Got out this afternoon for some solo fly fishing - first time this year. Hit the Gunpowder down from the dam at a nice hole. After some experimenting with a small stonefly and then a tandem midge rig to no avail, I sat and watched the water for a bit. I noticed some surface activity around 3:00 or 3:30. They seemed to be eating little gray midges, so I tied on a 24 Adams parachute indicator and caught four nice browns in short order. Tess sat on the banks in a patch of warm sunlight and watched. Each fish got a sniff and then I let them go. Gorgeous day.
Well, I finally had my first fly fishing foray of 2012 this past Thursday. Couldn't help but take advantage of the late spring-like temps before things got cold again. Hit a catch-and- keep section of the Gunpowder with my friend and outdoor sage, Coke. I'm not a fan of catch-and-keep areas - they're stocked and attract a less-than-savory crowd who fish with worms or corn niblets, etc. There's a blatant lack of quality substrate and those that don't get caught wind up migrating to the more quality catch and release sections of the river anyway. Either way, it's still fun to get out with a good friend, listen to the river and once again polish up my casting skills after the winter hiatus - especially on a week night. Coke's seen here with three nice trout - two rainbows and a brown.
Another great night fishing with Coke. Hit up Blue Mount Road and caught a nice Rainbow, Brown, and two fall fish. Rainbow was 12" and Brown was a solid 8"-10".
Headed out around 3:00 p.m. today. Nymphed for a while and didn't have much luck. Around 4:00 fish starting hitting the surface, although I couldn't figure out what bugs they were eating. I tied on a BWO and second drift caught this nice native Brown. Cast a few more times and missed a strike or two, then switched over to a Mr. Rapidan and caught a monster Brown. Threw the hook just as I was about to net him. Argh! The "movie" below is a test with my cool new Flip camera/software.
First fish of the season. Went out tonight with Coke to Blue Mount Road to try our luck and scored a very respectable 14" 'bow. Not a bad start to the season. My goal this year is to fish every month of the year - no matter how hot, cold, snowy, rainy, etc.
Great morning goose hunting today from our pit blind. Tons of Canadian Geese overhead, but it was tough pulling these late season ganders into shooting range. And the wind kept switching direction, which didn't help our cause. We had a great spread of silhouettes, shells, and full bodies and plenty of good calling. Sean Mann would be proud.
Man I love frog gigging. Had a great time this spring and even took the little ones down to camp for a family camp-out and late night gigging. Big ol bullfrogs and tons of fun. I am still waiting for a new challenger to step forward and beat my record, which earned me the nickname, Gig.
Great start to the 2009 hunting season. My fourth bow hunt and I arrowed a beautiful doe at Coke's Camp around 5:30 p.m. Weather was 20 degrees colder than the average and it had been raining since yesterday. Used new Beman MFX Team Realtree arrows with Shuttle T-Lock broadheads and they did NOT dissapoint! Awesome blood trail and she was down within 50 yards. I love doin' the backstrap boogie!
I took Owen fishing at Uncle Coke's pond Saturday. He caught five Bluegills and a small Bass with the rod his Uncle John gave him when he was born. I cast one out myself using the same rod. I felt a bite, set the hook (lightly, figuring it was another Bluegill), and saw a huge tail splash. The rod doubled over and somehow I fought a 3lb. Bass to the shore on his baby rod with floss-like line.
My future angler, Owen, working out his gear. I think his first word was, "Flies." Expecting another boy in August - soon I'll have my own guide staff.
I am now a proud board member of Trout Unlimited, Maryland Chapter. I will be serving on the Communications/PR Committee with Maryland's very own Dan Rodricks (of Baltimore Sun and WYPR fame). If you are a fly fisherman/woman or are simply concerned about conserving, protecting and restoring North America's cold water fisheries and their watersheds, I urge you to join Trout Unlimited.
Headed out this evening around Lower Glenco (Gunpowder River) with my Scott S4 and Bauer M2SL reel and had an interesting evening. I started off catching my share of those annoying little "Fall Fish." I then caught a tiny Brown and a huge Rainbow! I also caught a Sulphur on my waders, although not much bug action was going on overall. Most of the fish I caught were on a Sulphur. During one back cast, I caught up in the scrub and lost my fly. Since I was having success with the Sulphur, I faked the rest, applying Poo Goo and Dri Shake to a Green Drake and a searching pattern - seemed to work when they were at their whitest. Cool evening. Fished 'til dark.
We had a big crew for our camping expedition at Coke's Camp - 11 total. We had a blast. Grillin', drinkin' fireworks, tree stand inspections, guitar and stories by the fire...well, you get the picture. We had a late night foray with frog giggin' at a nearby pond. One pass from two groups yielded 11 big bullfrogs. We even brought the little ones with us to enjoy the experience.
Great mid-day action on the Gunpowder. Caught five decent Browns on a dry fly (Sulphur). They weren't just sipping either - they were hammering the fly! The new Scott S4 cast like a dream and the Bauer M2SL reel had the smoothest action of any reel I've ever owned.
Your buddy pulls on the oars to line up for the drop and you make a rapid fire cast into a small eddy as the boat spills through the narrow drop. You high stick over the froth to get a few precious seconds of dead drift on your dry fly. That’s all it takes to bring the big brown to the surface. Now you’ve got to land him and there’s no back rowing to slow you down. With knees jammed in the lean bar, the boat bucks through the rapid, while you put the heat on and reach for the long handled net. Scott S4 flyrods www.scottflyrod.com handle the big tough stuff. High line speed, tight loops and power. Bring it on. What can I say...I am in love with my new Scott S4 10' 4wt. All Scott rods are built by hand, one at a time, from the highest quality materials. Paired up with my new Bauer M2SL reel www.bauerflyreel.com and, well, what more can I say. Stay tuned for fish porn.
Luckily for me, my friend Curtis had a change in plans today, allowing us to get out for opening day of Rockfish season here in Maryland. Nothing beats a killer sunrise over the Chesapeake Bay on a beautiful 80 degree day. 
Went out on the Gunpowder today and had a great time fishing. Started off nymphing with tandem midges and hooked up with two - lost two others jumping the hook. Switched to a small black stone as they started hitting the surface. Caught another and probably missed about twelve.
Took Owen to a fishing spot north of the MD line today with his buddies Anna and Caroline. It's a perfect place for little kids, since there are 7 or 8 different ponds all stocked with various fish (trout, land-locked striper, bass, bluegill, etc.). Here he shows off his angling skills on a bluegill. Not bad for 2 years old!
Kill tree-dwelling vermin, remove PJs, take to flame, chowdown. Drive safely. It's really that simple to get a good meal of squirrel. Limbrat whackin' is truly bigfun any ol' way ya choose it - bow and arrow, pistol, rifle, scattergun, slingshot, falconry, grenades, and my favorite, flamethrower. How can ya go wrong?
My friend Coke and I scouted a new spot along the Gunpowder River this evening. The main season opens on the 28th, but this was an open "put and take" area we had wanted to investigate. As the picture shows - a small Brown and a respectable Rainbow. Should be delicious in the skillet or smoked. Can't wait for warmer temps.
Well it's the end of another memorable hunting season and looking forward to some exciting angling. This picture was taken by me from our goose pit the last hunt of the year. Thought it looked kinda cool shooting up at the stacked decoys in black and white. Might print it and frame it. Kind of a different shot. Hope everyone had a fruitful season - looking forward to throwing some flies soon.
Today was oddly warm here in Maryland - especially after temps in the low teens and crazy ice. Relative I guess, since it was about 43 when I got out on the water, but by mid-day, the sun came and the jacket came off. The water was a bit low, but flowing. Had one small Brown strike and that was it. Look at this gorgeous background. This is one of my favorite entry spots. Now that's a Sunday morning...
Owen, my two-year-old must listen/dance to Ted Nugent's Stormtroopin' every night before he goes to bed. He even dances just like the Motor City Madman!
My friend Ted with a beautiful 8-pointer he harvested from our deer camp Saturday evening (gun season) following Thanksgiving Day. This is the second nice buck Ted has taken from there and the second 8-pointer taken since opening of muzzleloader season. Was planning on getting down there to hunt that following Sunday (which was allowed in our county for that date), but turned out to be a horrible weather day.
It is with a heavy heart that I post this. I had to put Gunner down Saturday (11/16). He was my best buddy for over 12 years. A lot of you knew him and I will miss him terribly. My house feels empty, despite three of us and Lucy, our black Lab. This was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Hopefully he is chasing ducks, geese and squirrels somewhere pain-free.
It's about that time! Next Saturday, November 15th is the start of goose season for us. We were out today builing a new roof for the pit. We even brought the lil' uns with us to help brush the blind. Owen (pictured far left), Anna, and Caroline worked very hard with Coke, Greg, and myself to prep for what we hope to be another great season of goose hunting. We saw a string or two of around 100 (or so) geese fly overhead, so hopefully the temps will lower and the feathers will drop!
My friend Coke was successful this weekend at deer camp. This is his nice 8-pointer from Queen Anne's County taken in the eveing hunt with his muzzleloader. 
I had a great time this weekend in the beautiful north-central mountains of PA with my friends, Coke and Greg. I stalked this wild boar (sow) with my Hoyt V-Tec and was very pleased. Only about 30 minutes into stalking did I manage to arrow this beautiful red Russian boar. After my first shot (27 yards), which was right on the button, she turned aggressively towards me, ready to charge and light me up with those razor-sharp tusks. I had enough trees between us to allow me time to finish it up with another arrow (or two). They are very hard to take down as I learned and very aggressive fighters. While not the Erymanthian boar, I am very pleased with my harvest and look forward to enjoying the feast.
Me and my brother-in-law, Jonny, trying some shoreline fishing at Lake Wallenpaupak over Labor Day weekend. I have never seen so many boats smashed into one area of water in my life - it was a constant wake! This was the only piece of water we could relax in for a few minutes. We ended the night around a big bon fire and enjoyed a fair amount of adult beverages. The highlight was fly fishing in a kayak under the moon. Beautiful weekend!
