Creek Addict

Hey, look, it’s an update. This one is way past due, and I have more than a few on the back burners. I’ve got time to fish these days, just not too much time to talk about it. Here are some pictures from our weekend up in New Hampshire at the Eastman Inn. We always have a good time up there. Alicia’s father, Art, was home for the weekend from the UAE and got to spend some time with his grandson. The extra hands on deck allowed me some much needed fishing time. Here are some pictures from said weekend. Enjoy.
Wild brookie stream.

Two for one. These brookies (and plenty others) were taken out of glassy flats floating a curly sighter with 2 size 18 nymphs.

Lots of stockers.

Brookie lake.

Moose 1.

Moose 2.

America, Fuck ya!

Weak update, I know. At least it has some pretty pictures though.

I promised an update this week, so I guess I better deliver.

Nick and I went to a new stream in the Catskills a few weeks ago. We had read stuff here and there about the stream, but it’s one of those places that no one really talks about. We had talked about going to this place for about a year but never made the time. I love fishing new places. I don’t know why we hadn’t hit this place sooner. To most, this place is nothing more than a tiny tendril of blue, meandering through the reaches of green that cover the Catskill portion of the NY topographical maps. To fisherman, it’s a paradise. I want so badly to just tell everyone the name of this place. The gem waiting out in the NY woods is too good to spoil though. There was no other fishing pressure. There were tons of wild fish, wildlife and wild scenery. Considering the access to this stream, it’s mind boggling to think about how little pressure it gets. Just minutes away are some of New York’s most popular rivers. Rivers that are hoarded with thousands upon thousands of anglers each year. Little do these anglers know that right under their nose is one of the most pristine cold water fisheries in the Catskills. Obviously, I’m glad it doesn’t get pressure. I just don’t understand why.

Due to drought conditions, the river was very low. When conditions are like that, you always know two things. You know where the fish are going to be, and you know the fish are going to be spooky. Walking the banks of the river was like reading a treasure map. You know, one of those X-marks-the-spot-type maps. Every deep hole, over hanging/submerged log, and fast, decently moving run held fish. I couldn’t believe how many fish some of these holes held. Wild fish of all shapes and flavors. One of the holes we fished was maybe 3 feet deep with a log submerged half way in it. Nick and I pulled out maybe 10 or 15 fish from this hole alone. We also both lost some big fish out of that hole due to the tree, but we won’t talk about that. All the fish from this particular river on that day were taken on either dry flies or tiny nymphs. We’ve been using a new (to us) technique with those tiny weighted nymphs, and we plan on releasing a video explaining how exactly it’s done in the near future. Keep your eyes peeled for that one, it’ll be a good one.

Some pictures from the Catskill stream.

On the way home we decided to hit one of the warm water fisheries in the area in hopes of getting into a few smallies. I basically followed Nick around as he did all the catching. I did all the cursing. It was clear, low, slow moving water. It was easy to target them. I just couldn’t manage to get any in the net. I hooked a few. I got to watch them smash some of my flies, but that was about all the fun I had there. Nick had a blast though. That’s what friends and assholes do. While you’re going through a bout of bad luck, losing fish, breaking tippets on rocks, generally getting pissed off, friends and assholes catch fish in your face. Then they smile about it. They smile about it, and ask to have their pictures taken. Here are some of those pictures. I’m done with this story. Bite me, Nick.

Nick and I took a LONG hike to a new spot on one of our favorite rivers last week. I’m talking 10 miles round trip. It was tough, no joke. I’m fucking fat, OKAY. Get off my case. It was worth it though — seriously worth it. The caddis hatch was off the charts and the fish were hungry. We got into them pretty good all day long. Normally a 16-inch fish earns the title of “fish of the day” at this place, but we were catching so many of them in that range, we just stopped taking pictures. My legs hurt for, like, the two days after the trip, but I didn’t care. Drooling at the pictures the next day, I can’t wait to go back. Maybe it’ll make me lose a few pounds and my wife will stop calling me fat boy. Woo yaaaa! Enjoy the pictures.

First fish of the day.

Another decent brown caught by Nick.

I got out from behind the camera and did some fishing and caught a real nice one. Nick took the pictures.

Another angle.

About the average for the day.

We were catching them on dries, wets, and nymphs. All wild fish.

Nick and a nice one.

Release.

Another fatty, filled to the gills with caddis.

Nick’s fish of the day. Caught in some really calm glassy water sippin dries.

I love this picture. The red spots look gorgeous on this fish.

Watch this video in 1080P to be able to see the caddis in the first half of the video. It was nuts.

For the trout opener in PA I met up with Mark Erdosy from This River is Wild. We hit one of the popular local trout streams that is open year round in hopes that the other trout fisherman were off fishing streams that were previously closed. No luck. The place was crowded. I even saw a guy with a grill and party tent set up right on the banks. We fished a section that is a little less pressured in hopes of catching a few wild fish.

Mark was interested in learning about some of the European nymphing methods, and I was happy to oblige. After a few quick blurbs on how things work, and a quick demo of how it all looks, we were off to the races. It didn’t take long before Mark had a handle on things and started putting fish in hand with the new learned methods. It probably only took about 15 minutes from start to finish before he caught his first fish using the European techniques. After catching a few fish, we decided to head to one of his top secret spots. A more than fair trade. The amount of gold hidden in the place he took me to is unreal. A new favorite spot, and I haven’t even caught a fish there yet.

At secret spot X we met up with one of the other writers of This River is Wild, Adam Hope. As soon as I stepped up to the water, I saw the shadows. After trying for an hour or so, I couldn’t get a take. Adam was lucky enough to catch himself one. A sure sign that the season is looking up. It’s time for carp, and I couldn’t be any more ready. It was great fishing with these guys. I’m all about meeting new like minded fisherman. I hope to get out on the water with these guys again soon.

A nice little wild brown.

I love the buttery yellows the trout in this stream have.

One of Mark’s rainbows after the release.

Looks like we took the same picture.

I had hopes and dreams of getting up early this past weekend and driving out to PA for some fast paced limestone action, but when the alarm went off at 4:30, I just couldn’t do it. I ended up sleeping late, played some video games with the kids, and got to the local river at about noon. The water was a nice 33 degrees and the air was below freezing all day. I knew I had my work cut out for me; I also knew I wouldn’t see another person the whole day. That kind of makes it all worth it. I nymphed the pools for most of the day since I knew the fish would be lazy and using as little energy as possible in these water temps. I tried all kinds of flies through out the day but after spearing a rock worm with my cased caddis I put on a czech nymph and didn’t look back. After fishing for 4 hours I had hooked 3 fish and landed 2. The one that came off at the net was actually some kind of miracle stocker bow that managed to survive almost a whole year in there. The two I landed were wild browns. Both were of good size for this river, the average fish here is about 8 inches. Not a great day by any means but the 20 minute drive home as apposed to 4 hours was a nice change. It amazes me what a difference these few degrees in water temperature can make in the winter. You guys that live out in PA sure are lucky.

This guy had a bad day.

His bad day lead to my fly selection.

This made my trip worth it.

A bit smaller but still a good one.

Don’t ask me why I wanted to shoot them swimming away in such cold temperatures but I did. My hands payed the price.

Yup… I finally convinced my wife to let me off of diaper duty long enough to get some fishing done. It was colder than a penguin’s taint outside, but that wasn’t going to stop me. Nick and I crossed the border to PA to try our luck at a few different places. The fishing wasn’t great, but we managed to put a few pigs and an occasional wild brown in our nets. It was good to get out, but it’s like crack, I’m already fiending for more. Fatherhood has been a pretty awesome experience so far. Knowing that I have no idea when I’ll actually get to go fishing again, it really makes every second on the water that much more enjoyable.

So fat it looks like a tick ready to pop.

Nick’s no lip beast!

Another view of Nick’s big brown.

Nick’s really nice wild brown.