School of wet rocks (prerequisite)

 Hi all,

I received some really good feedback on my "School of wet rocks" post.  I made an assumption that most young people are as experienced with fishing as I was at that age.  I think many of the students might do best with a type of fish and type of fishing where they will have immediate success (like poppers or top water stuff for bluegills or sunfish).  As I look back, that is where I started - as a kid, where I could see all the bluegill nests and cast to them, with jigs and then later with a fly rod and poppers or top water things.  So, here's the prerequisite to the previous post:

a) Fly casting in the field.  Demonstrate until each student can cast at least 20 feet in front of them and leave the line straight out in front of them.  I have 5 setups, may need a few more cheap rigs depending on how many students enroll.

b) Find a pond with some places to backcast (maybe dock) and take them fishing.  Bring worms and some spin gear and bobbers etc. in case the fly stuff isn't immediately successful.  Make sure they catch stuff so they get "hooked."

c) Lunch

d) Then some more casting lessons, and see if there's an afternoon hatch on the river.  If not, back to the bluegills we go.

Eventually, transition to trout and the river.

Have a great day,

Mark

School of wet rocks

 Hi all,

I just had a brainstorm, as usually happens post coffee but before breakfast.  I want to give the experience I had of learning to fish the Farmington to some kids who have never fished before, or never fly fished before.  I live next to the west branch of the Farmington, and I know enough about tying and fishing that I can help them catch some fish.  

I have ties to the Grange and the Riverton Fairgrounds, so I may be able to use those spaces for tying and casting practice, and then some of the best fishing in the Farmington is right around that area.  

The typical day at such an establishment: kids are dropped off at around 7, with their own rods and reels and waders at the Grange Hall.  I make sure each kid has at least 10 flies:

a) A few muddlers

b) a few wooly buggers

c) A few marabou unnamed streamers (unnamed but highly effective)

d) Black Ghost

e) Marabou grey ghost

f) Elk Hair Caddis

g) adams

We walk across the street to the Farmington, where we fish the morning hatch until the fishing dies down.

Then, casting academy in the field for a few minutes (no flies on so nobody gets a new earring).

We study the river for a few, and have a contest for who can find the most flies and put them in a jar to imitate.  When we get back to the grange, we all look at the flies, try to identify them and then look up what species they are on the internet, and what flies are usually used to match them.  

Each student gets to tie a few flies they think will work.

We fish the afternoon hatch after a healthy lunch provided by the Riverton Inn or the Grange.

Pickup around 3, unless the hatch is amazing and the kids (and maybe their parents) want to fish some more.

Tying in the winter (and friendship)

 Good morning,

I am so appreciative of my friends and my hobbies right now.  I had a friend that came over, tied flies and hung out for a few hours on Sunday.  It was great to see him, and we traded fish stories and looked a blogs to figure out what the best patterns were.  I used my experience and taught him a little bit, and he used his research and taught me some things as well.  

Along the way we dreamed about fishing, and what we could still do in the cold.  The Farmington seems like it's fish-able all winter as long as you're prepared, and we have most of the gear.  I have neoprene and lots of cold weather gear, just not neoprene gloves.  He has mostly everything he needs also, so I think we'll be fishin' in February.  

We also talked about stripers over the winter, in the rivers where they winter.  They are mostly schoolies (which means smaller) but they are large in number and fun to catch.  I might get wetsuited up and kayak for them, but that is potentially a lot colder of an adventure than the Farmington.  If anyone comments and is interested, I can post pictures of the flies we tied and what we think they are to model.

Have a great day all,

~Mark

On fishing and the cold

 Good morning all,

I'm up at stupid o'clock again, dreaming of fishing.  4 am seems to be the witching hour for me - where I wake up and think about what kind of fishing is possible for that day.  The ice hasn't settled on the lakes and ponds up here yet, but it is way too cold for kayak fishing.  I could still wade the Farmington, potentially, with neoprene everything and some chutzpah.  It's windy and the google home told me it feels like 20 degrees with the wind chill, which also tells me my fly rod will be nigh unto useless.  So spin it is, maybe a big mouse with a bobber.  

It's also flood stage in all the rivers flowing into the Farmington, though because of the dam(s) at hog's back and Colebrook river lake, I think the Farmington is still within its banks.  Does anyone have any experience fishing flood waters?  If so, please comment what I should try.  Maybe some neon colored egg sacs and some mouse patterns (I imagine these are frequent in a flood river, as the mice get washed from their burrows).  I have a spot where the two rivers come together that I want to try, one flooded and one not, so fish can choose their temperature/thermocline and their food supply that is washing in.  I'll add pictures of the fish to the post, if I catch any, and pictures of the wildlife even if I don't.

At any rate, happy fishing, tight lines and I hope you all have a great day!

~Mark

Kayak fishing

 Good morning,

I know it's not technically fly fishing, but I realized that I get the same kind of zen from fishing in my kayak.  Whether it's casting for stripers and blues, albies, or dropping and jigging for fluke, porgies and sea bass, just being out in nature is refreshing.  This morning I woke up sore and tired from it, but it was all the way worth it.  

There is a certain brotherhood among fishermen as well.  The guys I go with have become real friends to me, in a time when I really needed some of those.  For instance, one of them came to my house to show me how to fillet a fish.  When my truck broke on the way to the water, they were understanding and helpful in their advice.  My parents came and got me, but if they weren't able to, I could have depended on my fishing buddies to pick me up.

At any rate, I didn't have a great day of catching yesterday, but it was a beautiful day on the water, well worth the driving and the pain in the butt of getting my kayak transported and the organization before and after.  

Hope you all have a great day!

~Mark

4/7 Spin fishing

I think I'm growing as a fisherman.  I used to only use Phoebes, and usually on opening day, unless I was fly fishing with a friend or in Maine or NH fly fishing.  I am trying to impress my daughter, I think - she gets such joy from catching a fish or netting one, so I am trying harder for her sake.  I switched from a Phoebe to a Mepps spinner (like a rooster tail but with no hair and a pink butt) and caught a beautiful 14" brown this morning.  I love sharing this with my daughter and watching how excited she gets to go fishing or see nature for the first time.  It's made me read about effective fishing, dig worms, investigate powerbait, and tie flies in the first time in a long time.

Maybe this is what parenthood is supposed to be - rediscovering things that we love through the eyes of a child and falling in love with them all over again.  I am really enjoying it and I hope I keep getting to do it.  I remember how excited I used to get on opening day when my dad and I would go, and I suppose I know now that that energy was contagious for my dad.

Hope you all have a good day, and happy fishing!

Mark

Sentimental attachment to a fishing rod

Hi all,

Yesterday someone stole my favorite spin fishing rod.  It was always my dad's second favorite, and became my favorite when he passed it to me.  It was straight, flexible, and the tip was just sensitive enough to feel any hit.  I've caught trout on it that would have won the Riverton Derby if I caught them in the Farmington.  I thought it would be safe at the Colebrook River Lake in the back of my truck, with a few trucks of fellow fishermen and walkers. 

It was an antique (I think) of unknown origin, so I can't even replace it.  It's the brown and white one in the picture below, with steel ferrules and two metal cylinders to hold the reel to the cork handle.  I always wanted to have that part replaced so the reel couldn't come off so easily.  I'm irrationally attached to the rod.  It's not better than a new one in any way that I can think of, but it's gone with my father and I to countless opening days, and caught even more trout.  Those memories seem imbued in the cork of the handle, the frozen fingers trying to clamp the two reel holder cylinders together.  I've cared for it for at least 10 years now, making sure never to shut it in a car door or leave it bent for storage. 

Anyway, if anyone knows more about the rod or how I can try to replace it, please leave a comment.  I'd like the same rod blank to start building new memories with.