My Girl!

One of my daughters has been itching to get out on the water for a few weeks.  Over the past year she has landed her 1st rainbow on the fly and started tying a little.  She is just interested and I have not pushed her towards this.

She's really accomplished a lot with her fly fishing for an 8 year old.  When we hit the water the other day she hit the fishing hard for a half our or so and landed one little rainbow.  Not long after she landed the fish, she started getting distracted.

The fishing was a little slow and she started playing with rocks and splashing in the stream.  I started to get a little irritated.  I mean really, doesn't she know this will just disturb the fish?  In that moment I realized I was starting to act like a grumpy old man and not like a dad that should just be enjoying some precious time on the water with his daughter no matter what we were doing.

As Thanksgiving Day was winding down, my stepmother was telling me about how she used to fish with her dad when she was little.  I asked her what she remembered about fishing with her dad?  She told me she just remembered him grumping at her about not doing anything right on the water.  WOW!

This really got me thinking about the time Chelsea and I were fishing the other day.  I remember starting to get short with her because she wasn't taking her fishing very serious.  But, I decided to let it go, and we ended up spending time walking the stream while I held her little hand so she didn't slip.  I hope that's what she remembers and not that I started to grump at her when she was getting tired of fishing.

Kids have a short attention span and really just can't focus on tasks the way we do.  Their brains are not even developed to the point that they can focus the way we do.  I just want to encourage all of you to enjoy the time you get on the water with your kids.  And if they get tired of fishing, then so be it.  Enjoy some time skipping rocks and hanging out with them.  They grow up so fast.

Our ability to help our children mature and develop their relationship with Christ hinges on days just like Chelsea and I had.  The focus on the day should always be strengthening our bonds with our children, not producing perfect drag free drifts.  As we build trust with our children we give them the confidence in us they need that allows them to share tough issues in their lives with us.  That last thing any kid needs is fear that we will blow up at them over something as insignificant as fishing.  And, if they are not comfortable with us with unimportant things like fishing, they are not likely to be comfortable that we won't blow up on them with important issues.

Get out on the water with your kids and enjoy them.  I hope this gives you some food for thought on your next outing with your children.

Big Brown Comin' Down...

I've been itching to fish the Lake Ontario tributaries in New York for a while.  These tribs get great runs of salmon, brown trout, and steelhead each Fall and Winter.  The lake run brown trout fishery is legendary.  It's difficult to pass up the chance to get into 30" brown trout.

Dead drifting egg patterns is the mainstay of fly fishing for these big browns.  But as the evening cooled water begins to warm in the late morning sun and the browns start to get a little more active, don't underestimate just how willing these fish are to hit streamers on the swing.  Between slab browns and fresh steelhead in the systems, you will have tired arms by the end of the day.

Started the trip off right with a 27" hen right out of the gate.

I love the variety in brown trout color patterns.

TOUCHDOWN!

One stream we fished had beautiful resident wild bows as well.  Look at that rose stripe and those rose fins.

Even in slower small runs, don't hesitate to swing a bugger or smaller wet fly from the top of a run.  WHAM!

I knew that switch rod was going to pay off! 

This little hen hammered a swung egg sucking leach.

Just be aware...there are some places in NY that DON'T allow chairs in the stream :-D

And just when you think all you are going to swing up is brown trout...a steelhead crushes your streamer!

Iron Sharpens Iron

Scott was fortunate to spend some years in Montana sharpening his fly fishing skills, but after more than a decade in northeast Ohio, he had not yet taken time to chase steelhead on the fly.  When we met a few months ago, we immediately set a date to get that done.  Today was the day.  And, we got it done.

Being the lead pastor of a growing congregation has not afforded Scott as much time on the water as he once had.  I respect that.  I love where Scott has his priorities.  Getting to spend the day on the water with Scott was a treat.

Although Scott had not chased steelhead previously, he took to the game quickly.  He was the model student, and boy does that make my day easy.  The first fish he hooked caught him off guard as it streaked across the stream and vanished from his line.  He quickly made some recommended adjustments and fish were coming to his hand regularly the rest of the day.

As we walked the trail back to the truck I wondered to myself if Scott gained as much from this day as I did.  He is a guy that truly understands what it means when we talk about iron sharpening iron.  I know Scott walked away from the day with better fishing skills.  It's always my goal for the folks that fish with me to walk away from the day as better fishermen and as better people.  Today, I have to say, I walked away a better man for the time I spent with Scott.  For that, I owe you one buddy!

The first steelhead is the one that starts the addiction!

The second steelhead builds one's confidence.

This is the thrill we all look for.

The third steelhead is the one that earns a lifetime of appreciation.

A healthy release of life's stressors.

Fresh

It's great to be able to get out on the tribs of Steelhead Alley during the mid-week for a day of fishing.  My buddy Greg decided to take the day off and asked me to get out on the water with him.  I agreed as long as I could go along for the ride for a change.  We piled in his car in the darkness of early morning and headed to Pennsylvania.  Our old friend Elk Creek was calling and we obliged her ring.

If you would like to see some of these fresh chromers in your hands...call me.  LET'S GO FISHIN'!

This little guy was hanging along side a newly fallen tree compliments of Sandy.  He kicked our day off nicely.

Shelves...look for shelves.  And when you find them, drift along them.  This fellow will be waiting for you.

Greg had seen enough fish in my hands.  A small green egg caught this hen's attention and he was on the board.

Greg had caught a fish out of this run earlier.  It was a challenging run because it was short, deep, and fast.  As we came back to the run, I told Greg I wanted to take one swing at it.  He told me I would need to get my bugger down quick.  Watch this....  I took the indicator off my line and made one cast just above the hole.  BAM!

Filling Back Up!

Hurricane Sandy did Steelhead Alley a great service.  She gave us water!  We really needed those days of slow steady rain.  The tributaries are flowing nicely and the fish are spread throughout the systems.  My lovely bride told me to go fishing today, so I headed East to see exactly what impact Sandy had on the tribs.

There are plenty of fish around.  Call me...LET'S GO FISHIN'!