WNY Fly Fishing

WNY Fly Fishing: WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 2/11/2012

2012-02-11T17:11:00.000-05:00

WNY Fly Fishing: WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 2/11/2012: The word for today is COLD!!!!! but productive. I got to sneak out and to shoot some video with Luke, Adam and Matt. I fooled a few steelhea...

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 2/11/2012

2012-02-11T16:51:00.000-05:00

The word for today is COLD!!!!! but productive. I got to sneak out and to shoot some video with Luke, Adam and Matt. I fooled a few steelhead today with the last one the biggest and one of the cleanest fish I have seen in this creek in a long while.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 2/8/2012

2012-02-08T18:03:00.002-05:00

All of the erie tribs, but the catt are low and clear with few fish to be found unless you have the whole day to walk/drive and find them.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 2/2/2012

2012-02-02T16:21:00.000-05:00

All of the mid sized creeks i drove over today were stained, but clearing. The biggest ones are shot and the smallest were clear and had good flow to them.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 1/31/2012

2012-01-31T16:06:00.000-05:00

All of the erie tribs are in fishable to very good shape, except the catt. the rains are coming so get out and get them before the blowout begins.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 1/27/2012

2012-01-27T15:31:00.000-05:00

The rain has screwed up the water for the weekend, all of the erie tribs i went over today were high and muddy. The smallest might be ready by sunday, but this should bring in more fish.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 1/21/2012

2012-01-21T16:16:00.000-05:00

I went out with Andy, Luke and Adam to fish the oak today. The trip started out with my wipers on the mini van deciding to operate in a independent fashion looking like a seal clapping instead of wiping off the snow and slush, Andy was comic relief today as he went for a swim in the Archers pool. The water was dirty and flowing very well, Adam was the first to hook up and then I got a steelhead later in the morning.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 1/19/2010

2012-01-19T15:57:00.000-05:00

I went all over the erie tribs today and found that the smallest were ready to go and the bigger ones still needed a day or two, except the catt which is out for awhile.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 1/17/2012

2012-01-17T19:43:00.000-05:00

All streams are shot for now, lets take a look later in the week to see what is going on for the weekend.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 1/7/2012

2012-01-07T17:42:00.000-05:00

I went out with Luke and met John down at a L.O. stream to do some much needed soul cleansing, the weather started out as nothing short of fantastic for this time of year and turned RAW as the day went on, but we did manage a few fish a piece. I caught more fish swinging than drifting eggs, Luke and John did the opposite so go figure on a pattern. I am enjoying fishing with tubes this year much more than in past years, I don't know why but what the hell just go with it.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 1/1/2012

2012-01-01T15:06:00.000-05:00

We went out Sat to fish the L.O. tribs with high hopes of getting into some fish. The water was high and dirty, but that didn't bother us. I caught two browns swinging some new water that Luke has showed me on a new tube fly I made up the night before. Luke got a nice brown later in the day swinging a chart tube he made.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 12/26/2011

2011-12-26T13:49:00.000-05:00

The weather couldn't have been nicer to go out and fish, today Brian Slavinski joined Luke, Adam and myself for a little fun. The water was just about perfect and the fish were eager to play today, I caught fish on White lighting, Hairballs and sucker spawn, Brian used a small white bunny streamer, while Luke used light pink sucker spawn.

WNY Fly Fishing

2011-12-24T10:58:00.001-05:00

Lucas Carroll took this pic of me during a wild snow storm last year and he got a cover shot from it. Congrats Luke

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 12/22/2011

2011-12-22T18:24:00.000-05:00

I drive over the erie tribs everyday so i can give up to date condition reports, so here we go; all of the erie tribs are muddy, but coming down except the catt which for all purposes is shot for the season. If we dont get anymore rain we should be in good shape for the weekend.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 12/20/2011

2011-12-20T16:23:00.000-05:00

All most of the Erie tribs are fishable today with the others coming around in a day or two. The LO tribs should be in good shape as well.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 12/18/2011

2011-12-18T16:36:00.000-05:00

Luke and I went out to Oak Orchard to froth the water, the air temps hovered around 10 degrees this morning making it freaking cold!!!!!!!!. the fishing was slow and the water was stained, it wasn't until afternoon when a few fish were picked up one by myself. I was sitting on the bank when I saw a fish porpoise, I got up made a roll cast using my sage z-axis switch rod and swung the fly toward the fish gave it one strip and bam!!! steelhead on. A tough day out on the water, but I was with a good friend and that's what its about, the fish is a bonus.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 12/16/2011

2011-12-16T17:38:00.000-05:00

We have a wide spread blowout of most of the Erie tribs and some of the LO ones as well. The smallest ones should be ok by sat, my choice would be Sunday if you have one.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 12/13/11

2011-12-13T17:42:00.000-05:00

All of the erie tribs are fishable except the catt, which if we don't get anymore rain will be fine by the weekend. I would go out in the afternoons as the water warms up and the slush ice burns off.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 12/3/2011

2011-12-04T08:42:00.001-05:00

It was a cold one this morning on the stream reminding me of what is coming in a few short weeks. The fishing was slow, but we managed a few Brown trout and one Steelhead, I caught fish on White Lighting and Mirrored Minnows, while Luke and Adam got fish on egg patterns.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 11/27/2011

2011-11-27T15:53:00.000-05:00

I went out with Adam and Luke for some L.O. tribbing, and what a day we had!!!!!! Big Browns and Steelhead on the swing. I caught fish on my Emerald Shiner and Adam caught most of his fish on a ESL, while Luke caught them on his own monster tubes.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 11/24/2011

2011-11-24T08:10:00.000-05:00

All of the Erie tribs are shot as of today, the Ontario tribs are up and of colored so pick and choose wisely. The smaller creeks should be in good shape by the weekend, but remember that it will be a zoo everywhere you go do the the increase of people home for the holidays.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 11/13/2011

2011-11-15T18:32:00.000-05:00

I went out with Luke and Adam to chase the L.O. Browns and Steelhead. Luke and i got there in the very early am to secure a spot and waited for Adam to show up later. The fishing was good, as we caught lots of browns and a few Steelhead mixed in to keep us going. I caught most of my fish on Hairballs and stoneflies.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 11/6/2011

2011-11-06T17:22:00.000-05:00

Went tribbing today with Luke and Adam, the day started off very early in the am, when we got out to the spot we wanted to fish somebody beat us to the water. The morning started off with a brown trout or two with some zombie fish thrown in, as the day got warmer so did the fishing. I caught fish on Hairballs, Crystal Meth and stone flies.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 11/1/2011

2011-11-01T16:33:00.000-04:00

All of the Erie tribs except the Catt are fishable and dropping fast and might be a little on the low side by now, The Ontario tribs are in good shape with the Oak a little high from the draining of the canal

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 10/27/2011

2011-10-27T18:27:00.000-04:00

The rains have made most of the smaller streams rising and dirty, lets see what mother nature has in store for us this weekend.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 10/24/2011

2011-10-24T13:55:00.000-04:00

Most of the creeks are ready to fish, but with this next bunch of rain coming who knows. The smaller creeks were getting low so this should bring in a push of fresh fish. the bigger creeks will be touch and go with this rain coming.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 10/19/11

2011-10-19T19:45:00.000-04:00

Well the rain is coming again and it looks like the weekend will be a washout unless you find smaller water. the bigger water sheds were fishing pretty well until this crap hit us, so pick and choose your battles and you can find fish and get away from the retards.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 10/13/2011

2011-10-13T07:21:00.000-04:00

The much needed rains will be here in the next few days, hopefully we get enough to bring the creeks up and give the some color. I have found out that the church on Canadaway has posted the property do to all the cars and fisherman tromping the banks of the creek. This is a sad day indeed because a nice section of water is gone!!! it wont be long before the whole stretch is posted and we cant fish it at all.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 10/8/2011

2011-10-08T14:49:00.001-04:00

YEE_HAA!!!!! I have been out for three days in row now and loving life. Luke and I went to the Catt to poke around and search for some willing steelhead, what we found was the fish are spread out and willing to take on the swing as well as nymphing. Luke got his first steelhead on the swing!!!! Congrats Luke glad to be with you.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 10/7/2011

2011-10-07T18:49:00.000-04:00

We went out north today and got into some lake run browns and some steelhead. The fishing was very good until the sun starting cooking us and the water. All of the fish i caught were on Hairballs and most of the fish that Fred caught were on the same with a couple taken on nymphs.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 10/1/2011

2011-10-01T16:37:00.000-04:00

We headed north today and found few fisherman and very good numbers of fish, the water was cool and clear, but the fish did not want anything we offered. The rains were heavy at times, but like troopers we toughed it out. The salmon were followed by smaller browns in the deeper runs, but seemed to be confused on which way to swim upstream or down anyways good to be out and with friends.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 9/30/2011

2011-09-30T15:58:00.000-04:00

The rains have come and the temps dropping will trigger fish to move in, so things should start hopping very soon. We are going out sat and flog the water to find fish and get an early start to the season.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 9/22/2011

2011-09-22T07:57:00.000-04:00

The weather is getting colder and we are starting to get rain now, so the fish are starting to move in the creeks very slowly now. The water temps is in the 60's on the catt, so if you do fish keep it to the early am and try to bring them in fast. The USGS has some new info on the catt if you haven't looked, they now cover the water temp's in degrees and in Celsius and turbidity with some other stuff. Once we figure out the gage it should make life easier on planning fishing trips and not wasting a lot of gas.

Women On Target From Women of the NRA / WNY Fly FIshing

2011-09-16T19:51:00.000-04:00

Spend a fun filled day with other women learning about the various aspects of the outdoors; from shooting , cooking, photography, and fly fishing just to name a few. We provide a lunch, raffles and door prizes for the day. All of our instructors are certified/experienced in there fields and are a lot of fun.
This event is to introduce women to a few of the many wonderful outdoor activities available and to provide a safe, fun environment to explore alongside other women. I will be teaching you about fly fishing; from casting, knots, flies, and many other tricks of the trade.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 9/15/2011

2011-09-15T07:50:00.000-04:00

The cooler weather and water temps should trigger some fish moving up the catt this week, This can be a fun time throwing streamers on a 5 or 6wt for the jacks that will chasing down everything that you throw at them. It's also fun just just getting out and learning the runs and pools for the upcoming season.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 9/3/2011

2011-09-03T11:16:00.000-04:00

Well now that summer is over officially Monday, we can start getting ready for the upcoming fall season. I haven't been fishing because of my surgery, but it is starting to feel better so i have been tying to fill orders and my fly boxes. The colors that are coming and the smells of fall have been gone to long!!!! I cant wait to get out with my fly fishing buddies and stretching our lines with the weight of some steel.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 7/19/2011 Father & Son Outing

2011-07-19T19:39:00.000-04:00

We went out to the Oakta to do some fishing (well me watching and taking pics) and found a father teaching his son all about this great sport of ours. This is what we need more of guys, bringing the kids out this is our future!!!! Everyone should be involved from kids to the ladies.

WNY Fly Fishing Bass & Bluegill Report 7/8/2011

2011-07-09T14:09:00.000-04:00

I went bass fishing with Emmy, Maddy, Luke and Antonio to my bass pond, even though i couldn't fish i just took a lot of pics so enjoy. Antonio booming out some big casts for the bass

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 7/7/2011

2011-07-07T06:44:00.000-04:00

Well i can finally get out, but still can't fish. The streams seem to be in good shape for this time of year with good flows and temps. The best times are dawn and dusk for the best dry action, use ants and beetles during the day with some attractor's thrown in the mix.

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-04T20:48:00.000-04:00

I want to say thank you to our forefathers, who had the courage to stand up to oppression and make a better life for all of us

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 6/24/2011

2011-06-24T08:27:00.000-04:00

My fishing days are over for the summer, as i had surgery on my left wrist to repair it from a work accident. I will be on the water just not fishing much and taking pics of everyone else. The hatches have been very sparse and spread out when you find them, i would nymph the hell out of the stream and dead drift buggers.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 6/9/2011

2011-06-09T06:20:00.000-04:00

Most of the streams are in prime shape now, but the incoming rain will change that a little we hope. The big hatches coming off now are Grey Fox, March browns, Sulphers and throw some Caddis in the the mix.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 6/5/2011

2011-06-05T18:15:00.000-04:00

Well the rains have stopped for awhile now and the creeks are dropping fast. A bunch of us went to my fav spot in the state and spanked them hard!!!!!! The water had about 24" of viz and the fish were all feisty and just beautiful!!!!!!!!!

WNY Fly Fishing News Update 5/25/2011

2011-05-25T09:24:00.002-04:00

Remove Ischua Creek catch and release section (2012_R9_01)

Description: Eliminate existing special regulation catch and release section for Ischua Creek.

Rationale: Extensive public input indicates that many anglers would prefer to use bait, particularly in the vicinity of the Village of Franklinville. This change would enhance angling opportunities by allowing beginner and young anglers to use the section of stream located in the village.

Email a comments to

fishregs@gw.dec.state.ny.us
Possible Freshwater Fishing Regulation Changes 2012_R9_01

We all need to fight to keep all Catch & Release sections everywhere in this country. The lazy environmental rapists need to learn to preserve the resource not destroy it for their own greed. C & R sections should be protected so our children and beginning fisherman can enjoy success with out driving miles and miles because the streams are empty from over harvesting, plus the sight of the slobs leaving live bait containers and garbage all over the banks is a huge put off and we all get a bad name.

Let trout fishing be a year round activity not just a one or two month beating of our water ways.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 5/21/2011

2011-05-21T20:55:00.000-04:00

We hit the upper catt for some inland action, and what a great day it turned out to be. The water was perfect and the fish ready to take our offerings. I started off with the spring creek special and got a few, but the nymph's were the ticket. We used hares ears and prince nymphs mostly, the biggest fish of the day came on my peacock and biot nymph which imitates a march brown. We got a mixed bag of brown's and rainbow's throughout the day.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 5/14/2011

2011-05-14T15:50:00.000-04:00

We have to find the person who is doing the rain dance and cut off their legs!!!!!!! The rains have come and look like they are going to be with us for the better part of a week, so i would be very careful on where you want to fish, as most streams are high and looks like they will stay that way for the upcoming week.

WNY Fly Fishing - The Caddis

2011-05-11T07:45:00.000-04:00

Caddis Flies

For a caddisfly, the first stage of life is spent as larvae; depending on the species of caddis, this larvae stage is spent in a case, a fine (web like) net , or as free-crawling larvae on the bottom of the river.
When they are ready to emerge, the larvae pupate and swim to the surface (using their legs, body, and wings), where they hatch into an adult. An important note on emerging pupae, is that they often hold in the surface film for extended periods of time--a highly vulnerable situation.
From here, the newly hatched caddisfly will quickly fly away and mate. Unlike the mayfly, an adult caddisfly has a fully developed mouth, allowing it to feed thus affording it a long life--days, weeks, or even months for some caddisfly species.
After mating, the females return to the water to lay their eggs, which is accomplished in different ways by individual species of caddis. Some females lay their eggs on the surface, while others actually re-enter the stream and swim to the bottom, where they deposit their eggs.
If you are not familiar with their appearance, caddisflies have wings that fold over their body similar to the shape of a tent. Unlike the graceful flight of a mayfly, caddis appear nomadic while in flight, diving and weaving erratically in the air. If none of this helps you to recognize a caddisfly, remember, they bear a striking resemblance to a moth. An important note to recognizing caddisflies is that specific identification is often not necessary; instead, attempt to imitate the basic silhouette and size of the bug.
A caddis emergence can confuse anglers not familiar with its hatching characteristics. During a caddis hatch, it is common to NOT witness insects floating on the surface, yet see fish feeding. Caddisflies emerge rapidly, often without detection by the fisherman. This speedy emergence also causes the fish to display a characteristic rise when feeding on emerging caddis pupae. When emerging caddis are present, fish will rise splashily and aggressively, often leaping completely out of the water after the swiftly emerging pupae. Although this behavior is also, in part, due to the speed of the current; basically, fish have to move and feed more aggressively in a fast current as opposed to a slower one. If all else fails, what is the best way to recognize if you are in the presence of a caddis hatch? The best indication is when you see feeding activity by the fish without any bugs appearing to be present.

Fishing an adult pattern is probably the single biggest mistake that people make when in the company of a caddis emergence. At this time, the fish are interested in the emerging pupae, not adults, as the mature bugs are not yet present. Iris, X-Caddis, and LaFontaine’s Sparkle Pupae, in corresponding sizes and colors, are fly patterns that have proved very successful for fishing a caddis emergence. Adult patterns become highly effective when adult caddis are present, which is most prominent during egg-laying activity.

As with all sources of food, trout are only interested in the mature caddisflies when they are active on or in the water, which, for adult caddis is during egg-laying. At this time, the Elk Hair Caddis or other adult patterns, in a corresponding size and color, become highly effective as they closely match the characteristics of an adult caddisfly.

There is no disputing the fact that patterns such as the Elk Hair Caddis work at times when there is little or no egg-laying activity. Caddis enjoy a relatively long life-span and are prolific in many streams, imprinting themselves as a prominent food source in the fish’s brain. With this in mind, one can theorize that fish will readily consume these imitations based purely on recognition. This, in part, is the theory behind attractor flies and blind fishing; basically, during those periods when caddis activity is heavy (summer months), fishing a caddis pattern is wise, even when emergence or egg-laying is not currently present; conversely, fishing an adult caddis imitation when there has been little or no activity (winter for example) is less than prudent.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 5/8/2011

2011-05-08T09:00:00.001-04:00

Well i finally got out to fish with Luke and Andy, for our first inland trip to Spring Creek. The weather was perfect and the fish hungry. I caught a bunch on scuds size 16-18, blood worms and black midge's size 22-24. After lunch we headed over to Oatka to throw meat in the high water, it was a good choice as we got into trout, pike, and a large mouth bass. The bass was the first one any of us seen caught here a monster 3lbs and over 20"

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 5/3/2011

2011-05-03T09:44:00.000-04:00

Well the reports are the same, rain and rising water for most of the area. You will have to pick the water wisely or you will drive all over. The smallest should be fine to fish with the biggest out of the question for now.

WNY Fly Fishing - The Hendrickson

2011-04-23T20:23:00.000-04:00

When the Hendrickson’s begin hatching in April - May, the major rivers of the Northeast come alive. The hatch attracts swallows, cedar waxwings and nighthawks that dart and dive and catch the bugs in mid-air.

Underwater, the hatch draws trout out from hiding to feed with abandon in the open water. The careless trout bring an osprey or two that hover high above the river waiting for an easy mark. Then with deadly speed and precision they plunge into the water with open talons. But the Hendrickson’s also bring the fly fishers to what is the first big event of the fly fishing season.

Hendrickson’s are the kind of bug that put the fly in fly-fishing.

About one-half an inch long, they live most of the year underwater clinging to the underside of rocks, in their nymph stage. In May, they undergo a metamorphosis -- swimming to the surface to emerge from their shells as flying insects. Clouds of them form over the river to mate and lay their eggs in the water. Within three weeks the whole dance is over.

Entomologists call these bugs Ephemerella Subvaria. But back in 1916, it was customary for fly tiers to name their flies for their clients.
A tier from the Beaver kill River, named Steen rod, tied an imitation of the bug for a client named Hendrickson. The fly worked and the name stuck.
Part of the mystique of the Hendrickson fly is its intricate coloring.
Fly tiers use tufts of lemon colored wood duck feathers to fashion wings and blue dun rooster feathers for the legs. The body of the bug has an elusive pinkish-grayish mahogany cream hue. Some specialists say the color varies from river to river. In his original fly, Steen rod claimed to use the "urine-stained hair of a vixen" (female fox) to achieve this critical body color. Maybe old Steen rod was having one over on Mr. Hendrickson? Or maybe he was cleverly marketing his fly's mystical aura? Recipes for the Hendrickson fly still call for this material, though it is not readily available. However, fly shops do stock a pinkish-grey synthetic substitute.

In the week prior to the hatch, the Hendrickson nymphs become very active. Turn over a submerged river rock and you can see them wriggling with anticipation, while other bugs appear sleepy. Meanwhile, in garages and storage closets across the region, fly fishers also begin to stir. They patch leaks in their waders with duct tape. They buy fascinating gadgets that "really catch fish" on the Internet. But these outward movements mask the awakening of their subconscious fishing faculties. Fly fishers begin to dream of vivid red-spotted brown trout that take artificial Hendrickson flies with crisp decisive movements.

Like the prehistoric cave painters of Lascaux, the fly fisher's visions play a crucial role in the hunt. Standing by the river, ordinary people see only rushing water, while really good fly fishers "see" fish.

Half the time they are still dreaming, but they are often right.

Fishing the Hendrickson hatch is a civilized affair. Because the bugs don't get moving until late morning, there is plenty of time to sleep in and even have a leisurely brunch before heading to the river.

Generally, the best fishing is just before noon and again in the early evening. In the morning, the trout dart about catching the nymphs that are swimming to the surface. Sometimes, they break the surface snapping up the adult winged fly. In the evening, the trout feed lazily at the surface on the spent egg-laying flies, or spinners. But unusual weather can shift these times considerably, so it is best not to assume anything.

The morning hatch stage and the evening spinner stage require different flies. Steen rod’s famous fly imitates the newly hatched female as it floats down the river contemplating its first flight. Another fly called the Red Quill, invented by Art Flick, imitates the male spinner.

The Red Quill is smaller and has a deep mahogany body with clear wings.

A good local fly shop will have the flies that match the local conditions. But fooling the trout takes more than just a pretty fly. The fly must behave like the real bug. This is called "presenting" the fly.

A Hendrickson nymph should rise from the bottom as if it were swimming to the surface. Presented in this way, a foot or two in front of a trout's nose, a nymph is a sure way to hook a fish.

If presenting a nymph sounds hard, presenting a spinner is harder.

The spinner is a dead fly floating on top of the water. Now, you might think that getting an artificial fly to play dead is easy. But in truth it takes a lot of work to make your fly do absolutely nothing. The many threads of current pulling on the fly line conspire to pull the spinner fly off of its dead drift. If your imitation moves at all, with respect to the current, the trout will ignore it. Dead flies are not supposed to move, after all.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 4/21/2011

2011-04-21T16:15:00.001-04:00

All streams blown out for now, maybe this weekend if we get no more rain.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 4/18/2011

2011-04-18T06:32:00.000-04:00

Most of the smaller steelhead streams are fishable, but low and clear the bigger ones are coming down. The same is to be said for the inland streams.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 4/10/11

2011-04-10T09:23:00.000-04:00

Well Luke, Jeff, Paul and I went out to do some much needed fishing for one of the last Steelhead trips of the spring. The weather was very nice, but a bit too sunny for me, the creeks were low and clear. The morning started out strong with my first cast with a hook up on a nice steelhead on a Hairball and just a few more drifts then another, the rest of the day the fishing slowed down to a crawl so i decided to think outside the box and put on a bubble gum pink San Juan worm and it proved to be a great choice as i put a hurt'n on the steelhead and browns. The afternoon warmed up nicely the stones started to hatch so i switched to a small stone and caught more until dark when Luke hooked the monster of the day only after a spirited battle several jumps he headed into the log jam and broke him off.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 4/8/2011

2011-04-08T07:31:00.000-04:00

Well most of the streams are coming down and have good color as of today, so the fishing should pick up for the weekend. Steelhead is slowing down with lots of suckers being caught now so this might be the last chance to get some in the smaller creeks.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 3/31/2011

2011-04-01T16:45:00.001-04:00

Luke and I took Kim, Jeff out to do some trib fishing to a new spot that they have never been too before, well the fish Gods smiled on Kim with a monster steelhead (34") that took all of 20 minutes to land and broke Luke's net in the process. The fish took her over 150yds down stream!!!!!! Kim did a perfect job on fighting the fish while Luke landed him with the broken net with no handle. Kim was amazed how a fish that big would take a small Hairball egg fly. Special Thanks to Lucas Carroll for the photo's

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 3/27/11

2011-03-27T19:36:00.000-04:00

Jeff and I went to the erie tribs to poke around and see what the hell is going on for a few hours. The water was murky and rising, but fish able the fish were caught on sucker spawn and olive buggers.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 3/27/11

2011-03-27T09:00:00.000-04:00

The L.O. tribs are fishing very well, with most of the fish taking egg patterns (hairballs, suckerspawn) the biggest fish we have been getting is on big streamers (white lighting, mirrored minnows) rabbit leeches.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream report

2011-03-20T18:46:00.000-04:00

Most if the LO tribs are in good shape and fishing well, the L E tribs are a little behind them, but will catch up fast.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 3/13/11

2011-03-13T20:20:00.000-04:00

We went out today to hit Steelhead on the Erie tribs and to check things out. The water was off colored and cold with about 10" of viz, Luke hooked up very quickly and lost the fish as it went nuts!!!!!!! the rest of the day was very slow until I got this hog at the end of the day on Black Thunder.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Reports 3/11/2011

2011-03-11T07:22:00.000-05:00

We have lots of wet weather here now and more on the way, so pick the system you want to fish and make lots of phone calls to find out what is ready for the moment.

WNY Fly Fishing Stream Report 3/6/2011

2011-03-06T08:25:00.000-05:00

Well the rain has come and flooded the whole system, so fishing is out for awhile. I'm stocking up my boxes for the crazy time that is coming up.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 2/27/11

2011-02-28T16:36:00.000-05:00

I went out with Luke and Andy for some trib fishing, the weather was perfect for this time of year and the fish were in the mood to play!!!!!!. We all caught fish throughout the day on egg patterns (Hairballs,steelhead candy) H.E. nymphs and White Lighting is the fly that did the most damage. The takes were very hard for this time, i slowly stripped the fly as it swung downstream and BAM!!!!

WNY Fly Fishing Report 2/13/11

2011-02-13T14:42:00.000-05:00

Well today Luke and I headed inland to the Oatka to do some trout fishing throwing streamers. The phrase of the day was go big or go home, we threw big streamers and had a blast!!!!!!. the brown trout were very eager to take our offerings and fought very hard. I caught all of my fish on a brown and orange Clouser Minnow size 2.

Meet the Contestants > Top Shot Season 2 > John Guida

2011-01-19T19:54:00.001-05:00

John Guida
Age: 44

Hometown: Buffalo, NY

Occupation: Restaurant owner

John Guida has one goal: win the competition as some unknown restaurant guy, and make everyone stop and say “well what the hell just happened?” John runs John & Mary's restaurant in Buffalo, but before running the family business, he spent 10 years in competitions racking up six different state championships, multiple area championships, three top-16 National Finishes and two top-30 World finishes. Today, he hunts in the forests of upstate New York with handguns and bows. He calls himself an extremely competitive guy who likes to talk--sometimes too much.

SKILLS / EXPERIENCE:

12-year USPSA member, Six USPSA State Championship wins, Three Top-16 National finishes, Two Top-30 World finishes, Grand Master, Hunts with rifles and bows

Way to go little brother!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WNY Fly Fishing on Fly Boxes

2011-01-19T19:29:00.000-05:00

The fly fisherman is a equipment junkie, we cannot have enough stuff. I found this nice fly box that ice fishermen use by Ice Armour, it has slotted foam and is double sided with see through lids and is waterproof, all of this for under $15.00 a far cry from the fly box prices we are used shelling out.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 01/8/11

2011-01-08T16:20:00.000-05:00

We went to Oak Orchard today with Andy and Luke to do some late winter steelheading, the water was high and had about 2' of viz. Luke caught all the fish today in the middle of a blizzard!!!.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 01/1/11

2011-01-01T16:04:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year to all my friends and family. I started out the new year with a bang, luke, Andy and myself went out to Oak Orchard creek today to do some winter fishing. The river was in GREAT SHAPE!!!!! perfect flows and good numbers of fish, we got steelhead and browns. I was using White Lighting and Hairballs, the fish were hitting very well as the older gentleman across from us caught at least 7 on egg patterns, then the rain came and shut it down, all in all a very good day to start the new year.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 12/15/10

2010-12-15T14:55:00.000-05:00

Most of the smaller streams are starting to freeze over and have lots of slush on them until later in the day. Pick your spots and go low and slow, and wait until later to go out.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 12/9/10

2010-12-09T17:59:00.000-05:00

The weather is going to play a big factor in where you want to go, the Erie Tribs are slush filled in the am so try fishing a little later after the sun warms up the water. The L.O. streams are on the high side, but you should fare a little better without all of the snow to wade through to get to the water, dress warm and stay dry.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 12/04/10

2010-12-04T18:07:00.000-05:00

Most of the smaller Erie tribs should be ready to go, and the Catt is out most likely for the rest of the season until spring. I have no reports for the L.O. tribs, but they should have good water and fish in, but i cant report on the clarity right now.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 12/01/10

2010-12-01T17:50:00.000-05:00

The rain and snow have made a mess of all the systems, high water and dirty conditions is what we are in store for awhile. My suggestion is to stay inside, tie and refill up your fly boxes for the fishing ahead.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 11/27/10

2010-11-27T19:11:00.000-05:00

I went out today with Luke and Antonio and hit the L.O. tribs, the weather was brutal!!!!!, winds to hurricane speed, harsh and COLD!!!. The fishing was slow, but we managed 6 or 7 fish mostly Browns with one Steelhead.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 11/23/10

2010-11-23T16:26:00.000-05:00

The Erie tribs are high and dirty, while the L.O. tribs are on the rise so pick your stream wisely. The weather forecast is not good for the weekend either, with a mixture of rain and snow.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 11/12/10

2010-11-12T17:26:00.000-05:00

I fished the L.O. tribs today with Lucas Carroll and Brian, the fishing started out cold like the air temps and got better as the day went on. We caught a mixed bag of steelhead and Big browns, most of the fish were taken on Hairballs, sucker spawn as well as big buggers. A great day to be out with good friends and catch big fish, Lucas broke in his new Beulah Switch Rod in great fashion.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 11/07/10

2010-11-07T17:54:00.000-05:00

Most of the Erie tribs are now at fishable levels and have cleared up a bit. The colder temps will slow the fishing down allot this weekend, but the warmer weather they are calling for this week should put everything back to normal. The flies of choice are as follows: Hairballs, sucker spawn, buggers and Mirrored minnows

WNY Fly Fishing Report 11/3/10

2010-11-03T19:46:00.000-04:00

Well the fishing report is not great news, the fish are spread out and thin in the Catt. The smaller Erie tribs are low and clear with the fish being bombarded with everything know to man. The keys is to find a creek with moderate flows and work them hard for a few fish then pickup and move.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 10/27/10

2010-10-27T17:36:00.000-04:00

We have water in the smaller tribs now, so in a day or two game on. The Catt is shot for awhile so forget about it, the LO tribs all have fish in them with crazy amounts of fisherman.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 10/21/10

2010-10-21T16:17:00.000-04:00

Well we are getting the rain that we needed badly, good news for the smaller creeks, but bad news for that Catt, which is rising fast. The smaller creeks will clear faster if we don't get to much rain, the Catt on the other hand will take much longer.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 10/18/10

2010-10-18T18:17:00.000-04:00

I wish the reports were better, The Catt is fishing lousy, and the smaller tribs need water, the fish that are in are being pounded to death. The good news is that burt and oak have good numbers of fish in them, the bad news is that everybody is there.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 10/12/10

2010-10-12T15:40:00.000-04:00

Most of the smaller creeks are low and clear with fish spread out in the deeper holes. The bigger creeks are clear and have very good numbers of salmon, browns, and steelhead in them with lots of people!!!!!!!!!!!.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 10/08/10

2010-10-08T16:19:00.000-04:00

Most of the smaller to mid sized creeks are coming down fast and should be fishing this weekend.The Catt should be at fishing levels by Sunday at the earliest and most likely by Tues. My source's have said that the bridge project on 18 mile creek in hamburg at the rt 5 bridge will take awhile to finish and that it shouldn't bother the fishing too much, only time will tell.

Jim Guida

WNY Fly Fishing Report 10/05/10

2010-10-05T18:06:00.000-04:00

Well the rains have finally washed out most of the creeks, which is what they needed. The fishing should ok on the smaller tribs for this weekend and the catt will be out for awhile.

WNY Fly Fishing - Women On Target Event 9/25/10

2010-09-26T14:02:00.001-04:00

This past weekend was the first Women On Target Event sponsored by the Women of the NRA. Brian and myself had the pleasure of teaching fly fishing in the first annual event, This is why i love teaching fly fishing so much, the women were very eager to learn and truly enjoyed to class, the look on their faces when they threw out a perfect cast was priceless and commenting after words on how much fun it was. They all thought it was going to be hard, but after Brian and i took the time to explain on how easy it was with some practise and patience, I can now see more fly fisherman in the works, so what out boys here comes the Women of the NRA.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 09/23/10

2010-09-23T04:49:00.000-04:00

Steelhead are starting to move up the Catt as we speak with fish being caught up into gowanda, not great numbers, but enough to get the blood moving.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 09/19/10

2010-09-19T17:43:00.000-04:00

I went to my cabin to do something small fixes and to go fishing. The Genny was low, but cold and the fish were taking a variety of flies including caddis, blue wing olives, white mayflies and midges. I did catch a few before i had to get back to work, and the weather was perfect.

WNY Fly Fishing Deer Pics

2010-08-23T17:56:00.000-04:00

I put out my trail cam to see if i can catch something big by my stand and i found these guys hanging around.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 08/14/10

2010-08-14T15:25:00.000-04:00

I went to Oatka Creek today with Luke, Andy and Jessie, to tangle with Trico's and trout. The surface fishing was very tough!!!!, so we went to nymphing and it paid off big time. the nymphs i used were small black midge pupa's size 22 with a pearl bead and size 20 Hares Ear's in natural and olive.

WNY Fly Fishing Temperatures for Trout

2010-08-13T16:58:00.000-04:00

I know that they like cold water, but what is the coldest temperature that they will live in? what is the highest?
Rainbow trout: 44 - 75 (61 optimal)

Steelhead: 38 - 48 (52 optimal)

Brown trout: 44 - 75 (55 - 65 optimal)

Brook trout: 44 - 70 (58 optimal)

Lake trout: 42 - 59 (50 optimal)
Temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit.

Most trout exhibit reduced activity (feeding, predator avoidance, growth, migration, spawning, etc.) when at or outside their temperature tolerance levels. Obviously, acute exposure to very high or low temperatures will kill a trout, but most trout can live for some period of time in temperatures slightly too high or too low. It's long-term exposure to such conditions that degrades their ability to survive and reproduce. Most fish need a pretty tight comfort zone to really thrive, grow, reproduce.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 08/3/10

2010-08-03T19:36:00.000-04:00

Well the dogs days are here and so are the Trico's!!!! these madding little devils drive us nuts and also reward those who are patient and sneaky.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 07/10/10

2010-07-12T20:35:00.000-04:00

I went this weekend to chase our warm water friends and give the trout a well deserved rest with this heat wave. The fishing was slow, but i managed a few bass and one very lg golden trout about 10lbs. I caught fish on the Spring Creek Special, and Mirrored Minnows.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 07/7/10

2010-07-07T20:39:00.000-04:00

The hot weather is here and try to let the our cold water friends have a break and go after the warm water critters. I'll be chasing bass as of this weekend , so i post conditions and what is going on.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 06/28/10

2010-06-29T06:50:00.000-04:00

I finally got Luke to come down to my favorite part of the world to sample some fishing, and the old girl didn't lets us down. The day started off foggy, but as it warmed up the fishing got better and better, we had small BWO's and black caddis coming off. The brown trout were on the caddis big time!!! we put a dropper behind it and slowly moved upwards as it was emerging and they crushed it.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 06/21/10

2010-06-21T08:17:00.000-04:00

All of the creeks should be back to normal for now, it looks like summer temps will be upon us, so be careful about fishing now.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 06/10/10

2010-06-10T16:09:00.000-04:00

The creeks are still muddy, but dropping fast we should be able to hit them in a couple of days. The main hatches to watch for are as follows Sulphers, March browns, Grey fox, Yellow Stones, Caddis and of course BWO's on cooler overcast days.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 06/06/10

2010-06-06T13:12:00.000-04:00

Most of the streams are unfishable do to the massive amount of rain we got last night, check gages in the area that you want to fish to see if your stream came up.

WNY Fly Fishing Report 06/01/10

2010-06-01T20:27:00.000-04:00

This pic says it all, THANK YOU
to all those that have served and those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for us all

WNY Fly Fishing Report 05/30/10

2010-05-30T10:23:00.000-04:00

I went to the upper Catt sat morning to get out and play. The weather was cool and slightly breezy so the hatches should go on for a little longer than usual, caddis were hatching very well and the fish eager to pounce on them. I caught a bunch of browns, but the rainbows came out in full force putting on aerial displays that make them famous. Swinging wet flies is a lost art that everyone should get back into, the take is electric!!!!

WNY Fly Fishing Report 05/25/10

2010-05-25T07:42:00.000-04:00

All of the creeks are in good shape, bugs of choice are as follows: Caddis, Sulphers, BWO, March Browns, and Grey Fox the later will come off more in the up-coming days.

WNY Trout Camp 5/21/10

2010-05-23T19:47:00.000-04:00

I took bill out to fish my most favorite stream in WNY, well to put it bill modesty he put on a clinic. The water was a little high, but in great shape, the water temperature was 55 and the skies semi clear and clouding up throughout the day. It took some time to figure out what they wanted, the old stand by BH Hares Ear in size 12 dead drifted just off the bottom. The caddis hatch was very good and bill took his first fish on a dry. I’ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking, oh by the way Bill got the inland grand slam (Rainbow trout,Brown trout, Brook trout).

WNY Fly Fishing Report 05/15/10

2010-05-16T10:58:00.000-04:00

My choices for going out this weekend were down to only one Spring Creek, so off I went with Lucas Carroll and his friends. The morning was cold and very windy, but livable and the fish were happy to take our offerings. The Midges filled the sky and our lungs, the only ones that didn’t mind were the spiders and toads that lined the banks and they were fat from the feast of the night before. These fish are absolutely gorgeous and great fighters, we managed to fool them on a bunch of different flies from all of our boxes. Lucas and Andy used midge larva patterns down to size 30 and I used P.T.’s and B.W.O. emerger patterns in sizes 18 to 20. We caught about 2 dozen fish for the day, all in all a great trip despite the wind and colder temps.