The Mad..dening River 9/25

I took a solo trip to the river yesterday (mistake number one!) I should have taken one or both of the kids! I felt guilty for that the entire trip. Mike was unable to go, so I tried to video some myself (mistake number 2!) Trying to film and cast (mistake number 3!) was next to impossible for me. Between the wind and the camera, I  was a mess.
The river was gin clear and much busier than I thought it would be for the opening weekend of bow season.I had hoped for some color to the creek, but I was greatly disappointed. I started the trip with a stop at the Macochee. I moved a couple of fish and the grasshoppers were ridiculous, but the water was soon muddied by a group doing a stream survey. I have never even seen another person fish this stream, but there were guys gearing up when I got back to the car.
I then swung past Pimtown, but again there were two cars parked there. I went down stream a little further and found some willing trout, but the clear water and falling leaves made for some pretty touchy fish. I did manage to see a couple fo really nice fish, but they were very skittish. One was a beautiful male that was all colored up for his fall mating ritual. I was happy to see such a large healthy fish in this section of the river.

I soon found myself stopping at the Route 29 bridge. There were five cars there and two more people pulled in to launch canoes. I managed one more decent fish here in a familiar spot and soon my afternoon was finished.
I managed a little footage, but I am not sure that I have anything usable. I will hand it over to Mike and see if he can work some magic. On a brighter note, I did catch two on a hopper. They were not very large, but they smacked that big fly.

"My Time on the Mountain" Article

After my trip to Colorado and Rocky Mountain National Park, I blogged about the entire trip. My good buddy Steve Schweitzer follows the blog and asked me to write a destination article for a website he co-owns. He gave me some details about what he was looking for and asked me to submit the article along with some pictures to the globalflyfisher website. I was more than happy to share and looked forward to the opportunity to publish an article.
The article itself was very similar to the blog posts. However, advice on what to take, flies to fish, and what to expect overall were added. I am pretty pleased with the article, but there were a few errors that I missed and wished that I had edited better. It was a very cool experience and one that I hope to repeat in the near future. 
If I could just get some one to pay for me to go on a trip and write another article...
If you want to check it out, you can find it at: http://www.globalflyfisher.com/reports/my-time-on-the-mountain/
There are some great photographs that my brother-in-law took that really add to the quality of the article. I need to thank both Wes and Steve for such an awesome opportunity and for their fellowship and friendship along the way.

Castalia Video

Castalia Rainbows from Echo Productions on Vimeo.

For years I have relied on well-meant words to share my stories of fantastic fishing trips. I tried to share those stories with the enthusiasm that they deserved. Sometimes I was able to achieve this and other times I failed miserably. As fishermen, we are all great at exaggerating a story. However, with the advent of smaller HD cameras, we no longer have to rely on mere words or exaggeration.


Mike and I were more excited about the filming opportunity that Castaia would afford us than we were about the fishing. As you can see, the fishing was fantastic, but the video that this amazing resource allowed us to take is even more amazing. The underwater footage is some of the best that I have ever seen. The rises and takes were dream like. It is wonderfully amazing to watch these memories unfold before me once more.

I hope that all of you will enjoy this short video as much as we did making it. I have to thank Mike for putting this together. It is truly fantastic footage.

FLATLANDERflyfishing.com

Here it is! After months of talking and discussing this idea, Mike and I decided to start our own website.We wanted a place where we could share our fishing reports and videos. We have had so much fun this summer fishing and filming that we wanted to share it on a larger scale.
I have thoroughly enjoyed learning how to run the camera and frame shots. I am still not very good at it, but Mike is patiently helping me learn more with each trip. I never thought I would enjoy watching some one else fish, but looking through the lens adds a whole other aspect to our trips. It has been great fun and a joy to learn and share.
With the website will come new blog posts, fishing reports, videos, photographs, and hopefully some interviews and podcasts. We want to share with people the many opportunities that we have here in Ohio and the surrounding states. I look forward to fishing and sharing those adventure even more than before. Stay tuned, it is going to be an exciting fall!
Check us out at flatlanderflyfishing.com

Just Plain Ol' Good Fun!

Sometimes I think I am a good fly fisherman. Sometimes I am just plain lucky. Today was a result of that luck. Every winter for the past several years I have donated my three dollars for a chance to fish the Castalia Fish Hatchery property. I have waited hopefully each spring for my permit to arrivee in the mail only to be disappointed. This year my luck changed and my permit arrived with the promise of plentiful fish. However, there was a glitch: I had to fish on the designated date.
This is the second week of school after a long summer of vacation. My children were both hard at work and tests, practice and homework would prevent their attendance on this trip. My cousin, Zach, was ready to go until situations at his work changed and so did his plans to attend. Thankfully, my trusty fishing friend Mike was able to go and I was much happier to have a trusted companion for this amazing opportunity.
Mike and I decided to travel north the night before to avoid a very early drive. We laughed and told stories the entire time. We played music trivia and talked of familiar fishing trips from the past. I told Mike about how many of my students believe that I look like Owen Wilson and how I get sick of hearing about it. I don't look like him! It was a good ride.
We arrived in Sandusky at 10p.m. and began our search for a place to spend the night. We tried one hotel only to find it full of last minute vacationers on their way to Cedar Point. Finally, we found a room. However, I had to be reminded once more of my blond whiteness. The lady at the desk had to ask me if I have ever been told that I look like Owen Wilson! Mike thoroughly enjoyed that one.
We watched some TV and relaxed until it was time to sleep. I actually slept really well and was ready to catch some fish with the rising sun. We made our way to the hatchery property and soon checked in. They checked our licenses and reminded us of the rules. We would have the entire half-mile section of the stream to ourselves.
The grounds were groomed and the stream was slow, deep and cold. Cold Creek boils up out of the Blue Hole. It comes through the limestone aquifers and boils into an amazingly clean, cold, and fertile stream. The banks and stream side vegetation remind you of a classic European chalk stream. It looks like something out of a long ago painting that had an old pipe smoking fisherman with a bamboo rod and silk line. I really enjoyed the quiet and solitude that this opportunity afforded us both.

We were allotted five hours on the stream and would have to keep any fish that we kept. I am not much for killing trout, but I have neighbors that would enjoy a few fish. And, rules are rules.We spent much of the first hour just wandering through the property and watching all the feeding fish. Were both truly amazed at the number and size of the fish in this beautifully clean water.

Mike brought two cameras and we were able to get some great footage that we will share in the near future. We spent the rest of the morning fishing and filming each other as we took turns casting and catching fish. Fortunately, our fishing was prolonged by quite a few tight lipped fish. We tried to target larger fish that seemed to be alone in a feeding lane. However, many of them seemed to be offended by our offerings and quickly refused or even moved away. I was surprised by how easily spooked many of these fish were.

Soon, Mike and I had both hooked up on very nice fish and once again I was surprised. When a fish would fight, the entire pool would go crazy and began to frantically swim and rise as if there were a feeding frenzy. It was a spectacular sight to see a pool of frenzied fish spinning, twirling and rising as if they were entranced into dance.

We continued to fish and film throughout the morning. Catching our limits and losing a few fish along the way. Mike hooked a great hooked jawed fish that took him for a walk many yards downstream. That fish jumped, digged and dance for fifteen solid minutes before finally collecting enough vegetation on Mike's line to find his way free. It was exciting to watch and heartbreaking to see the fish free. I am so excited to see what Mike will do with this footage. I am also very excite about some future plans that I will soon be sharing.

We enjoyed another ride home full for fishing and tired from fighting. There were more good stories shared and future plans made. Stay tuned!

Butter!

Today I ventured into the cool, dark morning with the anticipation of finding fish. It reminded me of the many mornings spent fishing in Pennsylvania with my good friend Larry. Mike and I were on the road well before first light and arrived at the river in time to watch the sun rise. It was a glorious morning with the cool air of early fall. We quickly geared up and headed for water. I was anxious and patient all at the same time.
Mike and I tied on our favorite flies and watched the water, waiting for something to happen. We worked our way through our favorite runs and riffles, but struggled early to find fish. I was enjoying the morning breeze and my time with a good friend. I was also in the midst of one of those days. You know, the days where no matter how hard you try not to, you keep screwing up.
I spent more time this morning digging flies off of snags and out of trees than I have all summer. I would snag something on the bottom of the stream only to have it come lose and end up in the trees. I have always believed that if you do not spend some time in the trees then you aren't fishing hard enough, but today was a bit ridiculous on my part.
After making a move, Mike and I were fishing below a parking lot when we heard a vehicle pull in. The door slammed and soon I saw a shadow on the water. Within a few minutes a younger man was headed over the bank to check out the river. What he wasn't anticipating was the lose gravel that took him for a ride while he lost his balance and slid and rolled frantically toward the river. The look on his face was that of a slightly scared man along with a load of embarrassment. I acted like I didn't see it while he dusted himself off and collected what was left of his dignity and headed back up the bank.
Mike thought I was being attacked when he first heard the noise and the two of us held our laughter until the man was out of sight. When he returned to the river ready to fish it was time for us to move. We laughed the whole way to our next spot. I would soon pay for that laughter.
We arrived at Macochee Creek to see if we could get some footage of rising fish. We found two or three really nice trout in their feeding lanes, but not rising. Mike decided to stay on the bridge with the camera while I crawled into position for a cast. I was almost to where I wanted and had placed my left hand on a spot where I thought there was ground. There was plenty of grass between me and the stream, but there was no ground. My left hand continued to pushed downward and soon I was rolling off of the bank and right into the water. Thankfully, Mike did not catch that on camera, but he did get me dragging my soaked body back to shore. To make matters worse, I spooked every fish in that run.
In two hours, Mike had enough footage of me to create an hour long blooper video. All I could do was wring out and laugh.I did manage to hook a really good fish as it turned on my fly and headed right for me. It was a short fight and the fish was soon gone.

Macochee creek looks amazing! The work that the DNR did here is outstanding. It has regained its classic spring creek look and I believe that it will only continue to get better. The only thing that struck me as a concern was the lack of trout found throughout the creek. They seemed to be concentrated in a few places, rather that throughout the entire stream. There was plenty of depth and cover, but very few fish outside of those few holes.

We moved again to fish some familiar water and I picked up a small trout and several chubs. The place that I hoped to fish had a couple of kids wading through it and we soon turned our attention on another section of the river. Again, we came up empty. It was getting to be time to leave and we needed to hit our go to spot for one last chance at redemption. Mike would film while I fished. He ordered me to catch something and that is exactly what I did. Moving my way slowly up a seam, I watched my fly disappear with the decisiveness of a good fish. I knew I had struck gold. The fish turned and allowed me to see his golden buttered sides shinning in the sun. It was a great fish for this section of the river. After a few quick pictures and some more video, we were satisfied and full for fishing. It was time to head home.
As always, I enjoyed my time on the water with a good friend. Mike and I never fail to have fun. It was a good day and one that every weekend should have. I look forward to more time on the river and a little bit of butter to make it even better.

Fishing with Friends.

I am very fortunate to have friends that fish. Some enjoy fly fishing while others just enjoy fishing. Today, Morgan and I had the pleasure of doing a little fishing/wading in the lower end of Clear Creek with a couple of those friends. The water and shade were a welcome respite from the heat of the day. The fishing was slow, but the fellowship that we shared was  fantastic.

My friend Trevor Ross called earlier in the week and asked if we could get the girls together for a little quality time on the creek. Morgan was happy to go, but warned that she was more interested in fishing than she was in playing. Trevor met us at the house and we headed for the creek. Today was a local charity bike ride that caused many traffic issues. It would even play a role on where we fished. We were forced to fish the lower end of the creek because the ride had half the park shut down to traffic.

I am not as familiar with this portion of the creek, but I hoped to find a few small mouth hiding in its shaded pools. There were very few fish, but the water was cool, the stream was shaded, and the girls seemed to enjoy themselves. The day ended with a good pizza and many good stories. Morgan and I are both looking forward to spending more time on the creek with Trevor and Taylor.

Don't worry Mike, I practically caught that fish for Trevor too!