Ohh My Goodness! Is Spring here yet? Did winter even begin? Why am I not fishing? Ok enough of the questions. The reason I'm not fishing is my son is due in less than 3 weeks. I've been working, helping out at home, trying to sell a car, and spending ample time volunteering. I also threw my back out worse than I've ever done before on Saturday playing basketball with high schoolers. Yeah that's not smart for an out of shape 28 year old. I woke up in the middle of the night, got to my feet, and soon went down in pain. I broke into a cold sweat, felt like puking and almost passed out. It was a good day.
Anyways, I'm not all that upset that I'm not fishing because I'm going to be a dad again, and there's absolutely NOTHING wrong with that. I am however going through a serious case of cabin fever. I think my daughter knows it too. I go downstairs to play with her, and eventually I end up at my fly tying desk and she goes "Help, Help?". So she sits on my lap, plays with my vise and bobbin, and sees what flies I turn out. It's fun but doesn't begin to scratch the itch. Hopefully I'll get her into her first fish this summer which will be great.
So I've only been fishing once this year in the awesome winter we have had. Hit Hells Run and got skunked. Saw 3 fish, 1 hookup and it lasted about 3 seconds max. But it was a beautiful day with a few snow flakes and I hiked and fished much farther than I'd ever done before. This was almost a month ago though. Fly fishing can be a drug. It's addictive, and when you don't have it, you want it. And you want A LOT of it. I'm however in the place in my life where it's impossible for me to get my proper fix. That's ok though, family first. It's still nice to dream.
Speaking of dreams.... KAMCHATKA! A fly fishing friend of mine sent me a DVD of Eastern Rises trip to the Russian peninsula of Kamchatka. OMG. (yeah it makes me talk like a 15 year old girl). I can't get this place out of my head. Big fish, no people, trout on mouse patterns all day long. Yes I said MOUSE patterns. It's a fly fisherman's dream, and I see it day and night. It has officially hit the top of my list. Ahead of Alaska, Patagonia, and New Zealand. I will go to all of those one day, but it may not be for a while.
All I can do is dream right now. This year's dream is to hopefully hit the cicada hatch in the Gettysburg area. We'll see if it all works out, but that's my goal. Great streams with big clumsy bugs flying all around and hungry wild trout. Sounds like a great day to me. I'm also planning on potentially going to Montana next year. So that puts 2 trips under my belt to look forward to. I just hope it all works out.
Now back to my first non purpose blog post. I'll have a son in a few weeks, and things will be crazy for a while. Fishing will take a back seat to the expanded family. I'm ok with that, but cabin fever is still setting in.
It's amazing to think of all the things in my life that I don't deserve. I don't deserve life to begin with or my great wife, wonderful family, awesome job, and ability to enjoy fishing. So all in all, I'll fish when I have time, and enjoy it when I actually get to.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Anticipation of 2012
What am I looking forward to in 2012? Well there are many things. The first, and most important is the birth of my son. Becoming a Dad was the 3rd best decision I've ever made. Yeah that sounds pretty low, but next to God and my wife, it's a pretty good placing. My daughter brings so much joy to my life I can't wait to have a little boy to teach all my "guy" things to. Fly fishing, golf, music, teasing his mother and sister, etc... the list goes on an on. I can't wait!
Next, with respect to the this blog is a better year of fishing. 2011 really stunk. I didn't get out much and didn't catch many fish when I did get out. The conditions were typically awful, and I was too busy with work and family to get out when I wanted to. But that's ok, family comes first.
I want to get back to some normal fishing. I look forward to the grannom caddis hatch on the Neshannock Creek in the early spring. That is the "unofficial" start to the trout season. I will probably head out to some little wild brookie or brown streams before then just to get my feet wet, but the grannoms is a great way to start. They are a snowstorm of a hatch and in the middle of the day so it's fairly easy to catch.
Next up on the chopping block is opening day. I have a friend who got into a hunting camp a few years ago and we've made a new tradition of going up for 2 days and fishing a wild trout stream on Friday and a nice stocked stream on Saturday. It's fun to get away and fish some new areas. Hopefully my buddy will not get lost this year. (that's a story in itself)
The next event is the paflyfish.com spring JAM in Center County. My anticipation for this event always causes sleep deprivation. Getting together with 70+ guys from all over the state of PA and beyond, and fishing some of the best streams in the state is just fantastic. I've met some fantastic people on that site, and learned a lot of how to expand my fly fishing skills immensely in this short weekend trip.
This summer marks the 17 year brood of the cicadas in the Central Valley Limestoners area. I've never fished the cicadas, and heard when they hit in 2008 in Centre County that it was nothing short of epic. I have a friend who promised to show me around the area, as I've never fished it, and he is someone I respect as a person and a fantastic fisherman, so even if the cicadas disappoint, the company will not.
The summer also gives me the anticipation of fishing the private pond at my churches annual pot luck fishing event. Everyone brings a side dish and desert, and they cook up some burgers and dogs. I would rather skip the food and fish the whole time if it was up to me. This place is a large pond and has bluegill the size of 2 hands, and enough 12-15 inch bass to last a lifetime. I typically catch around 25 fish in about 3-4 hours. I also look forward to helping my daughter catch her first fish then. I'm fairly confident she can at least reel in one this year, and hopefully cast herself next year. It's a fun family event, and even get my wife to get in on the fly fishing action here and there. A few years ago she caught her first fish on the fly rod... not that she has any interest what so ever in sharing my hobby.
Once Fall comes around it's steelhead and salmon weather. I went to NY to fish for salmon last year for the first time and plan to do this annually. I know a little bit more of what to expect and hopefully can legally catch a few fish this year. Our group took the skunk home (actually almost got sprayed by a skunk outside our cabin last year) and we hope to change that this year. Steelhead is what I really look forward to every year, and the last few years haven't been very productive. I got spoiled in the first few years I fished up there as the runs were nothing short of fantastic and the last few years have been awful. Either way it's fun to catch some bigger fish on the fly rod and it's nice to get some new people into those fish too.
Some new things I want to do this year is try a few new streams in the Allegheny National Forest. I know a few streams that hold wild rainbows and have never caught one of those. I also didn't get much brookie fishing in this year, and need to scratch that itch a bit more. I also have never caught a large trout. My biggest trout is probably around 16" and I've been searching for that 20" fish for a few years now. I hope to try a few new spots to get a chance at that.
I also have a few goals at work I NEED to hit. My wife has promised if I hit my fall bonus, then I can go on a fishing trip in 2013. It's between Montana to visit a fly fishing friend of mine who recently moved out there, or Alaska. Either will be nothing short of fantastic, just will have to see what works out at that time if I can do it.
All in all I live a blessed life. God uses me in many ways and to enjoy his awesome creation and enjoy fly fishing at the same time is just a great way to clear my mind and enjoy His presence.
Bring it on 2012! I'm ready for you!
Next, with respect to the this blog is a better year of fishing. 2011 really stunk. I didn't get out much and didn't catch many fish when I did get out. The conditions were typically awful, and I was too busy with work and family to get out when I wanted to. But that's ok, family comes first.
I want to get back to some normal fishing. I look forward to the grannom caddis hatch on the Neshannock Creek in the early spring. That is the "unofficial" start to the trout season. I will probably head out to some little wild brookie or brown streams before then just to get my feet wet, but the grannoms is a great way to start. They are a snowstorm of a hatch and in the middle of the day so it's fairly easy to catch.
Next up on the chopping block is opening day. I have a friend who got into a hunting camp a few years ago and we've made a new tradition of going up for 2 days and fishing a wild trout stream on Friday and a nice stocked stream on Saturday. It's fun to get away and fish some new areas. Hopefully my buddy will not get lost this year. (that's a story in itself)
The next event is the paflyfish.com spring JAM in Center County. My anticipation for this event always causes sleep deprivation. Getting together with 70+ guys from all over the state of PA and beyond, and fishing some of the best streams in the state is just fantastic. I've met some fantastic people on that site, and learned a lot of how to expand my fly fishing skills immensely in this short weekend trip.
This summer marks the 17 year brood of the cicadas in the Central Valley Limestoners area. I've never fished the cicadas, and heard when they hit in 2008 in Centre County that it was nothing short of epic. I have a friend who promised to show me around the area, as I've never fished it, and he is someone I respect as a person and a fantastic fisherman, so even if the cicadas disappoint, the company will not.
The summer also gives me the anticipation of fishing the private pond at my churches annual pot luck fishing event. Everyone brings a side dish and desert, and they cook up some burgers and dogs. I would rather skip the food and fish the whole time if it was up to me. This place is a large pond and has bluegill the size of 2 hands, and enough 12-15 inch bass to last a lifetime. I typically catch around 25 fish in about 3-4 hours. I also look forward to helping my daughter catch her first fish then. I'm fairly confident she can at least reel in one this year, and hopefully cast herself next year. It's a fun family event, and even get my wife to get in on the fly fishing action here and there. A few years ago she caught her first fish on the fly rod... not that she has any interest what so ever in sharing my hobby.
Once Fall comes around it's steelhead and salmon weather. I went to NY to fish for salmon last year for the first time and plan to do this annually. I know a little bit more of what to expect and hopefully can legally catch a few fish this year. Our group took the skunk home (actually almost got sprayed by a skunk outside our cabin last year) and we hope to change that this year. Steelhead is what I really look forward to every year, and the last few years haven't been very productive. I got spoiled in the first few years I fished up there as the runs were nothing short of fantastic and the last few years have been awful. Either way it's fun to catch some bigger fish on the fly rod and it's nice to get some new people into those fish too.
Some new things I want to do this year is try a few new streams in the Allegheny National Forest. I know a few streams that hold wild rainbows and have never caught one of those. I also didn't get much brookie fishing in this year, and need to scratch that itch a bit more. I also have never caught a large trout. My biggest trout is probably around 16" and I've been searching for that 20" fish for a few years now. I hope to try a few new spots to get a chance at that.
I also have a few goals at work I NEED to hit. My wife has promised if I hit my fall bonus, then I can go on a fishing trip in 2013. It's between Montana to visit a fly fishing friend of mine who recently moved out there, or Alaska. Either will be nothing short of fantastic, just will have to see what works out at that time if I can do it.
All in all I live a blessed life. God uses me in many ways and to enjoy his awesome creation and enjoy fly fishing at the same time is just a great way to clear my mind and enjoy His presence.
Bring it on 2012! I'm ready for you!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
I'm a believer!!
Every year on Black Friday I take the trek up to Erie to "escape the crowds". I do most of my shopping online, so why not take advantage of the day off and fish a weekday. So a good friend of mine joined me whom I haven't fished with in over a year. It was great to catch up on life and fishing.... isn't that what fishing is all about?
So we take the 2 hour drive, and are lucky enough not to see any deer in the middle of the road on the way up. We get to the mouth of Elk at around 7:15 and see around 15-20 cars, which is encouraging. When the fishing is good, this place is just packed. A friend of mine joined us for just a few hours up there with his father and 9 year old son. We put them in a nice spot and started to fish.
The water was in almost perfect condition. Slightly up with a green tint and a foot or so of visibility. We had a nice rain 2 days before which typically sets up conditions like this that are favorable to fish the tribs of Erie. I made my way upstream only to my friend hooked into a fish in the first 5 minutes. (he seems to do that a lot)
I pride myself in finding fish that most other people simply pass up. I get joy out of knowing peoples thoughts..."I would have NEVER thought to fish there". This happened 3 times over the day for me.
So I find this nice long run, maybe about 100 yards and no one's fishing it. I like sighting fish in Erie and there was just enough visibility to do so. I walk about 20 yards up and find a pair of fish. I cast a few times and finally hit the feeding lane and get a strike instantly. He takes off upstream with a head shake and tosses the hook. 0-1 but sting a fish no one thought to look for.
We fished the mouth for a little bit longer and it seems to shut down. We decide to head to Folly's. I love the water there and it just draws me in. Plus we didn't have all that much time or probably would have headed east and the water’s a bit easier for the young boy to fish.
We hit Folly's and the cars are parked all the way up to the road! I park and head into the shop and he tells me I can park right by the pavilion. It pays to run the steelhead JAM there!
So we get out and I head to my favorite run just below the 98 bridge. There's 1 older gentleman fishing and no one else in sight. I strike up a conversation and we have a blast hooking several fish and I finally landed one on a cream egg pattern.
The guy above me lands about 5 fish in the next half hour and it shuts down again. The 9 year old with us hooked into one fish and had a blast seeing all these big fish and the fights they put on. That's almost more fun than catching them myself.
So the fishing shuts down a bit there and I head down to fish with my buddy. He's fishing the "swim at your own risk" pool in the riffles just above it. He claims he's hooking tons of fish all in the same spot and moves over a bit for me to have a try. I put a few drifts through, get a few strikes but none landed. This is one of those days that the action is ok and you're changing flies all day long because they're not keying in on one specific thing.
I open my nymph box and see a few small "Infamous Pink Worms" (IPW), that I typically use for brookie streams or sometimes stocked trout. I've never used one of these for steelhead and figure what the heck, I'll tie it on. So I tie it on the bottom of my tandem and toss it in. About 6 feet into my drift my line goes tight and I bring up a nice fresh silver.
First drift, new fly, I'm a believer!
So I fish there a bit longer and we decide to head downstream. I'm walking some "dead" parts of the stream and see a log that's forming a bit of a faster current and a "V" shape in the water. I slowly sneak over there and see 2 fish swimming right in the V. I put a few casts after adjusting my weight and hit one in the head and they both swim off. That was the 2nd spot that I bet no one thought to fish over for the day.
We hit the first wall downstream and it's packed with fishermen. I head farther downstream, constantly keeping my eyes open for fish. I see a spot that is just raging with water. The stream cuts in half with a bit of a wall on one side and takes an “S” turn. There’s a spot that is white capping right in the middle of the run. I look close and it seems like there’s just enough room right under the cap for a fish to have a holding spot. I throw a few casts in and decide to put back on the IPW. 2 casts later my line goes tight and I set the hook. One of the largest steelhead I’ve ever hooked is on the end of my line and takes off downstream. I let go of some pressure to let him run but it doesn’t matter. He breaks me off and I yell in disbelief. I rarely break off fish and for one this big to break me off is quite a disappointment. So that was the 3rd spot that I KNOW no one fished all day and I found willing fish.
We headed back to the car soon after and even though I only landed a few fish that day it was quite successful for many reasons.
Now to the vise to tie up some IPW’s!
This day reminded me of my readings lately in 2 Corinthians 12:10.
For Christ's Sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak then I am strong.
Sometimes there are difficult things out there that not many people want to step up to do. Those of us who listen intently to what He has to say and step out from the crowd can be rewarded with things that are individual just to us. The joy in listening and ACTING on what God has to say brings much joy to us in our walks with Him.
Ryan
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