Naples Trout Derby

This mornings article in my local paper gives an account of a trout derby close to where I live. Typically I am not a derby fisherman. I have participated in weighing fish at check in stations.

I like to hear the stories of the day's catch. But the thought of 8-9 inch trout being released two days prior and recaptured by treble hooks just gets under my skin. I know there are reasons to keep sportsman active, but I tend toward a more natural approach to fishing.

Here is the link to a summary of the Naples Trout Derby

http://www.mpnnow.com/sports/x1700898694/Trout-and-anglers-aplenty-at-annual-Naples-tournament

Fishing April Waters

Opening day of trout was Friday for most inland streams. The water was very fishable. I prefer not to venture out when hoards of spinners were lining the stream.

My season started Saturday,

I did not leave until noon and went to Avoca, 25 minutes south of Naples to the Cohocton river.

This river is open year round for trout. I caught a 14 inch Brown which most likely was stocked this past Thursday. It took a egg pattern.

(notice the clipped fin). (I had problems with camera)

I fished a lot of water until 4:30 and this was the only bite. I should tie some flies sometime. My eye caught one miller (moth) flying above the water. The water was clear and I saw nothing else. It was a little windy, but what a nice day for seeing into the water.

Walked the river for about a mile.

When can I go Fishing?

So many days have gone by since I have been fishing. The business of life just too time consuming.

I would be in the stream, but my waders leak and I have no any extra cash to buy new ones.

I've been following the fishing news on television and internet. Maybe I'll have time this weekend after work. It's just not the right time according to the moon phases.

Sound like excuses? Well maybe so.

Somebody get me in a stream!!!

Preserving the Spawn

Saturday I had to work in the morning but around 11:30. I decided to head for Penfield for a little hard luck fishing. I wanted to stop at Home depot on the way. As I made my way to the mall, I pasted through Fishers south of Victor. I pulled into the park there and found several redds in the stream bed. I walked the trail and found 3 dead salmon about 35 inches in length. then spotted one lone salmon in shallow water. So I went back to my truck and put on my waders. Hip boots would have worked, for the water was high but still only 2 feet deep. The main pools were 3-4 feet.

I went back down the trail and came upon a spooked salmon. I had several drifts to it but never hooked it. The technique is different at Fishers, cause from the trail you have to navigate the trees, overhanging brush and nasty rose bush thorns which really have grown up around the stream edge. I left that one and went further downstream, only to find a small king about 20 inches long. It was holding in a 3 ft deep pool in clear ice cold water. So I fished to it as if it were a small trout with an egg pattern. I hooked it's tail for a moment, then a few more drifts and hooked its mouth. It was a fun little fight. The fish gave up too quickly.

Next I went to where the water runs deeper and faster. I spotted a nice size salmon under a bush on the opposite side of the stream. I cast into and under the bush from shore and he moved out into the center of the stream and held in the riffle current. This gave me a better swing drift and hooked up after a few casts. this fish fought much harder and I stepped into the stream to land it. The stream is so fragile I never walk it. I checked out a few other spots and did see a pair of salmon but left them alone. I never did go to Penfield or home depot. No photos.

I am so lucky to have a trib only fifteen minutes from my house. It is hard to imagine the trip salmon must take to get so far south of the thruway. All the fish seamed to have strong tails and not really scared up to badly. One had bone showing on its jaw and gills. I could not think that even the small jacks would be returning to the lake. Seeing salmon in such a remote area made me think of Indians, who once used that same stream as their main hunting ground.

We must always remember to preserve some portion of the spawn for future generations. Be mindful of redds and spawning pairs. Make the most of your fishing by improving techniques for drifting and casting. Take notice of your surroundings and watch for creatures underfoot not involved with your fishing. Don't tread on stream bank securing plants.

Catch of the Day

I took Alan and friend Jeff

( X novice ) to Irondequoit Creek and saw 12 salmon, hooked and landed one. I also saw three browns.

I placed Alan in a spot I had success in two days earlier. He saw a few move up. Alan then spent the morning moving downstream.

Jeff was the big winner. I helped him for a few minutes with getting the right drift. He hooked up twice with a salmon, in the tail.

After adjusting our split shot we moved upstream. A male chinook moved within casting reach. Jeff hooked him good, The king ripped up the stream and broke some 6# test. So I tied on some #12 on my 7 wt with a new martin reel and gave it to Jeff. I left him to go find another fish. I was upstream of Jeff for only a few minutes when the water in front of him exploded.

I was shouting instructions to Jeff as I was walking back to him. "Let her take line. Don't hold her back. Palm your reel." as the line screamed off the reel. Soon she was into the backing. I pleaded with Jeff to try to regain some of the line back onto the reel. "Walk forward. Walk backward. Pull back and reel up."

He must have been getting sick of me interfering with his intimate moment with this queen of the stream. I told Jeff that he could not let her rest. I could see he was just holding her steady in the current and He needed to reel her in. I could see his fingers were getting sore and loosing grip. So I helped him by putting pressure on the rod. Jeff said he was afraid the rod would break. I assured him "This rod has caught more large salmon than I could remember." And it would not break.

By walking backward we finally landed a nice fresh 37 inch female King.

Not ten minutes afterward, I looked over to see Jeff landing a 10.5 inch brown trout. We left at 3:00 after fishing to shadows. What a day.