4-30-10

Went out to a little lake this morning...There was no wind anywhere....I mean anywhere...Until I put my kayak in the water...Then 30 mph gusts came from nowhere...the sun was covered by clouds....I looked to the sky and said "REALLY"...then fished on....caught 4 pickerel in all....tough day...fish were acting a little weird, it's been cold and a little hail and snow mix the last 3 days....Hopefully everything will be back to normal now that 7o degrees is coming back in style....Went with a pink streamer....never used it before...saved the day...hooked 3 out of 4 on it....It now has a permanent home in my box....Till tomorrow...Tight lines and bent rods....

4-29-10

This morning.....more fish catching stuff....some of these patterns were take offs of others work....that is the great thing about fly tying, learning from our own kind....need to go and fish tomorrow...

4-29-10

So the weather has kind of sucked here for the last several days...No fishing....I have however been making a lot of streamers for this weekends fishing adventure...Going to try and hook up on my first Northern Pike or Tiger Muskie on a fly.....Can't wait....I can feel a new addiction in the making....Not that my love of small mouth bass will ever subside.....Here they are...Enjoy...

4-25-10

Went out today despite the weather, rainy and cold.....Was paid off with two 17 inch smallies, one 16 incher, a little guy and abigger guy that got off at the boat....Tough paddling back upstream when the creek is 1 1/2 feet high still...Got my workout in....




Water is still very murky, black saved the day. Used a black bunny minnow, and a black sex dungeon....The sex dungeon was sacrificed to the creek boulder gods at the end of the day....Must make more.....

4-24-10

Oh what a beautiful morning...Sun shining, no ice on my windshield.....Some pickerel landed....The lake is starting to grow up weeds.....Now is the time to start fishing weedless clousers, deceivers, or anything that rides hook point up and top water goodness.....This is when my deer hair bass bugs start to shine.....

4-23-10

One of the struggles with fly fishing, especially fly fishing out of a kayak is the wind...If you use a sidearm cast, and a double haul, with a heavy enough fly rod, casting is workable. Now leaves the problem of doing battle with a kayak that seems to have a mind of it's own. Never fear, for there are choices....We can anchor, we can use a drift sock, we can brace against a fallen tree or large boulder....Or we can just let the current and wind have there way with us....Today was a day where there was no beating Mother Nature and here breath....My favorite smallmouth creek is still running about a foot or so high, and murky....Which naturally means the current is stronger then usual...The wind was so strong that it was blowing me and my yak upstream against the current....41 degrees, then the wind chill....Damn....Jack Frost and Mother Nature must be humping....because he hasn't left yet....I refused to go home without a fish in the boat....So 1 smallie it was....14 inches...Day complete....Home to a hot shower and cup of Joe.....Now off to make somebody's skin beautiful....

4-21-10

Hit my favorite local smallie stream today...Water is a little high still, visability was probably 4-6 inches....Looked a little like antifreeze, a change from the chocolate milk last week....A few days and it should clear up....Went for an hour, had to work for them...But managed two...One was 15 inches, the other about 11.....First ones of the year....I'll take it....Beautiful morning though, 40 degress to start, sun shining....A great beginning to a long day of work....Till next time....

4-20-10

Went out to a favorite lake of mine this morning...It was 32 degrees and my jeep was frost covered....Oh well...Winter seems to want to linger this year....Tried some new flies out.....My Sunfish Popper....There is a pic of the Bass that fell for it....

I caught another smaller one on a yellow zoo cougar.....

Then the biggest pickerel I've ever caught out of this lake...but....broke it off at the boat due to me not using a net...haha....Caught another pickerel in pic....Got him using a clouser minnow....

I played around with a few new patterns that were sent to me, tied by Matt Erny from Michigan, the Big Eyed Frog had a violent strike that went straight through 50 lb braid.....The grey and white minnow pattern also brought on terrific strikes but no hook sets.....The water is warming....oh yeah....

4-18-10

Went out today with a new friend...Mother nature is toying with us NY fishermen...It was 40 degrees, raining, hailing, snowing and blowing.....Not a great day to hit the water....The sun was a distant memory of warmth....We hit the trout stream first...notta.....SC.....Then proceeded to HL a lake we frequent to catch some gills..Even they were playing hard to get today.....I caught 2, Steve 1....We parted ways and I went to another little resevoir, proceeded to get caught in a blinding hail and rain storm, fly rod in hand.....Called it quits for the day....A warm shower, hot coffee and dinner will end it all perfectly...Till tomorrow....Tight lines....

4-15-10

Went out this morning to a favorite bass, pickerel and gill lake....HL....It was 36b degrees outside, frost on the hood of my jeep...I think Mother Nature is toying us fisherman....It was a beautiful morning though, sun shining, the birds singing, ducks floating lazily around with the breeze....Nothing crazy today.....Top water gill action with a chartreuse and black striped slider......I'm not really sure what my recent obsession with catching these is all about, maybe they are just fun. I think a majority of spin fisherman consider them to be junk, throw on a worm and bammmm....you have one after the other...With a light weight fly rod you need to work for them a little bit, especially on the top, it's not that easy....Good times anyway....till tomorrow....

4-14-10

So I went to a local resevoir today...a place I frequent for Bass from shore and gills galore.....I was there for maybe 30 minutes or so...A truck pulls up, some dude steps out...Comes over and starts asking how often I fish there...blah blah blah....He then goes on to tell me to be careful next week, they are setting traps for the beavers. Now I understand that beavers carry bacteria that can infiltrate the water system, there damns can reek havoc on a water system...however these beavers have been there as long as I can remember and are gigantic...So why all of a sudden....That aside....I ask the gentleman where they plan on relocating them to....Oh no, no relocation, don't stick you hands near those traps, you won't get them back, they will be kill traps. Now I'm not an overly sensitive guy by any means, nor am I a hunter, although I see nothing wrong with harvesting fish or animals for the purpose of food, I don't usually partake in it, but I don't find it offensive. I see no reason what so ever to kill the beavers, when they can be just as easily be relocted.....So I my mojo was depleted, and home I went to tie flies instead.....

4-13-10

So I decided this morning to explore a little shallow, dead tree ridden lake like thing next to a bigger lake that I fish quite often. I hunt for gills in this swampy lake from shore from time to time, but never have I put a kayak in it. The larger lake contains panfish, perch, crappies, pickerel and largemouth....Today was the day....The fishing wasn't great, I caught a few welcomed pickerel, but no bass.

I did however make a new acquaintance....A few otters graced me with there curious presence. They stayed about 40 feet from me at all times, but dove and splashed and watched me all over the lake. I think we forget sometimes when the fishing is slow, why it is exactly that we do what we do. I put down my rod, picked up my camera and enjoyed the nature that as fly anglers, we become part of. Sometimes sitting back and just being there is the best part.



On my way home I made a quick stop to a local resevoir and threw some little poppers for about 20 minutes. I walked back into this little cove area where not too many people go, mainly because the walk is not easy. I happened on a school of gills....









The morning started great.....Can't wait to do it tomorrow.....Don't forget to stop and take in all the things that matter.....Catching fish is not always the best part of a day on the water....