Plan "B"

My buddy Al & I planned to fish Cold River (14 mile round trip hike).  That was Plan "A".  We met at the Upper Works Trailhead and discussed the weather forecast that changed to 80% thunderstorms during the overnight.  I have been through Indian Pass during heavy storms, an experience I cared NOT to repeat.

We quickly developed plan "B".

-Six different fisheries with five different target species in 32 hours. 
Al & I managed to avoid the storms and had a bluebird day today. 

Smart fishing pays off.

 

 

  Our last location was a real workout. 

 Big boulders with deep narrow slots & tons of timber courtesy of Hurricane Irene made wading to the perfect spot for the correct presentation a chore.

In HOTWATER

I was in Hot Water this morning at 5:30.  83 degrees at that time in the morning means one thing to the trout angler.  Game Over.

Time to change species, change venues or both. 

Are there still trout in the Schroon?  Yes, a few. 

The thing is... to fish to the "Players". 

Damn few of those at this water temperature.

My fishing is a balance of  time efficiencies. 

Water Time vs. Drive Time vs. Hiking Time

 

Here's a trail marker you don't see too often. 

I like it.

Conditions

The river is super good now.  3.8ft. on the USGS gage.  I am seeing Zebra Caddis everywhere; on my truck windshield, in the bathroom, one even took the "death dive" into my open bottle of head cement last night.

I'm going to the Schroon tomorrow morning.  Full report will be on its' way.

Jim's Grand Slam

Fish with my buddy Jim on Sunday.  We covered a lot of road and a lot of water.  He scored a couple of browns and several salmon at our first stop.  I managed a few myself.  We worked our way up to the West Branch of the Ausable and he popped a nice rainbow.  I saw the take and the hook set.  It made my blood pump. 

He mentioned to me that all he needed for his FIRST Adirondack Grand Slam was a brookie!  OK, so now I'm on a mission to get him tight with a brookie- even if it kills me.  We got back to town and I beat feet for a little creek that I know has brookies.  The mosquitos nearly ate us alive but in 15 minutes, he landed a little guy about 4 inches with bright blue spots.  MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!  Way to go Jim.

2013 Adirondack Waterfest

I got a call from my friends at Crossroads Outdoors yesterday.  They had an unforeseen family event and needed someone to cover their display at the Adirondack Waterfest today.  Sure, why not?  The next best thing to fishing is talking about it.  I got a report the 500 people passed through today.  I tied a few flies, share fish stories and got to see some folks I hadn't seen in a while.  The weather was perfect and the event organizers did a super job making everyone feel at home & making sure the participants had all their needs taken care of.  A good time was had by all.

River danger

River danger

A healthy warning from Don Lehman outdoor writer at the Post Star

"Fan" Mail

I love getting email from fellow anglers about anything fly fishing.

Joel sent me a request for some places to fish for pike.  I sent him 5 or 6 possible places to fish from his canoe.  At some point, I hope he sends me some pictures to post.

Brian sent me a report on one of his trips to the Schroon (pre-flood).  He was netting rainbows during the caddis hatch.

 

Keep those emails coming! 

Fish Love Water

But this kind of flow is dangerous.  Best to avoid the river for now and fish a pond. 


LOOKS LIKE WE ARE GOING TO FLOOD STAGE IN JULY!

River Conditions

Heavy Rain Run-off
67 degrees
Heavy stain & some debris
USGS Gage- 5.1 feet & Rising
I waded 10' from shore and swung a white bugger on an intermediate line this morning- NUTTIN!
Give it until Wednesday and chech back here
Fishing suggestions- Ponds or little brook trout streams

Big Fat Schroon

After 4+" of rain last night, the river is really big.  As in, Not too safe, Big.  I went and checked some feeder streams from the Hoffman area: Big & Brown would be a good descriptor.  My advice?  Find a pond and fish the creeks that feed it.  I'm going to give the river some time to calm down.

My Favorite Pinot Grigio

The Name "hooked" me the taste keeps me coming back.  Try it!

Great Client Trip 6-25

 I guided father/daughter team, Sean & Hannah on Wednesday. We started the day on Trout Creek. This was Hannah's first fly fishing experience and even though Sean undersold his fly angling abilities, I made it a mission to get the first fish on for Hannah. She was a great student and managed two nice rainbows within the first hour. Sean had a couple as well.

I decided to move the Schroon for the second beat and both clients delivered again! (I really like clients who make their guide look good.) The fishing shut off around 10 am.  I knew the barometer was falling fast as the trout were acting spooky. I saw several of them darting around as we worked our way down river swinging streamers, nymphs and wet flies.

Around 11:45 I asked If we all had enough with rain on the horizon and all agreed to call it. As soon as we pulled out of the parking area the skies opened and the torrential downpour began. Shwew!- just in time.

Sean gained a lot of confidence in his ability to work the seams & getting the fly down where the trout live. He had several nice hook-ups bringing the sparkle pupa off the bottom & up through the water column.  I had Hannah banging out 40' over hand casts in the first 2 hours & her understand of line management aided her angling success today.

Great client trips start with everyone understanding the goal for the day and everyone working hard to achieve the goal and having fun doing it!

A Wall Hanger

This is the Landlocked salmon I caught in an Adirondack tributary last fall.  I release all my fish as a rule however, this fish broke all the rules so I figured, Why shouldn't I?  He is a 5 lb post spawner in a little bitty stream 20+ miles from the lake.  An anomaly for sure and nearly twice the size of a legal limit for the lake.  7 jumps on an old school bucktail streamer tied to a 5x leader.  Not your everyday fish.

Hatching & Catching

Sorry for my long departure but back to what matters most- FISHING!

Here's what is going on: a very wet late spring / early summer.  The Schroon is fully stocked, however the fish this year have had trouble making a sound commitment to what food looks like.  Today was good though, I fished my favorite LLS stream and landed 8 juveniles- (6) 1 1/2 year-olds and (2)- 2 1/2 year-olds, I even landed 2 brookies just because!  Caddis is on!  Puppa took a beating this morning.

I will bring the camera tomorrow and post some pix.  I saw a huge stocked brownie this afternoon that I left alone b/c a kid showed up,  I gave him the hole and showed him where the fish was.  The rest was up to him.  I left b/c was hungry and need sustenance.

Wayne Lapierre CPAC 2013. FULL SPEECH Nra CEO Delivers Fiery Speech

Protecting Freedom

A letter to 21st district Rep. Bill Owens:

Bill,


I understand that you are supporting s150. As my representative, I wish that you would reconsider your position to more closely represent the target shooters, law enforcement, county legislators and sportsmen in you district. I'm sure that the NRA has been in contact with you on this matter and please know that their position represents my position on this matter. This is a serious violation of the Constitution of the United States of America. I voted for you last November. Please do not force me to change my vote the next time MY representative comes up for election.



Sincerely,

Christopher J. Stiles

"A well-regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."



Seems pretty straight-forward to me.