Semper on the Fly Top 10 Fly Fishing Moments of 2023

 This past year brought some terrific fly fishing opportunities to Semper on the Fly.  Many awesome fish, adventured and moments, but in narrowing it all down, I came up with my ten favorite fly fishing moments of 2023. 

#10.  Israel River, NH.  (July)  Fishing new waters for the first time is always a step into the unknown.  While driving down a dirt road taking a shortcut across the White Mountains I came across a fishy looking piece of water.  I pulled over to the side, rigged up, and jumped in... Swinging a Golden Retriever, I proceeded to land 6-8 feisty rainbows while working upstream through some gorgeous water with deep holes, river bends, riffles and rifles.  I'll definitely add this river to my New Hampshire summer rotation.

Adding to the awesome experience from the Israel River was the surprise of seeing the North Woods Law game wardens waiting for me when I climbed out of the river.  I really thought I was in the middle of nowhere fishing down this dirt road.  I guess it shows the game wardens can be anywhere at any time.  I did have my license! 

#9.  Nameless feeder stream, Route 16, NH.  (June)  I was looking for new waters on a picture perfect summer when I passed over this non-descript little stream.  The water was running cold, had a decent flow and was 2-3 feet deep on the far bank.  I grabbed my Orvis Superfine 1-wt with a Parachute Adams dry and jumped in right below the bridge.  Thirty minutes later I had brought to hand 25 native brook trout in the 5-8 inch range - all on dries, all in the same run (maybe 50 yards in length).  I brought my brother there a week later and gave him a taste of this special little spot.  

 

#8.  Hidden spillway, Pittsburg, NH. (July)  After fishing a remote pond where we caught a handful of tiny brookies, and while loading up the NuCanoe, my brother Marc walked over to a spillway at the end of the pond.  He decided to give it a go for a few minutes.  That mini tail water proved lights out for hungry brook trout and a Parachute Adams was the ticket for non-stop action.  Nearly every cast  resulted in a hookup. 

#7.  Duncan Lake, Ossipee, NH.  (June)  My family has had a camp on Duncan Lake since 1960.  It's where I hang my hat when I travel to NH for a couple weeks in the summer and/or fall.  Duncan used to be one of the state's best designated trout ponds.  But over the past several years, the state stocks fewer and fewer trout here and put them in other waterbodies across the state.  My dad used to fish the summer evening mayfly hatch in the 1960s and 70s, but it kind of disappeared after the pond was reclaimed.  This year, a new hatch was back in force.  Two distinct areas had the bugs popping off the surface.  One was by the point on the island and the other was a rolling hatch that began around Brown's camp and came right down the shoreline past our camp.  These were big mayflies - size 8 or 10!  I used a Yellow Stimulator because it floated high and was easier to see at dusk.  I fished the island a couple nights and climbed up our family raft and fished the rolling hatch as it passed the camp.  2-3 rainbows were brought to hand each night along with a horned pout of two (nuisances).  I think a Hex Fly would be a good fly next summer.  I know my dad would love to have seen that hatch. Who knows, perhaps he ordered it up from on high! 

#6.  Ellis River & Ammonousoc River, NH guiding. (June) Guiding is a passion I really enjoy from my days working at Orvis.  It's not just seeing people catch fish. That's part of it, but there's the fly casting instruction, knot tying, reading water, and best of all the camaraderie of guiding for lifelong friends. Ed and I have been best friends since 1979! We talked about this trip for several years and finally made it happen.  We spent several days hanging our hats at Duncan Lake, and after we worked on casting it was time to catch some trout.  There is a nice stretch of the Ellis River heading up toward Mount Washington that often produces wild brook trout on dry flies.  We walked a bit further downstream to a new spot and in a matter of minutes Ed was on to his first brookie.  He landed several more before we hit the road for some new water.  There is a spot on the Ammonousoc River that has been money in the past and I wanted to get Ed into that section of water.  It was fire! Swinging a wet fly down and across, Ed landed 8-10 nice brookies in about an hour's worth of fishing.  We're already planning our 2024 trip. 

#5.  Hex Hatch, Northern NH. (July)  Marc and I made our annual pilgrimage to hit the magical hex hatch in early July.  Once again, we landed many brook trout with some pushing 16 inches all caught on dry flies... big size 6 dry flies.  We even had a couple of doubles which is always exciting.  Casting big dries for big brook trout has to be one of the most incredible fishing experiences I've ever experienced.  Pittsburg is a long drive, but well worth the effort.

#4.  Connecticut River, Pittsburg, NH (October)  I realize I mentioned above how exciting it is to catch a 16 inch brook trout on a big dry fly, but that really doesn't compare to the epic moment I had on the river this fall.  Towards the end of our final day, I decided to switch up to a size #14 Parachute Adams for the last hour.  In a little piece of pocket water by the bank, in a scene reminiscent of A River Runs Through It, I cast my dry fly along a seam edge.  As clear as day I saw the trout come up from the bottom with its mouth open.  Boom! Fish on.  Five minutes later I landed the biggest rainbow trout of my life - 20+ inches and 4-5 pounds. The interesting thing worth noting is about five years ago I caught a 16 inch brookie in the same spot... on the same fly.  Fishing the Connecticut in the fall is pretty amazing as the salmon begin making their way up river for the fall spawn.

#3.  North Fork Big Lost River, ID. (September)  It had been five years since my last trip to Idaho.  The Big Lost was unfishable because the state was draining the reservoir to repair the dam and the water was ripping.  So I decided to take a look at the North Fork, which I had never paid much attention to.  I will start paying attention to it now.  I jumped in at a bridge crossing, and figuring the hole under the bridge gets pounded I planned to only make 1-2 cursory casts.  Four rainbows later (courtesy of a Golden Retriever) I was sold on the North Fork.  I caught a few more working upstream.  I could definitely spend an entire day or two working this river.  It seems that good.  Nice holes, runs, bends... looks to have it all.  

#2.  Big Creek, ID.  (September)  So Idaho became my second best friend guided trip of the year. Spike and I have been best friends since... 1979 (a good year for forging best friends).  Spike had been wanting to learn how to fly fish for several years and we've always talked about a trip to Idaho and 2023 we finally made it happen.  The Bear Bottom Inn grass lawn was our teaching ground and soon we were catching fish in Challis Creek, the Mackay Reservoir and Camas Creek, but the best day was clearly on the dry fly crystal clear waters of Big Creek. True story, on the very first run I recommended we fish, Spike was fish on with a Westslope Cutthroat Trout in minutes.  We caught 5 in that first run, and the stage was set for an incredible day taking turns landing fish going hole to hole upstream.  Small grasshopper patterns seemed to be the right fly on this day.  Spike even had his moment of zen (after three takes!). 

#1.  DIY Fly Fishing Bahamas. (May)  In 2022 I messed around a bit with some DIY Bahamas bone fishing and was able to land two bone fish off the beach at Sandals.  I figured it couldn't get any better than that... until this year.   In one section of the beach near some rocks, I seemed to get into a school of bone fish on a couple different days.  It was awesome.  Mix in some Jacks and the fishing was pretty intense throughout the week.  But the highlight proved to be hooking into a big snook right in front of the main beach at Sandals.  I watched to take -- he was in only about a foot of water, and the fight was on... and on.  Bringing that amazing fish to hand was the highlight of 2023.  

 

I can't wait to see what 2024 has in store... New Hampshire, Idaho. Virginia, Bahamas and beyond... stay tuned. Tight lines my friends.

COVID bonefish bust out in the Bahamas

 Have you ever heard any of those old time Southern preachers shout during a Sunday sermon, "Can I get an Amen from the congregation?" Well that's what the past 15 months have created -- pent up/ spun up fervor to the point folks are about done with it.  Most everyone's ready to break out. 

Well, bone fishing  seemed an awesome way to break out... and for amazing scenery and fly fishing - is there a better spot on the planet than the waters surrounding Emerald Bay, Great Exuma, Bahamas?

I think not. 

With Carole and her army of butlers waiting on her by the pool at Sandals serving her endless Rum Runners to go along with coconut shrimp and whatever else she fancied, I had the green light to pursue what I love best.

I hired local guide Bonefish Stevie whose ritualistic chants on the water "C'mon bonie" always seemed to draw these muscular titans out of the mangroves into the flats. 

Using my Orvis Access 908-4 tip flex and Hydros reel I was amply armed and ready for the challenge.  Using an extra long 16 lb fluorocarbon leader and a #6 pink shrimp -- soon it was game on. 

Over the course of a couple of mornings, I landed upwards of 15-20 bonies as Stevie liked to call them.  Even the 14 inch little guys were beasts fully capable of peeling out line and doubling over an 8 wt rod.  

In times past it was strictly sight fishing, but on this trip one day was sight fishing off the mangroves and the second day was fishing the shallow flats.  That's where a guide is worth a million bucks.  There are flats everywhere, but the fish are not.  Stevie would stop in some spots, and I'd be scratching my head, but sure enough it wasn't long before "fish on" and off to the races again.  

 

I landed two really amazing fish on the trip.  If you watch the video I thought I lost the biggest not once but twice.  Stevie told me the bonefish wrap your line the soft sand and around anything they can find to give the "oh crap" I lost it feel... and he did - twice. 

Fly fishing the flats for bonies presents a few challenges in both casting and landing the fish. In casting, it's always windy, and invariably the cast I needed to make most of the time was off shoulder into the wind! Not easy but over the course of the day it gets better. It certainly makes one relish those opportune down wind double-haul casts and the chance to really let some line fly. 

When landing fish, again you can see in the video, once you hook a fish and you have 20-30 feet of line at your feet -- it's troublesome.  If the fish cooperates and gingerly took off at a steady speed, no problem feeding the line. But that's not these guys' MO.  Instantly they double your rod over, then as your trying let some line through your line finger to get the fish on the reel, they start thumping the rod violently, which if you're letting line out simultaneously, the line is flinging everywhere -- in the air, around elbows, wrists, buttons, rod butts.... funny afterwards, but like drinking from a firehose while it's happening. 

On the trip we spooked, although spooked isn't really the right term, as tarpon don't seem to be spooked, intimidated, threatened by a whole lot on the flats. Next trip, I'd like to have a separate rod rigged with a large streamer ready to take a shot on one. 

Lots of reef and lemon sharks roamed the flats. 

And barracuda... all over the place. I did land a few and was fortunate to not have my tippet cut through each time.  ALL TEETH - talk about an apex predator.

In a perfect world I'd love to have the opportunity to learn the trade, guide, have my own boat, down here in the Bahamas.  Learning the tides is key, but paying your dues on the water is the ultimate ticket.  Maybe that'll be my 3rd or is it 4th or even 5th career?

Tight lines until I journey up to northern New Hampshire later this summer.

By the way, I've got the greatest wife in the world!

Return of the Padwans 24-25 May 2021

'Return of the Jedis suggests mastery of our craft and after months chasin different species we each found delicate fly fishing skills are perishable...so Padwan learners we are and were ...thanks for asking.   

Fritz, Henry and I do dedicate ourselves to getting out more often to keep skills fresh.    This was our third adventure to Little Juniata and Spruce Creek about a dozen miles WNW from Huntingdon, PA.  

This trip was planned for last year but got virus'd.  Our trucks met at the Penn State public access lot on Spruce Creek and we geared-up as dark clouds bore down and pea-sized rain pelted us ...no worries, waders and gore-tex make fast moving storms no more than an inconvenience and Spruce was running low and looked like it could use a drink.  

For anyone who cares about such things Spruce Creek is a semi-famous brown trout stream that's questioned presidents' and angler luminaries' skills in its storied past.   The majority of Spruce is off limits to the public, but fortunately there's a beautiful stretch kept up by Penn State upstream of its confluence with the Little Juniata in the hamlet of (you guessed it) Spruce Creek.  Fritz and Hen drifted nymphs in the rain, but I can report I fooled a nice 9" brown with dry on a special fly rod that came to me by way of Bill Pfeiffer. 

She was treat of a catch on his rod and a great memory.  With no trout rising and slow action in the rain we left at 1300 and hit Spruce Creek Outfitters to support our local fly shop.  We each left with a pocket full of flies and a tantalizing report, that  Green Drakes had appeared recently in the evening!  Armed with excitement and a few green drake spinners in our vests,  we visited familiar waters at the quarry pool.  

The river was low but quickly added 80% cfs (recall that rain) which brought it up 4 inches and with it a bit of bank debris and bugs, bugs and more bugs!  The frothy surface layer was silly with insect activity in the current seems. 

these appeared late afternoon

Soon Yellow Sulphur mayflies were rising through the water/emerging and browns livened up ascending through the water like breaching submarines.  Excited by the inevitability of the spinner fall we waited as the sun dipped over a ridge and the bridge swallows swooped and darted feasting on the fat bellied sulphurs. Henry and Fritz put away their ESN rigs and with standard 5wts we brought a few to hand, but unfortunately the excitement of the hatch did not bring all the fish to hand we had expected.   Perhaps we needed to stay later?

our imitation

As we were about to leave the river we took one last look at the river and saw a mature brown rising 5 feet from the step-in 2 feet off the bank.  Feeling thwarted thus far we threw in a size 16 sulphur dry which was inhaled by the brown to end the day!

We found our way back to Huntingdon's lone modern hotel, A Fairlfield Inn and Suites, bedded down and the next morning, loaded with coffee and Gatorade, made our way to a riffle-pool-riffle section downstream of the Spruce Creek confluence, (join us next year to find out where :-) where we had an amazing day.  

 

sulphur nymph was a producer

We found we could pick up sporadic browns nymphing seams, but had better fortune targeting individual rising trout in deep cuts under overhanging tree boughs.  

Instream positioning was key to successful, often sidearm, casts looking to get 3-6 feet of dragless drift to the rising trout.   If you could solve the stream-positioning/casting/ drift riddle the browns played their part and we each all caught our share throughout the afternoon.         

Hen w a fat brown ...that log structure provided a natural buffet line for feeding browns

Browns-on ...Fritz and Hen double-up 

Fritz has enough of the world to himself 

Comradery was great throughout, but the catching improved on a steep curve from arrival at Spruce Day until we were forced to quit squinting in the ghostly light of the harvest moon.

Fishing beneath the harvest moon

The best hours of the day were clearly 1900-2115 and the river explored with activity from 2040-2105 as yellow-sulphur and green drake spinners fell to the water fueling a burst of activity.   We surely annoyed a nearby campground with exclamations of, "Fish on" or Hens', 'Fritz get down here its crazy/it's amazing mate!" Cause when you fish with brothers like these you always want to put your mate on the best bite 🐟🎣💪

This'll be an annual trip so let me know if you want in next May.

Fish on friends.

Hen w a colorfully spotted Brown

Fritz: Large brown on is watched by Hen

Ivy Creek — Trout Scout /SNP

Ivy Creek from SNP topo

     Several blue lines became apparent to me several years ago when I was studying access to Big Run in the Southern section of SNP.  I’ve yet to hike in to Doyle’s and Jones Runs but now can say I’ve made the acquaintance of Ivy Creek.  The attraction of Ivy Creek comes from its solitude as there are no paths leading to it. It’s a bushwhackers paradise!

      

Cassidy Run at Pinefield Hut

    After searching blog posts there appear to be two established ways to access Ivy.  One is a longer hike starting at Loft Mountain Wayside, hiking north up the Frazier Nature Trail, intersecting with the AT, following the AT until it makes a (map visible) switchback over a gully and then following the gulley run which is a feeder UNT of the main stem of the Ivy. The more direct route is described by Harry Murray in his book on SNP trout streams.  Harry’s directions put you downstream on the Ivy relative to the first access and on relatively bigger and I suspect better water.  Park at the small parking area for the PineField Hut and follow the (only) access trail which goes generally south for about 200m at which point you’ll intersect the AT.  Head straight across the North/South AT and proceed 150m to the PineField Hut (it’s well marked).  As you walk the 150m to the hut you’ll see the start of the run (We named it Cassidy Run) that you’ll follow all the way down to the Ivy.  

Kate and James lead the way

The access trail ends at PineField Hut which is a well maintained AT overnight hut.  Cassidy run is a well defined trickle at the hut.  Follow the gully down to Ivy Creek, it’s about a .5 mile bushwhack.  You can either stay low in the stream bed and scramble under deadfall or stay higher in the gully above the deadfall and deal with .5 mile angled slope.  

You can see how we slowed down from Skyline Drive down to the Ivy in red

Kate Downs, a friend from work and her wonderful dog Cassidy and James agreed to adventure with me and we charted our adventure on a perfect October Morning at the Loft Mountain Wayside at 0930 after driving in from NOVA.  I’d never met Cassidy before and she was the star of the hike keeping track of her loose herd and leading the way into the steep hollow.  

Kate and Cassidy at Ivy Creek Falls

Ivy Creek flowed from right to left when we found her 800 or so feet down the mountain having carved a lovely unspoiled stream valley. A glance up and downstream confirmed that downstream was the way to adventure so with Cassidy close by so she wouldn’t spook any pools we descended further and in short order found the segmented 20+ foot falls where we decided to lunch.  With Kate, Cassidy and James locked in conversation I walked down another 300m (the dark red you see in the hike graphic) and questioned several 59 degree pools with a #16 Mr. Rapidan parachute and a 6’2” glass 3wt.  I couldn’t coax any (mountain) large bookies to strike so I was thrilled when several young of the year took up my offer of a quick tangle. 

         Knowing what I know now I can definitely see myself returning to the Ivy. What I’d do next time is is walk down a full .5 mile from the the intersection with Cassidy Run and fish back up to the Falls.  I suspect that would be about 3 hrs of great exploring.  

James works back up and out of Cassidy Creek 

         We returned moving up the bed of Cassidy run and found that to be easier than the steep slippery bank and the gully.  A great day with friends and another trout stream in my journey.