I used bait....

But it was fun. Lots of sharks in the 4-6 ft range over the weekend.

I love spring, and the bass that come with it

It hit 80 degrees today. That mean that the bass would definitely be fun. First, I had to take care of some yard work. I borrowed my stepdad's pickup and got to it first thing in the morning. Two yards of organic playground woodchips later, my kids have a badass corner of the backyard to raise hell in.


After I dropped off the pickup, I decided to hit this far up headwater of a local trout stream near their house. It's about a mile above the upper point of the state-stocked section, and it's separated by a huge dam that ensures no state-raised fish will make it up there. The owners of the stream dammed a quarter mile stretch of it for their cattle back in the 60s. I grew up fishing this water since I was 14 years old and I basically really learned how to successfully fish for largemouth here. It is full of them, and not many people know about this place, so they can be fairly easy to catch, but they can also be really moody at times. A private club used to stock it with trout when I was in my teens, but I haven't taken a trout from there since I was about 25. I doubt they are still around since it does get pretty damn warm in the summer.

I had just recently filled a fly box with terrestrials from two seperate fly swaps and I was dying to smack some fish around on topwater.



Unfortunately, the foam didn't do the trick. The water was a little murky from the rain earlier in the week and only a few tiny bluegills even took a shot at the surface bugs. The bass and panfish were however more than cooperative on bugskin wigglers.


After I headed home and did another 4 hours of knocking out things on the honey-do list, I headed out for some sunset smallmouths in the backyard creek. My legs were pretty ripped up from a long day of weed wacking, plucking weeds from the garden, and laying wood chips so It felt really nice to wade knee deep in some cool water. This stream was also a little murky, but I found a trib that was already crystal clear and I fished where the two bodies of water met. I picked a good spot.


I wound up having a last slamming these bronze hogs on small clousers.


That's about all I have for now. I'm sorry blog, I've been neglecting you. The fishing has been too good at night to make time to post. I'll try to be more proactive with the updates.

Also, I picked up a Go Pro HD Hero 2. Keep an eye out for some video footage soon!

Sometimes....

It's not about the catching. I'm just happy to have the sand at my feet and some nice waves to cast in to. I missed the beach. Its been a long winter. No fish so far, but I'm working on it.

RIP MCA

I remember buying Licensed to ill in 5th grade and being a huge Beastie Boys fan my whole life. Adam Yauch's passing is a huge loss for the world of music. Im glad i got the chance to see them perform live. Rest in peace.

Whip finish vs half hitch?

Open question, which do you prefer? I was a huge fan of whip finishing but I've recently started to appreciate the half hitch for avoiding trapped hackle on small dry flies. Which do you prefer and why?

Oh and shout out to Owl Jones for hosting an awesome terrestrial fly swap! Can't wait to use these.

No bugs but still fun

I spent the last week tying about 50 dry flies and figured I'd test them out today.

When I pulled up to the stream I saw a bunch of fishermen sitting around and talking. That's never a good sign. Yep, no hatches were going on.

Even though there was no surface activity, I was still able to fool a handful of trout on top by smacking down a furry foam beetle along the edges of a typical feeding lane.

I'm glad I got my fishing in today. Looks like we're gonna get a much needed few inches of rain in the next 36 hours. That will hopefully ensure the stockies behind my house at least have a chance. Right now, it's looking bad for them!

Springtime photo dump

I realized today that I've had no time to really update this blog, and unless you're on Instagram or occasionally seeing my Twitter posts, it seems like I haven't been up to much of anything.
So yeah, here's a quick springtime recap and a massive photo dump of fishing and family stuff.


I knocked out about 40 bugs for two separate terrestrial swaps. I can't wait to get my flies back.



I hit one of the most epic midge hatches I've ever seen at the Little Lehigh and had a ton of fun with wild brown trout and small dry flies.




We took Michael to the Camden Aquarium for his birthday. That place is so badass.






My stepdad and I hit a local secret spot for some great March largemouth action. He slammed a nice one.



Easter with the kids was pretty damn fun.



And last but not least, the ride got the massive fly fishing bumper sticker treatment last weekend.


Happy Friday!

After two years, I finally got one!

I headed out Thursday night after the kids were finally asleep in the darkness to stalk some nighttime risers. I stopped at a few spots with street lights and noticed two things, extremely low clear water, and no fish. I guess the bait chuckers were really wiping them out.

I headed down to the old foot bridge were I was chasing carp over the winter and I saw a few rises. Perfect. As I walked to the stream I also noticed it was really muddy. I then saw a ton of monster carp mudding along the edges of the stream, digging for food. I opted for the bigger species :)

I tossed a small crayfish imitation named "Skip's Dad" that I got from the Instagram Fly Swap. I swung it in front of a big carp and a smallie came out of nowhere and smashed it. OK, not what I was looking for, but I didn't get skunked.


This wound up happening a few more times, with dink smallmouth taking the fly. After a few minutes I saw a window of opportunity with two big carp heading towards the same big rock. I dropped my fly perfect between then and saw a slight pull on my line as the small one inhaled it.

Once he was on, I realized that I had made the mistake of not really having the gear for this fight. I had a 4 weight and 6X tippet. Not something you want to realize when you're backing deep into an 8 lb carp.

I took my time, played him right, and safely landed him. I was so freaking excited. After two years, I finally got my first carp on a fly. I let out a giant "YES!!" even though I was standing in the middle of a dark park by myself with no one else around. This was a night I won't soon forget.


I watched him swim away with a giant smile on my face and noticed the trout starting to rise again just upstream. It didn't matter. No trout in this stream would repeat the fight I just had.

I'm a day late on this...

Three years ago my life drastically changed. The nights were spent awake, my fishing holes were deserted, but it was totally worth it. Happy birthday Michael. Enjoy being 3 and know that your daddy loves you more than anything in the world.

They grow up so fast. *tear*

Can you smell the powerbait?

Went for a run this morning and came across this. Poor fish.

I have two things to say

#1 Thank god there will be a sequel

#2 if you're trout almondine and looking for work, you are in luck.

Happy Friday.

Dubbing reviews: Performance Flies SLF and Hends UV blend

I got a package in the mail from Performance Flies the other day and I was curious to try out the Hend's dubbing for some Czech nymphs. I really like their shellback material and the dubbing impressed me as well. It's got a great blue flash to it, long fibers, and it dubs really well. Instead of a czech nymph, I opted for a modified psycho prince nymph I've been working on with a shaggier appearance and a double set of white wings. The mottled shellback on the top gives it a natural look, but the bright purple is still flashy on the sides and bottom. I tossed a few of these to my buddy who fished the Salmon River in NY over the weekend and he said he pulled two steelies on one of these out of Ellis Cove on Saturday. I think I have a winner.


Next up is Performance Flies SLF dubbing. I also really like this. Long fibers, dubs easy, it's pretty thick so it's easy to taper and build up a body fast. I tried out Craven's Caddistrophic with the SLF and I like how it turned out. Now I just need to fish this pattern.I also wanna try this stuff for some underbody on some big elk hair caddis.


You can pick this stuff up over at Performance Flies for pretty cheap. Also don't overlook the great hooks, and Jan Siman dubbing as well.