Inside the Box: DOS Tungsten Deep Steelhead Stone

DOS Tungsten Deep Steelhead Stone: Thread: 8/0 Uni Hook: Orvis 122J size 6 Hook Shank: .25 Lead Free Round Wire Bead: (2) Orvis Tungsten 3/16 Abdomen: Wapsi Stretchtubing Small black/amber Granny Weave Legs: Grizzly Barred Rubber Legs Medium White Shell Back: Legs: Grizzly Barred Rubber Legs Medium White Dubbing: SLF Black

Weather Bumps Water

Lake Erie tributaries both large and small have received bumps of water and an apparent disappearance of fishermen due to our most recent regional winter weather pattern. The total lack of other anglers was surreal in light of the heavy pressure this area has received in the past weeks. Where did everyone go?

Eagle Eye

Nothing represents the spirit of the wild more than the eagle. Soaring high overhead, he circled low as if inspecting my meal worthiness. I could understand his confusion, after all, I was splayed out, mid creek, enjoying my lunch on a sun warmed rock. As quickly as he swooped in, he realized the camera looking back at him lacked carrion characteristics and hastily retreated for a distant roost.

Green Eye'd Catt

What a great afternoon to be on the water. Bumped into Phil and had a great time talking his ear off. Thanks for tolerating my nonstop blabber! Phil had been on the water since 7 and I interrupted his tranquility shortly after 2. I noticed him approaching from a distance, he was heading up stream and I was working a pool he would soon intercept. As he got closer we exchanged small talk at a near shout, just loud enough for our voices to carry over the thin braid of rushing water that stretched in front of us. After the customary "hows the fishing?", we got right down to business. Heading directly to a particular run that has been good to us in the past week, We rotated through it's seams and current breaks, all while bantering back and forth about patterns, steelhead nymph rigs and the willow sprouts on the far bank, that seem to reach out and grab at our flies with every gust of wind. Advancing through the run, it was easy to get lost in the flow. Water quietly lapped against exposed rocks and appeared to match in 3/4th time with our drift/step rhythm. After some time passed between hookups, I began to lapse in and out of a focused, fish catching, tunnel vision. My concentration was waning but it was difficult to pull away. Finally, I sat back on the bank, resting the pool and my eyes. In the moment I took to look around, I saw steelhead porpoise in the tail out, osprey soaring overhead and a scarlet sun as it dropped below the trees. In my opinion, there is no more beautiful time to be an outdoorsman in WNY.

Inside the Box: Purple Heart

Hook: Daiichi 2052 Salmon Size 7 Tag: Gold Tinsel Body: Read Thread Dubbing: Purple Northern Lights SLF Hackle: Wine and natural Strung Guinea Eye: Jungle Cock Nail Dee Wing: Matching Mahogany Turkey Biot Quills Head: 8/0 Red Thread

Steelhead Bummin

Waking before the crack of dawn, power fishing for a quick four hours, hastily speeding off to work, changing in the bathroom and punching the clock for another 8 hours. Doing it all over again the next day: steelhead bummin.

Two Handed Blow Out

The area received a spat of rain last night and with that came turbidity. Despite the though conditions, we managed two hook ups, loosing each to thrown flies.

The Golden Hour

There is a period of nearly an hour every morning as the sun peaks up above the horizon and fills the sky with it's amazing golden glow. This is the golden hour.

Fruits of Early Season Labor

I've been known to say, "you've got to be in it to win it". Some early season chrome.

Begenning of the End

Today begins a search for steelhead and ends my opulence of free time; as school, two jobs and a steelheading addiction collide. Cattaraugus Creek is often the first tributary in the area to receive early runs of fish. This year's moderate regional drought, may delay usual piscatorial migration. However, rain is on its way.

Inside the Box: DOS Scuddler

Sculpin are a fascinating fish and can be found to a certain degree in almost every trout stream across the country. The Mottled Sculpin (Cottus bairdi) and Slimy Sculpin (Cottus cognatus) are the two most common species found in the north east region of the United States. Both species are nearly identical in appearance and inhabit cool, highly oxygenated, rocky runs and pools of rivers and streams. A sculpins diet consists primarily of aquatic insects such as caddis larva, mayfly nymphs and midge larva. Areas capable of sustaining large number of sculpin should also be conducive to sustaining healthy trout. The first documented instances of sculpin being used as bait for trout occurred during the mid 1920’s in Canada’s Nipigon region and were colloquially referred to by locals as “****atouch." Since then, many fly patterns have been spawned to imitate the roughly 2 inch long baitfish. Fishing this fly should consist of short, rather violent strips to imitate the swift dating a sculpin undertakes when flushed or dislodged from their rocky hiding place. Fishing this fly during periods of high, off color water has been particularly conducive. Hook: Daiichi 2052 Salmon Size 5 Wing: 4 Speckled Hen Back Throat: Rams Wool Hackle: Strung Guinea Head: Deer Hair

Buffalo Outfitters Fly Shop Customer Appreciation Day

Inside The Box: DOS Waker

DOS Salmon and Steelhead Waker This fly is a permutation of the Gartside Gurgler, tweaked to fit the needs of the Great Lakes salmonid angler. Here is a brief description of how the Gurlger style was developed. "Regarding the evolution of the Gurgler: Oddly enough, it evolved from the very simple Foam Beetle of trout fishing fame. This was about twenty years ago. I adapted it first to imitate a floating crab, tying it very large (on a 1/0-3/0 hook) with a short marabou tail and longish pheasant rump hackle Palmering. This worked very well for both tarpon and stripers. Reducing it, I began to tie it as a floating "bug" for bass and panfish, now using regular rooster hackle instead of pheasant for the Palmering. (In this incarnation, the fly is known both as a "Gartside Bug" or "Hoverbug." I then added a "lip" to this fly so that the fly would "gurgle" or create a commotion to attract largemouth bass or salmon or steelhead. And from there it wasn't a big step to adapt it to saltwater fishing, stripers and blues in particular (the latter fish being the reason it's most often tied on a long shank hook, to protect it from teeth); I substituted bucktail for marabou, slimmed down the profile and, viola, the basic Gurgler took shape. I sometimes still use marabou for a tail, also saddles, but most of the time I keep it simple with a slender bucktail tail. It remains my very favorite surface fly to fish for stripers." Hook: Mustad 34007 Stainless size 2-4 Tail: Rabbit Zonker Strip Rear Collar: Strung Guinea Hackle: Dyed Grizzly Saddle Foam: 2MM Closed Cell

Inside The Box: Great Lakes Spider Spey

Great Lakes Spider Spey The spider style wet fly has been around for nearly 200 years, reincarnated many times over, and fooled trout world wide. Pacific Northwest fly tiers like Randall Kaufmann, Ed Hass, Syd Glasso, and Walt Johnson often incorporated this style in their region specific patterns designed for steelhead. This dressing is best tied simple in construction but bold in color. Color combinations are only limited by imagination and available materials. Hook: Daiichi 2052 Salmon Size 5 Tail: Krystal Flash Tag: Krystal Flash Cheek: STS Trilobal Salmon Dubbing Shoulder: Flashabou Dubbing Hackle: Strung Guinea Head: Black 8/0

Cold Water Upwelling: Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario has experienced spurts of cold water upwelling in the past couple of weeks. However, todays event seems to be the most widespread and extreme temperature change to date. How will this influence the salmon? In the river? In the lake?

Swingin the Double O

I spent the first few hrs of daylight prospecting on Oak Orchard Creek in Orleans County. There weren't any posted signs on either side of the bank in the area of the contested land dispute. Its been reported by a senior LOSA member that "Orleans Co. reached a multi-year lease agreement with the landowner who had posted up sections of the creek. With in the next couple weeks all posted signs and wires across the stream will be removed and access will be open to the public." No signs of Salmonids. Water was at 72 degrees. There were a few small bass around. Orleans Outdoors reports that a recent cold water upwelling pushed some salmon into the river mouth and charter captains have been targeting inshore areas with great success. A large rain event may provide enough encouragement for a early run.

Welcome to Northern Ontario

Welcome to Northern Ontario Acting on a 53 year tradition, the Nisbet family made its way north to a pristine wildness lake, scraped out of the expansive Canadian Shield by advancing and retreating sheets of ice during the Pleistocene epoch. Here, nestled among untouched boreal forest is a sportsman’s dream. My grandfather was 39 years old when he first made the trip, bringing with him my father and uncle who were seven and twelve. In just a few weeks my granddad will be celebrating his 90th birthday and I have trouble keeping up with him. So far this trip he has boated many beautiful fish, portaged into several different lakes and generally assumed the role of patriarch that he has held for several generations. Fishing has been nothing short of spectacular. The only camp on the boat/fly in lake, in which we have called home for a week every summer dating back to 1955, primarily markets its self to its guests as a trophy walleye lake but the beauty of the lake is only matched by the smallmouth and northern pike fishery, that has my bias vote as one of the best in northern Ontario. This album is powered by BubbleShare - Add to my blog With one last day in our trip we cherish every moment we have together up here. The memories and stories will last a lifetime and I hope to pass along the tradition to my kids and tell them of how their great grandfather at age 90 whooped the bass.

NEW FEATURE: Lake Ontario Surface Water Temperature

Lake Ontario Surface Water Temperature can be effected by ambient air temperature, wind direction, the outflow from large tributaries and upwelling of cooler pockets of water.

Lower Cattaraugus Early Steelhead Search

No steelhead but there were quite a few resident brown trout around. Felt good to get on a larger piece of water.

Almost here...

Its just around the corner...

Recent Photos

Monomoy Trip

Its hours after my return and I’m still picking sand from blisters. I walked a lot. I walked too much. Playing down the roughly nine mile round trip, I neglected several factors; sand, wind and my curiosity. 5am and dawn broke. The weather called for highs in the low 70’s and a steady 20mph wind. The golden hour greeted me with a cool but refreshing breeze out of the NE and a brilliant red sunrise. The walk from the hotel to beachhead was a blur. I was excited; I was practically at a jog. Once I left pavement I made my way down the Atlantic side of a grass and sand scoured peninsula known as South Beach, ushered by a dozen or so curious seals. My pace was brisk, moving with nimble steps despite the energy sucking sand. Thoreau, in his Cape Cod essays describes traveling through the sand as "heavy"; I can think of a few other adjectives. Despite slow headway, high tide was peaking and the quickly approaching flats were covered in a blanket of 68 degree water. The beaches were full of wildlife I had never seen before. Plovers, Sandpipers and Terns squawked wildly as I inadvertently approached their nesting area. Habitat unfamiliar to me was all around and I found myself zig-zaging to and from patches of Salt Rose, tidal pools, grass covered dunes and the flats. I was like a kid in a candy shop; corralling basketball size Horseshoe crabs, digging through the exposed dunes looking for insects and turning over large pieces of drift wood to see what organisms it exposed. It was all I could think about until I remembered why I was there. The fish! My eyes were constantly scanning the water looking for moving torpedo shaped bodies, nervous water or sea birds dive bombing a bait ball. Things were calm most of the early morning. The only sighting of fish worth noting was a large group of gulls hammering down on some forage food pushed to the surface likely by blues or bass. Unfortunately, the action was out further than I was willing to wade and I could only watch as a great opportunity at fish unfolded just out of reach. By 10:30am, after five hours of walking and observing I decided it was time to get serious and started inching my way down the edge of a flat, search casting using various patterns and stripping techniques. What felt like hours went by. Step cast, step cast. The water I was fishing looked prime. A deep channel rip laid just off the sand flat hopefully concealing lurking fish. And then it happened... I must have been in just the right place. I had the rod tucked up under my arm and was stripping a large sand eel imitation with both hands. The strike was violent and the slack line that filled my stripping basket was out of the guides in a flash. The drag moaned and I was hooked up. I managed a goofy grin as I played out the bass. My hard work paid off, this was the reward. I landed the 16in fish and snapped a few photos. I rinsed my hands and got right back out there casting away. Fish number 2 also came on a sand eel fly and then I hit a lull. I changed up patterns and moved just a few more feet and I was hooked up again. After about an hour things slowed down and I retreated to the bank to collect my thoughts. It was only then that I realized how far I had come and how far I had to go to get back. I managed to walk from downtown Chatham to within a hundred yards from South Monomoy, the newly formed land bridge stretched out in front of me, growing larger by the minute as the outgoing tide exposed more sand. I looked at the time, 12:30 and realized if I left now, I would make it back sometime around 5pm. I was fine until about half way back, then I hit a brick wall. Walking through the sand, water and wondering back and forth across the peninsula had taken its toll. To compound things further I had consumed the roughly two liters of water I had brought and had neglected to take the lunch that I had prepared the night before out of the fridge and place it in my pack; stupid mistakes that could have turned into disaster. As I came within a mile of the parking area at South Beach my blood sugar had dropped to a dangerous level. I lay down and closed my eyes for what seemed like minutes but turned into an hour. My legs throbbed, feet were sore. I had to use every bit of strength to muster the balls needed to make it back to the hotel. As I got up and trudged along, all I could do was think about the bass I had just caught and how well deserved they were. I don’t think I have ever worked so hard for a few fish in my life but the adventure, the experience would never be forgotten. As I walked up the steps of the hotel room my legs were trembling from exhaustion. I threw my equipment down on the floor and headed right for the bathroom where I threw up what was left of yesterday’s dinner and then proceeded to drown myself in a bottle of Ibuprofen. Tomorrow I’m taking the day off.

Sunday at the springs

As of late, Sundays have become synonymous with lazy evenings on the 58 mile Oatka/spring creek system,which is complemented nicely by the company of good friends. The fishing ebbs and flows between stories shouted across the stream and the occasional drag of a cheap cigar. This brand of fishing is at a much slower pace than some of the more strenuous outings, where scouting for a client or cataloging new water is the task at hand. It’s just something about the familiarity of the location, the day of the week and the company, which exudes a relaxed and mellow vibe. However, don't think there is not pressure to catch fish, as friendly ball busting is never far from the topic at hand. Other, verbal tennis matches, include the break down of the plus and minuses of the latest gear, product wish lists and exotic destinations, where we intend to chase trout. Really, it’s all a giant BS session, full of wishful thinking and exaggerated expectations; fueled by soda pops and chuckling friends. But for just a few hrs, anything seems possible and the real world fades away, while enjoying... Sunday at the springs. As for successful tackle, dry flies of a mere mortal are rarely a match for the weary trout that inhabit these crystalline waters. They simply serve as strike indicators for the tiny midge and scud patterns dangled beneath. 7x seems like it could tow a car when you can see its thick shadow slip over the trout’s head, causing it to franticly dart for the nearest cover. Presentation is everything but without the right tool at the end of the line its nothing. Despite the technical fishing and the cavalier attitude of this particular angler, several respectable specimens have came to hand, predominantly falling to size 16 and smaller scud patterns. More photos below... This album is powered by BubbleShare - Add to my blog

Recent Oatka Trips

Oatka Creek stretches across WNY for 58 miles and is a major coldwater tributary of the Genesse River. Here are a few pictures of my slice of heaven. Grey Fox, Light Cahill, Tan Caddis and at dusk Sulphurs entertained the angler while trout seemed to be focused on the bugs underwater stages of life. Surface boils rather than traditional rise forms were the name of the game. Fishing emergers and cripples in the surface film got the most looks. This album is powered by BubbleShare - Add to my blog

Lake Erie Trib SM Bass

This is a unique fishery that is often overlooked.

Shop Wars

Where's Ron Burgundy when you need him?

Rain Dance

Unless we get a substantial spat of rain and cooler weather this will have to be my last trip to recent stomping grounds as water flows and temperature are at danger levels for trout.

Addiction?

New Z-axis and Lamson Waterworks combo to play with. Had another beautiful day on my hands to chase trout. Look for a Z-axis review coming soon. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

NEW!

Recent Inland Photos...

CNY Inland Bows and Browns

Took a little day trip in search of some inland action on a stream I had never fished. Its always exciting exploring new water especially when you have high expectation due to its superb reputation and biotic potential. The weather was beautiful and it was particularly buggy, with several varieties of mayflies and caddis sporadically popping off all day. A size 14 Snowshoe "Usual" was an almost permanent fixture on the end of my 6x Frog Hair. I have recently been turned onto using snowshoe hair to tie all my mayflies and caddis. Its cheap, easy to work with, sheds water like nothing else and it makes a great one material dry fly! When things really slowed down up top I ran a two fly rig with a bead head stone and pheasant tail wet nymph. The bows seemed to really like the wet fly as it was swung through seams and current breaks. As afternoon faded into evening the browns got active and took my top water offering with incredible aggression. The takes came with an audible smack, sounding like someone slapping the palm of their hand on the surface of the water as it echoed off the far bank. The most pleasurable part of the day was experiencing some of the best dry fly fishing NY has to offer without bumping into another soul.