Colored Up Chrome

It's a classic spring here in WNY where you can expect the weather to do anything it wants to do.  When you think about it, almost all of fishing can be dictated by the weather.  The past week or two has been fairly warm and not any precipitation to speak of.   The water in some tributaries has been as warm as 62 degrees!  On average the temperature has been around 54 degrees and bottoming out around 48 degrees at night.  This warm weather has effectively ended the steelhead run.  It has been waning for weeks now, but this warm weather has really nipped it in the butt.  Steelhead are still around but are colored up and can be pretty beat up too.  The water has been low and clear in most all the tribs so the dropback action will most likely pick up with this nice rain we had last night and today.  Swung flies like woolly buggers (earth toned colors) and egg sucking leeches have been the most productive flies.  With the water clear downsizing tippet and swinging your fly slowly has been the trick.  The warm water is not a steelheads favorite but it does make them more apt to take a swung fly over a dead drifted stonefly or prince nymph. 

While we are still on the subject of the tributary fishing, the estuary and mouth fishing has been good if the wind is down.  Clousers, EP Baitfish, and Deceiver flies can be productive and really fun!  Fishing in 5-9 ft of water is about where a lot of the bass and browns are this time of year but it is also getting a little late for that too.  Once the lake starts to warm up further out the baitfish move and so do the trout and salmon making them out of reach for us fly fisherman. 

Going inland the cooler weather has still stiffed much of the hatching going on but there are still dry fly fishing to be had.  Afternoon hatches are the strongest of the day and decent numbers in the evening.  Its feast or famine so you gotta hit it just right.  Hendricksons, midges, and caddis dries have all been effective in a size 16.

This is the time of year where it starts to warm up a bit and giving casting lessons becomes more enjoyable.  No time like the present to learn how to take advantage of this wonderful sport.  After a summer of casting practice you'll be a pro to cast to those finicky browns and salmon come the fall.  If you are interested you can leave a comment or contact me at wnyflyguy@gmail.com

Thanks again for reading and tight lines guys!

Current Stream Information: 

Oak Orchard (Albion):  April 27th, 2016

Light fishing pressure.
Med/Stained flows (CFS unknown)

18-Mile Creek (Burt):  April 27th, 2016

Light fishing pressure.
Med/Off-Color flows.
174 CFS

Oatka Creek:   April 27th, 2016

Light Fishing Pressure
Med/Stained flows
247 CFS

Springtime is Here

We are finally now easing into the weather that is "normal" for this time of year and the most wonderful things about springtime here in WNY is that there are so many opportunities for success on a fly rod.  For the tributaries you've got a mixed bag of brown trout, steelhead, suckers, and smallmouths while inland you've got the finicky wild trout starting to come out of their winter eating habits. 

Starting with the tributaries; the weather has been warming up from the past week of cold weather and things are shaping up nicely.  The water levels in the small area tribs are low and clear leaving whatever steelhead left exposed but also very spooky.  The larger tributaries have medium/lower and stained/Off-color flows giving great fishing for everything in the stream right now.  Suckers are very much still in the mix and can be a fun way to spend and afternoon.  The smallmouths are well set up in the lower reaches of the tribs and some are established upstream for the spawn. 

Productive flies recently have been fairly small stuff no bigger than a #8.  Stoneflies and earth toned woolly buggers have been productive for the remaining steelhead where egg patterns have been dynamic on the suckers.  The smallmouths are quite aggressive this time of year to protect their nests so many different patterns will be effective.  Streamers actively stripped as well as dead drifted are good ways to trigger their instincts.  Remember that all the bass are artificial lures only and catch and release only until the 3rd Saturday in June. 

As for the inland trout streams the afternoon hatches are producing March Browns, Hendricksons and midges are always around.  Nymphs are still your best bet with size 12 and 14 hare's ears and hendricksons nymphs in the same sizes.  Not a whole ton of bug activity yet but the warmer days will definitely bring on the hatches.

Remember this time of year the water flows can change on a dime so be sure to know what the weather has been too predict what streams will have what flows.  As always stream conditions are posted below.  Thanks for reading and tight lines!


Current Stream Information: 

Sandy Creek (Hamlin):  April 15th, 2016

Light to no fishing pressure.
Lower/Off-Color. (CFS unknown)

Oak Orchard (Albion):  April 15th, 2016

Light fishing pressure.
Med/Stained flows (CFS unknown)

18-Mile Creek (Burt):  April 15th, 2016

Light fishing pressure.
Low/Off-Color flows.
81 CFS

A Different Kind of April Showers...

So I don't think many of the fisherman out there expected the spring we are having.  We have had all four seasons condensed into one week and the upcoming forecast is not looking too encouraging with all this cold weather.  That being said it is safe to say that going back to winter/cold water fishing tactics would be advantageous. 

The Cattaraugus Creek was just upwards of 58 degrees on March 31st and is now down into the mid 30's.  I was expecting the whole spring cycle to continue ahead of schedule as opposed to the past two springs where winter seemed to last forever.  I was wrong.  The snap in temperature has halted whatever smallmouth bass activity that may have been occurring and has likely stalled the spring pike spawn throughout the Great Lakes Waterways.  Those of you looking forward to the tributary bass fishing will have to wait another few weeks for the bite to kick in and the migration to continue.  That being said we could see a strong return of smallmouths and possibly the salmonids hanging around more than usual with all the new melt off from the dumping of snow we got here the past few days.  Right about now would be the perfect time to get out on the water and cast clousers and minnow patterns for the trout and salmon hanging around the mouths of the tribs.  This is always a fun time of year to cast to hungry post spawn steelies and browns (of course if the wind isn't honking).

Of course how could I forget about trout season opening up?  April 1st has come and gone but with the cold weather looming and the cold snap the past few days it's fruitless trying to look for any bugs hatching out.  However nymphing will still be effective for those "ice out" trout.  Time will tell to see how badly the mergansers have affected the trout populations this past winter.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with the mergansers, they are a waterfowl species that feeds heavily on fish.  That being said they need open water to find their food of choice and the only open water in the wintertime are the spring fed trout streams.  The past two winters have been brutal for the inland trout since the winters were long and very cold.  This left very little water for the birds to forage.  That being said I feel as though the populations this coming year will be decent with the rather mild winter we had.



Remember even though the spring has brought some interesting weather and has thrown a first pitch curveball, you still can't catch fish from your couch.  Thanks again for reading and please leave feedback and comments below.  Tight lines everyone!


Current Stream Information: 
Streams are going to be wildly different from stream to stream depending on how much snow melt has occurred in that area.   Look for streams to be on the rise possibly starting as early as the following few days.
 
Sandy Creek (Hamlin):  April 4th, 2016

Light to no fishing pressure.
High/Stained flows. (CFS unknown)

Oak Orchard (Albion):  April 4th, 2016

Light fishing pressure.
Med/Stained flows (CFS unknown)

18-Mile Creek (Burt):  April 4th, 2016

Light fishing pressure.
Med/Stained flows.
187 CFS

Sucker Punch

Well the spring season is well underway and there is so much fishing to be had.  This is often a tricky time of year to get a line in the water.  Some days can be clear and 75 degrees and the next freezing rain.  So how can one be effective during this time?  One of the keys to hooking up during the springtime is to stay in the loop.  Keep up with current stream conditions, previous as well as future weather patterns.  This can give you key insight into what the fishing might be like and give you the upper hand over the person next to you. 

Spring rains can cause streams to fluctuate water levels and clarity.  This is the major battle you have to fight as a fisherman.  Being prepared with big flies and hot colors could be the difference between feast and famine on a great lakes tributary this time of year.  Having larger streamer patterns and gaudy egg patterns are always a good choice to tie or have with you when the water in muddy.  If the water is high and muddy, go big or go home.  Knowing what the weather has been like gives you insight on what streams will be like before you even get there but knowing the weather (particularly the Barometer) can tell you how your day might go.  Barometer means difference things to different people.  Some fisherman swear that is the barometer is high its not even worth going fishing.  I have a different mantra.  Fish have a "6th" sense using their lateral line.  This is a sensory receptor that lines down their body and can feel changes in barometric pressure.  My theory is that when the pressure is low fish (for instance wild trout) are more likely to come up and hit a fly on the surface since there is not as much air pressure pushing them lower in the water column.  On the other hand when the pressure is high the fish glue themselves to the bottom and feed almost exclusively on nymphs.  The next tip might seem obvious but know what your target fish is going to be eating.  Flies like sucker spawn, woolly buggers, and prince nymphs can be deadly when fished in the right conditions.  Sucker spawn is generally fished when the suckers have moved into the streams and are actively spawning.  You'll catch steelhead as well as suckers themselves on this pattern.  Woolly buggers swung through an eddy or riffle can be effective if the water is a bit stained.  Lastly Prince Nymphs are a very good low/clear water fly that is effective on steelhead you just have to fish through all the chubs and other small fish that are now present in the streams this time of year.

Right now is the time of year where the fishing starts to change.  The steelhead fishing starts to wean off right about the time the smallmouth bass roll into the lower reaches of the streams.  As for the fishing right this instant you've got a very mixed bag.  The streams are STUFFED with suckers right now giving an excellent sucker spawn bite for the steelhead but expect to catch a few suckers for every chromer.  With the rain we had last night and today will give a bump up in flows giving way to decent streamer action on the steelhead.  Although pike season is closed it's not unheard of to catch a pike while targeting the steelhead with larger flies like intruders.  Probably starting this week or whenever we get a few days of consistent warm weather you will begin to see the smallmouths trickle in.  These are catch an release and artificial lures only until the 3rd Saturday in June.  Be aware of the regulations in your area because nothing ruins a day of fishing like a ticket from the warden.

Remember to leave any comments or questions below as well as some conditions or pictures of fish you've had the pleasure of bringing in.  Thanks again for reading and tight lines!


Current Stream Information: 
Streams are going to be wildly different from stream to stream depending on how much rain was received so checking levels before you get all geared up might be advantageous.

Sandy Creek (Hamlin):  March 28th, 2016

Light to no fishing pressure.
High/Muddy flows. (CFS unknown)

Oak Orchard (Albion):  March 28th, 2016

Light fishing pressure.
Med/Stained flows (CFS unknown)

18-Mile Creek (Burt):  March 28th, 2016

Light fishing pressure.
Med/Stained flows.
182 CFS

Follow the Leader

It's been a little bit since my last post but schoolwork and engine work has consumed my life for the past week or so.  Since I haven't been fishing at all this post will be more geared toward a fly fishing topic rather than a recent experience on the water.

The topic I'm going to talk about today is leader setups.  I get a number of questions about how I rig my leader for various water conditions or for different tactics.  I'll start by telling you guys that I do not make my own leaders.  I will buy tapered leaders in a variety of sizes for different fish, water conditions, etc. and then use corresponding tippet material.  Now many stores sell fly fishing specific tippet material in small spools of line which is all fine and good however it is much more cost effective to buy larger spools of either monofilament or fluorocarbon and either carry the whole spool with you, or find a way to carry a smaller amount so it's not cluttering up your vest.  For monofilament it's not a huge difference in price per yard (although the big spool is still cheaper per yard) but when it comes to fluorocarbon buying a big spool is about a tenth of the cost per yard!!

In my case (since I buy pre-made tapered leaders) as I switch flies, break off, etc. my leader gets shorter than the original 9ft.  When I lose about 1.5-2 ft is when I break out the tippet material and tie on enough to get me back to 9ft.  Now tying knots shortens the leader even more and by the time you want to replace your tippet section, the original leader is even shorter than when you tied on your first section of tippet.  By the time the diameters of your mid/butt section (of your original leader) and your tippet become too unsimilar is when I decide to break out a new pre-made leader.

This brings me to the knots I use on my leader.  I use four main knots on different sections of the leader.  The four knots are the Albright Knot, Nail Knot, Surgeons Knot, and Improved Clinch Knot.  The Albright and Nail Knots are the knots that I will use to tie the leader to my fly line.  I know that most fly lines and preformed leaders come with a loop on the ends of the line but I've never trusted that so I snip those off and tie my own knots (either the albright or nail knot).  To tie my fly onto the line I generally use the Improved Clinch Knot (sometimes known as the Fisherman's Knot).  Lastly the Surgeons Knot is a great knot to tie your leader and tippet sections together.  However like I mentioned above, when the diameters of the tippet and leader become too unsimilar, it's time for a new leader. 

Many people wonder about the differences between monofilament and fluorocarbon since they can look exactly the same.  The first difference I will talk about is density.  Fluorocarbon is more dense than water (sinks), where mono is less dense than water (floats).  This can be useful knowledge if you are fishing flies that are depth sensitive like dry and topwater flies.  Using fluorocarbon when fishing these types of flies can be counterproductive and at times frustrating.  The reason mono floats is because it is permeable by water.  Now since water can permeate mono line it weakens the line overtime but this permeability also gives mono the quality of excellent shock absorption.  That being said fluorocarbon maintains its strength since water does not permeate the line itself.  As a general rule fluorocarbon is more abrasion resistant and stiffer than mono as well.  Those two qualities make it more resistant to UV rays than mono line.  Also the stiffness of the fluorocarbon gives you a more sensitive line.  The last quality I'll talk about is visibility.  In my opinion fluorocarbon is less visible in the water than the monofiliment equivalent (assuming the mono is the same color as the fluorocarbon since mono can come in a wide variety of colors).  So the question you might be asking is "well what do you use?" and that is a valid question.  Unless I am fishing topwater flies (poppers, dries, etc.) I will be using fluorocarbon especially if the water is clear.

Another question people ask me is how do I know what pound test to use for my tippet?  The answer is the heaviest test I can get away with.  Now I'm sure I could use 30lb test tippet for the salmon I catch in the streams but it would be too thick to tie a fly on and it would be overkill.  Now on the opposite end of the spectrum I could use 2lb test for the salmon but it wouldn't be nearly enough to land the fish.  So the more in depth answer to the question is it depends on the water conditions and the size of the fish I expect to catch.  The water conditions are more important than the size.  You can play and baby a fish after you hooked it but if your tippet is too big (and spooks the fish) there is no way to even get that fish on the line.  A good example of how sensitive some fish are to line is how Steelhead behave in gin clear water.  I remember I was fishing at the Oak Orchard River last spring and I was working a pool and had 6lb fluorocarbon for my tippet.  After a couple hours of working the same hole I decided to downsize my tippet (just like you might downsize the size of your fly) to 4lb test fluorocarbon.  Not 5 minutes after I made the switch I hooked up on a nice fish and landed it.  One after another I hooked, some I landed and some broke off. 

I seemed to have gotten a little long winded again and if you made it this far thanks for reading it all and I hope this information was useful in helping you get started or maybe refine you leader choices.  As always the stream conditions are posted below and tight lines everyone (especially for my Uncle and Brother in Florida on vacation)!


Current Stream Information: 
Watch for a slow retreat to water flows in all tributaries and maintaining about 1-2ft of visibility.

Sandy Creek (Hamlin):  March 14th, 2016
Free of ice
Light to no fishing pressure.
Med/Stained flows. (CFS unknown)

Oak Orchard (Albion):  March 14th, 2016
Free of ice.
Light fishing pressure.
Med/Stained flows (CFS unknown)

18-Mile Creek (Burt):  March 14th, 2016
Free of ice.
Light fishing pressure.
Med/Stained flows.
209 CFS

On the Rocks

Colder weather has set in and the small streams have begun to ice up.  Watch out for ice pack towards the mouths of all streams as you get the daily melt offs that wash ice and snow downstream.  If you do brave the icy conditions be sure to protect your waders.  Trudging through ice can cut or damage your waders, and winter is the worst time to spring a leak.  Those who fish Sandy Creek will be interested in the notice below.

As you probably are aware there is construction ongoing at the bridge going over Sandy on the East Fork of Rt 19 and you might even know that they left their scaffolding on the center abutment.  If you are familiar with the behavior of this stream in the springtime you'll know that it will rise and fall rapidly leaving large chunks of ice along it's banks.  This recent melt off was no different.  The ice moving in the stream is how new holes are dug and keeps the stream interesting.  Anyways it also picks up trees or whatever other flotsam is alongside the stream.  When I was at Sandy today looking at stream conditions I saw about two thirds of an entire tree about 2.5ft in diameter had washed downstream and got caught on concrete abutment completely wiping out the builders scaffolding.  So for those of you that fish right there at the East Fork bridge you're out of luck until that is cleared which probably won't be for a while.

Larger streams such as the Oak Orchard and 18 Mile Creeks, have good flows (although still a little on the high side for my liking's) with muddy water but nothing like the chocolate milk it was recently.  By the time this weekend rolls around we will be in the prime window of fishing.   If you can get out fishing do it!  I've always found if I'm unsure whether I should fish or not I almost always regret not going.  Remember you can't catch fish if you don't get out.
If you do get out, remember to have tight lines.


Current Stream Information:

Sandy Creek (Hamlin):  March 3rd, 2016
Free of ice
Light to no fishing pressure.
High/Muddy flows. (cfs unknown)


Oak Orchard (Albion):  March 3rd, 2016
Free of ice (dam), ice pack past Park Ave.
Light fishing pressure.
Med-High/Muddy flows.

18-Mile Creek (Burt):  March 3rd, 2016
Free of ice (dam), icing past the RR Trestle
Light fishing pressure.
Med-High/Muddy flows.
152 CFS

Salmon River (Pineville):  March 3rd, 2016
2120 CFS

Graphs were obtained from waterdata.usgs.gov/ny
For more information about other streams and their current conditions visit the USGS website to see if you streams of interest are monitored.

Cold Toes

Tuesday's are usually my day to go out fishing and that was the case today.  I spent the morning tying some flies that I thought would work well given the muddy water conditions.  Some of these flies included Egg Sucking Leach patterns in black and purple, large egg patterns (Scrambled Egg, Sucker Spawn etc.), as well as some large Stoneflies in a variety of colors.

Some of you might be wondering why I chose to tie flies in the morning instead of the night before, allowing me to just get up and go fishing bright and early.  Now that is a valid question.  Any other time of the year that's exactly what I would do.  However, today (and usually in the winter) was in the teens to start out the day and getting only into the mid twenty's.  These cold temperatures make the fish very lethargic and if you go fishing earlier in the day, it's harder to get the fish to bite.  However if you let the sun come out (which it does from time to time in the winter) it warms the water slightly giving you a better shot at hooking up.  Not only does the cold temperature affect the fish but if affects you the fisherman in a way you might not think of right away.  The one thing that every fisherman combats in the winter and fly fisherman especially is iced up guides.  I have not found an effective way to keep the ice out of my line guides but if anyone reading has found a way please comment!  Everyone has this problem and sometimes it can be costly. 

So as you probably read in my last blog post the weather conditions have been a little bipolar lately and has made the streams pretty darn muddy.  But with the cold weather that moved in, the ground has frozen again and less water is running off.  That being the case I thought today would be a good day to try a pretty small stream.  I looked at the conditions yesterday and it too seemed muddy, but when I arrived today the water had dropped and the conditions were just about right.  In my experience small streams are very hit or miss.  You can go and catch a ton of fish one day and come back the next and they are all gone.  The fish probably sense the flows slackening and proceed to drop back into the lake until the flows pick back up.  This holds true for almost every small tributary I've fished whether it be on Lake Erie or Lake Ontario.

So today I got on the water at about 12:30pm and fished until 5:30pm.  This is a pretty long day for me in the winter but you gotta take advantage when you can.  As I mentioned earlier the high when I was fishing was only about 25 degrees and it was also fairly windy today as well.  Can you say burr?  One thing that I cannot recommend more to fellow fly fisherman and fisherman alike is a "Buff".  This is like a lightweight balaclava and is mostly used down south to keep the sun off your face, ears, and neck but it also does wonders up here to keep the wind off the same areas.  I've gotten off track but those are a really useful thing to have.

Anyways I got on the water at 12:30pm.  I started out with my go to stonefly (#8) and fished with that for probably longer than I should have but everyone has their favorite.  I riffled through my flies and decided on a small minnow imitation since I saw a school of Emerald Shiners swimming around in the pool I was fishing.  Fresh fish in the streams are more likely to take something they are used to seeing (other fish) as opposed to stuff that is unfamiliar to them (nymphs, eggs, etc.).  That's not to say that fresh fish won't take nymphs and the like, but they are just more used to eating and seeing smaller fish as their forage.  I moved from hole to hole until I got to a promising run.  This particular run was a nice deeper pocket of water with current breaks on either side of the main current flow just downstream of a fallen log.  I switched over to a chartreuse estaz egg (#8) that I had tied a few years ago seeing as nothing else was working.  After about 10 minutes I had a hookup and landed a small but healthy brown trout around 3:00pm.  I then let the hole settle.

By the time 5:00pm rolled around I was about ready to leave but I had one more hole.  There is always one more to fish isn't there?  I hooked into a huge fish but as mentioned above the cold weather had frozen my guides and consequently my line in the guides as well.  In an effort to clear my guides the fish got the line underneath a rock and broke me off.  I was pretty bummed out but there is always another day. 

Stream conditions are listed below again and I hope you found some of this information useful and maybe even entertaining.  Hopefully you guys are getting out and if you catch fish post some pictures or comments below!  And remember, tight lines!

Current Stream Information:

Sandy Creek (Hamlin):  March 1st, 2016
Free of ice
Light to no fishing pressure.
High/Muddy flows. (cfs unknown)

Oak Orchard (Albion):  March 1st, 2016
Free of ice.
Light fishing pressure.
High/Muddy flows. (cfs unknown)

Johnson Creek (Lyndonville):  March 1st, 2016
Free of ice.
Light to no fishing pressure.
Medium/Muddy flows. (cfs unknown)

18-Mile Creek (Burt):  March 1st, 2016
Free of ice.
Light fishing pressure.
High/Muddy flows. (229 cfs and falling)

Salmon River (Pineville):  March 1st, 2016
High and muddy flows. (2180 cfs and falling)

Buff Website:

http://buffusa.com/