Weekly Update

Well, almost everything is right with the world…

We did manage to get through the first opening day here in Maine with a rod in our hand! However, the journey was not tough. Snow blanketed the state, and made it rather difficult to get anywhere you needed to in order to fish. But I did manage to hit a few open water spots and make a few casts to no avail.

With most of the snow from the storm gone, I’m hoping to get out again this week and begin to really dive into some water. There was an unplanned trip to CT this past week for some personal stuff, and we had family here all weekend, so now it’s time to get back to business…

In sad news, Didymo (Didymosphenia Geminate), has finally found it’s way into Connecticut’s Farmington River. Here’s the FULL ARTICLE (via CT's Government Site). Please read it, and familiarize yourself with the ways in which we can stop the spread of this awful menace…

Picture From Article

Blog Updates, Coming News, And a Piggy...

I firstly would like to apologize for the lack of posts…it’s been a whirlwind in my personal life over the last few months, and it’s finally started to catch up with me. I guess its better that it happens during an off time in the fishing season; however it is still a drag…


Regardless, I’m working on getting through these next few weeks so that I can begin to get back on to posting, and updating you. I can’t quite let the cat out of the bag, but I can promise that there will be some changes coming around these parts soon… a NICE change of scenery, and a great agenda for the 2011 Fishing Season…

In the meantime, I’ll be checking back in on and off, but come early March, life should be quiet, and we should be back to more time on our hands for blogging…

In fishing related news, the ice here along Erie has finally broken up…at least most of the way. The rivers are running high and dirty with a lot of melt off. This is great news for us steelhead junkie who have been locked up now for most of the winter. It’s been a bad one, with very little fishing taking place since early December. Kind of a drag, but it’s allowed me the time to prepare for some other ventures this summer…

Anyways, in other news…check out this PIG of a brownie from Central Ohio picked up yesterday…fly courtesy of ACF. Great looking fish for a lot of places in the US, never mind a medium sized river in Ohio…

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Well be in touch on and off for the next week or two, but there's more coming...I promise!
 
Thanks for checking in!

Weekly Update

Rivers are frozen, and we're getting 12 - 14 inches of snow in the next 48 hours...in it for the long haul...

Sorry we've been out of touch lately...been dealing with some personal items...but should be back to normal within the next week...

Hopefully the lucky bastards with open water are catching fish!

Weekly Update

Iced...with no end in sight...

Schmidt did say that the NCFF show was great this year. Great turnout, and great vendors. Unfortunately I was tied up for the day...

Hopefully we're back to normal posting this week...it's been a roller coaster since 2011 began. Looking to right the ship soon!

Have a great week and stay warm...

Weekly Update...

Well another week of nothing fly fishing for me…turns out the weather gods had other ideas for the streams. Most began to slush over through the days last week, and by the looks of the weeks forecast, we should be locked up for a good while.
Regardless, Conklin was able to fool a few fish in some of the smaller tribs out east into an egg meal. He did say that there was one larger female that taped at about 30”, which is a hell of a nice fish…

Schmidt should be up here on Friday for the Cleveland Show this weekend. Be sure to check him out if you’re in the area….

Hopefully this ice crap quits soon!

Connecticut & Weekly Update...

Well the trip home was fun, and full of family and friends, as the trips normally are. I was only able to manageone trip out into the river, and of course scored a big old goose egg, but it was refreshing none the less…

Below are pics from the trip home…



Good News / Bad News though…

Warm temps really opened up the rivers here. First hand reports from some of the crew have fish in some of the fishable streams and tributaries. Some of the larger rivers are still clearing, and should hold fish in the coming days…

Problem is that the temps dropped again, and have the slush well into the afternoon on most of the streams…

It’s looking like a lock up is coming, but hopefully some fishing will be had before then. Finishing up the family/Christmas gig this weekend, but hopefully I’m able to wet a line locally while I can.

In the meantime, tight lines!

Weekly Update

Rivers are frozen, game over for a while...

Weekly Update

It’s all fun and games until you don’t stick a fish…

That was the story of the day yesterday…

The last week has brought us over 20” of snow, and below freezing temps for days on end. With a one day reprieve on the temps and snow, Mike decided to make a last minute trip up on Friday to get some time on the water Saturday. The temps were supposed to get above 40 degrees, and with another 2 feet of snow forecasted in the coming week, we figured this may be the last opportunity for some fish in the coming months…

By 9AM, we had gotten to the stream out east, and hiked into the hole we’ve frequented over the years…we broke out the 3” shelf ice and waited for the slush to melt off…and waited…and waited…

Finally at noon, and with no sign of a let up, we decided to move onto another body of water for a last ditch effort at some fish. We found a semi empty parking lot and hiked into some open water and finished off the day drifting eggs and nymphs. The afternoon brought some murky conditions, as the mid day temps began to melt off a lot of the snow we had gotten…

Fingers crossed, the rivers won’t lock up, though it looks like between the swollen streams and low temps we’ll be tying flies for the next few months…

Here’s some of the scenery and shots from yesterday….

Slush

My Ice Breaker - aka Mike

Down Stream

Is There Hope?

Great write up on sustainability within an islands life...

"What happens to fisheries’ productivity when large fish are removed from a coral reef?"

Not all about fish, but still a good read...

Farewell to Reefs, Salt Ponds and Milkfish - New York Times - STUART SANDIN

Weekly Update

Well, we’re getting back to those slow weeks again…between the short days, and the holiday/travel preparations, there wasn’t much time in the cards this week. I did manage a few hours on a quickly dropping river on Saturday, but didn’t see a single fish. The stream was lower and clearer then I would’ve preferred, but it was nice to get out and pound a few holes before dark.

With the rains this week, I figured a fresh push of fish would’ve been kicking around…I’m sure they’re there…just we’re interested in my offerings…

Warm temps should disappear this week, and then it’s really time for the games to begin.

Traveling back home this weekend for turkey, which means we’ll be flinging dry flies for some trout back home!

This camera outage is really starting to blow…hopefully we get some good news this week…

Loosing Battle?

"Prized by fishermen, Atlantic bluefin can grow to the size of a horse and fetch as much as $100,000 in markets like Japan, but their stocks have plunged by more than 80 percent since 1970s, according to western scientists."

Maybe a late game rally?

FULL LINK - (ABC News, Leigh Thomas)

Sad Sad Sad...

This last week, we as a community lost a dear friend...

"At this time I am not sure when the issue of Kype with Rich’s article will be available, but Rich will not get a chance to see the article in print as his life was cut short by a brief battle with cancer. Life is too precious to sit around and wait for ink to dry, and so I’m posting the unedited article here for everyone to read so that we may all gain a better appreciation for the man you may have been lucky enough to call 'friend'."


Full link to the post from the Unaccomplished Angler: Rich Schaaff: fly fisherman, photographer, friend.


Link to Rich's photography site - Eastfork Fly Photography
 

Finn's New Friend...

For those who haven't heard the story, a few years ago, Finn as a puppy decided to use a fly catch as a chew toy. Six flies made it into the little guys stomach, and after a LONG, EXPENSIVE surgery, all six made it out...

Here's a similar story...LINK (Spokesman Review)

Ahh the memories...

I'll have to see if we can get the x-ray of his little adventure...

Derby Update...

Rumors are it's been a slow start for the derby...lots of wind, without the fish...

Though we have heard that this week the albie catch doubled...which shows signs of promise. If you can manage some time...all it takes is one fish...

pic from washington post...

Weekly Update

Steelhead need rain to make their trek, and they significantly lowered the bass pond...FML

Hoping to get some weather this week to pick up the fishing scene...

Weekly Update...

No fishing this week...but rumor has it that the men in silver suits have begun stacking the creeks...first hand reports already have fish way up in the PA tribs...along with the crowds. Should manage something this week...

Sink Or Swim...

An article from Ted William’s Conservation Blog telling about the proposed ban on using led for fishing tackle…


“Exactly what I’d expect from the More-Dead-Fish-For-Me crowd. Gawd forbid that they try non-toxics. I use them all the time for my non-fly-fishing, and there is no difference in price or performance.”

-Ted Williams

Spot on Ted…Check out the full article HERE

Super Salmon...FAIL!

"Hey, America: Time to get excited! Why? Because a year and a half from now you could be eating the very first genetically-modified animal approved for public consumption: The AquAdvantage® salmon! Assuming it passes the approval process, which began Wednesday."

via Gawker (Max Read) - LINK

Brace Yourself...

"It also might have broken up the oil into small enough particles that the microbes are eating it, explaining why they are suddenly unhealthy. If that is the case, they warned, the rest of the food chain in the Gulf could be tainted by the oil."


Oil may be poisoning area critical to commercial fishing in Gulf (NY Post)


The cap can't stop the damage that's already been done...

BAD....

"Thousands of Dead Fish Line Jersey Shore"

Peanut Bunker...Bad News...Especially for an already dwindling population...

FULL LINK - NBC Phili - Teresa Masterson