Next weekend, March 7 & 8, be sure to attend Fly Fish New Hampshire, New Hampshire's only Fly Fishing show. The show once again will be held at Pelham Fish and Game Club, 300 Simpson Mill Road, Pelham, NH. My guiding partner Jim and I will give a presentation each day, as well as have a booth in the exhibit hall. There will be lots of fly shops, outfitters, lodges, etc. Get your 2009 license at the NH Fish and Game department booth, or enroll in the Saturday morning rod-building class. Plan on spending the whole day.
Stop by NH Rivers Guide booth and say hi!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tarpon on the Fly!
Stan and I made a couple "not-much-to-report" trips to the Charlotte Harbor flats with only a couple small trout to show for it. Then yesterday we took a drive down to the canals near the Tamiami Trail in the Everglades. We fished there briefly a couple weeks ago when Stan caught a Jack. This time it wasn't too windy; was a little warmer and the fish (and gators) were more active. The gators were sunning themselves in some of the good fishing spots.
I saw schools of baitfish "raining" on the water, so I knew that they were getting spooked by a predator, probably a tarpon, since we had seen some rolling on the surface. I had put on a weedless, white tarpon fly and tossed it about 20 feet in front of me into some cloudy water at the end of the canal, where the baitfish were swarming out of the water. The line came tight and I set the hook hard and the fight was on. This thing ran, jumped, jumped some more and generally went berserk! This big gator made a beeline towards the commotion and stopped about 20 feet way from us.
I put a lot of pressure on the tarpon to keep it away from the gator. It was hard to land the fish, since the bank of the canal is about two feet above the water, and I was not about to get down into the canal with that hungry gator! I was using a 12-pound redfish leader, with 18-inches of 30-pound fluorocarbon as a bite-tippet to protect from abrasion from toothy critters and sharp gill covers. Here is some video Stan shot.
As I was pulling the tarpon up the bank, it lunged and broke the leader. I estimate it to be 24 to 26-inches and somewhere a little less than 10 pounds. Two-bites for a gator!
After making a few more casts, we decided to move down the canal a ways and fish another spot, where we had seen another fly fisher earlier. When we got there he was putting his gear away in the truck and I noticed it had Maine plates. As we pulled up, he turned around and I recognized Danny Legere, proprieter of the Maine Guide Fly Shop in Greenville, Maine. We chatted for a while, exchanging info on some local spots. You never know who you are going to run into on the water!
This is probably my last report, since we are leaving Saturday to head back north. Hope you enjoyed this mid-winter interlude, even though it is "off-topic" from New England Fly Fishing.
I saw schools of baitfish "raining" on the water, so I knew that they were getting spooked by a predator, probably a tarpon, since we had seen some rolling on the surface. I had put on a weedless, white tarpon fly and tossed it about 20 feet in front of me into some cloudy water at the end of the canal, where the baitfish were swarming out of the water. The line came tight and I set the hook hard and the fight was on. This thing ran, jumped, jumped some more and generally went berserk! This big gator made a beeline towards the commotion and stopped about 20 feet way from us.
I put a lot of pressure on the tarpon to keep it away from the gator. It was hard to land the fish, since the bank of the canal is about two feet above the water, and I was not about to get down into the canal with that hungry gator! I was using a 12-pound redfish leader, with 18-inches of 30-pound fluorocarbon as a bite-tippet to protect from abrasion from toothy critters and sharp gill covers. Here is some video Stan shot.As I was pulling the tarpon up the bank, it lunged and broke the leader. I estimate it to be 24 to 26-inches and somewhere a little less than 10 pounds. Two-bites for a gator!
After making a few more casts, we decided to move down the canal a ways and fish another spot, where we had seen another fly fisher earlier. When we got there he was putting his gear away in the truck and I noticed it had Maine plates. As we pulled up, he turned around and I recognized Danny Legere, proprieter of the Maine Guide Fly Shop in Greenville, Maine. We chatted for a while, exchanging info on some local spots. You never know who you are going to run into on the water!
This is probably my last report, since we are leaving Saturday to head back north. Hope you enjoyed this mid-winter interlude, even though it is "off-topic" from New England Fly Fishing.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Learn to Fly Fish - FREE - Pelham, NH
We have added another class, this one an all-day (8:30AM to 4:30PM) Saturday class at Pelham Fish and Game Club in Pelham, NH on April 4. In case you couldn't work one of the other classes into your schedule, give this one a try. These classes are for beginners, but also intermediates who want to learn more. We will cover everything from equipment basics, knots, safety, ethics, coldwater conservation; trout food (not Purina trout-chow, but mayflies, caddis, stoneflies, etc.) and strategies and where to fish. There will also be a casting class on-the-water on April 25. There is no charge for the class, but you need to register by sending me an email.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Charlotte Harbor odyssey
Saturday Dick took Stan and I out on his flats boat. Sorry no pictures :(
We cast the flats along the inlet of Alligator Creek with no action. We then hit the flats north of Burnt Store marina. This is a great place for stalking redfish. We saw loads of redfish and Stan hooked into a real bruiser. He couldn't move the fish with his 9WT rod and the fish kept rubbing his mouth on the bottom to try to dislodge the fly and wore through the leader. We then cruised down to Boca Grande pass, saw a bunch of dolphins and stopped near Turtle Bay to try for some trout without any luck. A great day to be on the water. We are going to try to get out early tomorrow morning. Maybe we can entice some fish before the sun gets high in the sky.
We cast the flats along the inlet of Alligator Creek with no action. We then hit the flats north of Burnt Store marina. This is a great place for stalking redfish. We saw loads of redfish and Stan hooked into a real bruiser. He couldn't move the fish with his 9WT rod and the fish kept rubbing his mouth on the bottom to try to dislodge the fly and wore through the leader. We then cruised down to Boca Grande pass, saw a bunch of dolphins and stopped near Turtle Bay to try for some trout without any luck. A great day to be on the water. We are going to try to get out early tomorrow morning. Maybe we can entice some fish before the sun gets high in the sky.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
More Charlotte Harbor Flats Fishing
Stan and I got up at o' dark:30 and got out to the flats at sun-up before the wind started blowing. Actually, it was a very foggy morning and the fishing wasn't too bad. We each landed nice speckled seatrout.
This is the trail through the mangroves down to the flats.
It was real foggy, which was kind of cool.
Stan took this video of me landing a nice speckled seatrout.
This is what the trout looked like.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Tamiami Trail - fishin' and gators
Stan and Deborah wanted to 1. see some gators (Deborah) and 2. catch some fish (Stan.) I could guarantee with a 99.9999% certainty that Debbie would see gators, but guaranteeing fish is not in my nature. Well, we saw hundreds of gators, some manatees, and some fish. Here is one that was on the end of Stan's line.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
More Learn to fly Fish Classes - Amoskeag Fishways - Manchester, NH
Monday evenings beginning March 23 there will be FREE learn to fly fish classes at Amoskeag Fishways in Manchester, NH. Click the title above to access the Amoskeag Fishways website for information or call 603-626-3474 to register.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Learn to Fly Fish classes - Manchester, NH
To enroll in the classes at Manchester Public Library, click on the title to this entry and go to Events>Calendar>March and scroll to March 26. Classes begin March 26 for four consecutive Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 PM. My buddy Stan Jodziewicz is the primary instructor for this class.
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