Mad River June 24, 2011

Trout on the Mad from Mike McNeese on Vimeo.

My buddy Mike and I were finally able to hit the river this week. The water is running twice as fast as it normally would this time of the year. We fished from 5pm until almost dark. We did see quite a few may flies, but I never saw a fish rise to any of them. There is just so much water for this time of year.
We both managed to land a few trout. The trout fought great in the high, cold water. I am always amazed at how well even the smaller Mad River browns fight. All of the fish came on a Copper John fished under a Goddard Caddis. It is not my favorite way to fish, but it was very effective for the water we fished.
Mike tried out his new HD underwater camera. The footage isn't perfect, but it is pretty neat to see this camera at work. It was great to finally share some time on the river with a good friend, some nice weather, and a few willing fish.

Clear Creek April 2, 2011

It has been way too long between outing. Life has become hectic and seems to get in the way at times. There has been much turmoil in the family and it is all justified. I needed a break, but I was hesitant to leave. It took very little coaxing from my lovely wife to convince me that I should go.
The weather seemed somewhat unsettled. It has almost been a reflection of my life. Sunny one minute and dreary the next. Today would be no different.A quick text to my buddy Mike and we were soon on our way to local water.


Clear Creek is not my favorite Ohio trout stream, but it is close. There has been much debate as to the fishery's viability. Poaching, warm tempratures, and low summer flows have lead to many debates on the sustainability of this water shed. I am not one to complain, but the stream seems to lack the promise of trout larger than ten inches. I refer to the stream as a pacifier for other places with more promise. However...
What Clear Creek lacks in leviathon browns it makes up for in scenery. The stream always seems to allow me the feeling that I have left the state for some place more peaceful or exotic.
We moved trout all day and experienced a gammit of weather conditions that ranged fro warm sun to heavy sleet and hail. It was a fantastic day with a few fish landed and many more that teased us to return.

Morgan

When I was a boy I would cry every time my father left to go trout fishing. It was painful knowing that he was leaving to go do something that I loved. In Western Pennsylvania, trout fishing was as much a part of spring as the robins or the spring peepers. I was blessed to grow up within walking distance of a trout stream and enjoyed that luxury throughout my upbringing.I caught my first trout when I was two.I had my first fly rod when I was six. My springtime's revolved around that stream and those trout, but I would it hurt when he left without me.
I have to admit that I have not done a very good job in sharing my hobbies with my children. Don't get me wrong, my kids both love to fish, but I have left them behind on many of my own stream excursions. There are so many memories to be made and I want to make sure that we make those memories together.
So today Morgan and I headed for the backyard to do a little fly casting practice. No water or current to deal with. We did have some wind. This is not the first time she has casted a fly rod, but I wanted this to be quality instruction. I want her to be able to fish a good hatch and catch fish on the surface. She was awesome.
Morgan is our musician. She has a gifted ear and her rhythm is impeccable. She also a great student. She is a natural with the fly rod and was soon shooting line all over the back yard.




After a good twenty minute lesson, I asked her if she would like to tie a fly or two. She was excited and ready to go. When she was little she would sit on my lap and play at the vice. She loved making all kind of crazy pieces of artwork there. The material boxes were more like craft boxes, but this time she was ready for a little more serious time at the vice.
We decided to tie a "green weenie," a Pennsylvania favorite attractor nymph. She once again proved to be a great student. She was so eager and even apologetic.


It was an awesome morning and a wonderful experience to share with such a lovely young lady. I look forward to more practice and to sharing time with her on the water soon.I love you Babe! I know, I know, I am going to have to do something about her choice of fishing hats.

Clear Creek 2011

The weather here in Ohio has finally taken a turn for the better. It has been a long cold winter to this point and there has been a great deal of ice and snow on most of the local waters. A delightful mid-February thaw has melted both the ice and snow and began the annual burning desire to find fish with my fly rod.The weather was a balmy 45 degrees with plenty of sunshine and a light breeze.

I quickly tied a few of my favorite mid-winter flies and took the twenty minute drive south to Clear Creek. This is a nice drive even when the fishing is poor. This is as wild as we get here in Ohio. I have never caught many big fish here, but is always cures my cabin fever and gives me the feeling of being someplace more wild and exotic.

I dressed and rigged up and soon heard the familiar sound of water swishing through my legs. It is a sound that never gets old and continues to take my back to the days of my youth. It is a sound that reminds my of my grandmother and her love as she watched me fish along the banks of her stream in Pennsylvania. A sound that reminds me of the two miles walk to the same stream as it flowed in through the mountains of West Virginia. I miss those days and those fish.
The shade of the valley made me wish I had worn gloves. The fishing this time of year is slow and methodical. It is more about slogging the water than it is the wispy, delicate casts of the dry fly. It will suffice in quenching my thirst for fishing.I did manage to see quite a few midges hatching, but not enough to bring anything to the surface to feed.

I soon hooked and lost a nice holdover right at the surface. The winters rust was disappointing. After finding a fisherman in my favorite run, I moved back up stream and caught my first brown of the year. A giant 6" fish. Good things come is small packages.

The rest of the afternoon found more people and a few chubs. Most of my favorite places had people already fishing there. I will be back to explore again soon. It was a beautiful day that afforded me the pleasure of fishing once more.

Steelhead!

Today, Coach Miller and I headed north to the Rocky River. We were up early and on the road before 6am. After a stop at McDonalds, we were soon suited up and headed for the running waters of the Rocky.
I have to say that the Cleveland Metro Parks are incredible. As a Steeler fan, it is hard for me to find anything nice to say about Cleveland, but the parks are the best I have ever seen.
Coach and I fished the Cedar Point area of the park and I hooked up on a large white sucker that fought like a champ. Sorry, I do not take pictures of suckers! After hammering a section of riffles, we decided to head up-stream and above the crowds of fisherman. We soon found solitude and a fish.
We fished hard for several hours and found a few more suckers and sevral chubs, but a cold front seemed to shut the fish down. I would like to explore more of the upper reaches of this system during a weekday.
It was a good day spent with a good fishing buddy.

The Mad River

My buddy Mike and I needed to cure a little cabin fever. We decided to head to one of our favorite places here in Ohio, the Mad River. It was the first weekend in over a month that the temperatures were above freezing. We decided to brave the possibilities of rain and head for the river.
We arrived at the river at 11am and quickly suited up for some cold weather wading. We could have never even parked without a 4x4 vehicle. The water in winter looks very different than it does in the summer and spring.
We started off throwing nymphs and buggers. After an hour of nothing, I spotted some fish sipping midges. There were midges all over the snow and they were hatching and slow to come off of the water. The fish were very active and steadily sipping. I gave mike a size 24 Griffith's gnat and he was soon into position and casting to rising fish.
On Mike's third cast, a fish slurped up his midge and the fight was soon over. The feisty little brown was soon posing for a picture and back for another swim. It was my turn.
I tied on a 24 parachute midge and was in position for my turn at some winter dry fly fishing. After missing several takes, I soon found a Mad River brown on the end of my line. It was a great way to start the year and a great way to spend a warmer winter's day. I look forward to a return trip soon.

Hunting

It has been a long couple of weeks. Grades closed and kept me busy. I have had some highs and lows in the woods as well. Halloween night found me in a stand on one of my favorite farms. I saw 12 deer that evening and managed to shoot over the back of a very nice 10 point.Since then the deer movement on that farm has shut down. It seems that if you have hot does on your farm you are seeing bucks. My farms feel like ghost towns.
I did have a chance to finally hunt a favortie farm last night. It was great to visit with the farmer and catch up. Most farmers are good , hardworking folks and George is no exception. I will make a better effort to get back there. I saw one small buck chasing a doe, but had a great time hunting and visiting with old friends.