Utica Fly Tying Symposium

Last week I attended a fly tying symposium in Utica, NY.

I met some fishermen who really know how to tie great looking flies.

The stories of fishing could be heard all day long.

There was fun for all the young fishing enthusiasts.

Some nice fly tying equipment was being used.

There was also a lot of great artwork on display.

Quite the attendance. I had a good time.

Jordon of J.P. Ross Fly Rod Co. teaches young fly tyers.

www.jprossflyrods.com

Trout Unlimited

I decided to try something new so I went to a TU meeting and it seemed to fit my personality.
We'll see what becomes of it.

Guys, Flies and Pies

A new year and I realized I had not blogged since October 2009. Most of my winter was spent with family and two new grandchildren. I did get a chance to fish a few times, but not much to write about until today.

I went to a fly tying party this weekend and met some fellow fishermen.

The Guys, Flies and Pies workshop was just what I needed to get back into the swing of a new season of trout fishing. Soon the weather will afford some of the nicer days of fishing. But until then I'll be tying a box full of flies.

Here are some photos of todays event.

The Pizza was really good!

Thanks to Mike for putting on a great party. http://www.guysfliesandpies.com/

Guiding made easy.

Today I guided my friend Alan in hopes of landing a Chinook salmon. We had fly fished together several years back for brown trout. But today would be different.

This morning was very cold when we entered the stream around 8:00 am. But there were no signs of fish to be had. The latest run had to have moved upstream. After seeing someone coming downstream we got the clue that there were only a few up ahead of us. We turned back to the truck and traveled 2 or 3 miles upstream.

(The first lesson: Set the hook hard.)

About 9:00 we spotted our first fish. A nice looking female. I gave some tips to Alan and he tempted the fish until it moved into faster water. He then hooked it, the King then left him as the fly popped out.

Brian, whom we met in the stream, hooked up with a male right quick and headed downstream.

He came back and helped teach where to cast to a holding fish.

We soon found a few more fish moving upstream.

(Lesson two:)

(Don't let your friends tie on the leader you fish with)

Alan hooked up 7 or 8 more times. He broke off two leaders after fighting salmon for a while.

He finally landed a female at 33 inches.

He later landed a male at 39 inches, 21 girth, 22 pounds. Allen landed it on 10 pound test

with a #8 pom pom after about 20 minutes.

He said it was the biggest fish he'd ever caught.

He was pleased as punch!

I had a great time guiding him.

(Lesson three: leave your cell phone at home.)

I had my turn.

I just hooked up with a King, when the phone rang. When I finally got it out of my pocket to answer it, the fish began to take line upstream. I'm glad I landed it.

All in all, I successfully guided Alan into a world of unforgettable fly fishing for huge Lake Ontario Chinook Salmon.

What a great day!

Boy, was it ever raining this morning. The roads were wet all the way to where we would fish. Kim was thinking we would be fishing in the rain. By the time we reached our fishing spot, the wind and rain stopped and the sun came out. There was little time to waste, so into the river we stumbled. Kim spotted the first Salmon running up behind us. We were just getting our feet wet as the last globug was tied on. I ignored the commotion Kim was watching and got us both into an area upstream that would yield fish. We waited for the migrating fish to swim into our ambush. The salmon quickly pasted by Kim and entered the pool in front of me. I splitshot slapped the water a few times and foul hooked a nice King. The fight took a good while but I managed to give the fly rod to Kim. With Kim managing the fish, we landed it successfully.

I took a quick video of some of the fun and as you can hear I'm quite winded.




The rest of the day was beautiful. We only saw one more fish come up through. But there were many other fisherman taking fish today. I was just glad to be out with my honey on a sunny October day.

We also saw one Salmon at Linear Park. What a great day!