March Comes In Like A Stonefly

Wrapping up the weekend here at Knee Deep Headquarters, I’m reflecting on a busy few weeks. The Fly Fishing Show in Lancaster, PA was a great time and a god chance to catch up with old friends and make a lot of new ones. Putting faces with lots of names and shaking hands with folks you’ve only traded emails with makes the world a little smaller. As a newbie on the show circuit I was impressed with my fellow fly tiers who really made me feel welcome and supported. I couldn’t have done the show without my go-to instructor, and brother, Mark. One of these days he’ll give up on the 9 to 5 life and fish full time, I know it.

After that, I had a few days to recover and unpack, then I tagged along with my wife to London. While she was working hard, I made sure to eat everything in sight and stop in a lot of pubs along the way while touring the city. I didn’t get out of the city to explore fishing options but I sure feel like I can check off the major sights. I kept the staff of the hotel laughing as I asked for directions every morning. While I can appreciate a nice hotel, the concierge “dudes” were joking with me that I was like Crocodile Dundee. Big Ben, the Tower of London, the Prime Meridian…I saw it all. It was more tiring than a day on the water.

Sometimes Micah gets to fish!

Speaking of the water, I was out on Friday and things are warming up. The air temps are starting to turn around and the water temps can’t be far behind. The wind was cranking and, at a few points, casting had to be paused while the gusts made their way down the river. I was lucky enough to have a friend along who actually snapped a rare picture of me with a fish. I love showing people around my local haunts and Friday was full of good joking around and relaxing. We had a few minutes when the sun burned through the clouds and the wind paused long enough for the stoneflies to take off from the grass and make a large cloud over the river before being blow away again. If you’re headed out in the next week pack heavy streamers and stick them close to the banks. 4x fluorocarbon and a loop knot will get you deep and help you pull the fish out of the undercut banks that the winter’s high flows have carved out.

The April schedule is filling up fast. If you’ve been putting off booking an outing for spring,don’t wait. Time is flying by. If this week’s weather forecast is true we should see Spring really showing it’s colors around the Gunpowder. Give us a call or e-mail and we’ll help you use up those fresh 2012 sick days!

 

Getting Knee Deep At The Fly Fishing Show!

With winter about to clench its fist down on this warm fall season it’s time to start planning ahead for that cabin fever. The best remedy I can think of is a trip to one of the upcoming consumer expos put on by the folks at The Fly Fishing Show. The Knee Deep gang is ready and I’ll be tying at the Lancaster, PA show February 18th & 19th not to mention stocking up in person while there’s a huge selection of fur and feathers to choose from.

If you’ve never been to The Fly Fishing show you’ve been missing out! You won’t find a bigger gathering of pros demonstrating their skills and offering up free seminars and lectures. On top of all that, there are isles of tackle companies showing of their latest and greatest gadgets and rods…all out for you to pick up and check out.

Spending my teenage years in New Jersey I was lucky enough to attend the Somerset show every year. I used to spend the whole day getting to know the tiers and asking every question I could. I loved it. Some years I’d go for all 3 days of the show just to get my fill of the seminars and classes. As the years went on, I looked forward to the show more as a way to connect with old fishing friends and to stock up on rare or hard to find tying materials. This year will be no exception as there’s nothing like picking your tying materials first hand and catching up with lots of old friends.

 Check out The Fly Fishing Show site, find a show near you if you can’t make it to Lancaster, and get your fly fishing fix for the winter. Plan to spend the whole day, or more, to take advantage of it all.

In Time for Halloween

Sometimes you hit the river expecting to see certain conditions and arrive to a completely different game. Monday’s outing was exactly that. I left the house expecting sparse clouds and hatches but arrived to sunshine and only a brief appearance of tricos in the AM and a dry windy afternoon.

I was joined by Trent Jones, fishing manager at the Bethesda, MD Orvis store, and we had a great time watching the trico’s blow off into the woods when we arrived. The Gunpowder was still running high from recent storms but was clear and fishable. The insect showing was a mixed bag of tricos, caddis, and “rusty” mayflies. We had a great time exploring the higher flows and still shifting riverbed after the larger storms we’d seen in recent weeks.

After parting ways with Jones, I spent some time hunting bugs in the river and snapping a few photos. The afternoon’s fading light made taking pictures a challenge but I found enough caddis and a few stoneflies to keep me entertained for some time. After what I found taking samples, I’d put my money on caddis pupe all winter long in green and light tan. Despite receiving a thorough scouring the riverbed still holds enough detritus to hide a lot of large stoneflies and I nabbed a beautiful shot of a nice big golden stone.

 
 
 
 
 
 After arriving home I was greeted by not one but two praying mantis on back porch. Since I’d spent the afternoon taking photos of insects I was ready for the situation at hand. Sometimes it’s all about being in the right place at the right time.
 
 
 
 

With flows still above 150cfs there’s lots of water to spread the fish around. If you’re headed out this weekend be sure and look before you leap; often fish will be holding in areas where there was previously very little water. The weather looks perfect for some fishing and family time outdoors. Be sure and bring some tricos for the AM and some tan caddis for the afternoon.  See you on the water!

Orvis Days, Care For Kids and a big Thank You!

On October 8th, I was lucky enough to be invited to speak at the Orvis Store in Bethesda, MD during their “Orvis Days” event. I was flattered to have a great crowd of folks turn out to hear me talk about the Big Gunpowder Falls and show off some of my photography with a presentation following the seasons on the river.

Also presenting during the event was Trent Jones, who schooled us on fishing in DC on the Tidal Potomac River, all while we were entertained for most of the day by jazz guitarist Bart Stringham. Joe from the shop brouth in Sandwiches from PotBelly and other snacks and refreshments. Except for being on the water, what else could a fly-fisher want?

I couldn’t have asked for a better reception and I’m grateful for all the kind feedback I’ve received. Thank you to everyone who turned out and to Orvis for having me at the shop!

If you missed you missed the Orvis Days promotions last weekend there’s a chance to save at the store coming up the week of October 21st through Oct. 30th with a Care For Kids Card from the folks at the Children’s National Medical Center. The cards are $50 and get you 20% discounts on regularly priced merchandise. It’s perfect if you’ve had your eye on new boots and waders or a new rod for under the tree not to mention the long list of first class merchants who’re participating! I’ll even be working at the store Sunday the 23rd if you want to come and say hello.

Cooler Air and Warmer Water

With the water dropping all over the East Coast the fishing is heating up. A few trips in the last week have been a great chance to check out Mother Nature’s handy work. Seeing the piles of trees 10 feet high are a reminder of just how powerful water is. There’s lots of new structure in streams like the Gunpowder and the river bottom has new contours to explore. I found a few gravel bars in the last few days that were still settling and shifting. Nothing keeps you on your toes like quicksand!

 The fishing has been great and trout are hungry and aggressive with warm water temps getting them feeding. Big streamers are the ticket to lots of strikes. Fishing with 4x tippet makes casting heavy flies a breeze and the high, off-color, water helps hide the thicker line.

I shrunk a few photos down and put them in a slideshow below. 

Nothing says fall like getting out those waders that you’ve been going without all summer. Give us a call today and talk about scheduling an outing for fall!

 

An Outgoing Tide

The sun is shining and we’re drying out. The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity over at Knee Deep Headquarters. I was lucky enough to have my brother Mark and my father Eric come help me out with a great fly fishing school over at Discovery Communications. Both of them are first rate fishermen and I was proud to have them at my side wrangling fly lines. The folks at Discovery were eager to learn and their laughs and smiles made me wish we had all afternoon to spend together perfecting their loops. I can’t wait to see them on the water in the future.

Thanks Mark and Rick!

The day of that school was the calm before the storm and as sailors, my parents crashed at my house for the weekend. We watched a LOT of weather channel but I was happy to have them and know that they were safe and off their boat. I’ll miss them when they take off next week for warmer parts of the world! I hope to see lots of great posts from their blog HERE!

After all the earthquakes and hurricanes and plagues it’s exciting to hit the water and see all the changes that come with record high water. Getting out and doing some hiking on your local stream is a great way to find new structure and holding areas for fish. It’s great to get out and fish those downed trees before the paddlers and chainsaw happy do-gooders get busy “fixing” things. Streams like the Patuxant and The Big Gunpowder had lots of wood before the storm and with the water dropping it’s a great chance to see how they’ve been floated around.  I like big zonkers and wooly buggers fished slow in seams around structure like downed trees and scoured out rocks to imitate baitfish weakened from fighting fast water for days. I am looking forward to getting out for the tail end of this week and checking out the changes on many local streams. Don’t ferget to check the USGS gauges before you head out.

See you on the water!

Wet or dry…

Wet or Dry?
Wet or dry...have it your way

Nothing is new about fishing wet flies but I thought I’d share my go-to wet/dry sulphur pattern. Fishing the Gunpowder Falls anglers are treated to some great hatches of sulphurs and caddis. I think there are more caddis in the river but feel free to debate it with me. In any case, I fish this fly both dry and wet. I even fish a combo of it with just the wings dried off by a powdered fly drying agent. There’s nothing fancy about it except maybe the snowshoe-hares foot wing. The more fish you catch the worse it looks and the better it seems to work. I don’t leave the house without a full compartment of this fly if I’m taking other people along. As the season goes by I tie it smaller and smaller and even with a dun colored wing. I credit an old friend for turning me onto the snowshoe hare years ago and I put it in everything.

Wet flies are one of those things you just can’t get in your local fly shop (unless you have a great local shop…if so get in there and buy some flies and other stuff from them and keep them open) and when I hear people say “It’s not worth tying my own flies” I think of this one. They’re  becoming a lost art. There are dozens of patterns that you just can’t pick up everywhere. Many tiers are picky about little details and swear by minor adjustments of old patterns. I’m definitely one of those folks; for me it’s the little tweaks that give flies the “life” that some store bought flies are lacking. Spending a few hours at the vise refining and learning can pay off on the stream. There’s nothing more rewarding than learning to tie your own flies and hitting the water and CATHCHING FISH with something you made!

Get out there while it’s still spring! And get on some of those sulphurs. Maybe call your favorite local fishing guide (hint, hint!) and ask about some fly tying lessons. It’s a sure-fire cure for cabin feaver when winter comes around again.

In The News…DC’s show!

This weekend is the 36th Anual Angling Show assembled by NCC-TU.  It’s a neat show with a good handful of folks presenting on topics like small stream trout, bass/smallies and the like. It’s only $10 to get in and, like any of the shows, it’s a good chance to catch up with old friends and familiar faces.

Get yourself signed up for a casting clinic and maybe bring your kids by the tying tables and get them tying flies for you and for their own boxes. I’m on the list to help out for a few hours so it will surely be fun!

The Stoneflies Are Comming

#14 Brown Stones
Brown Stones

Every year I can be found fishing on the New Years weekend. When I was a teenager the holidays were a time when my family was home together and we’d get out of the house as a group (a group of trouble makers) and slide our way to a local trout stream. Our mother was a saint to put up with us and this holiday routine. I recall a few years where I caused us all to be late for Thanksgiving because we were chasing brookies in Jockey Hollow or Christmases where new gear was tested right after it was unwrapped out at Ken Lockwood Gorge; always a fun spot once it was coated with ice. As the years went on and my brothers and I moved further from each other there are less afternoon outings following big early meals. I will never forget being out-fished by one of my brothers who threw a giant purple leach in a honey hole of hatchery rainbows. I’m still scratching my head over that 15 years later.

Nowadays, I still get out in the winter but recall those times with my brothers and father fondly. With the “early black stoneflies” just around the corner I hope to call them on New Year’s Morning and tell them about how they were thick in the air and how they missed it. Next year I’ll be lobbying hard to get everyone together for some icy fishing for sure. Living below the Mason Dixon Line means that there’s a chance for warmer days in the winter than our snowbound friends up North. Warm days and rising water temps signal the little stoneflies to crawl out onto rocks and snow piles to hatch. Snow is a great place to spot them as their dark bodies cure nicely with the reflection from a white background. Even a few adults buzzing around can let you know the time is right for fishing some nymphs in the riffles. As one of the first real hatches of the year, I get pretty excited when I see them fluttering around.

 Don’t forget to stop by your local shop and pick up a new license for 2011 and be safe while getting Knee Deep Friday night – DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE.