Monthly Archives: October 2018

Many questions (rhetorical and otherwise)

I once read that a good way to learn things was to ask a lot of damn fool questions. I tend to do that in my fishing, whether I’m wondering to myself, trying something new, or picking the brain of someone who knows a lot more than me. Here are some recent points I’ve been pondering:

Is “pushing water” the most trite, overused, overhyped concept in streamer construction today?

How do all those stripers find my 1″ long sparse grass shrimp flies at night with no moon in water with visibility of under 2 feet?

Why don’t more striper anglers think in terms of matching the bait, and presenting the fly like the naturals are behaving?

When it comes to choosing lines and leaders, is there a more important question than: “What do you want the fly to do?”

If intermediate lines are the most versatile, why do the vast majority of striper anglers use only one presentation with them?

Is there a striped bass swimming today that cares if your fly turns over?

Last but not least: why the hell didn’t I get out and fish in the wake of last weekend’s storms?

If you want to consistently catch bigger bass on the fly from shore, fish how, where, and when most other people don’t.

Block Island All-Nighter first keeper

Taconic TU awarded the Orden de Fed Presenter with Rioja Clusters

Many thanks to the Taconic Chapter of Trout Unlimited for hosting me last night. A super-friendly group of anglers who meet at rustically charming lakeside restaurant in the Berkshires, and who showed their hospitality with fellowship and food. (And a very nice glass of Spanish vino tinto.) My presentation was the original The Little Things. Lots of good questions, and I enjoyed talking fishing with all of you during and after dinner.

That appears to be it for me for for speaking engagements in 2018. Of course, if your club or group needs a presenter, you know where to find me! I already have some dates pencilled in for 2019, and once my schedule for The Fly Fishing Show is confirmed, I’ll let you know.

Thanks to everyone who came out this year, said hello, and asked questions. The pleasure was all mine.

Getcher cameras ready. It’s steelhead season!

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Small stream report: foliage vs. Fontinalis fin

Time to go for a long walk in the woods with a stick and a string. The thin blue line was running medium high and cold. And the air temperature, which started out in the 30s, hadn’t climbed much higher by noon. I fished upstream with a bushy dry (size 14 Improved Sofa Pillow, up from a 16 to discourage hooking the younguns) and, in some of the deeper pools, dry/dropper (size 18 2x short SHBHPT). I pricked dozens, landed an honest 12 or so, and had my usual festive chuckles at their kamikaze antics.

At the turnaround point, I switched to subsurface, with the intent of running tungsten bead head micro buggers through the deeper recesses of select pools. White first. I felt a nip, then on the next cast saw what was for this brook a behemoth char follow the fly. I couldn’t get him to eat, so I switched over to black. (I like to fish black or white streamers when there are leaves in the water.) Another tug, but no commitment. Just when I had resolved to try something smaller, the fish hit for keeps. It was my best wild brookie of 2018, a handsome old buck that was no doubt the tribe elder in this sacred water.

After lunch, dessert: a JR Cuban Alternate Montecristo #2. Delicious.

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My prize refused to sit still for a formal portrait, so I had to settle for a shot in his temporary home.  Of course, it’s only my opinion, but these fins beat the pants of any peak foliage. I thought about how long this char has been alive — at nearly a foot long, a giant in this tiny brook — how many redds he’s fertilized, and how many of his progeny I’ve touched before. Then, back he went.

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The Hunt for Striped October

It was 9:30pm and everyone was drowsy. So when my wife and son announced they were going to bed, I decided it would be a good time to load up the Jeep and head to points salty. I’d failed in my first attempt to catch my October bass on the fly from the shore, and now there were now less than two weeks remaining to accomplish that mission.

At first it seemed like the wrong decision. A stiff, gusty breeze was blowing off the Sound,  and it didn’t look (or smell) very fishy. So I settled in with my cigar and waited for a more favorable tide. I passed the time with a few swings and dangles, and that’s how I uncovered my first clue: a peanut bunker snagged on my point fly. A few casts later, another snagged peanut. This gave me hope. The old saw of “find the bait, find the fish” ain’t always true, but at least I knew that stripers would have a reason for being here, even if I couldn’t see them.

At the turn of the tide I moved to another nearby location. Still no signs of bass (or even worried bait). But this is a universal truth: flies in the water catch more fish. I made a cast and let the flies swing around into a dangle. BAM! The hit came out of nowhere, but it was unmistakably a bass. No surprise — it took the peanut bunker bucktail fly on the team of three (the other two were silverside and anchovy). I made one more cast after I landed the 20″er, thought better of it, reeled up, and decided that I’d done exactly what I wanted to. I whooped and hollered and cackled all the way back to the Jeep.

The two are not mutually exclusive, but it is far more important to be a good angler than a good caster — or a distance caster. Which location? What tide? Where are the bass likely to be? What’s the bait? How can I present my flies in a way that makes it easy for the bass to eat? The cast that took this fish was all of 20 feet (and that includes 10-and-a-half feet of rod).

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The State of the Farmington River Survivor Strain Brown Trout

Nature doesn’t always cooperate with mankind’s timetable, and that was the case this fall with the attempted collection of broodstock browns on the Farmington River. Rain, rain, and more rain — coupled with unusually high releases from Hogback — conspired to muck things up to the point where a Hail Mary had to be called. Many thanks to the DEEP staff and anglers who came out Wednesday to collect broodstock. The results weren’t what we’d hoped for, but you get what you get and you don’t get upset (a nod to Mrs. Kawecki,  my kids’ pre-K teacher). Life goes on, as will the Survivor Strain program.

The good news is that the Farmington River browns are in pre-spawn mode, and there’s plenty of water in which to get jiggy. DEEP tells me that the Farmington River wild trout population is doing well, (I can confirm that through personal experience.) What’s more, back at the DEEP reproduction facilities, 16-18″ Survivor Strain trout are also ready to do their thing. Those fish will be released into the Farmington next spring, and their progeny to the Farmington and the Hous.

If you’re interested in reading more about the Farmington River Survivor Strain Program, here’s an article on the subject.

This is why we do it. Not a Survivor Strain brown, but she could be the mother of many.

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Thank you, LITU — and future currentseams content

What a great job last night by the Long Island chapter of TU. The presentation was “Wet Flies 101,” and the post-talk Q&A session was one of the best I’ve had in all the years I’ve been doing this. So nice to see some familiar faces, and to make new acquaintances.

I have been remiss in bringing you more meaningful content — hey, I have a life, too — but my hope is to get back to more reports, articles, videos, and useful information. Some of my diagrams need updating. Even if it seems like days, months, or years go by, I’m not ignoring your requests, and I appreciate it when you send me a note asking for a particular fly video or tactical explanation — or just to say hello.

As a burger and beer snob, I can give you my full endorsement for Black Label Burgers in Westbury, NY. Three words: Yum. Yum. Yum.

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Late Farmington River Report 10/15/18: olives, caddis, and cold & wet

I guided Mark and Sandy on Monday and we made the command decision to go for bigger, wild fish. That meant certain areas of the permanent TMA, and our method was streamers. The water was medium/high at 535 cfs, a few leaves, and the air was raw, with showers that came and went. We managed to bump a few brutes, but no hooksets. We fished four different spots. One of them saw a decent caddis (14-16) hatch with a few tiny BWOs in the mix. Even in the high water, there were a few risers on the caddis. We ended the day with some nymphing. In all the wetness, the camera never made it out of its sheath, so we’ll post sexy trout photos next time. Well done Mark and Sandy in some less than optimal conditions.

Maybe you were one of our streamer love tappers?

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Calling all Farmington River fly anglers: help needed Wednesday, October 17. You fish, DEEP collects, big trout are created.

Due to heavy rains, there was no draw down of the Hogback dam this fall, which meant no broodstock collection for the Survivor Strain program. DEEP is going to try to do it au naturel tomorrow — by fishing with hook and line — and they need your help. How much fun is this job? You fish, catch a big one, the DEEP collects it and takes it back to the hatchery to do its thing. Here are details from Neal Hagstrom:

“I wanted to confirm for you that we will be meeting with anglers at the Greenwoods parking lot on Wed.  We will try capturing brown trout to use as Farmington River Survivor Broodstock using hook and line.  I will be there with the tank truck about 9 am and will bring smaller live cars for use in the river.  There are a couple of anglers who will be starting earlier in the day, so I will be at the river early (7am) and have to leave to get the tank truck from Burlington.  I will stay as late as people want.  We greatly appreciate everyone’s willingness to help out. Law enforcement has been notified of that effort.”

A Survivor Strain broodstock brown sulks in the shallows. Quality fish like these — and their wild progeny — are counting on you tomorrow to help keep the program going.

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Thanks SEMASS TU, a frustrating few hours in RI, and Arts of Angler

My apologies for the lack of recent posts. October is turning out to be a busy, crazy month.

First, I’d like to thank the SEMASS chapter of TU for hosting me on Tuesday night. “Wet Flies 101” was the topic. That pizza hit the spot, and we had some really good Qs in the Q&A portion of the meeting.

I made a detour through Rhode Island on the way home. The objective was my October bass on the fly from the shore, but the three locations I fished were all blanks. Hopefully not a sign of things to come, as this was the first time this year I failed on my quest.

The Arts of the Angler is not a weekend-long show in Danbury this year. Instead, they’re doing it the Catskill Fly Fishing Center & Museum in Livingston Manor, N.Y. on Saturday, Nov. 10, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. From the CFFC&M: “Get together with friends, including fellow tyers and vendors, at our home on the Willowemoc, talk about fishing, and help us chart the future of Arts of the Angler! The cost of general admission will be $5, and food will be available for separate purchase.” Unfortunately my schedule doesn’t allow me to be there, but I’ll be looking forward to next year.

Two more presentations this month: “Wet Flies 101,” Wednesday, October 17, Long Island Chapter TU, 7:30pm, Hicksville, NY. Everybody welcome. You can get more information here.

“The Little Things,” Thursday, October 25, Taconic Chapter TU, 6:00pm, Cork ‘n’ Hearth, Laurel Street, Lee, MA. Everybody welcome. You can get more information here.

I really gotta get out for some wild brook trout.

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Farmington River Report 10/1/18: That dull thud

Two-and-a-half hours mid-day yesterday, dedicated to the streamer cause. River was still up (670 cfs in the permanent C&R), very lightly stained, and cool (didn’t get a water temp). I hit three spots and found fish willing to jump on in two. Two of the pools had an intense caddis hatch window, about 15 minutes, and the fish were on the emergers, although most of what I saw rising was small. Fished the full sink integrated line with both yellow Zoo Cougars and a cone-head white/chartreuse bugger; all fish came on the latter fly. Gadzooks, the river was crowded for a Monday in October! Didn’t see anyone else hook up, so I took what I could get on this slow day.

Cast, mend, a short swing, a strip, and I felt that old familiar dull thud of a streamer hit. This Survivor Strain brown looks small; in reality, it was mid-teens class and a strong fighter. Taken on the cone head bugger.

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