Trib Trip #2, Sun Nov 28, William and Joseph Chestpack Review

Before I left for my most recent trip, a package arrived from William and Joseph. It contained a new Confluence chestpack and some river tools, the hemostats and nippers. I was very excited to test this gear on my trip and they proved to be some very important pieces in my fishing arsenal. The Zip-No magnetic pockets in the front made it very easy to access my flies and tippet even in some of the extremely cold temps that we fished in. Also, closing it was literally a snap. All you have to do is push it together. This is really nice for when you forget to shut a pocket so you don't have to stop fishing to shut it, just push it together. The backpack has just enough space for me. It holds a streamer box, extra leaders, a bottle of water, an extra shirt or rain jacket, a sandwich, and my flask. Pretty roomy for how big it looks, which I was really impressed with. The pack as a whole is very comfortable to wear, and the built in retractors and sleeves are really nice for holding my tools. Also, a bonus about the magnets in the pockets is that you can set flies on it and they'll stick while you rig up. That was a trick I learned from a buddy and I can't take credit haha! It is a very lightweight pack, and it dries out quickly. I found this out after taking a bath in the Salmon before dark. Overall, the pack perfomed great, and I will definitely look to Willy and J for products in the future. You can find this, and other W & J product reviews on their blog at http://wjblog.net/blog/.
Photos courtesy of Lucas Carroll Photography





Photo by Brian Bradfield

The trip started out in WNY searching for lake run Browns and Steelhead. We hit various tributaries of Lake Ontario, and met some great folks. The fishing was pretty good too. On the second day of our trip, we met up with Lucas Carroll, a friend and great photographer and Brian Bradfield. They both have blogs as well. Lucas has a photography web page at http://www.lucascarrollphotography.com/. His blog is http://provenpatterns.blogspot.com/. Brian's blog is http://www.brianonthefly.blogspot.com/. They are both great guys and they take some awesome photos. Some of which are in this post. We fished a great stretch of water for the first half of the day. It yeilded many fish and we all had fun telling stories and sharing laughs. A great day with some great friends new and old.





After a few days in WNY, we fished our way further North and ended up at the Salmon River. Little did we know the surprise we were in for. I had met the owner of the lodge we were staying at the day before, and he told me to ask his wife about the seafood dinner. So, when we arrived, she sent us down to her pub to get a few drinks and a bite. After an hour or so, we found out that some commercial fishermen were in town to fish, and had brought a feast of ocean delights. We had lobter bisque, shrimp, clams, shrimp pasta, scallops wrapped in bacon, and full lobsters. It was unreal! We ate until we couldn't move, and went back to the lodge to get ready for the next few days of fishing. We fished there for a couple of days with some success. We learned a lot of water while we were there as well, which is never a bad thing.
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All in all the trip was awesome, and I can't wait to do it again next year!


We made a rip to a Lake Erie trib this past Sunday the conditions were pretty low and clear, but some fish were still willing. Here's some pictures of our adventures...

Solitude

A buddy and I made the journey North this past Friday in search of Steel. Little did we know, we'd find some of the nicest, and most unpressured water I have seen in a very long time...
We got to our first spot while it was still dark and we were the only people there which is a good sign. We got on the stream and began fishing when first light came. Right off the bat, we both hooked up and lost a fish. So, I left my buddy where he was fishing and headed downstream. I fished my way down, and back up to no avail. The fish were here, but not in the concentrations they were, and the fish here weren't very active at this point. I made my way back up to my buddy and we fished upstream for a while. This was a little better for both of us. We each got into fish, and decided after an hour or so that we'd take a break.
At this point, I gave a local friend of mine a call so we could meet up. We met him, and another friend after a healthy McDonald's stop and we made our way to a new spot that my friend had permission to access. It was a good little hike down to the water, but it was well worth it. When we reached the stream I saw the promised land. Beautiful water with great color and not a person for miles (literally). We immediately found fish and put my buddy on them. Then, we made our way upstream. My friend and his buddy stopped a little ways up, so I decided to see what was above them. I walked for around 2 miles, fishing spots, and taking pictures as I made my way up this pristine stretch of stream. The sights were surreal, and the fishing was great as well. There were willing participants in just about every run I fished. I made my way back down after a couple of hours with a good pile of fish under my belt and some great memories. My other buddies got into some fish as well, and we shared this great day and also this awesome memory together. I really hope to be able to fish this stretch of stream again very soon with my great friends and some great scenery and fish. Now check out the pics!