Beggining of the Clarion River season

    It has been a not so bad start to the season so far.  Water temps are still pretty cold but on the good cloudy days with stable flow conditions decent fish have been caught.  The first couple trips found that most of the fish were grouped up in their prime wintering spots.  Slower currents, deep water, and lots of structure.  As of late, the fish have been spreading out.  More are being caught in the faster current and shallower water.   A few bugs have been present.  Black stone flies and midges mostly.  Not enough for consistent rising but enough to make a trout attack once in a while.  

    We have been fishing mostly streamers so far.  Big and ugly has was the ticket early but a slimmer, shorter profile has been working best as of late.  We have stopped and ran some nymphs in some of the primary riffles with moderate success.  I am sure that a little more time and effort would produce more fish on nymphs, but I must admit that when they are chasing streamers and you get to see the entire follow and take, that I would much rather cast the big stuff. 
    

Warmer temps this week should help get the fish a little more active.  Hendricksons are right around the corner.  As much as I love streamers, I can not wait to cast a dry fly to a big rising brown trout.  More clients are starting to book trips now that the weather is breaking and I can not wait to spend more days on the water.  Hopefully this will be the start to a great season.

Escape From The Cold

I love the snowy months and I love ice fishing but man, what a winter!  Little did I know when my family and I booked a trip to Belize last fall, for the following March, that it would be a much needed vacation to escape the grips of the bone chilling cold that our area has experienced the last few months. We certainly had plenty of ice and an extended season this year, but it comes to a point where enough is enough.  When March finally got arrived was definitely time to go.

            The morning of the trip was here and after driving though a not so unusual blizzard on the way to the Buffalo Airport, it was time to head south.  The flight out of Buffalo left at 6:30am and by 2pm it was time for shorts, sandals, and my favorite fishing shirt.  And oh yes…it was 85 degrees in Belize City.  Another short yet very scenic flight from Belize City Airport found the final destination on the Island of San Pedro, also known as Ambergris Cay.

 Reservations had been made at a luxury resort called Victoria House, and upon arrival on the island their limo and friendly driver was awaiting my family and I.  This is however not your traditional limo.  This limo was one of the nicest 8 person golf carts that you have ever seen.  The primary mode of transportation on the island is either golf cart or bicycle.  After checking in, it was time to make sure that the fly rods had not been damaged during travel and my mind quickly geared towards fishing. 

Now, this trip was more of a family vacation but I was able to get my fair share of fishing done.  There is a nice sized lagoon just a short walk from the resort that I had had some good luck fishing in past trips to this island and it would not disappoint this year.  In fact, the lagoon fished better than it ever had.  Blind casting big streamers tied with rabbit strips from a point protruding out produced snook, baby tarpon, and even a big barracuda.  The lagoon would be my every morning routine.  Get up at 5:20am, fishing as it breaks daylight, and back to the Victoria House for breakfast with the family by 7:30am.  The only problem with fishing by yourself early in the morning is that there is nobody around to take your picture when you catch a nice fish.  I managed to land my first ever tarpon on the second morning and was just hoping to flag down a passer by to take a picture for me to no avail.  After settling for a nice picture of it laying next to my fly rod, I returned it to the brownish off-colored water of the lagoon.

After a few days of seeing the sights, snorkeling, and eating some great sea food, it was time to hit the flats for some bonefish and anything else that may present an opportunity.   The first day I spent with my brother, who had not cast a fly rod since we were kids. Which means it was 15 years ago, and on this day it was very windy.  Not a good combination for your first flats fishing trip.  After big brother (myself) landed a couple, it was now little brother’s turn.  We got back in behind some mangroves and out of the wind.  With a little coaching, my brother (Dan) was able to hook up and land his first bonefish.  He managed to hook 4 other bones and land a couple more on a day that turned out to be more for him than myself.  I would not have had it any other way. 

The next day I was on my own.  I was not really concerned with bonefish so my guide and I looked for some permit and tarpon.  Now, I have never caught a permit.  Nor have I had any very good opportunities at any.  This day would be no different.  After a pelican spooked an entire school of permit before I could make a cast, we headed on the hunt for tarpon.  The tarpon were around but none of them seemed to be very interested.  They were moving very fast and acting very spooky.  The day was ended with a few bonefish before heading back to the resort.

Besides just the spectacular fishing, it was a great trip and a much needed break from the cold weather.  Belize has much to offer such as fishing, diving, snorkeling, sailing, Mayan Ruins, jungle tours, cave tubing, and many other activities.  This was my fourth trip back and I guarantee that it will not be the last.  Great fishing, great fun, and above freezing!  After this winter in the southern tier, it was a great way to break the cabin fever.

Fishing The Hardwater

     First trip on the ice this year.  Temps were in the negatives with the windchill for most of the day.  Fish would freeze before you could get your tip-up back in the hole.  We had a great day on the walleye along with a few nice perch and a couple pike.  Caught on nice walleye that measured almost 23 inches that I released.  She was a very fat female and it was evident that she was full of eggs.  Always have to look out for the future and let the big females go once in a while so that they may spawn.   I'm looking forward to getting back out on a little warmer day but do not see temps above the teens anytime in the near future.  Until next time!

Makin It Easy!

Gone are the days of spending hours in the woods scouting for the upcoming hunting season.  What used to require a lot of time and effort has been made simple by the use of trail cameras.  These cameras have revolutionized scouting.  Just set up and walk away.  Find out what wild game is living in your hunting grounds without the worry of spooking them with human scent or visual presence.  Place multiple cameras in different areas and it is like being several places at once.  Use of these tools is most effective during the early archery deer season or in an area with little or no hunting pressure.  A trail camera allows you to see deer and other game on their natural movements.  If you are placing them in an area with a lot of pressure or activity then all bets are off.  You may get a picture of a good buck one day only to have him pushed out of the area by hunting pressure. 

            

Now, lets talk about setup.  The most popular areas for setup are usually a well used game trail, food source, or scrape line.  Food sources and scrapes are fairly simple.  All you have to do is point the camera right at the scrape or at the area you think the deer or other animals will be feeding.  When setting up along a game trail, be sure to point the camera directly up or down the trail.  If the animal is walking towards or away from the camera then chances increase of getting a full image of the animal rather than just a partial if it just passes by the camera.  There is a delay from the time the camera senses motion until the picture is taken.  Even though some cameras are down to ¼ of a second delay between sensing the motion and taking the picture, it is still enough time for a deer to stride out of frame before the picture is taken.

          

  We have come a long way in the technology of these tools.  Trail cameras have been on the market for a while now.  The original ones required a roll of film just like a regular camera and then a trip to the local Walmart’s “one hour photo” before you could see the images that you captured.  Now these cameras are all digital.  To check your images all you need is to pull the SD card and insert it into your digital camera or put a new card in the camera and take the old one home to look at the images on your computer.  If you do not have a digital camera or computer, they also make viewers that you can buy to show you the pictures on the cards.  There are also cameras now that will send the pictures to your email so that you do not even have to set foot in the woods.

          

  Also, trail cameras come in either a full flash model or in infrared.  Some people prefer the infrared because there is no flash.  In these models the nighttime images will be in black and white as opposed to the full color in a regular flash camera.  Some people believe that the regular flash will spook game at night.   No matter which model you should choose, trail cameras can be the most valuable tools in your hunting arsenal.  They allow you to scout your area 24-7 from miles away.  If your not already taking advantage of these cameras, I urge you to give them a try.  You can get a good camera at a fair price now that a lot of companies are making them. 

          

  Finally, you may want to invest in a security box to lock your camera in while it is in the woods.  Not everyone is honest and many stories have been told about cameras being stolen.  Also, this writer has had a major Black Bear problem with his cameras.  The bears do not seem to get aggressive with them but seem to pull and bite at them to see if it is something they should eat.  One camera has been ruined from a bear biting through the plastic and moisture getting inside the camera’s major components.  So if you are worried, make sure you get a security box!

Warm water heating up!!

     Some early morning smallies followed by carp on dry flies.  A nice change of pace after fishing for trout all spring.  Looking forward to getting into some pike and musky action next week.

Living The Dream

          I do not really know what to say other than.... does it get any better that this?  Two beautiful days on two different rivers.  Thank you to Jim from the Dudewater Blog and Orvis Cleveland and also Alex, who guides out of Ohio for coming over to fish.  Great weather, great fishing, and spending time with other FISHAHOLICS.  Like the title of this post says...Living The Dream

My Turn!! Spring Gobbler 2013

          After calling in a bird for my dad on opening day, I finally connected on my third time out this season.  I set up about 150 yards from this bird in the tree.  After some heavy cutting on a mouth call to a bird that was so hot in the tree that it gobbled at 5:15 am this morning,  I watched as he appeared on the trail in front of me at about 100 yards out.  Once he was visible I just shut up and let the decoy do the work.  He was spiting, drumming, and strutting all the way to the decoy for what seemed like half an hour but was really about 5 minutes.  I had to talk to myself to get my hands and legs to quit shaking during his long approach.  Once he was in range I played the (lets see how close he will get) game until he stretched his neck out real nice and I couldn't help but end it there.  16 paces later I was standing over him.  A great morning and a great hunt!  Taking my brother out on Thursday for a bird that I heard gobbling on my way out of the woods this morning.  Hopefully I will be posting pics of his bird on Thursday night.