Recent Fishing

I got out to my local streams (mainly one) on Wed and Thurs of this week. Here's what I saw...













Tiger Trout

Vagabond Fly Box #12

Greg Gondella from Dalton PA is going to be sending box #12 out to a lucky fly-fisher soon. It could be you!


Jake Kepler received the box from Greg a couple of days ago and here's how it's going so far...
"Greg's caddis pattern killed it yesterday"

Cutties like caddis too

Another beautiful little cutty that just couldn't resist the Gondella caddis

Easter Weekend

Went to my home stream to get in some hours. Here's some sights...

A Season of Firsts

This has been by far one of my best fishing seasons ever. I've already landed a few 20+ inch Trout, and some big Steelhead and lake run Browns. Also, I've been honing my skills at casting and getting better drifts. Now I've finally caught a Palomino, which I've been wanting to get a hold of for some time. We explored a new stream with very little pressure that I'll be hitting up after every big rain since it doesn't really blow out. Here's the pics...
This run was absolutely gorgeous. I caught over 10 fish in it and my buddy pulled a few out as well.

First Dry Fly Fish

Today I went out with my buddy Paul to my home waters. I was giving him a few pointers, and fishing a little myself too. I ended up picking of one or two here and there. Then, towards the end of the day I came upon a fish feeding on the surface. It was a very aggressive fish to say the least, making a big splash when taking the bugs, not just sipping. I had a big tangle in my leader, so I said what the heck, I'll try a dry. I first tied on a Blue-winged Olive in about a size 16-18. It rose to it about 2 times out of 5 casts and did not commit. I figured I might as well stick with the dry game and try something else. So, I proceeded to throw a size 16-18 tan Elk-hair Caddis at the fish. I could see the fish very good, and it seemed to be enticed. It rose the first time and then nothing but a glance until about the fifth cast. BAM! That fish hit like a ton of bricks! I waited until it turned back down and set the hook with a flick of my wrist. Game on! After a great fight, I landed the fish, snapped a pic or two, and sent it on its way. A great day on the water with a new buddy and my first dry fly fish. Not to mention it was on my home creek with a rod I built and my own flies. It doesn't get much more rewarding than that. A day I'll remember forever...

Pristine Stream

I went on a scouting mission to a creek that is a little over an hour away. It is an unbelieveably beautiful stream with lots of Brookies, Browns, and Bows. A good bit of hiking is involved to find some fish without people in the warmer weather. Last year I fished it once before going 1 for 3 finally landing a nice Brookie in about 2 hours. Today was looking like the same story at first. I hit an awesome run where I landed the fish last year only to lose the only good take after a few head shakes. I was getting pretty beat up mentally by then, only to have a spin guy come down and nail 3 Brookies in a row with a rooster tail. One fish was at least 18in. I fished this run for a little bit longer before deciding to move upstream to pursue better opportunities. After about a mile of walking trails and checking out water, I found a great section with some perfect pockets, and decided the time had come. I will also mention that there was NO ONE around me at all! Within the first couple drifts I had a good, solid take. I set the hook and landed my first of at least 5 or 6 Brookies in one pocket. One of them will take a long time for me to match, if ever. All in all, it was one of the best days of fishing, let alone scouting I have ever had. Solitude for most of the day, sharing the nature and fun with only my dog...

It was so hard to make this right, but the fish were that way...








This rock gave up so many fish it was insane.



And now for some of the fish...




Before you look at this fish, note this. There was a massive amount of foliage above and behind me, which made this fish very tough to land. Also, there was very fast and turbulent water directly downstream, where it would've been able to shake me easily. This is a memory that will be with me forever.