Fishin' with the Fam

Earlier this month my dad, brother, and cousin came down for a little fun in the sun and also to wet a line on the new boat. Well we successfully completed both of their goals and landed a couple fish to top it off. Below is a photo montage of the boys and some of their fish. Enjoy!

Fishing Creek, PA (07/11/2013)

The past few weeks have been filled with excessive rainfall and it has kept me busy observing all of the flow levels on the USGS database.  Most days you could still fish but the conditions were not optimal by any stretch of the imagination.  When I've gone out to Spring Creek we have had a lot of fish but nothing gigantic like Jeff hooked into on Thursday.

Due to the precipitation that we received in Central PA on Wednesday night I checked some of the stream gauges and decided that we would take a gamble and check out Fishing Creek.  The numbers were not insane but the fish we hooked into were healthy to say the least.  The first fish of the day was a nice brown trout and then we worked further up the stream and I heard Jeff say "I don't even know what to do with this trout."  Knowing him and our fishing conversations, I knew it had to be a hefty trout because I've never heard him say that when he hooked up with a fish.

After making my way downstream to him, I caught a glimpse of this trout's body and knew this was potentially the fish of the summer.  He was using 4x tippet so he was nervous to apply a significant amount of pressure onto the fish, so he let it make a few runs and applied minimal side pressure until we got his head out of the water.  Once Jeff got its head out of the water, I knew the Nomad hand net was about to be engulfed by this huge brown trout.

I was glad to be a part of this big brown as I netted it for Jeff but the conversations that were had about this fish kept us busy for the remainder of the day and into the night.  We reminisced stories about the fish like it was Bill Brasky from Saturday Night Live.

Enjoy a few of the pictures of this toad of a brown trout! Special shout out to my dad Greg Hoover for capturing these photos, he was clicking that camera like Marty Stouffer.

Jeff and his big brown trout

Nomad net saves the day again! 

Spring Creek Update (08/29/2012)

Spring Creek is always a safe bet as a fly fisherman.  An angler always has a great chance of hooking into good trout on a variety of fly patterns.  These trout feed frequently and when a fly is presented to them in a drift free manner, they do not waste an opportunity to eat.  Sure the fish are a bit sluggish compared to early fall and spring months but if you fish during the coldest temperatures of the day, you will be able to hook into several trout.  

Enjoy a few of the pictures from a recent trip on Spring Creek.  One of the most memorable moments on Spring Creek this summer happened when I caught the first two trout pictured on back to back casts.  They aren't gigantic but they were extremely beautiful fish between 15 - 17 inches.  

Cast #1

Cast #2

Clay Blunk's biggest trout on the fly!

Nomad nets get the job done again!

Buffalo Run and Logan Branch Update (08/15/2012)

Buffalo Run and the Logan Branch have continued to be exciting areas to fish.  I didn't remember to take a stream temperature for Buffalo Run because I only fished it for a minimal amount of time.  Logan Branch registered 56 degrees on the thermometer which is a big reason why I've been going to fish there regularly.  To go along with the cold temperatures, it has an uncanny ability to capture your attention with it's pure, pristine beauty in certain areas of the stream.  Below are a few pictures from some of the fish that I've caught recently.  Enjoy!  

Patch Man Do Fishing Report

The next couple of pictures are documentation of a few fishing trips while working on the Patch Man Do. I got to give the Nomad Net a good workout hauling up a couple of large Red Grouper. It handled the test. The following pictures are of a small bonefish, a couple of porgy's, red grouper, and a pretty big barracuda. We caught lots of other fish, and some bigger fish, but when you are busy it's hard to get pictures taken of everything. Especially the spotted moray eel we caught... That thing was so ugly looking. 

Everglades Fishing Report! 8/7/12

I spent the morning working on Captain John Wambolt's Patch Man Do (Pictures to come), and when I got home Captain Chris White called me and asked if I wanted to go fishing... Silly question.

The conditions weren't ideal and I couldn't sling a fly rod (too much wind, and wind-blown grass) but I was just content to catch something because it had been a while since I had caught a sport fish and I was itching. 

The everglades is unlike anything I've ever seen. We got there on low tide right as it was starting to come in, weaving through channels and cuts in the mud flats we found ourselves in an area known as snake bight. Awesome name I know. 

We are out there and I'm awestruck. There are 7-8 foot sharks cruising around me while we're in like 2 feet of water. It was like freaking "Jaws" just dorsal fins and tails cruising by us. I kept imagining that scene where Roy Scheider is throwing chum off the back of the boat and that huge great white comes out of the water chasing his chum fix. Well I always try to photo document my catches for you all, but these photos were pretty rushed because I didn't want to come home one hand short of a pair... 

Anyway a couple hours later a half dozen red fish, a couple snook, a few sea trout, and a lady fish and we were back in the marina. I was exhausted but exhilarated, it was an amazing day. One I look forward to repeating.  

The Nomad handles a big Red.

Chris' biggest red of the day

Nice Sea Trout in the Nomad Net

Logan Branch Update (08/06/2012)

The Logan Branch is arguably one of my favorite challenging streams to fish during the dog days of the summer.  The fisherman must take a completely stealthy approach to this river.  The high grass along most of the stream allows you to sneak along the bank but the trout still find a way to see you.  I think that is what I like most about this stream, it doesn't even seem like you are fishing in Central Pennsylvania.  Certain points of the stream are no wider then a rods length and other times it "opens up" to about 12 - 15 feet.  The tight cover, and precise casts necessary makes it feel like you are fishing a mountain stream.      

Another thing that I love about the Logan Branch is that it receives fairly low fishing pressure but it is enough that the fish have become very intelligent.  The combination of the challenge and the chance of hooking into a good fish is what makes this stream so fun to visit.  Below are a few pictures that I took on my recent trip to this gorgeous Central PA stream.    

Afternoon Kayak Trip

Yesterday I took the kayak out after work in search of something.. It had been a few days since I wet a fly line and I was seriously getting the itch. I decided I was going to head out after work, I packed my bag, threw in an extra water bottle, and made sure my camera was charged. 

First, let me be clear that I am in no way an Olympic kayaker. It takes me quite a bit of time and sweat to navigate long distances in these little plastic boats. 

I spent the majority of the first hour chasing around a couple of larger barracuda just trying to get the skunk off. No luck. 

I finally took off up a creek in search of something, a bonefish, a tarpon, a crab? I didn't care I just needed to feel a pull on the end of my line. It took me about 45 minutes of straight rowing until I got to where I thought I needed to go (I went to the wrong spot). I paddled in slowly, tons of bait fish swimming all around me. I was starting to get excited. I was easing in deep into these mangroves and deep into the creek when I spotted a tail. I unhooked the fly, stripped out enough line to make the presentation, shot the cast, landed it softly, waited, waited, strip, strip, strip, strip.... Nothing. Repeat. Nothing. Switch flies, readjust kayak, repeat. Nothing. 


2 minutes later a 4 foot nurse shark cruises right up my kayak in about 10 inches of water. Looks right at me smiles and gives me the middle fin. 

The only thing I ended up hooking that day was a rather large blue crab that was very aggressively into my 1/0 chartreuse deceiver. 

Back to the drawing board. I got a new hot spot I'll check out sometime next week I'm sure.