Big Water = Big Smallmouth

A quick photo update from the weekend....sorry to be short on words, but steelhead flies need to be tied...

Right Under Our Noses...

I've tried to make it a point this summer to really take in what our area has to offer in terms of local fishing. We are extremely fortunate to live in a city that is basically built on water and anyone who likes to fish and doesn't take advantage of what is out there is a fool...plain and simple.

Want to drown nightcrawlers (GASP!) and catch catfish? How about catching a few smallies after dinner? Maybe head to a local pond for bluegills the size of your hand? It's all right here. The neighbors won't cry if you don't cut your grass tonight...go out and catch some fish. Before you know it, we'll be starting out the window at snow flying instead of actually being able to spend time on the water.

That being said; Meg and I headed to a nearby lake after work this week to enjoy the nice weather by cooking out and try to catch a few bluegills. Meg is preparing to take her boards, so she decided to study while I strung up the 2wt in search of bluegills...which proved to be less than cooperative.

After some heckling from Meg, I decided it was time to take drastic measures to tip the odds in my favor. I couldn't help but feel a bit guilty about shredding up a hot dog bun and tossing it in the water, but that guilt quickly faded when three big bronze heads starting poking through the surface and slurping down the clumps of bread that were hovering in the water.

It was during this moment that my excitement got the best of me and I honestly forgot that I was holding a 2wt in my hand. Before I knew it, my bread fly (yes...I have a bread fly) was pinned in the mouth of a carp, my reel was making sounds reserved for a broken coffee grinder and my rod was bent to the cork...Say what you want and give me all of your criticism for chumming...but what did you do on Tuesday night?

I made quick stop by the river after work on Thursday to see if I could luck into a few fish before heading home. While the fishing wasn't great for me, the guys using bait were doing great. Schools of minnows were cruising up the banks and the smallies were slashing through them and tearing them apart. I managed to luck into a few fish by throwing into the schools of panicked baitfish, but this place is definitely not very fly rod friendly and I need to seek out some areas where my backcasts aren't met by trees, rocks and guys who don't read the consumption advisories regarding eating catfish from the Ohio river...Meg and I had planned two days of floating and camping for smallies on Saturday and Sunday. After taking part in the usual watching of the flow charts and weather forecasts, we were a bit apprehensive about the weekend, but things ended up shaping up just fine. Dad ended up meeting us in the morning on both days and we were all rewarded with some great fishing...

Initially, the fish were a bit reluctant to come to the surface due to the colder temps from the high water and big dam releases earlier in the week, but things got back to normal just in time for Meg to blast one of the biggest fish of the trip on a floating clouser. This fish did for all of us what no amount of caffeine can do at 7:30 in the morning by blowing up on the fly as if someone had thrown a red brick into the water....


To cap an already great week off, we ran into Meg's parents and their puppy as we rounded the corner before the take out. Everyone was enjoying the day, but I think Lola was having even more fun than we could ever imagine...
Things are looking pretty bright for the upcoming steelhead season. We've finally had a normal, somewhat wet summer. Stream levels are a bit higher than they should be and I'm sure the past week's nighttime temps in the mid 50's have more than a few steelhead junkies hoping that first push of chrome will come a little early this year. In the mean time, I'll be working on some new speys and getting the gear ready....

...it won't be long now...

Muddy Water and Mudding Carp...

This weekend got off to a pretty strong start; with Friday night being spent gathering steelie flies and gear, chewing my fingernails off while looking over rising flow charts and knocking back beers to help me not worry so much about those graphs that were tilting in the wrong direction. Spotty, strong thunderstorms were making random messes of some watersheds, while others remained relatively untouched and I was having a tough time getting a feel for where we should head in the morning. There was no doubt that going to the wrong river could prove to be pretty detrimental to our success that day, but if we hit the river right, then it would pay off.

We've learned that things don't always go according to plan on fishing trips and often times you're best to just stick to what you know. What we knew as of Friday was that the Yough had leveled off somewhat and that the fishing could be good even if the river was a bit dirty. In the worst case scenario, we would float a few miles, drink a few beers and get a little sunburned. How bad could it be?

Fortunately, we had the beers and the sun was out, because the fishing was about as bad as it has been all year. Don't get me wrong, Josh and Dad managed a few and I got one little dinker, but this was far from the utter chaos that has been occurring on the river for the last few weeks...

Sunday brought family plans, that just so happened to be near a carp spot that is particularly productive. It made perfect sense to loop in a little bit of fishing before the obligations kicked in around 1. So, I left the house at 5:30am and was on the water by 6:15...waders and all.

Waders in August? You bet. This creek is far from pristine and exposing any bare skin to this kind of water could surely have detrimental effects on not only me, but any offspring I plan on having down the line. Why would anyone subject themselves to this sort of nasal punishment and bother sweating out a hot August morning to try for a few "garbage fish?" The answer is pretty simple; In comparison to other carp I have fished, the "garbage fish" that reside in this creek are just flat out stupid.

When carping, it is pretty reasonable to expect a fish that is visibly feeding to just flat out ignore your offerings. In most cases, by the time you have changed flies, the fish is spooked and won't eat anyways. Frustrating? You bet.

But these fish are different, often charging flies with jaws snapping and tails waving in the air. And that's just the half of it. Get a solid hook in one and watch your 6 weight bend to the cork and line melt off of your reel. You want scenery? Go brookie fishing. Tell me how many of those little bastards will make you wonder if 2x was enough....

...by noon, I had put enough fish on the bank, was sick of busting through thick brush and was beginning to wonder just how much exposure I should have to the toxic brew in the water. I decided to call it a day. Though it was rewarding, I need to figure out my carp problem in other waters. Catching these fish is fun, but I can't help but feel like I've gone to a whorehouse and got it the easy way (scary rashes included), rather than going about things in a more civilized way. More on a later date...