ross Fly Rods shows of
some of his finely crafted rods at last years event.

Both Michael Simmons and his wife Crystal do an amazing job. Together they work hard to make sure that everyone is taken care of, and in the end, have an opportunity to fellowship with lots of other folks who enjoy the sport of fly fishing. It is what the sport should be about! 

Matt Smythe - AKA the Fishing Poet - takes the
time to show his son how to tie a fly.

And because they have done such a wonderful job over the years, the event has grown to a point in which they have had to find a different venue. This year event will be held from 3-8pm at the Roger Robach Community Center (Bathhouse) at Ontario Beach Park at 180 Beach Avenue, Rochester, NY 14612.

In years past I have gone by myself and with my oldest son. But I think I can say that this year I will try and bring my daughter. She is probably the best tier out of all my kids, and has the patience to learn all kinds of new things and put them into practice. This truly is a family event that you could bring anyone to and feel right at home. And that is why I make sure to mark it on my calendar every year!

Besides….you never know…you might meet your next fishing buddy.

So mark it on your calendar – February 16^th! – Guys, Flies and Pies. Let’s all make this year’s event one to remember, and continue to grow the sport of fly fishing.

I’ll see you there.

Fishing with Dan

A little over a week ago I had the pleasure of fishing with an old friend. Dan and I hit up a small inland trout stream and had blast catching some gorgeous wild brown trout.....in mid-winter!

For the whole story please check out my other blog post at the JP Ross Fly Rod website.

Here are a few photos to warm you up.

Dan holds one of a few wild brown trout he caught while stripping a streamer

Small inland wild brown taken on a small midge pattern

A heavily spotted wild brown that ate a #16 red worm

Another fish falls victim to the red worm

Local WNY talent spotlight 2

This month’s fly fishing profile goes to Jordan Ross of JP Ross Flyrods.

An Oatka creek brown trout rests next to a JP Ross nine foot four weight Blue Line seires rod

Details like this are just too cool!

Jordan has been a friend of mine for a while now. In fact I first met up with him at his old shop in New York Mills right around 1996. I would come in and talk fishing for a while during my lunch break, and every now and then he would even let me sit down and tie some flies. For me it was a place to expand my knowledge of fly fishing, share stories, and spend some of my hard earned money.

One of the many stickers that will accompany the box of your new fly rod.

But it was more than just a shop. It was also a workshop where he built custom made fly rods. His goal then was to be able to build and sell his own rods at reasonable prices, so that everyone could get into the sport without spending an arm or a leg.

The shop days are now gone, and I have moved to the Western part of the state, but I still keep in contact with Jordan, and he still is in the business of building custom fly rods. 

He can build anything you want from a ten and a half foot switch rod, to a seven foot three weight glass rod, and everything in between. And it goes beyond the cork grips, reel seats, eyes, wraps, and rod blanks. He makes each rod truly unique and takes the time to make it right for each and every customer. And for me, the personal inscriptions and drawings he uses on the rods and rod cases are the kind of details that put his work over the top!

A gorgeous wild Oatka brown trout caught with the help of my JP Ross Beaver Meadow

I have several of his rods and fish them all the time. And I consider them all a piece of artwork. But for me, his specialty, his crowning achievement, is his custom made small stream light line fly rods – The Beaver Meadow! These rods are designed for small streams and tight quarters where flinging small flies to wild Adirondack brook trout is the name of the game. And they are absolutely perfectly suited for the job on every level. But I have also used mine to catch panfish on ponds and lakes, trout on my local spring creek and even small bass. But it can also handle larger fish too. I have landed seventeen inch wild brown trout from a local freestone trout stream, sixteen inch smallmouth bass, and countless other large spring creek trout that have made its short seven foot length bend and creak with the strain of their weight. It is truly one of the best rods I have ever fished!!!

For more information on his custom rods please check out his website jprossflyrods.com where you can check out blogs from local writers, ongoing specials at his online store, and the “build your own fly rod” page!

Birthday Fishing with a Poet!

Matt Smythe - AKA the fishing Poet - Holds a beautiful post spawn female brown trout.

Last week I had the opportunity to get out and fish for my birthday.

I also had the opportunity to meet up with a friend of mine Matt Smythe AKA the Fishing Poet.

Matt is a writer and a darn good one at that. In fact it is his profession. But over this past year he has taken his passion of the outdoors and slammed it head first into that professional world of writing. He left his desk job, for the unknown and unproven grounds of the freelance world. A brave man indeed!

A nice lake run rainbow/steelhead taken on the swing.

Our goal for the morning was to search the waters of a local tributary and try and tempt its finned inhabitants into taking a fly or two. Lucky for us it was more of the latter.

Matt was running a little late, so he encouraged me to venture out before his arrival. I did, and found two fish willing to take a streamer. One of which was taken on the swing.

Upon Matt’s arrival I was very excited as I had already hooked two beautiful rainbows, landing them both, and had seen at least another seven or eight fish on my walk down to our meeting place.

A bright female steelhead that ate an egg pattern. Photo by Matt Smythe

We set up shop at a favorite pool and began to put our flies to work.

Matt hooked up within that first half hour, and I ran down to help him land his first fish of the day, a gorgeous post spawn female brown trout. A few photos later and she was released.

My last fish of the day. A nice big male with two beautiful red stripes. Photo by Matt Smythe

Over the course of the next couple of hours we each hooked a few more fish, landing only one. But before we left for the day, I had the opportunity to hold one more fish. A gorgeous male rainbow that displayed not one red stripe, but two! A fitting end to a great morning birthday fly fishing session. 

Thanks Matt for joining me on a very memorable day….although I doubt I had to twist your arm very hard to get you out there!

Until next time…………

Late Fall Tributary Trout With Joe K

Joe with his first of the morning

Trying to catch up!

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to get out with a new friend from Pennsylvania – Joe Kayafas.

We made plans to meet up at some local water, and do our best to put a hurtin’ on some big lake run trout. The only problem was the large amount of angler traffic that had continued to pick on the fish day after day. So when Joe called me saying that there were already eleven cars parked at the pull off to our “Plan A” spot, we quickly came up with a “Plan B.” And as it would turn out, “Plan B” worked out just fine. 

We found our own little spot upstream, and in it, plenty of big lake run trout to throw a fly at.

My first on the swing

I started off the morning by trying the egg pattern that I still had rigged up from the last outing, but after a few drifts, a snag, and a lost fly, I switched it up and re-rigged with a big old rabbit strip streamer. With the brown trout starting to come off the spawn I thought this would be a good change of pace from the constant dead drifting that we had been doing for weeks now. Ten minutes later I was glad I made the change, when mid way through the swing, toward the tailout of the pool, I got rewarded with a big pull and a flash of gold. A few minutes later I was on the board with a small but feisty hen brown trout. 

My first steel on the swing

Joe was up next, and he did not disappoint! A few drifts into his rotation he hooked up with a very nice fish, but it broke him off. He switched up flies and another five minutes later was again into a very nice fish. This time the angler came out on top, as I helped put my hands around the tail of a very nice female brown. I took a few photos for Joe, and he released her.

 

Over the next hour or so, we each hooked up with a few more fish. Mine came on the swing while Joe kept pace with nymphs. And I am happy to say that I was able to hook up and land my first and second steelhead on the swing for the fall. 

All in all a great morning of fishing.

You can check out Joe's website here whatsajob614.blogspot.com