Barb and John called to inquire about 2-hours of on stream instruction - in all places, Spring Creek. We had a blast! Very little pressure from other anglers and we were able to work on some of the things that were important to the two of them. Small weighted flies with an indicator produced several beautiful wild browns. Thanks for coming out with Wide Sky, Barb and John! See you on the water!
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With most of the inland streams blown out, I drove to a familiar creek that I was sure would be low (and clear!). It’s not often I get out alone, especially this time of year, but today I had the stream to myself! I got comfortable, tied on my favorite scud pattern, and second cast hooked a beautiful 12 inch browns. I fished for over an hour, alone, and the fishing was great! Before too long, a group of three anglers arrived. They were new to fly fishing and it was nice to share in their excitement as they enjoyed the beauty and peacefulness of Spring Brook. Once I got back to fishing, it was brown trout after brown trout; then this happened… A 16 inch (fat) rainbow! Rainbow trout haven’t been in Spring Brook in a number of years (20 or so…). I have never caught, or heard of anyone catching a bow out of here. I did some research and called the hatchery to see if they might have an explanation. The hatchery stocked some of their 2-year old surplus brown trout on Thursday (I wasn’t aware of any stocking in the stream). She must have tried to make a “getaway” and found herself in the creek. Funny the things you learn when you ask a couple questions…. We’ve gotten soaked the past couple of weeks. Streams are on their way down so have fun and CHUCK STREAMERS! Big buggers, including articulated patterns work great and produce large fish. I enjoy a lot of things about being a guide: the outdoors, the strategy, the beauty of the fishery, but most of all the people. My passion in becoming a guide developed from my desire to teach people about fly fishnig. I was (and still am) fortunate to have a great support cast of some awesome dudes that were willing to teach me many of the things I know about fly fishing. I have a sense of responsibility to continue being an advocate for the sport I love. So when I heard Craig Dennison was going to offer another Fly Fishing Camp this year, I gave him a call to see if I could help out. Thankfully, Craig was happy to take me up on my offer.
The owner of Creative Themes, Bob Remis, was kind enough to let us use his space (and a cool space it is - check out other opportunities at Creative Themes here). Craig and I are offering two one-day Fly Fishing Camps. The camps are Saturday, May 11 and Sunday, June 23. Both camps will be held 9am-5pm and cost $45 (we even provide lunch...). Programs are limited to 20 participants ages 12 to senior. Participants are sure to get an awesome introduction to fly fishing. Please see description below: This is a unique, hands-on camp designed for the beginner or less experienced fly fisher. Enhance your fly fishing knowledge, improve your casting, identify aquatic insects/prey, understand tactics for various fisheries, learn new fly patterns, tie your own fly, determine what gear you need for fly fishing and compare notes with fellow anglers. Time will be spent casting and fishing for trout in either Irondequoit Creek, or for largemouth bass, sunfish and carp in the Pond. Topics covered include: 1.) Equipment needs versus equipment wants. Ways to get started in fly fishing without spending a fortune. Recommendations on popular gear for WNY fisheries. 2.) Overview of fly rod design, materials, reels, lines and leaders and other useful fly fishing accessories. 3.) Practical fishing knots and hands-on practice tying knots. 4.) Basic casting instruction and tips to improve casting efficiency. 5.) What various fish eat and how to imitate fish prey. 6.) Fly types, fly selection and tying flies. You will be able to tie your own fly and fish it. 7.) Ways to read water and how to approach a fishery. 8.) Presentation tactics for various species of fish. 9.) Recommendations for making the most of superb fishing opportunities in New York State. 10.) Resources in Rochester that benefit the fly fisher. 11.) Fly fishing ethics, conservation, releasing fish and stewardship of our water. Please share with friends and family that might be interested. Click here for the registration form. Jessie Hollenbeck A little over a year ago I started a part-time job at LL Bean. It’s a great moonlighting gig and diapers are expensive! I help customers make decisions on gear, fly selection, tools etc. Last fall the active department manager and I talked about the possibility of having regular fly tying events at the store. I bounced the idea by a few guys and I’m excited to inform everyone that it’s finally underway.
For the next few months we will have several of the area’s most knowledgeable fly tyers demonstrating some of their favorite flies. Demonstrations are the second Wednesday of every month and start at 6:30pm. Our lineup is as follows: March 13 – Brian Bradfield (Brian on the Fly) April 10 – Jim Strong (Seth Green Chapter of Trout Unlimited) May 8 – Micheal Simmons (Guys, Flies and Pies) We started our series a couple weeks ago with special guest, Cal Curtice. We had great crowd and Cal shared some awesome information. Cal tied a prince nymph variation he uses for lake run fish and a midge emerger he ties for inland trout. trout. Brian Bradfield will be our next tyer. I’ve fished with Brian for many years now. His knowledge of fly tying and fly fishing for all Western NY species is amazing. You can find a lot a great information on his blog – Brian on the Fly. This is a Hendrickson variation that does very well at one of our local inland trout streams. What stream you ask…? Well. You will have to come in to find out. In addition to the special guest demos, we will be hosting fly tying clinics – designed for beginner/intermediate tyers. These clinics will be conducted by yours truly every Wednesday (every Wednesday we DON’T have a special guest) through the month of May. Clinics are also 6:30-7:30pm, and will be held in the Outdoor Discovery Area. LL Bean will provide the vise, tools, material etc., but feel free to bring your own equipment. We encourage you to ask questions, tell stories and tie a few flies! Hope to see you at the BEAN! Jessie Hollenbeck Wide Sky Fly Fishing jessie.hollenbeck@yahoo.com |
Jessie Hollenbeck
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