Tuesday, June 26, 2012

A Long Weekend w/ My Dad and Brother

What a contrast in the types of fishing I experienced.  As you can see from the picture to the right, my brother and I fished a large notable smallmouth river over the course of three days.
Although the river we fished is highly acclaimed for its bass, my brother and I caught a ton of fallfish and only a few bass.  It wasn't that the bass weren't there, but these smallies get hammered with fishing pressure, and live bait is about the only way you are really going to get into them.

We also fished a small mountain tributary to the river.  This stream held a decent population of wild browns and native brookies.
Here is an example of one of the stream's resident browns.
There is nothing like crawling around on your hands and knees in search of trout smaller than your index finger.  I know the bright white shirt didn't help in the stealth department.
But, catching a 9-10" native brookie makes it worth the effort.
It was just my dad and me on the second visit to the small stream.
And, despite our best efforts, including some bow and arrow casting, not many trout were brought to hand.
This brookie did succomb to the Usual, and in the process he really jacked up my leader.  Yeah, what was I thinking fishing dry-dropper in such a small stream.



All pictures except for the first one were taken by this guy.





He couldn't help but take a few strange closeups of himself!






Thursday, June 21, 2012

I Want to Catch the One that Got Ahold of Him!

As fisherman we live with that eternal hope that the next cast leads to our white whale.  Maybe it is the fish that got ahold of this guy.


Although not the biggest fish of the day, this baby is a rarity when fly fishing.



These two represent some of my first smallmouth ever taken on top.  Can you see the Hot Lips Popper sticking out of their mouths?

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Dry Dropper Saves the Day!

Often, when a small stream is low, stealth is the name of the game.  Yeah, the fish still eat, but they see you coming from a mile away.  Next time you find yourself faced with difficult low water conditions give dry dropper a try.  Not only does the dry allow you to track your nymph in an inconspicuous way, but the fish may give it a good whack...a bonus.

The Dry: Crowe Beetle

The Scenery
 

The Fish: Wild Browns


Some Turtles (Sadly the Snapper was hit by a car)
Some Cows







Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Bronzebacks Beware!

My army of meat and I are coming for you.  I can't wait to chuck some of these nasties at smallies and carp with my dad and brother this weekend!

From Front to Back:
- Gartside Gurglers and Hot Lips Poppers
- Shenk's White Minnow
- Osthoff's Soft Hackle Wooly Bugger
- Shenk's Sculpin
- Shenk's Minnow in Black
- Gartside's Soft Hackle Streamers

Warmwater fish don't stand a chance!

Sunday, June 10, 2012

A Few Firsts for Dalton

Dalton caught his first trout on a fly, and it was a native brookie!  The fly was a #8 ausable ugly tied to the end of his 5'6" ultra light rod.

Congratulations Dalton.

Dalton also had the opportunity to hold his first golden stonefly.

Friday, June 8, 2012

Chukar and Orange


Thanks for the Chukar Pap.