Beans Spring Fishing Weekend...

Home again...not too bad of a trip. Having been tying yet, though I'm hoping to grab a few more items and ideas up in Freeport today...

Check out the schedule of events HERE

We are hitting up the The Drake Fly-Fishing Film Event this evening. Should be interesting, as Tom Bie is expected to be there, so stay tuned for a review...

Schmidt is hitting the water today up in Erie, so we should have a good report for the Weekly Update.

Until Sunday...

New Blog Added...

Recently found another must follow blog...From Maine!

http://www.flyfishjeff.blogspot.com/

Give him a look! He'll be added to the right blog roll also!

Weekly Update...

Well, another week goes by fishless, though I will say that I’m starting to get geared up for some spring fun. I was in Cleveland for the week, and we had a large thaw in Southern Maine. Not all the snow is gone, but a decent chunk…

After a horrible travel day on Friday (14 hours, 5 of which were on a bus and NOT planned), I sat down to the bench on Saturday, and started tying for the first time in months. Since the house has been on the market (a year ago), and really even before that, I hadn’t had much time to really tie flies. Sure I had a few eggs here, and some sucker spawn there, but no real tests. I finally came to the conclusion that I NEED to practice. I spent the last 2 days pushing out some black ghosts, and a few Montreal whores…Nothing too complex, but enough to help me get a bit of an edge back…I have been playing around with a few experimentals but I’m not too sure where they’ll end up…in a box or under a razor…

So on the fishing front…Maine is ice…Boz is being ambitious with a predicted day of April 10th for ice out, so we’ll see. The 10 day has some decent temps in it, so fingers are crossed…
In Ohio, warm weather, wet snow, and rain have kept the rivers HIGH! Some of the smaller tribs have been fishing, but I would definitely say we haven’t had a chance to really get out and see what the fishing will be like after the flood. Fish are being caught, and they are beginning to get a bit more active with some of the run off. Fingers are crossed for a decent spring run there…
Here’s a few pics of the bench over the last few days…

Marabou

Black Ghost

The Whore

Finn Excited About Tying

Back in Cleveland this week...see you all in a week!

Drifter...

After a crazy few weeks with moves, selling a house, and jumping into the Great State Of Maine...

I'm back in OH for a few days to tie up loose ends, and see some family.

Weekly updates will now include both ME and OH...at least until further notice...

Ohio is still recovering from high rivers. They're above normal flows, and will probably continue that way for a week or so. Rumor has it that fresh chrome have already spread out along the Chagrin river...well above where the dam used to stand.

As far as I know, most of Maine has high water, and will continue to as snow melts for the next few weeks. If anything, ice fishing is the way to go...but do be careful...not sure what the rains last night did to the lakes...

Looking forward to getting home, and getting the bench up and going!

See you all next weekend!

Fly Fishing Film Tour...

Heading out to the 2011 Fly Fishing Film Tour tonight at the Frontier Cafe theater in Brunswick, ME. Jury is still out on some of the vids included this year, but we'll hopefully be able to give you a good run of reviews after tonight...

If you're in ME, there may still be tickets available. Call ahead for the 4PM show, or the 7PM show.

Also be sure to check out this years sponsors bringing it up this way...

Coastal Fly Angler

Flies & Fins
Fly Fishing In Maine
Maine River Guides


Hope to see some of you there...

PASS IT ON!

In my absence, there was some great news from the EPA about taking a deeper look into the Pebble Mine project...

Just saw this on Buster's site, and figured I'd pass along...

MAINE, THE WAY LIFE SHOULD BE...

I’ll apologize in advance for the book you’re about to read…

So as many of you know, I’ve always had a soft spot for the state of Maine. I grew up vacationing there, and many of my best childhood memories and adventures (along with mishaps) have occurred in the easternmost state of our nation.

Having grown up in Connecticut and lived in Ohio for the last few years, I’ve found myself wondering what I want to do with my life…what do I want to do? Who do I want to be? Where do I want to be?

About 2 years ago my lovely wife and I came up with a really nutty plan. We decided we should move from the house we had just purchased, and start migrating back to the East Coast. Having already lived in Connecticut, I knew that the hustle and bustle of Southern New England wasn’t going to keep me sane. I needed space…lots of space…and fish…

As I’m sure you’ve already guessed, here I am, in my new apartment just outside of Portland, ME, typing to you in a room full of boxes. We’ve made it, and just in time for the fishing season…

So where does this leave me, and the blog…

Well, I’m positive that this is the beginning of perhaps one of the best chapters in my life. Not only am I in an area I love, but I’m so close to some of the best fishing, hiking, and camping in the world! Brook trout that can exceed 6lbs. Landlocked Salmon that are measured in feet rather then inches. Striped Bass and Bluefin Tuna that visit our coasts…

We’re still going to keep pace with the Midwest gang. Having learned to cast a long rod in Ohio, it will always hold a special place in my heart and soul.

This is going to be the adventure of my lifetime! I’m looking forward to sharing it with you and changing the face of the blog.

The Caravan...A 24' Budget Truck, An Expedition With A 15' Whaler Behind, And A Subaru...All Packed To The Gills...

Finn all geared up...

Finn was glad Jimmy came to help...

The view from my couch...Tidal Flats...

BIG NEWS COMING - AND A FLOOD!!!!

WE'VE GOD BIG NEWS...COMING IN A DAY OR TWO!!!

In the mean time, Steelhead Alley took a beating over the last few days...massive amounts of rain Monday melted snow that flooded nearly all the rivers of North Eastern Ohio. The flood that is being recognized as a hundred year flood took out dams, flooded houses, and covered road ways...

The flood actually has opened up SEVERAL miles of fishable water along the Chagrin! The flows that are estimated to have topped 20,000 CFS, blew out the Gates Mills Dam that was the barrier stopping all chrome from moving up river. This will make the spring run quite interesting along the river.

Below are some pictures (from Cleveland.com) we've been able to find online. It's too bad we were unable to check out the river first hand...

Dam Before...

Dam After...

Below are pics Herb Imondi from Steelheadquarters.blogspot.com was able to capture first hand...



Stay tuned for the TMT update that will surely change the way we fish!

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 it's supposed to be 4 degrees tonight...

Heading up to the Great State Of Maine this weekend...hopefully I'll at least have some pictures to share when we get back...

Sorry for the delays lately...things have been flying around here at a good clip...and life has not not even a thought of fishing in it lately...at least not for the immediate future. Once things quiet down, I'll be sure to bring you all up to speed...till then, keep on truckin'!