Moving on / Fishing

Hello All,

Some of you may have already heard the news, however for the rest of you, here it is.

As of April 1st, I have stepped away from my management role at TCO Fly Shop. After over 8 years in the shop, I am leaving to peruse my true passion as a full time guide. I have started Relentless Fly Fishing, which will continue to work directly with TCO. I will be managing all guide trips out of our Boiling Springs and Reading locations. Thank you Tony Gehman and TCO Fly Shop for all that you have done to get me to this point in my career!

I have also started a website to go along with my new business. You will be able to stay connected to the blog, watch tying videos, see photos throughout the season, and even purchase some of my custom tied flies.

Click on the link to check it out today!

WWW.RELENTLESSFLYFISHING.COM 

Now to some photos from the past few trips out. We have done a couple recon missions for early season smallmouth in between guide trips. The early season smallmouth fishing has been great, and is only getting better. We will be floating some small tributaries to the bigger rivers this spring in search for some serious trophies. Come join me, and support your local starving artist :)

Spring is know for as trout season, and that it has been. We have been splitting time between Reading, Boiling Springs, and State College, everything seems to be fishing well right now. 

Central PA Trout

There is nothing like planning a day trip to central PA with a couple good friends and knowing the temps will not break out of the 20s all day. Oh well when the water is perfect and the fish are hungry you seem to forget all about your frozen hands and guides. Anytime I can get out on a system where the trout love big golden stone nymphs, ill be there regardless of temps. Kyle, Bryan, Rob and I hit the creek at about 10 am and the air temps were barely out out of the teens. But the fish didn't seem to care, they were hungry and wanted to eat anything big.

The Triple Stack Sculpin 

Small Stream Set Ups

I have found myself enjoying small stream fishing more this year. Whether its a stream full of wild brook trout that top out at eight inches, or a small spring creek that might have a 24 inch rainbow lurking under its banks, I love them all. Over the past couple years I have spent a lot of time fishing different types of small stream rods, most of which were 3wts. In this post I am going to give you a brief review of six different rods that I have fished.

1. Scott G2 883-4

Its been a while since I fished this rod, but I can still remember how much fun it was to fish. A perfect small stream dry fly rod. I would say that its only fault is that its not a very good nymphing rod. It is a very soft rod, that will lay a dry fly down anywhere you direct it.

2. Scott A4 803-4

Most of our client rods are A4s, and I have not had a single person speak poorly about them. A couple of my buddies bought this rod specifically for small stream situations, and love them. It is a little on the fast side, so you can nymph and toss streamers well with it. But its a 3wt, so by nature it will still present a dry fly with precision.

3. Winston BIIIX 863-4

This one is new to me, but talking to a couple of the guys at the shop, I can say its a great small to medium stream rod. It has a nice backbone to be accurate at distance, with great line pick up. Steve from Bryn Mawr loves his, and said to me the other day "its a perfect rod for PA Spring Creeks". I would have to agree.

4.Winston BIIILS 803-4

This rod has a lot of the same pros and cons of the G2, it is very slow, but a beautiful rod for small brook trout streams. It can be a little weak in the wind, or with multiple flies on the line. A great dry fly rod, or very small unweighted streamer rod. So if you prefer hiking into the backwoods and tossing royal wulffs or stimulators, this is the rod for you!  

5. Orvis Helios 2 842-4

Where to begin, this has to me my personal favorite. Yes it is a 2wt, but its a powerful 2wt, and can handle just about anything you throw at it. It will toss streamers, dry dropper rigs, and even straight double nymph rigs with an indicator. You can toss this rod a mile, and with a thicker butt section it adds a bit of leverage to fighting those bigger small stream fish. It is also a great PA Trico rod.

6. Orvis Recon 843-4
The Recon is the newest rod added to the Orvis line this past year. It is the stiffer brother to the super fine. This rod is perfect for small stream fishing with streamers and heavier nymph rigs. It will present a dry fly with ease, but is better for bigger bugs or windy days.

Stay Local - Get Out and Explore

 Many times our thoughts about fishing can be over taken by our memories of a destination trip out west, or a trip to the warm flats of Belize. I am guilty of talking trash on my local waters, when thinking about how great the fishing is other places in the US. Well sometimes we have to take a step back and remember the gems that we have in our backyards. Shane and I have been exploring some local streams on the class A list, that are within an hour of the shop, and he have not been disappointed. So next time you are dreaming about your last destination trip, stop, and think about the beauty in our backyards. PA has some of the best fishing in the USA, get out an explore a new stream next time you have some free time!

 

Tully Report - Photo Shoot

Wow June is almost over; the fishing has been awesome the past few weeks. Caddis are flying all over the place, and there have been a few reports of sulphurs still coming off on the upper parts of the creek. Despite the awesome fishing the past couple weeks, this week we have been getting mixed reports. Some are saying it’s been awesome, and other say they cant buy a fish. Late June in to early July is often times slower than we would like, but I take it as a good sign, Tricos are almost here. I have seen a few around, but the next week or so should bring the full hatch!

And now for the photo shoot...