Monday, June 6, 2011

HEY

Sorry I haven't posted in a while... finals are over and I am home!  As we speak im getting ready to go do some striper fishing on the flush out of a tidal pond near my house... Sadly im not fly fishing but until i get some saltwater flies that is a thing of the future.  My grandparents gave me a fly tying kit for my birthday and so far ive tied one wooly bugger... not pretty.  Ill keep you updated on the fly tying attempts and fishing adventures, such as the one im about to embark on.  Also next week or in 2 weeks im not sure im going fly fishing for a day in New Hampshire where the water will hopefully be cold for the trout.  I am also going to try to get some lessons from the owner of our local fishing store.  Tight lines to all!

Monday, May 30, 2011

Too warm for trout?

It is now finals week and I went down to the river for one last time sunday.  It was hot... very hot... I took the same friend I took last week, but just for fun we brought worms so he could catch a fish.    I SINCERELY BELIVE THE AREA OF THE RIVER WALKING DISTANCE FROM SCHOOL IS OUTFISHED! With a worm and bobber our only luck was a perch smaller than my hand.  I talked to one of my friends who is an avid fisherman and he said that if you are catching perch it i too warm for the Trout.  Now, we were down there mid day because of a late night the day before and a need to study for finals that night which definitely affected out luck.  When he said too warm for trout did he mean they just aren't active at warm temperatures or that they had moved on entirely?  I plan to do a few big river trips this Summer as well as salt water fly fishing to land the first fish on a fly rod!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

2nd to last weekend at the river...

On saturday my crew race was canceled due to a dead body found floating in the Merrimack, straight through our race course...  Of course, this allowed for more fishing! I had already been down to the river in the morning and casted every type of nymph I have to every spot on the stretch of river I usually fish... I was down there from around 7 untill almost noon with ZERO strikes, bites or anything of the sort.  Hungry and dejected I returned to campus for lunch.  I was hanging out with my future roommate and the topic of fishing came up because he asked that I try not to wake him up on my way to the river next year.  He also said he had never been fishing in his life... I knew there was a reason I brought 2 spinning rods!!!!!!!  Because we were just going for fun We brought speakers, food and drinks, planning to stay untill we had to get flowers for our dates to the formal dance later that night.  I had never taught anyone to fish, but I love sharing my passions with other people, and he was hooked (no pun intended) as soon as he could cast without tangling the line.  We spent 3 or 4 hours down there before realizing we had to go.  Although there were no fish to be caught we had an awesome time and he wants to come this weekend!  Hopefully I can get him his first fish... I may go get some worms or crawlers from the convenience store so we get some fish and get him really excited about fishing.  I will still be going fly fishing this weekend and if I have time during finals week I may go once or twice, depending on what I have the next day.  This summer will include many trips to the Farmington River as well as the Saugatuck river and reservoir, closer to my house.  I also plan on getting into salt water fly fishing as my dad has 2 rods for this, but doesn't fish, although he wholeheartedly supports my fishing endeavors.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Gear shipment arrived!!!

My new flies came this week, a selection recommended by Ed.  Along with his recommendations I get a San Juan worm for fun as well as some reusable tin split shot for my non bead head nymphs that I have been unable to fish the past few weeks because they didn't sink.  Crew race isn't until later in the day this saturday, so I will be on the river casting... I CANNOT FINISH THE SCHOOL YEAR WITHOUT LANDING A TROUT ON MY FLY ROD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday, May 13, 2011

kindamaybesortanotreallygotafish

Didn't have class till mid morning today so I went to the river... Fished the nymph dropper rig and got 5 hits in the first hour, but no luck.  Then this guy with his spinning rod came up river and landed a 13-14 inch rainbow, real beautiful fish... After he got the fish we talked for a little and I ended up buying one of the lures he caught the fish on from him, because I am waiting on my order of flies to come from amazon.  After 5 minutes with the spinner I had a similar rainbow in the line XD reeled him all the way up to me, but he got off before I could pick him up for a picture...  Now I have a better Idea of where to fish instead of just letting the fly float randomly, I know where the good holes are and I will always use my waders instead of trying to cast across the river, with hopefully improved results... Cant wait to try out my new flies next week and maybe land a fish on a fly rod?

Monday, May 9, 2011

:(

I DIDN'T GET TO GO FISHING THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Little bit of the wrong type of luck.

Sorry I haven't posted for this week yet, Ive had a lot of work.  I rolled out of bed around 730 to go fishing the sunday after my first crew race (we won).  Walked down to the river, rigged my rod, and opened my fly box.  The grasshopper I had been given fell out, sending me into a state of guilt for loosing the fly that I had been given only the week before, without even tying it on the line.  Instead of the nymph dropper rig, I tied on a green and black wooly bugger.  After fishing that for around 40 minutes at 3-4 spots up and down the river I sat down next to my bag where I had dropped the fly.  I sat and listened to music/catnaped for a little bit, before getting up to cast some more... I probably should have switched my fly but oh well.  A little while later I realized there was something sticking through my pants scratching my leg, expecting a thorn I reached down to pluck it out and what do you know!  My grasshopper had attached itself to my jeans, but it was time to go back and finish my history paper due the next day.  This weekend may be the weekend, hopefully.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

So, fly fisherman are only the nicest people ever...

Last friday I was walking around campus with my rod tube... don't ask why.  A faculty member approached me asking what type of rod it was, where I fish and if I was having luck.  I told him about the spot on the Shawsheen, that the rod was a 9' 5 weight and that I had yet to catch a fish, but that I met a guy who was getting hits on green woolly buggers.  He had somewhere to be so he wished me luck before heading off.  I already told you what happened during my sunday trip to the river, so I will finish the story to fully prove my point that fly fisherman are the model communistic society.  Today I ran into the same faculty member who asked me if I had any luck this week.  I told him about the dropper rig, but also that I hadn't had any luck.  He asked if I used any of the green woolly buggers, which I hadn't... I used and lost my last woolly bugger the trip before.  He asked what dorm I was in and after answering him he said he would drop off a few green woolly buggers to aid my case.  This is why fly fisherman form the model communist society (not saying that we are communist... I personally believe wholeheartedly in capitalism and have a whole theory on why it is more productive but that will be a long tangent), if the fish are biting on a fly that guy A has, but guy B doesn't have any of, almost unfailingly guy A offers him one of the successful flies if he has extras (at least this is the case from my experience).  No fly fisherman enjoys watching another one in frustration.

Monday, April 25, 2011

First Story

Yesterday was my favorite trip to the river.  I made it down there by 615 on the foggy easter sunday, seeing only one car on the 15 minute walk.  In the first 3 hours I casted just about every fly in my flybox with my only catch being a stick from the bottom of the river.  In what felt like 10 minutes I had caught every bush behind me, the fog had cleared and the temperature was well above 60 degrees.  A quick time check showed it was now 830... Watch must not be working right?  About then I encountered a man with a spinning rod in his hand and a fly rod in his backpack.  Very nice guy (most fisherman seem to be so that should have been a given), he took one look at my fly box then opened his and gave me a grasshopper and a beaded nymph asking if I had extra tippet.  Not really sure what he was up to I handed over the tippet.  In about thirty seconds my caddis was gone and the grasshopper in it's place with something hanging off it's hook.  That something was the beaded nymph he had put in my fly box only a few seconds earlier.  He said "the great thing about Massachusetts is that you can have two flies at the same time!" telling me that strike indicators are pointless because the fish bite them half the time, so now my strike indicator also had a hook.  We both fished the same rigs for two hours without any luck.  Before I headed off to write an essay due the next day I asked him if he had any luck earlier.  His response "The fish here are picky until summer... I got a few the other day on my spinning rod." "Well... what were ya using?" was my enthusiastic response.  "WHOLE nightcrawlers" he said "not half a nightcrawler, no they wont eat that, they want the WHOLE damn thing..."  Maybe next week will do the trick, but I will not be using nightcrawlers.  Any recommendations for websites where I can buy good flies that will come fast?