A tradition continues with a little help from a friend.

Every summer begins the same way. Since I bought the Gemma Rose after my daughter was born, and continuing with the Gemma Rose II, the first official day of my summer vacation has been spent out on the water in pursuit of tranquility and a few stripers. Regardless of the weather or what ever else is ongoing, that first day following my final teacher work day of the school year you will find me doing the same thing. It's my own, quiet way of celebrating another year in the books, far removed from any kids and officially launching two months off that are sure to make my wife jealous. Let's face it, any teacher that claims this isn't one of the best perks of the job is lying, particularly if they love to fish. The day begins well before the sun rises, and every year has produced at least a keeper striper, a streak of which I'm quite proud.

My streak was put in jeopardy this year by a deer that decided to leap a guard rail early in the a.m. as I drove in for one of my last days of school. Any streak that deer had ended then and there, and my truck is still in the collision repair center, leaving me with a boat far from water. Fortunately, by buddy Rich, whom I have fished with on many occasions on the Gemma Rose II, invited me out to fish with him.

The weather forecasts called for winds and torrential rain by mid-morning, and the fishing has been very hit or miss to say the least. I could have cared less, because I was still fishing! I met up with Rich at 4:30am and we drove down to the launch and put our game plan into action. That plan was to run about 20 minutes from our launch, looking for bait and hitting a few spots along the way. If we couldn't locate any bunker, we'd work back to the launch, pull the boat and head to location B.  It didn't take long before we were marking fish and bringing in small schoolies both on the 7.5" Plum Island Pearl White River Eels I was throwing, and the 5.5" Lunker City Fin-S (both proudly made locally) that Rich was throwing in Sexy Shiner.  As our plan wasn't to catch schoolies, we continued to move in search of bunker.

Looking back a few seasons in my logs, this should have been an easy task, but this season has started out a little different. Despite quite a bit of looking, and with the aid of side imaging, we didn't mark any bunker, so we stuck with the plan to work back, focusing on several spots we knew would hold fish. I'm OK with this, as throwing top water is my preferred method hands down. Nothing beats the thrill of watching a big striper explode on an artificial, gripping the rod and waiting to come tight and set the hook.

We continued to mark and catch fish, but none breaking 28", and many not much bigger than adult bunker. That said, they were pretty ambitious, repeatedly hammering baits half their size. Sick of short strikes, I was looking to downsize when Rich's rod doubled over and his fish started pulling line. After a good fight, he boated a beautiful 40" fish sporting a few sea lice as evidence of having arrived after a long migratory journey. Forget the little stuff, I threw on my 9" Doc lure and started the slow, walk the dog retrieve. I had a big blow up but no hook set, and a few casts later, boated a nice fish just over keeper size. We continued to work the area, but the results were more smaller fish.

One Golden Rule of fishing is never switch from a lure that's producing (I did), and another is don't leave fish to find fish. We were going to break both of these today. Despite the 40" fish, we decided to pack up and make the move to location B. We'd had good early am intel on bunker, and were hoping some big fish would be hot on them. By the time we dropped the boat back in, the sky was turning increasingly grey, and the rain was beginning to fall. We quickly found the bunker, but generally in water too deep for our cast net, so we set to snagging, leaving some fish to struggle on the snag and dropping others down on a three way rig.  It wasn't too long before I hooked a fish that measured just a bit over 31" and the drizzle turned into a steady, heavy rain.

Despite our best efforts, we weren't getting any more takers, and the tide was going completely slack. The rain was relentless, and we made a move to a new location where I'd caught some of my largest fish last season, including a 46", 40+lber. We threw the bunker back out and just allowed them to free swim, resulting in a few boils but no takers. I hooked my Doc back on and gave it a heave.  A few slow side to side glides, and a large striper knocked it into the air and then latched on. I buried the hook, felt several violent shakes, and then the plug popped free. I'm sure there were a few expletives as I continued the retrieve, but then I saw the fish coming back and hitting again, following and hitting yet again. Still, I didn't hook up. I shook my head as I told Rich I wasn't sure how I missed that one, until I looked down at my plug again. The 4/0 VMC treble hook and triple split ring were nowhere to be found. I just had the single siwash bucktail in the rear left.  The power of these fish never ceases to amaze me.

By this time I was soaked through and felt like a drowned rat. Did I mention that my dry bag with my light weight Gage raingear was in my truck at the collision repair center? I'd thought it was too warm for Gore-Tex or heavy Grundens, opting instead for Frogg Toggs. Frogg Toggs are great for that unexpected shower, not so much for 3 hours of steady, heavy rain. We decided to call it a day and headed back to the ramp. While I'm still in search of my first monster of the season, thanks to Rich, I can celebrate another perfect start to my summer vacation!

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A Great Read - Hatteras Blues: A Story from the Edge of America by Tom Carlson

The days are getting shorter, the weather snottier, and opportunities to get out and fish the salt water are quickly dwindling. Before too long, the New England winter will be descending, and I will begin a protracted battle with cabin fever and a longing to head back south. Occasionally, I may sneak in a trip, but more than likely I'll be holed up, hoping for an early spring. It's a great time to get in a few books, and I love a good story centered around the sea. Several years ago I picked up Hatteras Blues: A Story from the Edge of America by Tom Carlson. It's the story of a place I love, where my own family connections run back generations.  It's the story of the birth of sportfishing in the Outer Banks, as a local Ernal Foster decided their might just be something in taking folks out to fish charters. My Aunt Betts was the first woman to land a marlin fishing out of the OBX aboard the Albatross with Capt. Ernal in the early 50s. The book chronicles the history of what was a tiny, isolated village and its people, tied to the sea, and it's evolution into one of the sport fishing capitals of North America. Hatteras Blues is a nautical history of perseverance in the face of war, natural disasters and changing times, the struggle of a traditional way of life dependent on the seas against times that seek to bulldoze the past and replace it with McMansions. Tom Carlson has written a page turner that follows the Foster family through all of this. I loved this book and it instilled in me a need to get back down to the OBX and take a trip with Capt. Ernie, now himself in his 70s, to capture a bit of a bygone era of fishing, which is a whole other story!  If you're going to be holed up for a spell this winter, give Hatteras Blues: A Story from the Edge of America a read.  I think you'll enjoy it.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BOOK STORES!!!

https://www.duckscottage.com/book/9780807871225

http://albatrossfleet.com/home.html

Shady Rays - Cool Shades That Look Great And Won't Break the Bank

Shades are a must whenever I'm on the water, regardless of conditions. I need protection from glare and wind, against sharp objects, and bug impacts at high speeds.

:(

I've gone through dozens of brands from cheap stuff like Booyah's and Calcuttas (Florida - when I left ALL my shades back home) to Maui Jims and Costas. Finding a pair that fits my big mellon, provides wrap coverage and doesn't slip or fog, while meeting the aforementioned criteria is tough. The high end glasses keep going up in price while their customer service goes down. When it comes to shades, I don't have a great track record. I've placed more than one pair on the brim of my hat, only to take my hat off at 30-40mph. I've lost them in the boat, finding them scratched to hell days or weeks later. Sometimes, I just never know what became of them. I came across Shady Rays (https://shadyrays.com

) from a friend online, as they were preparing to launch their X-Series wrap glasses. The $45 price tag and the free replacement program caught my attention. I figured that even as a spare pair or two for the boat, if they were half way decent and with my history, I'd give them a try. I contacted the company, and they sent me the X-Series Emerald and Infrared Polarized glasses out ahead of their end of May release. I've been wearing them for the last two weeks, and I have to say, have been pretty pleased. They provide clear visibility comparable to glasses twice the price, with decent polarization, and that was comparing them to Orvis/Zeiss lenses that cost three times as much (which I scratched by dropping in the Salmon River, NY). The frames wrapped well providing great, non-slip coverage while underway on the boat. Both of the Shady Ray lenses are best suited for bright sunlight. I'd like to see an amber lens for low light, stream fishing. Maybe they'll consider this at some point down the road. I hate to admit it, but I did manage to scratch a pair already (hat thing), and Shady Ray's response was, "if the scratches bother you just let us know and we can send you one of your replacement pairs." So if you want a pair of good glasses that won't break the bank, check out Shady Rays.

Shady Ray's X-Series $45
www.shadyrays.com

https://www.facebook.com/WearShadyRays
• Sport frame with strong grip made for high speeds. Great for running, hiking and climbing, watersports, and other high impact activities.
• Durable matte black wrap-around frame with soft touch finish
• HD Polarized Emerald Green Mirror Lenses for crystal clear visibility without glare - razor thin and shatter-resistant with UV400 protection
• Includes Microfiber Cleansing Pouch
• Free Replacement if Lost or Broken for life (just pay S+H, max 2 per pair purchased)
• Free Standard Shipping
• Completely Free, Easy Returns if not 100% satisfied
• Every order provides 11 meals to those most in need of food in the U.S. through Feeding America

‪#‎ShadyRays‬ ‪#‎RedneckAngler‬

November and a Return to Steelheads

About the time the leaves start dropping and the migratory salt water species are beginning to head south to the Chesapeake or west to their Hudson winter grounds, I start getting the itch to fish steelheads. October Salmon Madness has begun to subside, and beautiful chrome steelhead are filling into the Lake Ontario tributaries to winter over. As much as I love striper fishing, I'm ready for a change of pace.   

My love of steelhead on the fly began as I was searching for a winter fix a few years after moving up from Virginia. I read an article in On the Water on my now friend Scott Glazier who described a winter fishery in Upstate NY for those willing to wade in sub-freezing and sometimes sub-zero weather to catch a species I'd never targeted. I thought, "What the hell else am I going to do up here in December."  So I convinced my brother Doug, his old college roommate John and my buddy Dan to join me up in Altmar, NY.  Needless to say, I was hooked, and now take several trips a season up, starting in November right through the spring run. Over the years, Doug and Dan have continued to travel north with me, as have a few other friends to try their hand at landing these silver rockets on the fly or light tackle. 

I've had the first weekend in November circled on my calendar for quite some time.  While last year's run saw the Salmon and other rivers choked with steelhead, the bite never really took off as many dying fish soon had biologist scratching their heads. A diagnosis of a thiamine deficiency was eventually determined to be the likely cause, but regardless, my fishing suffered. (http://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-sports/article/Steelhead-mystery-cleared-up-6065615.php). My hope is that this season will see an improvement in the fishing.

All of the reports from late October into the first week in November, from the DSR to OTW and various guide sites, indicated erratic fishing at best. This is a highly pressured fishery as well, so lower numbers of fish combined with the increasing popularity of the location in early November can make for tough days. However, having just fished up here since  2010, I can hardly blame others for what is sometimes described as combat fishing (I did tell Scott that it's all his fault for his articles in On the Water and Field and Stream, as well as the TV episodes he's featured in).     

 

Scott wanted to get an early start Saturday morning, as prime location often determines who catches and who doesn't.  Reports had folks getting into their spots in the Altmar fly only zone by 2:30am, and we were on the water in our location well before sunrise.  Scott's knowledge and daily experience paid off and we had the early am bite while those around us got to watch.  It was literally a matter of a few yards of real estate separating catching from not.  The fish were nice and fresh and I had half a dozen shots in the early morning hours. We hit in a few more spots down the river and I got to see a lot of my backing. While some will argue that after years of fishing the river, a guide is really unnecessary, for me when fishing in a limited window and on a scattered bite, the knowledge that a local like Scott provides is priceless. Despite what some reports might say about the day, I can promise you that we had 4-5x the hookups of anyone fishing within sight, and most anglers, as I said, were just watching and hoping we would get bored catching fish and were hovering like vultures.     

Sunday morning didn't leave much time, but my brother and I walked in and managed a couple of hook-ups in the upper section. I'm already jonesing for a return trip! Bring on the cold!  

Northern Road Trip

Danny and I had a great fishing road trip to upstate NY. With my boat out of action and Doug coming up to fish, we went to a Plan B - fishing Lake Ontario. I've never fished out on the lake, and thought this would be a fun change of pace. Doug and I are each about 4-1/2 hours drive time from Oswego, NY. Of course Danny and I had to find a new diner for lunch on the way, stopping at Crazy Otto's Empire Diner. We arrived at Feeder Creek Lodge in the mid-afternoon, and after getting settled, headed out for some smallie fishing on the Salmon River. We met up with Uncle Doug at Eddie's for dinner. Today we fished with Capt. Bill VanWormer/Lucky Dutchman Charters. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day or better company that Capt. Bill and his grandson Dylan. Yesterday's conditions were described as a washing machine and a non-existent bite, and the wind is supposed to build back tomorrow and Tuesday. We hit a nice window and landed some fish, lost a few. Doug's 23lb. king was the high hook for the day. Watching him bring it in with 500ft. of line out was fun! Danny was ready to relieve him if he wussed out. Ad Danny said afterward, "Dad, this was a whole lot of fun." I can't ask for better than that.

$6.66

That's how much our two coffees at the Shell station range up as at 3:30 a.m. this morning. The clerk laughed about the devil's number. Should we just buy something else? No, the die had been cast. I joked to Jeff that if we slammed the fish, I'd have to buy $6.66 worth of coffee every morning. We put in at Baldwin Bridge and I tied up as the place was empty, filling my live well and checking out some of the new lighting I had installed. After ten minutes, we began to motor slowly down river. Passing under the bridge, we headed towards North Cove to look for bunker.

I was running slow until the sky started to lighten more to the east and I could better see the water surface. Having had the worst luck this season with submerged objects in the river, I was in no hurry. By the time we were three quarters of a mile below the bridge, I throttled up with no response. My stern was sitting alarmingly low in the water. Had I put the two plugs in before we left? Yes, I had left them in after yesterday and seen both in before launching. I immediately turned on both bilges, the second having been installed earlier in the season as I was worried about just having one and a hand bilge. We were taking on water rapidly, and my fear was a blown connection in the live well system. Jeff started working the Whale Gusher hand bilge and I turned straight in to shore, praying we could make it up on the flats above North Cove and beach. We were holding our own against the water as we approached the flats. The tide was nearing the top of the flood and as we made the edge of the flats, I slammed a rock with my prop, shearing it off. I knew they were in the area, but it was dark and priority #1 had been to get to shallow water before swamping. I threw out the anchor and went overboard into the waist deep water. My prop was gone, and to my surprise, so was one of the rear plugs. We were at least making headway against the flooding, so I retrieved a spare plug and put it in place. The only explanation I can come up with is that I had unscrewed one of the two plugs yesterday to see if there was any water and perhaps didn't fully tighten it, allowing it to work loose and pop out as we motored down river. If we had been taking on water since the time we launched, I wouldn't have made it 100 yards off the dock.

We were dry again within a few minutes and sitting three hundred yards above North Cove. The tide was still moving in, but nearing slack. I dropped my stern mounted trolling motor and kept my fingers crossed that it could get us back up river before the tide started out. It was no small irony that this was the first time I had brought the trolling motor along in the last month or two. Slogging back up river was going to take forever, so I told Jeff to go ahead and fish. He did manage a schoolie and a few swirls on a top water plug. The Gemma Rose II avoided the skunk! It was touch and go getting past the railroad bridge and up towards Baldwin Bridge as the tide had started to flow out, but we eventually managed to get back to the dock without calling Boats US.

The lost prop was not a big deal, as it was dinged up and a replacement is already sitting in the garage. I get to fish quite a bit, so there's always next weekend. I feel terrible for Jeff, with whom I haven't been able to get out on the water all season as he's always working his ass off. I really hope we get a few more chances before the end of the season.

Obviously, I'll be checking not only that the plugs are in, but also double checking that they are tight. The second lesson is that a spare prop isn't very useful sitting in my garage. Finally, if the morning coffee rings up to $6.66, just turn around, go home and go back to sleep.

PS - Think of how much worse it could have been if there was a banana on board!

Take Me Home Country Road (or I81)

For the first time in nearly forty years, I wouldn't be returning "home" to Fredericksburg, VA. My mom sold her house and moved to Massanutten, a ski area in the Shenandoah Valley outside of Harrisonburg, VA. As we packed to make the drive From Connecticut down 81, my kids were excited to visit Nana's new home with pools, go carts, a waterpark and more to attract the summer crowds. I was thinking about fishing.

As luck would have it, Massanutten Mountain is tucked away amidst some of the best freshwater fishing in the Mid-Atlantic, if not the eastern seaboard.  The Shenandoah River and tributaries are home to large and smallmouth bass, musky, panfish and trout. Spring fed mountain creeks throughout the area offer trout fishing year round. Water from deep within a network of underground limestone aquifers ensure cool waters despite the hot summer days.  The state Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/) stock many accessible waterways, while other more remote areas hold populations of wild brook trout. I could reach any of these destinations within ten to thirty minutes of Massanutten.

My mind was on fishing long before reaching Virginia, as the Hamburg PA Cabela's is located just off interstate 78 at about the halfway point of the journey. A 5am departure from central Connecticut meant that we missed any potential rush hour traffic around the Tappan Zee Bridge and arrived in Hamburg around 8:30, half an hour before opening and in time for breakfast. Don't bother with any of the fast food options nearby, but head about 2 miles into the town itself to the Hamburg Diner (http://www.yelp.com/biz/hamburg-diner-hamburg). The short drive between the diner and Cabela's takes you right along the upper Schuylkill River and a linear trail. It looked pretty fishy. As tempting as it was to wet a line, my ultimate destination was another four hours south in Virginia. We'd already crossed the Delaware and would later cross and run along the Susquehanna River and the Upper Potomac River separating Maryland and West Virginia.

The Shenandoah River is actually a tributary of the Potomac. The North Fork begins way up in the mountains near Bergton, VA, flowing east and then north east through the lush, rolling valley before joining Smith Creek in Mt. Jackson near the Shenandoah Caverns. The North River and South River join to form the South Fork of the Shenandoah in Port Republic. This branch flows north east parallel to the North Fork, separated by a small range including Massanutten. These two branches merge in Front Royal before joining the Potomac. The hundreds of smaller feeder creeks and streams present a lifetime of fishing possibilities.

The river meanders through rolling farmland, broken by the occasional set of riffles and class 1 rapids. Click the link for a list of put-ins and descriptions along the South Fork. http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/waterbodies/display.asp?id=173&section=maps 

The last stop on our road trip, and first of my fishing trip, was Mossy Creek Fly Fishing (http://mossycreekflyfishing.com), the go to fly shop in the area and an excellent source for local information. I picked up some beetle and emerger patterns that had been producing locally, as well as a few other odds and ends.  

Now, I've traveled up to this area countless times to visit friends, while my brother attended JMU (on the extended plan), and to visit my grandfather who lives in Bridgewater. I'd just never really had the opportunity to get in much fishing. This trip I would have five mornings to pack in as much as I could. I'd brought along my yak, a ton of both fly and spinning gear, anything I could think I might possibly need. The tough decisions were really going to be based around what to fish and how to fit in as much as possible around family commitments. The weather had been rather sketchy, with thunderstorms every afternoon and a lot of flooding in some of the smaller creeks.

Fifteen minutes after my 4:30am alarm, I hopped in my truck which was ready and waiting with my yak and gear, and was putting in on the South Fork in the town of Shenandoah above a small dam by the time the sky was getting light. Without a chase vehicle, I was limited by a return trip, so I set off up river casting at blow downs here and there along the way. I threw some big swim baits and spinners, hoping to attract a musky with no luck. I landed a few smaller largemouth on senkos. A mile or so up river I ran into the first set of rapids and decided to get out of the yak and fish for some smallmouth. Over the next hour I landed half a dozen small fish before needing to head back down to make a lunch gathering at my grandfather's in Bridgewater. 

The scenic Shenandoah River provides excellent paddling and fishing opportunities, particularly if you an arrange for a drop off. 

Bridgewater is a small college town located just 10-15 miles south of Harrisonburg, bordered by the Dry and North Rivers, and a few miles from Mossy Creek. After lunch and a few hours at my grandfather's, I decided to do a little scouting rather than head back to Massanutten. It was mid-afternoon on a hot day, so my expectations weren't high, but I wanted to get the lay of the land. To fish Mossy Creek, you have to get a special permit giving you "public" access to private property thanks to an agreement by the landowners and TU.  Anglers are limited to fly only, and this privilege is based on the continued respect for the rules shown by those who fish here. I scouted the more accessible lower meadows section as well as the upper access off Kyle's Mill Rd. While I did a bit of casting, I was mostly looking, taking in the scenery and well as a few photographs. My game plan was to return here Friday for a shot at some of the big browns and bows it is so well know for.  

Wednesday morning came, and I was up early again, grabbing coffee and ham biscuits at Sheetz, this time heading west on 33, past Harrisonburg and towards the West Virginia line to fish up in the Shenandoah National Forest and the Dry River for wild brook trout. According to the US Forest Service, the Dry River is one of the most densely populated brook trout rivers on the eastern seaboard, with your typical fish in the 8-10" range and some caught up to 14". There's a ton of access along 33 north of Rawley Springs, and most of the places that look fishy hold fish. Fishing a 2wt setup, I landed beautiful little brookies in most of the pools I fished and all types of top water presentations from ants, and beetles to emergers.   These little fish were super aggressive, slamming anything that came across them, regardless of size. What a fun morning!

Thursday was a trip I'd been looking forward to since earlier this spring. I would finally get an chance to take my 10 year old son Danny out on the James River with my friend Capt. Jim Garrett for a shot at some true river monsters. This meant a 4:00am departure from his marina in Hopewell, VA, and an even earlier 1:30 one from Massanutten. Danny shuffled to the truck and was soon back to sleep. My son loves fishing for channel cats in CT, having landed some nice double digit fish, and was super excited for this trip. When we arrived at four, he was ready to go. We made a run down river to a location that had yielded several citation fish for me on previous trips, and set up to fish. It wasn't too long before Danny was reeling in his first blue cat. By the time the sun was up over the horizon, he'd landed four fish, and the hours were taking a toll on him. I promised to wake him if anything exciting happened, and he was soon fast asleep on the couch seat. Those four fish were it. The bite just shut down. We tried several more locations over the next five hours with no luck. Danny just slept in the sun, not stirring much until we started back in.  I told him he didn't miss much, to which he replied that's Jim's couch was way more comfortable than the beanbag on the Gemma Rose II. We didn't land any river monsters, but in Danny's words, "This trip was awesome!" That's all I needed to hear.   

Friday morning was my final day to fish, and I was headed out to Mossy Creek. I was there before sunrise and had the entire place to myself. In fact, I had not fished any of the trout streams with another angler the entire trip. It was pretty obvious that all of the rain over the past several weeks had really raised and clouded the water from the previous Tuesday. Mossy Creek, fed by underground limestone streams, had turned a milky white. I fished the entire meadow sections for a few hours, seeing only two fish break the surface. Despite throwing everything in my arsenal, I had no takers. While it was disappointing not to land one of the trophy browns the creek is famous for, it was a beautiful morning none the less. You can be sure that I will be back up next spring. 

My dive back to Massanutten reminded me of some of the other things I love and miss so much living up in Connecticut. Of course I had to stop by Mossy Creek Fly Fishing again, and as I left driving east on 33, I stopped less than a mile up the road in front of the Tractor Supply to get some BBQ from Via & Via Catering, who are set up Fridays and Saturdays roadside. Now, you just don't see much good roadside BBQ up here in CT. If you are ever down fishing in the Valley and stopping by Mossy Creek, don't be tempted to eat in any of those nearby fast food joints. Get ya' some good BBQ!  I had a tender brisket sandwich with a nice bark on the outside of the meat. Mmmm. Bev and Herm "Bootie" Via  had sides including mac and cheese, collard greens, beans and more. The sandwich wouldn't be complete without some of Herm's Bootie Sauce. I could eat this stuff every day! What a way to finish up a week of fishing.

                                        Herm "Bootie" Via with his sauce and a happy customer.

My kids can't wait to get back down to Nana's new playground, and with hundreds of miles of streams left to fish and a trophy brown still to land, neither can I.

CHECK OUT:

Mossy Creek Fly Fishing

Via & Via Catering (Facebook)
Harrisonburg Tourism Department

If you're planning a trip down the fish this area, note that permits are available online from the DGIF. Not only will you need a freshwater license, but also a trout license for all stocked bodies of water between  October 1 and June 15. A further National Forest permit is needed to fish the federal lands in the Shenandoah National Park (which holds some of the best wild trout). Information can be found at http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/regulations/licenses.asp#fees. Additionally, local access rules may vary from stream to stream, so check at Mossy Creek Fly Fishing.