Tonight, my buddies, Scott and Mike joined me on the river. This time, I decided to bring a backpack to throw in my fly-rod and light rod so I at least had the option to switch it up a bit.
The weather was rainy and cool throughout the day. There was a breeze when we got out there and the water was chilly. Weren't sure what the fish would do tonight. Scott and Mike both broke the ice pretty quick. Scott used his small spinner again, and Mike eventually switched to something similar. I had a couple hits but didn't land anything early on.
Eventually I had had enough of them catching everything. I switched to my fly-rod with a wet fly. A couple casts and I had a chub on my line. I caught a quick 2 fish so the confidence started to sore. The beauty part was, I knew what I was doing (technique-wise) to catch them. A nice long, slow retrieve after having let the fly float down with the current a bit.
Between my second and third fish we had some laughs, when I fell in the cold water. My feet got caught up on some rocks, lost my balance, and in I went. Good times. But boy was I ever cold for a while after that! The breeze wasn't helping. Not long after that, I had a great hit for my third fish. I nice size chub. Good fight, good hit. Awesome.
Overall I caught 6-7 fish on the night. Not overly productive. The boys caught over 10 each easily. Bass and chub as per usual. We also decided to head up toward the dam again, with little success. Then Mike convinced us to go through the bush back to the old canal spot. By the time we got there it was pretty dark. A slow walk back produced some more laughs. I lost my footing again and almost fell into the water again! My arm got wet but I caught myself. While this was happening, Scott turned to see me fall but kept walking. So at the same time, he began to fall forward.... falling into Mike and pushing him right into the water! LMAO! We all busted a gut laughing! It was priceless. 5 feet to go until he would've been on shore. Perfect! A great way to end the night.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Beginning fly fishing
My in-laws bought me a fly fishing kit a couple years ago. Unfortunately last summer I didn't get out even once to fish. So this year, I was very keen to try my luck with the fly rod.
I've really gotten exciting about this new, and challenging style of fishing. I first brought my rod to my buddy, Mike's trailer to practice casting. Not bad .... not good.... But not bad for a first go. I was mostly focused on casting rather than catching anything.
A few weeks later, I brought my rod up there again with more intent to possibly catch something. My only outcome was a small smallmouth bass, and a sunfish. I was pretty excited though. My first fish on my fly rod. I must be doing something right, eh? Again, it was a great opportunity to practice my casting (which was getting a bit better this time around).
After reading a bit more about the techniques and styles of fly fishing in the weeks following, I was excited to get the rod out into the river with me in my usual spots. My friend, Scott and I headed out one night after dinner. I brought my fly rod and light rod (just in case). I started right away with my fly rod and didn't put it down the whole night. I caught a total of 11 fish on a wet fly that night. Some decent sized chubs, and some fun to catch smallmouth bass. My next task was to now learn how to best bring those fish in when they latch onto my fly, because if I catch a 2-pounder like the previous outing, I'm in trouble!
I'm still very excited about this new style of fishing and look forward to learning more.
I've really gotten exciting about this new, and challenging style of fishing. I first brought my rod to my buddy, Mike's trailer to practice casting. Not bad .... not good.... But not bad for a first go. I was mostly focused on casting rather than catching anything.
A few weeks later, I brought my rod up there again with more intent to possibly catch something. My only outcome was a small smallmouth bass, and a sunfish. I was pretty excited though. My first fish on my fly rod. I must be doing something right, eh? Again, it was a great opportunity to practice my casting (which was getting a bit better this time around).
After reading a bit more about the techniques and styles of fly fishing in the weeks following, I was excited to get the rod out into the river with me in my usual spots. My friend, Scott and I headed out one night after dinner. I brought my fly rod and light rod (just in case). I started right away with my fly rod and didn't put it down the whole night. I caught a total of 11 fish on a wet fly that night. Some decent sized chubs, and some fun to catch smallmouth bass. My next task was to now learn how to best bring those fish in when they latch onto my fly, because if I catch a 2-pounder like the previous outing, I'm in trouble!
I'm still very excited about this new style of fishing and look forward to learning more.
Summer 2010
This summer has brought some fantastic fishing right next to home! The summer has been a hot one!
Early in the summer, the water was very high and very fast. A few fishing trips were made into my regular spots, but very little came out of it. The water was just too fast, and very deep.
Once the summer hit, and the heat, out I went again. This time with more success. My buddy, Scott has joined me the majority of the trips. Wandering into the water, we've had the greatest success right around the Frankford bridge. Typically I get some fish in this area, but this year they seem to love that spot, and the usual deeper holes up river are less active.
Our best trip was a few weeks ago, producing over 30 fish in 2 hrs. 7 of the fish were 1 1/2 pounds or more. My 2lbs largemouth was the biggest of the night. We went out from 6:30pm until dark. The fish were so active; hitting anything we threw at them, jumping 2-3 feet out of the water when hooked, and fighting like mad! Fantastic fun fishing! The best outing in my memory since my family and I moved into our home here, 6 years ago.
Our trip last week into our spots produced more great fish. A couple 1 1/2 pounders (Scott caught them this time). We caught again, well over 30 fish. This night, we decided after a while around the bridge, to head up toward the pool at the bottom of the dam just to the North of the bridge. In the past, I haven't had much luck in this area (dams open). This night, the dams were mostly closed and the pool was calm. We caught a couple small smallmouth's in there using some deeper diving lures. Our total numbers jumped dramatically however once we found a spot where the rock bass were hitting everything! Fun for a while, but then it gets annoying... But hey - they all count!
Early in the summer, the water was very high and very fast. A few fishing trips were made into my regular spots, but very little came out of it. The water was just too fast, and very deep.
Once the summer hit, and the heat, out I went again. This time with more success. My buddy, Scott has joined me the majority of the trips. Wandering into the water, we've had the greatest success right around the Frankford bridge. Typically I get some fish in this area, but this year they seem to love that spot, and the usual deeper holes up river are less active.
Our best trip was a few weeks ago, producing over 30 fish in 2 hrs. 7 of the fish were 1 1/2 pounds or more. My 2lbs largemouth was the biggest of the night. We went out from 6:30pm until dark. The fish were so active; hitting anything we threw at them, jumping 2-3 feet out of the water when hooked, and fighting like mad! Fantastic fun fishing! The best outing in my memory since my family and I moved into our home here, 6 years ago.
Our trip last week into our spots produced more great fish. A couple 1 1/2 pounders (Scott caught them this time). We caught again, well over 30 fish. This night, we decided after a while around the bridge, to head up toward the pool at the bottom of the dam just to the North of the bridge. In the past, I haven't had much luck in this area (dams open). This night, the dams were mostly closed and the pool was calm. We caught a couple small smallmouth's in there using some deeper diving lures. Our total numbers jumped dramatically however once we found a spot where the rock bass were hitting everything! Fun for a while, but then it gets annoying... But hey - they all count!
Welcome!
Welcome to my fishing blog. I'm starting this blog, as the end of the 2010 summer approaches. This blog is put in place to recount some great fishing memories, and good times from this summer on.
The summer of 2010 has brought lots of opportunity to get out and fish. I've re-organized my tackle boxes and tackle, fixed some of my reels, re-lined my poles and finally got my fly rod out to start learning.
Currently I have:
-6 fishing poles (2 light, 2 medium, 1 fly rod, 1 kid pole)
-2 larger tackle boxes (1 double-sided case, 1 3-tier box)
-1 soft tackle box (Rapala - trays)
-Variety of tackle
-1 fishing net
My summer also brought the wonderful gift of my father-in-law surprising me with my very own boat! My boat is a 14ft aluminum, 3HP motor with 3 benches in the boat. Basic, and fantastic in my eye! Just need to get my boating liscence so I can get it on the water.
The summer of 2010 has brought lots of opportunity to get out and fish. I've re-organized my tackle boxes and tackle, fixed some of my reels, re-lined my poles and finally got my fly rod out to start learning.
Currently I have:
-6 fishing poles (2 light, 2 medium, 1 fly rod, 1 kid pole)
-2 larger tackle boxes (1 double-sided case, 1 3-tier box)
-1 soft tackle box (Rapala - trays)
-Variety of tackle
-1 fishing net
My summer also brought the wonderful gift of my father-in-law surprising me with my very own boat! My boat is a 14ft aluminum, 3HP motor with 3 benches in the boat. Basic, and fantastic in my eye! Just need to get my boating liscence so I can get it on the water.
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