I'm Back!

I just graduated from high school a few weeks ago, and I've been super busy. I've been all over the place, from the Catskills, to the beach and a whole bunch of places in between.  It's been quite a while since I've put a new post up, so I figured I'd try to get back into the swing of things.  So on that note...

The Catskills:
This year, I had made it a goal to spend as much time on the Delaware River System as possible, and I did.  For a three week period, I was driving up twice a week for a day or two at a time, and even though it was tiring, expensive, and frustrating, I had an absolute blast.  Unfortunately, the last time I was up there about two weeks ago, I was dumb and took a solid wader shot trying to cross some heavy riffles.  Of course, me being the idiot I am, I had my phone in my pocket.  Needless to say, my phone was ruined and I lost a ton of pictures from all my trips since the end of May.  (ALWAYS backup.  Idiot.)  Anyway, I got a new phone and a sick waterproof case, so we will not be having this issue again.  When I was up there, I caught some good fish, fished with some good people and explored a lot of new water, so it was all most definitely worth it for me.

The "In-Between":
I fished in the Poconos and Lehigh valley a few times in that period as well, and that was also a ton of fun.  Many of the creeks were starting to get low and hatches were winding down, but I managed to catch fish on every trip, so I can't really complain.  I fished with a few good friends and two of my former high school teachers on some of those trips and a great time was had by all.  I also went hiking with a few of my buddies in the Poconos and got some really cool pictures, but the West Branch spill killed them as well.  (Idiot yet again.)

The Beach:
I've been living at my beach house for the last two or so weeks, and again, I've been having lots of fun. I only fished twice while down there, but I managed to get into some solid action in the inlets and sod bank marshes later at night.  One evening while driving to meet some friends, I saw a group of birds working a small blitz in the back bay along the road.  I immediately pulled over, grabbed a rod and caught a bunch of little bluefish that were busting on silversides in a little cover area.  Talk about a blast on a 5 weight.

So there you have it... A quick recap of the past month for me.  Hope my little story didn't bore you guys, but I'm home again, so look for some new posts coming up.  I will be out doing some bass fishing, maybe a little striper fishing at the beach and a whole lot of scouting for archery season, so keep an eye out for some cool pictures and stories in the next few weeks.

Catskills Recap

Jared, Steve and I headed up to the Catskills this past weekend looking for bugs and rising fish.  Jared and I left Sunday around noon and headed North.  When we made it to the West Branch of the Delaware, we were greeted with high sun, extremely warm temperatures, few bugs and even fewer rising fish.  Around 6 o'clock, however, the fishing began to pick up.  Over the next few hours, I picked up a few fish, but nothing fantastic.  Right at dark, a huge caddis hatch began and the fish turned on.  There were a ton of rising fish and we took advantage of it, each landing two fish during the short burst of action, with Jared's last fish of the night being a good one.  We walked back to the car in total darkness and headed back to the motel where we met up with Steve.  We BS'ed for a while and then hopped in the car and grabbed dinner at Lydia's.  It was a good way to end a good day.

Jared with a nice fish in the dark

The next morning, we had SUPER high expectations.  The forecast called for clouds, little wind, a few scattered showers and high humidity... aka perfect bug conditions.  We got to the water around 9:30, and within minutes I hooked and landed my first of the day, a pretty brown trout.  Jared hooked and lost two right after that, but then the rain rolled in.  The light scattered showers we were hoping for became an all out downpour for a while.  The rain slowed down, but then started right back up again.  The fishing really slowed down after the rain and we kinda sat around waiting for something to happen.  Steve then joined us on the bank and we hoped that the bugs would really pick up.  That didn't happen.  We had scattered caddis, sulphurs and march browns, but not the huge hatches we were expecting.  Sometimes it just works out that way.  Jason Taylor, a friend and customer, met up with us and the whole group continued with the waiting game.  Throughout the rest of the day, we all caught random fish here and there, but it was definitely not what we wanted.  

Spunky little guy

And the release...

The vast majority of the fish we caught were in the 12"-17" range, but there were definitely some bigger fish up.  I saw what looked to be a good fish rise and slowly moved up into position.  He ate again, and I gave him a March Brown emerger.  On the first drift, he engulfed it and it was on.  The fish flew down stream, jumping all the way down.  I got him back up towards me, but when I went to net him, he wanted no part of it.  He took off again and continued with his acrobatic showcase, nearly taking me to my backing for a second time.  I turned him and got some line back, but he decided to jump one more time.  In my case, it was one time too many.  As he jumped, he twisted in the air and landed right on my 6X.  The fly pulled out and it was game over.  Talk about a heartbreaker.  That was definitely the largest trout I have ever hooked in my life, and even though I didn't land him, the whole thing just left me wanting more.  That was not the only big fish of the trip though.  About 30 minutes later, Jared caught a super solid fish way upstream from the rest of the group, so no picture, but from what I heard, it was a hogger.  Jason Taylor also caught a great fish down below the group, so yet again no big fish pictures.  Overall, it was a great trip, with lots of fish hooked, plenty lost or broken off and a bunch of them slipped into a net.  The D can be a fickle river for sure, but the frustrations, hours of waiting and lost fish are what keeps me coming back time and time again.   As a matter of fact, I think I'm going to brave the forecasted rain and thunder storms and head up in about 8 hours or so.  We'll see what happens!

Czech Nymphs - Not Just for the Euro Guys

When the Euro nymphing craze really took off here in the US a few years ago, I jumped in head first.  For over a year, I nearly only fished in either the French, Czech, or Polish style, or some variation on that theme.  I got pretty darn good at it and I learned how to catch a lot more fish, read water better and become an overall better angler.  If you haven't tried these techniques before, I would highly recommend that you give them a shot.  Now you don't have to go out and buy an 11' 3 wt. rod, but learning the basics of these techniques will put more fish in your net.  For more information on the subject, you won't find a better source of information than "Dynamic Nymphing: Tactics, Techniques and Flies from Around the World," an outstanding book written by my friend and world renowned angler George Daniel.  The book is a wealth of knowledge on all things nymphing, from European to American styles and just about everything in between.  Anyway, back to the post.  So when I started using these techniques, I tied a lot of wild and crazy nymphs specifically for the European style of nymphing.  While more fish than I care to think about fell to a good ole' fashioned Pheasant Tail, I also caught a ton of fish using Czech, Polish and other European style nymphs.  Today, I fish with a variety of techniques, doing whatever I need to do to catch fish.  The European techniques are outstanding when the conditions allow for them, but that is not always the case.  Sometimes, you need to throw on the old Thingamabobber and go to town in order to have success.  My time spent learning the Euro techniques showed me just how effective some of the "Euro specific" flies can be and now, I fish them all the time.  So my point is, don't think that just because something is called a "Czech nymph," you can only fish it while Czech nymphing.  Don't be afraid to mix things up, because the vast majority of the time, being able to adapt to changing conditions and giving the fish what they want is much more important than the size tippet you're fishing or the color of your indicator.

So, on that note, here is a quick tutorial on tying my favorite style of Czech nymph.  Pardon the poor lighting in the photos... My tying lamp bulb is shot and I'm just too lazy to replace it, so the old desk lamp is all I've got.


Standard Czech Nymph
Hook: TMC C300BL Competition Hook #8-12 (#10 used in the tutorial)
Lead: .015 Lead Wire
Thread: Brown 8/0 UNI-Thread (70 Denier)
Shellback: Sow-Scud Back 1/8" Clear
Dubbing: Natural Hare's Ear blended with additional guard furs from a Hare's Mask (Just about any color will work)
Hot Spot: Sow-Scud Shrimp Pink Dubbing (Any bright color will be fine. My favorites are Pink, Orange, Chartreuse and Yellow)
Rib: 5X Monofilament Tippet

Place hook in the vise

Add 15 or so lead wraps

Start thread and advance to back

Tie in shellback and rib

Using some type of dubbing wax (I prefer Loon Swax), wax your thread and gently touch the dubbing to the thread.  The wax will grab the fibers of the dubbing.  Rapidly spin your bobbin clockwise until the dubbing begins to twist around the thread.  This is called touch dubbing. Advance the dubbing noodle to about the 2/3 point on the shank.

Dub your hotspot and wrap the noodle forward a bit

Dub the head using the same touch dubbing technique as above. Pull the shellback forward and secure it at the eye.  I usually add a quick half-hitch to ensure the scud back doesn't come loose if I hit my bobbin while ribbing the fly. 

Rib the fly in even wraps ensuring to apply enough tension to give the fly the segmented look Czech nymphs are known for.  Whip finish at the eye.  Grab a marker (Brown Sharpie in this case) and color the front portion of the shellback.  Pick out the dubbing using some Velcro or a dubbing brush.  You're done!

A completed group of Czech nymphs in some of my favorite color combinations. 

Snow in April? You Betcha!

For the first time (that I can remember at least) I fished while it was snowing in April.  Jake, Jared and myself woke up early on Monday with the intentions of fishing the West Branch of the Delaware.  We had been hit by a ton of rain, but with the reservoir so far below capacity, we didn't think they would open it up.  We were wrong.  Right after I picked Jared up in Bryn Mawr, Jared (thankfully!) got a call from Steve from the Bryn Mawr shop and told us they were blowing out the West Branch, with water levels well over 1000 CFS.  We hadn't even thought to check, so I immediately called Jake and told him what was going on.  We checked a few other gauges and reports and after weighing our options, we decided to head to State College to fish the Little Juniata.  We got on the highway and headed to Reading.  Once we met up with Jake, we were on our way to State.  We knew it would be raining, but as we got closer to the J, we were met with a surprise... it was snowing.  As we climbed in elevation, there was even some significant accumulation.  We got to the creek, got rigged up and started fishing.  With cooler water temps and flows climbing steadily throughout the day, the fishing was kinda slow, but we all managed to catch quite a few fish on nymph rigs and streamers.  The funniest part about it all was at the end of the day, there was a pretty solid Sulphur hatch and fish up and eating them here and there.  We were all so cold and tired that we didn't even bother trying to re-rig and fish for them, but it was quite a sight to see.  A Sulphur hatch in April is odd enough, but to see fish rising to Sulphurs in a wintry mix of snow and rain was pretty wild.  Overall, it was a great day of fishing with two great guys.  Let's do it again soon fellas.

                 My first of the day.  Note the snow on the mountains. 

                         

Jared with a solid Little J fish caught on a streamer

The Flyin' Hawaiian with the release.

My favorite fish of the day.  Solid, spunky and beautiful. 

Going back home.

Jared with another beauty. 

Close up.

Jake with a real spunky fish.

Welcome to the Delaware

This past Monday, Jared, Steve, Jim and I all headed North to fish the Delaware River system.  Heavy winds were forecasted, but we decided that there were bugs and rising fish, so we were going, wind or no wind.  I am no expert when it comes to the Catskills in any way, shape or form, but I decided to show Jared what I know about the great fishery that is the Delaware.  Jim was already at his cabin up there, and Steve left early Monday morning to meet Jimmy.  I met Jared at the shop in Bryn Mawr around 7 when he got off the train and we hit the road.  After the three or so hour car ride, we got rigged up and headed to the water.  When we arrived, the wind was absolutely brutal with gusts over 40mph.  We decided, however, that in a few hours there would be bugs and rising fish.  We were right.  Over the next two hours, Hendricksons and Paraleps began hatching everywhere, but the wind made the fishing incredibly difficult.  Whenever the wind died down a bit, the fishing was fast and furious, as fish were up and gorging themselves on bugs.  As soon as the wind picked up again, however, the fish were sent back down and just ate nymphs and emergers below the surface.

Crazy Hawaiian

The West Branch of the Delaware

Lots-o-nymphs

Since this was Jared’s first time on the D, I was really hoping he would have fun.  Not only did he have fun, Jared hooked and landed his first two Delaware fish!  During a brief break in the wind, Jared hooked up with a solid fish.  After a great fight with some powerful runs, I slipped the fish into the net and Jared was greeted with his first ever Delaware fish, a beautiful silvery brown.  Great job man!

Jared's first look at his fish

Nice one man!

A little while later, I hooked a really good fish, but lost him when he ran right at me and I just couldn’t get tight.  You win some, you lose some.  Shortly thereafter, I decided to walk upstream and see what I could do above Jared.  Just as I got back into the water, I glanced down at Jared just in time to see him come tight to a really good fish.  I rushed down and after an incredible fight with quite a few close calls, we netted the fish, which was Jared’s largest trout ever by far.  He was super stoked and so was I.  We fished for a little while longer, but the sun began to dip behind the mountains and as the temperature dropped, the bugs stopped hatching.  We packed up and headed to Wendy’s, where we then gorged ourselves like the fish and headed home.  It was a rough day, but overall, it was a blast.  Nice job braddah!

Pig

This was a super fat fish

"I'm ready for my close-up."

Well That Didn't Work

Well I had planned quite a few trips over the last few days, but for one reason or another they either fell through or the fishing sucked.  For instance, I drove to the Lehigh Valley and floated the Lehigh River with my buddy Tom on his boat.  There were bugs, there were some rising fish and there were unbelievably powerful winds that totally jacked us up.  I missed one fish on a BWO emerger because the wind put so much slack in my line that I just couldn't get tight.  It got really cold on the water and overall the fishing sucked.  Then I was supposed to head to State College with my friend Shane, but life got in the way and I had to do some stuff around here.  Of course, they dominated fish and had a blast.  Crap.  So me, I've just been fishing Valley almost everyday and having a good time doing it.  I've been catching a lot of fish over there.  Just gotta be willing to walk and get away from other anglers.  I haven't been taking any fish pictures since I figured you guys are getting bored of seeing the "Valley brown in my hand" picture over and over.  I am, however, going to the Catskills tomorrow in search of hatching bugs and rising fish, so hopefully I'll have some more pictures like the one below to post.  I just hope the predicted 20-30 mph winds die down at least a little bit.  Two trips in one week ruined by wind would really make me mad, but I'm gonna stay positive about all this... for now. 

West Branch Beauty 

Small Water and Lots of Fish

On Saturday, I spent the day working at TCO Reading with Jake.  When we closed the shop at 6, we headed to a small local wild trout stream.  The temperature had dropped significantly and the wind had picked up, so the fishing was a little slower than usual, but we each managed to land some fish and enjoy this little creek.  Neither of us remembered to get a fish picture, but I did snap a few pics of the creek and what not.

Jacob through the trees

Beautiful

Today was my first day of my Spring break and I planned to head North for some big water and big fish, but unfortunately my car was out of commission as I waited to the last minute to get it inspected and they couldn't get it done until late today. (Smacks face.)  So when I retrieved my vehicle, I headed to Valley and I was certainly glad I did.  I arrived to find caddis buzzing around and lots of fish eating up top.  I caught a bunch of fish just slowly working upstream blind casting and fishing to the occasional steady riser.  When the caddis hatch began to slow down around 5 or so, the fish started eating midges and olives.  And eat they did.  I caught a ton of fish on a small olive in any piece of flat water.  I fished until I couldn't see the rises anymore as I played the "general area" game when it started getting too dark to see my fly.  I got a couple fish pictures early in the day, but then my phone died.  I also saw about 20 deer and I had a great time messing with them trying to sneak up real close.  I got a crappy picture of a few of them right before my phone died.  Enjoy.  I'm headed to the Lehigh Valley tomorrow, State College later this week and the Catskills next Monday, so stay tuned for lots of pictures and maybe some exciting stories too. 

Fishy number 1

Number 2

Number 3

Silly Deer