If you have not done so already, please take ten minutes and send an email to the ASMFC regarding Addendum II.
Here’s the ASGA’s (the good guys) official positions on Addendum II. You want to mirror these, but don’t cut-and-paste everything or it looks like a form letter/email, which the ASMFC will disregard.
Email your letter to: comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Striped Bass Draft Addendum II). you’ll know your email was received because ASMFC will send you an acknowledgement.
I know you’re busy, but it really only takes 10 minutes and we need your voice to be heard. I thank you. The stripers thank you. ASGA thanks you.
You go on a fishing trip to unknown waters where there are going to be crowds. You’re unsure about what the energy will be. Competitive? Territorial? Downright rude? I must confess that I have a tendency to expect the worst from my fellow man (or woman). But, we can always hope for the best. And on my first solo run to the Erie tribs for steelhead, I got hopes and dreams and better angels.
It started Thursday morning when I was speed wading in the dark to the mark I wanted to fish. I could see headlamps bobbing in the woods upstream. I could tell they were moving at a slower pace, and as I closed ground I could see it was a guide with three clients. I caught up to them, and asked the guide where he was heading; in my mind, they were there first and would get dibs. I reassured him that I wasn’t going to race ahead and Bogart their water. The guide was appreciative, so much in fact that he asked for my cell number. His idea was that if I was blanking and they were pounding them, I could fish near them. Or if vice versa, we could share water.
It was a most excellent way to start a day. I was so excited by this conversation that I suddenly realized I was 100 yards past my mark. (I suspect the pre-daylight savings darkness had something to do with it, too.)
Cut to an hour later. First light. I saw Chris wading upstream toward me. I’d met Chris the day before when I came to the creek to scout some water with my guide, Bob Packey. Chris was new to fly fishing and had a positive energy and friendly spirit. He remarked how he’d seen me pounding fish up yesterday, and that he was having a tougher go of it. So I told him that if he was blanking, come find me later and we’ll see what we can do about it.
Around 11am, Chris shows up. I could tell from the look on his face that he had been struggling. He confirmed that he hadn’t had a touch. Come on in here, Chris, and let’s take a look at your rig. I didn’t like the size or placement of his shot, so we re-rigged. I told him what I’d learned about the 50-foot run I’d been working, how I had been approaching it, and where I thought he’d have success.
You can imagine how cool it must have been for Chris to hook up within a few casts. All told, he got into four steelhead in about a half hour. Chris’ excitement was matched only by the positive wave of sheer enjoyment that washed over me as I watched him do battle.
Chris getting acquainted with one of the locals. Sometimes a little instruction goes a long way.
The next day, I fished for just over two hours. I saw an angler looking for space, and I told him if he cared to wait, he could have my spot in 10 minutes. He did, and I ended that session with a smile on my face.
Thanksgiving is a season when we acknowledge the many blessings we have. I’m thankful to have met some nice people on the river. I’m thankful for the opportunity to give to someone in need. I’m a confident person, but I am humbled by this experience. Thank you for reading, and please do likewise the next time you fish.
Hot on the heels of the International Fly Tying Symposium, I made an overnight run to the Salmon River in Pulaski. I left Tuesday afternoon and was back home by 9pm Wednesday. I’ll post a more detailed report soon, but I ran the middle river with Row Jimmy. We had decent action in the mid-to-late morning, but then the bite tailed off and I had to be content with four in the hoop.
Another satisfied customer. I like the transparency of the tail on this one.
If you won flies from the 1k Followers contest, and you’re wondering where they are, I’ll tell you. I haven’t tied them yet. You have my apologies for the delay, and you’ll be pleased to know that it’s on my sooner-rather-than later list of things to do.
In the striped bass management world, ASMFC is soliciting public comment on Draft Addendum 2 to Amendment 7. Your participation and comment is important, so look for a post from me soon with my thoughts and the ASGA’s party line on the subject. We need to keep hammering ASMFC until they get it.
I’m still guiding if you’re interested in a late fall/early winter outing. This can be a very productive time to fish. Not to mention it’s less crowded!
Finally, my latest article for Surfcasters Journal should drop any day now. When it does, I’ll let you know.
A quick greetings and salutations before I dive into a sound bites — word bites? — edition of currentseams. Hope you had a swell weekend. Me, I took a beating in my NFL ATS pool but still managed to win. (Unlike my Dolphins, but that’s another story.)
Many thanks to the fine men & women of the Croton Watershed TU Chapter for hosting me Thursday night. The subject was “The Little Things 2.0” — the second chapter in my series of seemingly insignificant things that can have a huge impact on your fishing. And the pre-pres cheeseburger was delicious. Therefore, I bestow upon Croton TU the Order of the Cheeseburger with NE-style IPA Clusters for recognizing that a fed presenter is a happy presenter. I’m at the NE Fly Tyers tonight in Massachusetts, talking about the Farmington River.
I hit a small stream last week for a quick 90-minute session. I went bushy dry the whole way, and pricked a bunch of fish. None were brought to hand, and that was just fine with me. Water was low and clear and there were no signs yet of redds on this brook.
The Maryland Juvenile Striped Bass Index recently came out and the results were discouraging again:
The ASMFC Striped Bass Board will soon release Addendum II for public comment. You can read more about their annual meeting here from the American Saltwater Guides Association, who once again are doing so much of the striped bass conservation heavy lifting. We can’t thank them enough! Stay tuned for the official ASGA position on the commenting. We’ll need all hands on this one!
I just completed a piece for Surfcasters Journal. It’s about waiting out a slow spot or hour or night. Should you stay or should you go? You can read the answers in the November edition. Again, SJ is an e-zine that’s loaded with fantastic saltwater and surfcasting nuggets, and is a bargain to subscribe. If you’re not subscribing, you should be.
This morning I dumped all the entries into a virtual bucket and had my independent panel of one randomly select three winners: Jim D., Jack W., and Geoff K. Congratulations! The winners have already been notified by email. (Geoff K, your Charter email is bouncing back, so please send me a valid email address!) Now, to the vise…
I’d like to thank everyone who entered, and everyone who reads and follows Currentseams. Onward and upward…if you get a fishing friend to subscribe and we’ll be doing this again soon, although I may now go in increments of 250.
I’ve been writing for years now about the new normal with flows, which is: rarely is there middle ground. Most of the time, it’s flood or trickle. We can’t catch a break with this rain (and more is on the way Saturday!) and as a result the Farmington is sky-high again. They’re currently bleeding the dam at 1.1k cfs, and the Still is pumping in an additional 250cfs. Who knows what the next week will look like? I have two lessons scheduled but we’ll have to see. The inflow to the reservoir is also high, and will need to (eventually) be bled. If you choose to go out, please exercise caution!
The 1,000 Followers Contest is officially closed! Thanks to all who entered. I’ll pick the winners soon. Keep your fingers crossed.
Finally, I owe you a small stream report. Look for it tomorrow. I also have some other fly fishing writing projects that desperately need my attention, so off I go…
The good news is: fall is finally here, along with her cooler weather, and the Farmington River water temperatures are finally getting back into trout-friendly territory! In an odd twist for September, water temps are actually cooler miles from the dam as the water that’s coming out is still (ridiculously) in the low-to-mid 60s. You should carry a thermometer with you and never fish if the water temp is above 68. I’m not sure when DEEP will do their fall stocking, but I imagine it will be in the next couple weeks. The bad news is: we’re getting creamed by rain, and the river in the PTMA as I write this is well into 4-digits cfs and the color of chocolate milk.It should drop and clear significantly by the end of the week.
Contest alert! If you have not entered my 1,000 Followers contest, you now have less than a week to do so. You can get all the details here.
This from the Ministry of Too Funny: every once in while, I feel like a total failure as a writer. That is, I write one thing, and a surprising number of people take it in a way that I could not possibly have imagined they would. After last week’s post about stripers and casting distance, I received a bunch of emails from people offering suggestions on how to increase my casting distance. I appreciate your helpful nature — I surely do. But what somehow got lost in translation was that I was already casting 100 feet. I don’t believe the fly caster who could reach the fish that Toby was hooking is alive on planet earth today. Maybe he or she is, but if so, you can probably count them on your fingers. At any rate, thankfully, the vast majority of big fish I hook come within the 75-foot range, which is attainable by anyone with the right gear and good fundamentals.
A roll cast to get the head out, a single water haul over my head, then bombs away! I love to hear the line whistling through the guides, and the dull thud of the line length bottoming out. We had great casting conditions, 0-5mph quartering over my right shoulder (I’m a lefty).Photo by Toby Lapinski
I also want to thank you all for your patience as I navigate a very busy time for me. Lots of personal projects going on (it’s all good) that are keeping me from writing here as much as I would like, and (gasp!) even from fishing as much as I would like.
Speaking of stripers and writing, I’m currently working on an article for Surfcasters’ Journal. As usual, I’ll do my best to make it fun and interesting and informative. Enjoy the rain!
Happy Monday, fellow Currentseamsers. We hit it some time ago, and now it’s time to celebrate currentseams.com reaching the rarefied 1,000 followers mark! Suffice to say I couldn’t have done it without you, so thank you for being part of the Fun One Thousand. As usual, we’re doing a flies-tied-by-Steve giveaway. Here are the rules:
1) No purchase necessary.
2) You must be a follower of currentseams to enter. (If you’re not one already, you become a follower by clicking on the Sign Me Up button below the “Follow Blog via Email” header, at the top right if you’re on a laptop, and at the bottom of the scroll on a mobile device.
This is a photo, not a link.
3) To enter, leave a comment on this thread that responds to at least one of these questions: What’s your favorite fly pattern(s) for the Farmington River? What’s your favorite section of the Farmington, and how do you like to fish it? If you don’t fish the Farmington, where do you like to fish and what’s your favorite fly pattern(s)? One entry per person. Deadline for entering is 11:59pm September 30, 2023. Three winners will be chosen at random. The winners will be notified in the comments section of this thread or by email, and will be responsible for sending me their address so I can ship the flies out. Sorry, I can only ship to U.S. addresses.
4) All decisions by me are final.
Thanks again for reading and following currentseams.
Stuff like this could be in your hot little hands if you enter.
I’m in a goofy mood, hence the goofy title. Welcome back! I hope a splendid holiday weekend was had by all.
There is no joy in Mudville — and not just because I’m a Mets fan. There’s certainly no joy in Riverton. As I write this at 12:20pm, even if you were fishing above Riverton, you’d be fishing in water that is at a dangerous temperature for trout. It’s already north of 70 degrees(!). The MDC has decided to help (he said sarcastically) by cutting the flow a bit. With this week’s heat wave, the hits just keep on coming. Fear not: the hardiest specimens will find a way to survive, and the stocking truck shall return, as will New England fall nights in the 40s.
Things are heating up in the Culton kitchen, too. These are Trinidad Scorpions. Their heat is measured in the millions of Scoville Units (a jalapeño is 5k-8k).
Note: once safe fishing does resume, the entire river from the base of the dam to the steel bridge in Unionville is catch & release only until 6am second Saturday in April. If you have not done so, please program in the DEEP TIP line into your phone so you can report poachers: 800-424-4357.
I’m kicking off my speaking season tonight in Long Island with my good friends the Long Island Fly Rodders. I’ve been presenting to them for years, and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone. If you’re in charge of speakers for your club, now’s the time to book as my calendar is filling up.
Finally, I was on the Cape this weekend and managed to get out on the Brewster flats for one morning. I’ll tell you about that later this week. If you salt, that might be your best diversion while you wait for the Farmington to drop.
If you don’t follow me on Instagram — @stevecultonflyfishing — you’re missing out on some good stuff. For example, this week I posted a video of how build a non-Euro rig for a mini jigged streamer. I keep the content unique and separate on Instagram and currentseams — so if it’s on here, it’s not on there, and vice versa. Certainly Instagram is a more visual, quick-hit form of social media, but if you’re looking to keep up with what I’m doing through video or photos, head over and start following me.
Get the full story on Instagram.
Speaking of followers, I owe you a 1,000 currentseams followers fly giveaway contest. Look for that sometime in September. Holy smokes! At 1,026, I’m only 74 away from 1,100…
These cooler nights and shorter days with a lower sun angle (and especially the ones that are coming) are going to go a long way towards cooling things down. Here’s to some great September fishing!
currentseams.com 