Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Shad


The amount of biomass migrating into the Chesapeake Bay and into every reachable tributary of the watershed cannot be truly fathomed by fishermen. Beyond the large stripers are many species of shad and the all important river herring. These anadromous species combine with local species and even the catadromous American eel to create one of the most bio-diverse fisheries in the US. It all comes together in the upper reaches of the Bay in the Susquehanna River. Here, anglers from all over the U.S. travel to catch Hickory and American Shad en masse…


Monday, May 19, 2014

No Hatch, No Cry


The last weekend of April saw my buddy Ryan and I heading north to New York. A fabled trout stream awaited us that is home to beautiful wild browns, large holdovers, and some freshly stocked fish. We eagerly anticipated the first onslaught of Spring hatches: black caddis, quill gordons, and hendricksons. When we arrived just before sunset, our hopes were dimmed a bit. The temperature read 33 degrees and the day called for 25-35 mph gusts. Needless to say, but we didn't see any fish rising over the course of our day and a half of fishing. Despite mis-timing the bug activity, we still made the best of our situation and had a great little trip up north...

Friday, May 9, 2014

Striped Bass With Tidewater Charters


Spring brings the world's largest striped bass into the Chesapeake Bay as they follow a smorgasbord of bait and other anadromous species on their annual migration on the East Coast. Although not too far away, I never got around to targeting stripers on fly or gear, but for only a few hours this year I was able to get out with Tyler Nonn of Tidewater Charters to do what he does best, catch monsters…


Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Carpin Tales


As I approached the bank of the pond for the first time this Spring, I immediately saw an image I had not seen in quite some time. A long dark shadow prowled a few feet off shore obscured by turbid water and freshly disturbed detritus. I hunkered down and tied on some fresh 4x and paired it with a size 14 glo bug. When I arose, the fish was nowhere to be found but I knew it would only be a short time before I saw him again. That moment came fifty yards down the bank. Fresh mud billowed from the depths and my eyes strained for any sign of the carp. As my contacts began drying, I finally remembered to blink. Amidst the plume, a dark shadow lurched forward. A flick of sixteen feet of leader and my fly slowly descended at the carp's ten o'clock. As the fly approached the zone, the shadow shifted 45 degrees to the fly and moved forward. The carp paused and I set the hook into my first respectable carp of the season…