Making it All Worth it.

After sitting at the vise for longer than I'd like to admit, I finally got out to test some of the new creations, and fish some old standbys. Brian, Andy, and I hit the river last Sunday to try our hand at some winter smallmouth. Winter conditions can be a bit tricky with a fly, so we took a spinning rod or two just in case. We ended up getting fish on both flies and tube jigs, everything needed to be super super slow and the takes were extremely subtle. Even though the takes were soft, as soon as they were hooked they still pulled like crazy in 44 degree water. Smallmouth fishing, in any condition is and always will be my favorite!

Periodic Spring Creek Trips

Over the summer I took a few mornings off from the warm water game to chase some spring creek trout. These photos have been hiding amongst dozens of smallmouth pictures, I think it is a great time to show them off before we welcome in the new year. I have and always will love spring creeks no matter how many times I want to throw my rod in the mud or curse at a large unwilling trout that refuses to take my fly. There are small victories and lessons each time on the water, some how I feel its amplified on a spring creek because you have to get it all right to make it count. Over the years we have put some beautiful trout in the net, and these few photos continue the tradition. They aren't all huge monsters that some people need to catch to feel accomplished, but they are a combination of size and color, each with their own story to tell. That is what makes me keep coming back!

Plan B

It seemed that the whole trip started to crumble as we were leaving. People backed out, mother nature said no, and the campground shut down on us. So Rob and I were left to decided what to do. After countless text messages to friends and phone calls that seemed to never stop, we finally decided to head to State College and fish the little J and Spruce creek. I have always loved the little J and never fished spruce before so it was going to be fun. As Andy said "lets just go fish for steelhead locally" he wasn't kidding. Oh yeah and Rob kinda might have broke his toe so there wasn't much hiking in the forecast for us, so that limited us too. So Rob and I fished the little J together in the snow/rain/wind and got into some fish, then Andy meet up with us for some BBQ and late evening fishing. Day 2 was our day on Spruce, if you haven't done it, you need to. There are plenty of fish, both wild and stocked and they eat flies very very well :). Unlike some stocked private water, these fish have a regular diet of insects both nymphs and adults(with a side of food pellets), so they actually feed like they are supposed to. I have some great guide friends that have access to some beautiful private water. Day 3, well that one kinda sucked, I got sick so after a 3 hour car ride home I spent the rest of the day sleeping. Take a look at the pictures, thank you Andy and Kyle for the hospitality. You may also want to check Kyle's blog out The Fishing Flow, its awesome.

Simms Dealer Camp

A brutal but awesome trip to the Salmon River. Went up to Pulaski to see the new line and was able to get out and fish a bit. Day one started off pleasant, but the front rolled in and it got cold. The next day we had to work for the fish, but we prevailed. Snow was coming down sideways and the wind was blowing 20mph plus. By day three we had 18 inches of snow and it didn't stop, we got out of there with the help of a bobcat and some man power just before the heavy stuff came down. Hot flies were all sucker spawn or some kind of egg pattern. Low and slow was the ticket to success.