Deadmans Bones Photos
In 1999 I had the opportunity to accompany a friend on a fly fishing trip to Argentina.
I spent an unbelievable week of fishing in Patagonia near the town of Esquel. During my week there, I was fortunate to be assigned a guide by the name of Robert Eddins. Robert was from Oregon but guided out of Bozeman Montana. During our winter he headed to Patagonia. Through out the week Robert and I discussed the possibility of a Montana excursion. He set me up with The Bozeman Angler Fly Shop. It was here I met the owners of the shop Rod and Pam King along with manager Travis Morris during the summer of 2001. One morning while my son and I were in the shop before our day of fishing, I noticed Travis building several salt water leaders. After inquiring he informed me that they were for a client who was heading out on a bonefish trip. My ears perked up as I stated to Travis that a bonefish trip was something I had always wanted to do. Travis stated, “If you are interested in bonefish, then I have the trip for you.”
It turns out that several years prior, while exploring in the Bahamas, shop owner Rod King’s brother Gary spent several months on Long Island near the small town of Dead Mans Cay. It was here he met a quiet gentleman by the name of Sammy Knowles who would take him out onto the nearby flats to explore and fish for bonefish. It was apparent that the population of bonefish along the islands was incredible. It was not uncommon to see schools of bones numbering in the thousands. Even better, they did not encounter another angler. Gary recommended to Sammy that he start a bonefish lodge. A small no frills package that offered the basics and was affordable to most anglers. He formed a first class operation with the help of friend Wade Smith and the rest is history.
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Drought conditions that turned Rocky Mountain rivers into Pennsylvania-style streams gave Lock Haven, Pa.’s George Daniel the edge he needed to win the gold medal at the 2008 U.S. National Fly Fishing Championship Oct. 4-6 in Boulder, Colo.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07287/825142-358.stm
“Do I really want my child to ask me, “Who sold my tomorrow?” Nathaniel Reed, Fish and Fly Magazine interview with Tom Pero
I just finished reading an interview with Nathaniel Reed written by Tom Pero, Fish and Fly magazine. Nathaniel Reed for president! He talks about the government and how things really get accomplished within the beltway. He also discusses the differences he made while in office as Assistant Secretary for the Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, Department of Interior. The man got things done. He eliminated the use 1080 (Coyote poison), DDT, and illegal Eagle killing. But what is really interesting are his ideas about the current state and future of our natural environment.
It concerns me that many of us realize the magnitude of our environmental problems, including the lack of stewardship from the top, but do little about it. Reed talks about this:
“We are in a sort of national Enron era right now. I think it’s going to take a President of the United States who says: “American people, wake up- we have energy confrontation coming. We have a global weather confrontation coming that we have to prepare ourselves for. We are going to have to change a lot of ways we think and do.”
Nathaniel Reed, Fish and Fly Magazine interview with Tom Pero
We all need to change and it’s going to take more than just separating our trash.
We can’t solve any of the other problems if we don’t have a healthy environment to live in. Imagine sitting in your house writing out your monthly bills with the roof caving in on top of you. If we’re lucky we won’t loose too much before these perceptions are commonly accepted and we unify in resolution. To spend time outdoors is precious. To live harmoniously is transcending.
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Inspiration can be derived in many ways. It can be a fleeting moment along a wilderness trout stream or bonefish flat. Once, while fishing the upper reaches of Kettle Creek, in North Central Pennsylvania, I witnessed a four inch brown trout leap out of the water to grab a two inch stonefly hovering overhead. On my first bonefish trip I watched a five foot barracuda charge into a school of bonefish to no avail. Certain moments like these are etched in my mind. As a teacher, artist and fly tyer, I also acquire creative inspiration by studying true masters of their craft. When I studied watercolor, I was mesmerized by the works of Andrew Wyeth. During the decade I worked in wildfowl carving, I studied the works of Larry Barth and the compositions of Robert Bateman. In the realm of realistic fly tying, I was knocked of my feet by the work of England’s Paul Whillock and without a doubt the creations of Bob Mead set the standards for realistic fly tyers today.
After a year of teaching near the city of Pittsburgh in 1979, I was fortunate enough to find a teaching job in the historic and rural Ligonier Valley. (Where I still remain today after 27 years) It is here where I was introduced to fly fishing and soon after fly tying. At first as with most neophytes, I tied the usual patterns to fill my fly box. Hares ears, pheasant tails, Adams, elk hair caddis, basic streamer patterns and a few terrestrials became my basic staple (and still are today). Although I worked in many mediums, fly tying became more than just a means of filling my fly box. As I progressed, I began to explore and develop techniques to create more realism in my patterns, to explore it as art.
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When a fishin’ buddy asks if you want to go on a steelhead trip the answer is usually a fervent yes, time and finances willing. Of course, there’s always the problem of scheduling, weather, and most importantly, the timing. Get there too soon and the water may be down, get there late and you’re staring at a muddy mess. Fisherfolk plying their talents along Lake Erie’s “Steelhead Alley” know this all too well. The pompous blowhard down at the local fly shop, bragging about “nailing” them all day on white sucker spawn and glo bugs, is often the same dejected soul, a little more humble and tight-lipped, the next time you see him at the local watering hole. Normal response: “I don’t know what the hell happened. Guess the barometer was falling, the moon was far away, they just weren’t damn biting?” Really? We’ve all been there. Steelheading can make you look like a genius or an idiot. I guess that’s why it’s so damn addictive.
But this trip was different if for no other reason then it was out of state. I mean way out of state, as in cross-country to Northern California. Our destination was the scenic Trinity River, snaking along highway 291. The price was right too, thanks to Paul’s largess, the result of a hot housing market, his burgeoning paychecks of late, and the beauty that is frequent flyer miles. How could we go wrong? I knew enough about the steelhead game to feel confident we would catch chromers just as easily as in Erie.
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Early season fly fishing has its benefits, for example: no crowds, less wary fish, and did I mention no crowds. During the early season I like to venture out with hopes to find a short-lived afternoon hatch or two. Often it just doesn’t happen, either the water is too high or cold, and I end up nymphing my way through the wintry day.
I was at one of my favorite streams, nymphing with a pair of flies. Two of my early season choices are the Chocolate Hares Ear and Pheasant Tail nymphs, weighted of course to ensure the effective early season tactic known as bottom bouncing. I was slowly working the pair upstream while patiently anticipating a strike. It was an overcast day and my thermometer read a balmy air temperature of thirty-three degrees. A slow as it was I planned to make an early departure and bail out by mid-afternoon. The wind was beginning to pick-up, the temperature down, and oddly enough my hook-ups increased. It’s occasions like these when I really wonder how much I understand fly fishing or basic entomology . Here I am, it’s getting windy, colder, and now the bugs and fish have decided to do their thing. Not a dainty ring here and a subtle tap there, no, this was a carefree boiling about on the surface with an almost playful appearance – real nice. The feeding frenzy was caused by a small gray bug, popping up in good numbers onto the wintry surface.
Crouching to pick an emerger from the water, I inspected the small bluish-grey winged, thin olive bodied mayfly struggling to escape its’ shuck through the almost impenetrable surface tension; called the meniscus. I believe the emergence stage is very important to fly fishing. It’s said by many experts that trout key in on this stage because the insects are so vulnerable. Gary LaFontaine, writes about his scuba diving observations in Caddisflies
. “…the third phase occurred just under the surface film, with pupae hanging down and drifting. In no observed instances did an ascending pupa break through the meniscus and fly off as an adult without this period of hesitation. The time spent on the underside of the meniscus not only varied with the species but also with the atmospheric conditions. On cold or wet days the drifting period was longer.”
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Four years ago my son Dylan graduated from high school. I wanted to make the summer before he went off to Lock Haven University a special one. I planned a trip that would take us to Colorado to spend some time with two former students of mine who had become good friends. We had eight days of a packed agenda that would takes us through Cheesman Canyon, the Yampa River, off to Utah’s Green River then back home. I remember it being a whirlwind tour that was both rewarding and exhausting.
We returned in early August and went back to our everyday activities knowing we had one small excursion left.
This one-day trip was going to be a different one, something that we had never experienced. It started during the previous November as I fumbled my way through a recent copy of the Mid Atlantic Fly Fishing Guide. It was an ad showing an angler holding a large carp landed with a fly rod. “Want to try something different? Stalk the Susquehanna Bonefish!!!” It came at a perfect time. The trout game was actually getting a little old; this would be fun. This would be unique. After all, how difficult would it be to fool a big dumb carp? After spending years of angling for those wary intelligent wild trout, this would be a cinch right? Wrong!!!
The man who offers this experience on the West Branch of the Susquehanna River is Mr. Mike O’Brien. I arranged to meet Mike at Penns Woods West Trout Unlimited annual Cabin Fever in March 2002. He was giving a presentation on West Branch smallmouth bass fishing. We briefly introduced ourselves and agreed we would work out the details several weeks before the trip. Time zipped by and before we knew it that day arrived. We met Mike on an early August morning near Williamsport and headed to the boat launch. What happened that day was perhaps one of the most humbling and educational days of fishing I have ever encountered on the water.
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While fly fishing I find many instances where a slack line cast is critical to presenting the fly correctly. Common presentation casts call for a wiggling action of the rod tip. This action provides nicely shaped wiggles or curves in the fly line. These curves help present the fly without the nasty drag that we all try to avoid. I like to use many different casts, in fact, sometimes I choose to use a specific cast for it’s challenge or beauty. In this article we’ll cover the “Pull Apart” cast. It’s a good cast to use when you need a lot of slack as you can see in the photo. I call it the Pull Apart cast because you essentially pull the bottom leg of the loop down which pulls the cast apart.
Pull Apart Cast:
1. Make a forward cast at an upward angle.
2. After you have formed the loop, drop your elbow down and flick your wrist forward.
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I can’t speak for all fly fisherman but I tend to develop a nervous, almost sick feeling of desperation when the region I call home or an area I am visiting is experiencing
a drought. I find myself obsessively watching the weather channel to see when the next weather pattern will drop several inches of rain to replenish my favorite brook. When I realize that my hopes, prayers and occasional rain dance are futile, I begin to shift my thoughts toward the bounty of warm water species. Under these conditions a window of opportunity exists. One can access river sections where normal flow would be too difficult and dangerous. It is a time when hauling a boat or portaging a canoe is not necessary. It means one thing. It means low water smallmouth bass.
When our rivers and larger streams are in low water conditions, smallmouth bass are
forced to congregate into the large deep runs and pools to find cover and food. The larger fish that are normally difficult to locate, become extremely territorial and aggressive. These conditions require a need for a careful approach. Due to the lack of current, a less than stealthy approach will send a wake across a low water pool causing fish to run for cover. If an angler approaches these areas cautiously, he or she can be rewarded with some explosive strikes.
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Like many curious anglers, I am always discovering new topics of interest. Recently, a friend asked me about the difference between limestone and freestone streams. He wanted to know what they are and why guys like me are so interested in the limestone streams of Pennsylvania. Here is my brief overview on this topic.
Consistency in water temperature and flow combined with a relative neutral Ph is what make limestone streams so vigorously alive.
The Black Forest trail located in north central, Pennsylvania encircles a sparkling wild trout stream, named Slate Run. Slate Run is a freestone stream; this means it is made by water running off the surface of the land. It does get a few shots of spring water along the way, provided by seeps located in the cliff walls and small spring tributaries, but its life primarily depends on surface water run-off. This means that it lives and dies, by the snow and rain. Through the course of the year, Slate’s temperature, Ph, alkalinity, and water flow fluctuate dramatically. This fluctuation can have very negative effects on the environment, both biomasses within the water, as well as the surrounding micro and macro environments. Of course I know you’re totally aware of the how tightly integrated all of this stuff really is; hence the ominous issue regarding environmental fragility that looms around it. I’ve heard that before the first wave of lumbering, there was a deep dark forest, so heavy the canopy that only sprinkled shards of sunlight touched the wet mulch-like floor. It’s named the Black Forest and I would like to find out if this is because of the great proportion of German settlement or because the woods were so dark and dense. Back then streams like Slate Run were hardier and healthier, they didn’t drastically fluctuate in temperature, they produced thick clouds of mayflies in dozens of varied species – it was extremely alive. That is a smidgen of information about Freestone streams in northern Pennsylvania. I’m trying to find out why they call them runs instead of streams or creeks. Is it because they flow quickly down a mountain?
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