Late Summer trout in WNY

A few weeks ago I came home to find a wonderful surprise waiting for me at my front door. The kind of surprise that a fly fishermen like me could get used to on a weekly basis. There it was - a long triangular box that screamed “NEW FLY ROD” was leaning up in the corner between my front door and the house.  It was my new JP Ross blue line 9’ foot 4 weight fly rod.

Over the next hour I took photos, tested the action, attached my Lamson Velocity 1.5 to the reel seat, tested the balance, and even threw in a few practice casts for good measure. And yes! I admit it. I was acting very much like a child at Christmas. But in my defense it is not very often that I get a new fly rod.

So now I needed to get it out there and give it a good field test. This past Monday was my opportunity to do just that, so I ventured out with my kids to hit up a favorite place of mine. The water was low, but surprisingly cold. I haven’t taken the temperature at this spot, but my guess would be right around 60 degrees.

We immediately found many trout and suckers holding deep in the main pool with scattered trout holding in other small pockets and runs throughout the stretch. We also found a few fish holding in the shallows, which would from time to time, rise up and take a fly off the surface.

Jonathan started out nymphing the main run and hooked up with three fish and losing them before I even had the chance to hook up with my first trout of the day. I guess I can now say that he has a firm grasp on the nymphing technique that is required to catch fish consistently at this stream. And if I can’t hold a slight edge over him in the fish catching department, he will stop taking my advice. So we traded off hooking, landing, and even losing a few trout over the next few hours of fishing. Even the younger kids had turns casting the fly rod (but no hookups) themselves. In the end I was able to hold a slight edge over Jonathan, although I think that over time that will change.

With the exception of a small trout that took a caddis dry, most fish came by way of the nymph. And even though the midge larvae patterns that we had used just a week or so ago caught a few fish, it was the larger size #16 and #18 OS nymph and the FB Pheasant tail nymph that proved to be the key to getting into fish. It was also one of those days that I discovered what I didn’t have in my fly box that I wish I had. Can I get a grass hopper….or a beetle? Of course not!! Right here would be the spot where I insert my own advice about being prepared and taking the time to make sure I had a all the fly patterns I need for late summer fishing, which by the way, would include hoppers and beetles. But as you can tell I fell a bit short, and had to dredge up some trout from the deep.

We ended the day by releasing one last trout that Jonathan caught on a nymph, which brought the afternoon total to a good 12 or so trout and 3 suckers. Each of the kids took turns in releasing the fish and even had several opportunities to play a few. Eventually one last cast turned into 100 last casts before we did finally leave. A decision that did not go well with the kids, but it was getting late, and they needed to eat, even if they didn’t think they needed to.

Posted 7 hours ago by Brian Bradfield | 0 Comments

Family Vacation

It feels as though I have been away for a very long time. I have been very busy with family vacations and getting the kids ready for the up and coming school year.

Our vacation was spent on the shores of 4th Lake in Inlet, NY with my parents who now live there permanently. We enjoyed all kinds of activities like fishing, swiming, traveling to Old Forge, attending a folk music concert, eating out, playing games, and watching movies when it rained, and more fishing. The kids spent a lot of time on the dock fishing for the eager, and very hungry panfish, perch and bass. They even caught some on the fly rod. In fact it is where I had the opportunity to break in my new JP Ross 4 weight fly rod.

On two seperate occasions we even took a boat ride up into 5th lake and spent some time looking around and fishing. Everyone caught a few fish, and for the most part, enjoyed the boat ride. On one of the trips back to 4th lake we stopped in the channel that connects the two lakes for the purpose of trying to catch a rather large sized largemouth bass. To say that it was large may be an understatement, because I first thaught it was a carp!! But our efforts went without any interest from the bass, who had now gone deep into a submerged tree.

I never took a photo of a fish on this vacation, and I can't really figure out why I didn't. Maybe I was waiting for one of the kids to land that big bass, or maybe I was more content with taking photos of other things.....what ever the reason was, I will make sure to get some fish photos again....and soon!

It was a great week filled with cool fall air, and I look forward to going up there again next spring...so thanks Mom and Dad for giving us a very relaxing and fun family vacation!

A day after we got home my Father in-law gave me a call saying that he wanted to get Jonathan out fishing before his wife went in for knee surgery. The plan was to hit up Sodus bay and try to cast large spoons and crankbaits for pike. But I couldn't resist bringing a fly rod along just in case the opportunity presented its self. And it did, but I didn't get anything on a fly that day. We did end up landing two largemouth bass, one that was close to 3 lbs...and that was it! And alhtough the fishing was on the slow side, it was a whole lot of fun to watch Jonathan enjoy a day of fishing with his Grandpa and his Dad!

On another note - I took the kids out fishing this afternoon to a favorite inland trout stream. Photos and a full report to come soon!

Posted 3 days ago by Brian Bradfield | 0 Comments

Canal Carp

Most anglers struggle to find a balance between family, work, commitments and squeezing in fishing time.   One answer to this dilemma is to target fisheries closer to home.  This week, I’ve had a two hour fishing window (during our baby’s nap time).  My fishing solution was to return to my boyhood roots of chasing carp in the canal.  I can easily bike or drive, the Towpath allows easy access, and it is pure sight fishing in shallow water!

To be candid, I didn’t start out the week with intentions of catching carp on a fly. I was riding my bike on the Towpath for exercise.  Around mile two, I noticed carp milling around and casually feeding on a shallow cement bank.  Seeing those carp motivated me to ditch my cycling plans and speedily return home.  In short order, I threw two fly boxes into a fanny pack and grabbed my 6wt.  Soon, I was back on the canal and scouting out shallow water carp.  It’s surprisingly easy to strap a four piece fly rod to your bike frame with 3-M blue painters tape.

My tactic was to spot the carp, drop low and get within an easy casting distance.  Sometimes, these fish are so focused and comfortable feeding on the bottom that they don’t look up.  It could also be that they are accustomed to movement above them.  I would gently flip cast a #10 nymph and try to put it in front of a cruising or laid up fish.  Most times there were single fish, but sometimes a pair would be close to each other.  Any sudden movement from the fly would cause the fish to bolt.  Super slow, dropping  or twitching movement right in front of the carp yielded subtle takes.  You can’t see the fish open it’s mouth.  The carp gradually surges forward and tilts the head, or rolls a bit on it’s side.  Observing this was my best strike detection. On  my first fish, I strip set and promptly snapped the 4x flourocarbon.  Smaller, shaggy nymphs out fished any bugger style pattern.   It takes some practice to decipher the fish’s behavior.  Some spook easily, while others tolerate several casts.  Each trip yielded several 20″ to 28″ carp.  Three of my larger fish fought me to the backing.   It is an angling rush to stalk these fish, make an accurate cast and read the body language of each fish.  It’s not the same as fishing tailing bonefish on the flats, but it still fun.  Most important, it is local, manageable and it is a fishery in my backyard.   In addition, you provide some entertainment for fellow cyclists, dog walkers, joggers, etc.  Twice, I handed my rod to passerby’s and they enjoyed the thrill of bringing in a decent carp.  Speaking of bringing in, those carp really slime up and stink your fine trout net.  I’ve washed mine several times and it is still in the sun drying.  I even took it out of the garage, as my wife began to notice the odor!  That said, don’t let the carpy scent discourage you.  It’s a great backyard fishery and where else can you hunt tailing fish around here?

Posted August 26th, 2010 by Craig Dennison | 0 Comments

Deer hair sliders for smallmouth and pike

Dog days of August are a great time to visit your local warm water creek to cast topwater patterns.  I invited a friend to join me for a Huck Finn adventure of wet wading and rock hopping at Honeoye Outlet.  It's refreshing to wet wade and explore a new portion of a stream.  The water was lown and clear.  Smallmouth were concentrated in stretches that contained greater depth.  Another way to locate these fish is to find suckers.  Smallmouth like to hang around suckers, as they stir up bait.

Despite the presence of numerous crayfish, we decided to throw larger deer hair sliders and poppers.  I think that the waking motion and ability to cover substantial water make topwater sliders ideal for summer smallmouth.  Surprisingly, topwater patterns will often out fish subsurface ones.  Our deer hair patterns out performed sub surface crayfish imitations.  Topwater is especially effective when covering large expanses of water that may or may not contain bass.  I know that when I fish a slider across the slow current of a 2' or 3' deep pool, the bass see/hear my fly.  Color isn't as important, as is the waking retrieve and speed.  Sometimes they want a slow retrieve, other times they attack better on a faster, steady retrieve.

Over the course of four hours we caught fifteen smallmouth between 8" and 13".  We concentrated our efforts on five distinct pools, frequently catching several fish per stretch.  It was great fun to watch the strike and initial jumps of the bass.  We leaped frogged each other and gave up a primary spot after catching a fish.  It's nice to cheer on a friend as he hooks up!  The angling highlight came when Dick hooked a better fish and he couldn't turn it.  After several decent runs and delicately playing it on 6 lb test, he beached a beauty of a pike.  This toothy guy totally chomped on the fly and we couldn't salvage it.  It was a very respectable creek pike and the clear top dog in that portion of the stream!  Pike are usually a surprise and anything close to thirty inches, a bonus.  This pike sure made our day and I'm looking forward to more topwater action.

Posted August 14th, 2010 by Craig Dennison | 1 Comments

WNY warm water fun

Last week, while fishing an inland trout stream, my good friend Lucas Carroll pointed out to me that the leaves were already starting to change on some of the trees that lined the stream. The power of suggestion, or in this case "observation," is a poweful one. My gaze now seems to find every tree that has some sort of color change. Yes I know that fall isn't here yet, but the fact that it is just around the corner gets my juices going. My day dreams of catching trout on small midges, Carp and bass on woolly buggers, and a constantly growing love affair with a certain spring creek, are now being replaced by the epic battle between man and lake run fish. But before the images of giant trout and salmon fully invade the fishy part of my brain, I will continue to make room for the other fish until the inevitable happens.

On Sunday the girls went shopping. The remaining boys and I went East to help my brother in-law fix the yard at his new house. After a few good hours of hard labor that left me with a soar back and dripping wet with sweat, we made our way back home, and more importantly....Black Creek! It was almost 4:30 pm before we even set foot in the warm waters of Black Creek, but it did not take long before our first fish was brought to hand, and the smallmouth bass that inhaled a 4.5" inch white tandom streamer was soon released. We worked the area just below the dam for awhile, but did not hook up with another fish, so we made our way downstream. This worked out really well as each of the boys hooked and landed multiple bass, including a few for Dad. Most were on the small side, but when your hooking and fighting smallmouth on a 4 weight fly rod, they all put up a great fight. We even managed to get a few larger fish that would peel line of the reel and take to the air numerous times. It made for an exciting last part of our evening. But just as we were getting ready to head back, I noticed some larger shapes moving in and out of a shallow riffle section. They were carp - about a half dozen of them were drifting in and out of a small bit of white water that took up the head of a run. Jonathan took up position and began casting. It took a while for him to get the drift right, even with some help from Dad, but he got the hang of it and was soon into his first carp on the fly! He fought it all by himself and worked the fish into the shallows where I could put a net under it. It was a beautiful fish...as far as carp go, and we were all excited to get one last fish before we headed home.

Our plan of attack on this evening was to swing and strip streamers in the current. And boy did it work out well. We landed close to a dozen bass or so and one carp. All fish were taken on either a #6 or #4 white woolly bugger or bead head white streamer. This is the kind of fishing that is perfect for kids. They only need to get the fly into the water and watch as the fly swings accross the current, and more often than not, the fly gets intercepted by a fish within the first 2 seconds of it's drift. It is far from technical fishing, and far more rewarding to a 4 and 8 year old, than trying to catch picky stream trout with super small flies, that require a pin point drift and perfect line control.

All in all it was a great evening with the boys. Who knows what will come next, and perhaps more importantly, when?

Posted August 9th, 2010 by Brian Bradfield | 0 Comments