End of Another year of Adventures

The year is almost over  and its time to start making plans for 2012. To sum up this past year i would say it was one year of high water and unpredictable fishing conditions. There were plenty of chances to get out and go fishing and it never seemed to be as good as it could be. It is always good to be out and doing what you love to do. I got the chance to work with some great people this year in the store and starting to rebuild my collection of equipment to include some Hardy reels and an original CFO. This year I suffered the tragedy of losing my father the man that brought introduced me to the sport. This lose has lead me to rethink the true purpose of life and brought me closer to the ones and things I love. With out a doubt i would not have the experiences in my life that I have if it was not for my dad. I plan on getting more involved this coming year with introducing this sport to more people to share this wonderful sport with the next generation of fly fisherman. Well here is a look back on 2011..

Thanks and maybe I will see you on the run....

Merry Christmas and a Happy New year

DSR 9/25-26

Spent the last two days down at the DSR with one of my co-workers from the Sporting Gentleman and some good people and my brand new Helios 11 8 Switch rod and  had non stop action for two days. The DSR was pack and for a good reason the Coho's were leading their charge up river and the action was explosive. Monday was hot and humid and the sun slowed the action down but still hit fish through out the day. Tuesday was on fire from day break to around 11: OO AM. The Coho's were present in full force with fresh Kings a few steelhead and a couple stout Brownies taken to the net. Specials thanks to the Jason of the DSR who provided outstanding Guiding services and made a great day fishing possible.

thanks and i will see you on the run.

steve  

Trico's the Saga continues

Hot and Humid it has been in Pa and that means one thing Trico's. Had a chance to fish over the last three weeks and the fishing was very up and down. My first trip was to the Tully and was rewarded with for early efforts with several nice trout. Indeed you never know what to expect with this tiny Mayfly, what life cycle the fish will key in on and on my first adventure it was sunken spinners that produced the most fish. My next trip out was to Little Lehigh and the trike were not really motivating the trout but i still had a good day with a few fish on spinners and caddis patterns.

Next week we headed off to the Tully for some July 4th Trico's and got skunked!!! No trout at all the fish were there but so were the fisherman. Way to much pressure on these fish and the water temps were creeping higher and higher. I did manage too catch almost every species of fish in the Tully though on sunken spinners. Several nice smallmouth to boot.

Today i went back to the Little Lehigh to see if the fish were hungry and yes they were. Today made up for last weeks debacle and then some with brownies taken spent spinners for a good hour or so. The big fish was a nice brown trout that hit a compara dun trico imitation that drifted right over his head and he slurped it in and put a nice ariel display with his attempt to break free.

The Tricos are now becoming less prevalent but still moving fish, have a great day and spend some time on the water before its over for the Tricos.

steve

Benton to the Vineyard and back to Central Pa.

Spent 9 days on the road fishing and having a blast. Started out in Benton Pa trying to find some fishable water, but with Fishing Creek swollen with rain water decided to try some pond fishing instead. After come home from North East Pa headed home to work off some supplies and hit the run for Martha's Vineyard. The Vineyard was a blast with fishing being fishing and the stipers not really cooperating. After 5 days on the Vineyard headed back out to Central Pa to hit a private stretch of water with Barry Staats and a few Clients from the store. It was a cool little mountain stream with huge fish in it. Had a great time fishing i did not really catch that many fish but got a chance to renew my love of the sport.

Have a great day and maybe next time i will see you on the run

steve

Memorial Day Weekend

Got out early today on the friday of Memorial Day Weekend hit Valley Forge to pay some respects to the people that provided us our freedom. The day was perfect with the early morning haze slowly burning away with the sun's emerging glare, and the BWO were happily scattered across the water surface. The fishing on Valley Creek can be tough but one you are there early it can pay off. A few casts with the BWO emerger produced a fish with an instinctive splash on the surface and a beautiful streambred brown trout was released back into its holding lane. A few fish here and there and i made my way out, a great day on the water that only lasted about an hour but well worth it. Getting ready for a few trips one to Benton Pa to see some old friends and fish a few ponds and Fishing Creek. Then off to the Vineyard !!!


Happy Memorial Day and maybe i will see you on the run!

steve

West Branch Sporting Gentleman Trip

Had a chance to fish the West Branch of the Delaware River with a few guys from the Sporting Gentleman and the Fantastic people from The Delaware River Club in Starlight Pa. The River is always a challenge and with high water and windy condition we expected the worse. We had been looking at the water levels for a few weeks trying to decide how to prepare for high water, and we really caught a break in the weather and the conditions peaked for us on the first day. The Hendricksons were out along with some Caddis and a glimpse  or two of the March Brown. After drifting the upper portion of the West Branch we found a spot and both boats anchored on a little island and the hatch broke mid afternoon. Marc from the store had two big fish on dries, one close to 20 inches; with myself managing to land two small but beautiful Brownies. Everyone hooked up with fish on dries and a few streamer fish on the drift. After lunch and what seemed like suspended animation with dry flies we headed to the Home pool for some more surface action. Not to long after hitting the Home pool the rain fell and the day was winding down, after the rain shower we caught a few more fish and even a Brook Trout fell for compardun for me. Great first day on the river, the guided Jeff and Steve were great and we headed in for dinner.
The second day the river decided that we had to much fun and decided to play hard to get. It rained pretty heavy through the night and the fish were very much like to fish i remember from past trips hard to get although it was a nice day the fish would not cooperate but we still managed to boat a few fish, We overall had a great trip with the first day being one of those you should of been here yesterday types of days. The second day panned out to still be an amazing day on the river, with a shore lunch with two great guides and a few good friend.

Have a great day and maybe next time i will see you on the run

steve

may 1 and 2nd

I did finally get a chance to fish yesterday after working in the shop with Barry and a few others from the Sporting Gentleman. Hit one one the local ponds in West Chester for some pan fish on poppers. Always great to fish with Barry he is a true icon in the sport of fly fishing. I had the pleasure of having the chance to fish with the Mary from the store and Sunday evening became a true sentiment of what fly fishing is all about . The Bluegills and pan fish were very receptive with everyone having a blast.

Next was a brief moment of freedom today for me and i ran out to Ridley creek for some Black Caddis action. Mary had fished Ridley with a client on Sunday and had told me that the Black Caddis was plentiful on Sunday and i could not resist. I started at the Falls and was quickly noticing that the Caddis were present in full force. The Black Caddis is one of those hatches that is more myth then merit and as usual the fish seemed to ignore the bounty, I did manage two fish in Black Caddis emergers and a few more on a quill imitation. Good day it on;y lasted a short time but was fun indeed. Till next time way i might see you on the run

Steve

The Tully

Today was a very nice day for early April, temps were in the mid 70's and I headed out to Reading to fish the Tully. Of course when I got tho the creek there were already people fishing which for 11:30 on a monday is shocking but that never stops me from enjoying myself. I started out at the Paper Mill access and of noticed that the Black Stone Flies were fluttering about and worked myself upstream looking for some surface action. Well I stood in the water for ten minutes without seeing a single rise so i decided to turn on some tunes hoping that it would bring me some luck. After what seemed like forever i finally saw a fish break the surface slashing about as he tried to eat those fluttering stone flies. The water was slightly off color and flowing, it should have been easier then it was. the first fish was a nice brownie with another shortly after him. an hour or so i decided to walk upstream to see if there was anything happening upstream. I made all the way up to Reber's bridge before i saw another fish. A few rainbows feel for some high sticking and i also lost what seemed to be a pretty nice fish right below the bridge in the deep run by the feeder creek. Good day but should have been better. The Tully seems to be in good shape but the fish seemed to be spread out with the water levels. The hatches should start within the next few weeks or so so get ready for some caddis and BWO's ..

see you On The Run

Steve