Mikey D Fishing Heads North to God's Country

Mikey D Fishing Heads North to God's Country

After basking in Florida breezes, Mikey D Fishing took advantage of unseasonably warm weather, and the abundance of trout fishing and hospitality at the Felker compound in Roulette, PA.  Potter County is aptly called "God's Country" with outdoor activities and natural beauty all around.  The morning fishing there certainly did not disappoint.  CC dropped 2nd lt Salt Life and yours truly off at a deep water pool on Fishing Creek.  The creek borders the Felker Cabin property.  Salt Life and I meandered downstream from there in view of the cabin.  The evidence of all manner of critters was everywhere, particularly beavers, with small trees and limbs recently brought down by the ever industrious vermin near the stream in several spots.

Salt Life used a 4wt rod with a black bead headed wooly bugger, while I employed a 10 foot leader with 2 foot section of hi visibility flourocarbon and another 4 foot section of tippet.  The long leader was an attempt to try some of the nymphing techniques that I recently discovered.  At the business end of the tippet I tied a black bead headed wooly bugger with flash and a bead head frenchie dropper.

I picked up a two small brook trout on the frenchie and one on the wooly bugger in a tailout section of the stream.  Soon after, 2nd lt Salt Life hooked into a very nice 14" rainbow (as depicted below) by stripping the fly in small twitches upstream.  Under the tutelage of CC, Salt Life cleaned and grilled the trout for lunch---- from stream to table!!!

CC's knowledge of every twist, turn, and pool in the stream led us to a pool about 6 feet deep with a overhanging underwater bank, perfect for holding large trout.  A few casts into the pool hooked me into my first Golden Trout!  A beautiful and sizable fish caught on the Frenchie dropper.

The stream is loaded with a variety of trout and provides the angler with an opportunity to practice some small stream technical tactics.  The property is beautiful and if it weren't for the stream demanding your attention, the wildlife all around could easily distract you.  One of the home grounds for Mikey D Fishing, it is no wonder why the Felker Cabin lies in the heart of God's Country

19-21 November: Mikey D Fishing Heads South

Just because the Mikey D bay fishing season is over, it doesn't mean that Mikey D fishing goes on hiatus.  We just look for other opportunities.  So when Curt Toomer invited C.C. to spend a little time in Jacksonville looking for redfish and trout, Mikey D Fishing headed south for warmer climes and the chance to catch big fish.

Arrived in JAX on Thursday evening.  After a delicious dinner (THANKS Michele!) and some post dinner bourbons, the game plan was on.  We spent Friday through Sunday exploring the back creeks along the intracoastal waterway from the I-10 bridge up to Mayport.  Weather and tides were about as good as you could expect; temps in the 70s, sunny skies, too breezy to throw the fly rod.  A front that moved through Saturday chased us off the water a little early, but it blew through by Sunday morning, offering plenty of time to finish up the trip in style.

We fished out of Curt's new 18' Maverick, about as beautiful a flats boat as you're going to find.  The boat was perfect for getting into the back creeks, with plenty of room to move around.  It's truly a fisherman's boat.

Friday and Saturday were pretty similar; about two dozen sea trout and a handful of schoolie redfish each day. Saturday's highlight was my successful North Florida Slam: a red, sea trout, and a 16 inch flounder that I picked up on a gulp bait at the point of a creek mouth.  We fished both days with either live shrimp hooked on to jig heads, or soft plastic (gulps, etc.) baitfish and shrimp imitations.

C.C.'s rule of fishing trips is that you have to schedule three days of fishing to ensure that you get at least one day that isn't messed up by weather.  Except for the breeze, Friday was near perfect. We had to leave the water early due to incoming weather, but still caught a good deal of fish.  But Sunday on the front moved through fast enough to get us on the water by about 1000.  Since it was still breezy, we anchored up on a cut formed by a little island on the intracoastal, just north of the Atlantic Boulevard bridge.  A perfect spot, with a couple of channels that wash back and forth with the tides, and with it baitfish and predators.  

We immediately started tying into trout; over the ensuing three hours we boated at least 30-40, along with a dozen or so small Mangrove Snapper.  What made this last day of fishing special, though, was watching Curt fight and land a 36 inch bull redfish.  Earlier Curt had caught a small pinfish, and decided to hook him up on a fish finder rig and throw him behind the boat.  We went back to catching trout, when Curt had a huge strike on his shrimp rig and the fight was on.  You could tell that it was a big fish, and Curt took his time fighting the red.  After about 7-8 minutes of watching Curt fight his fish, I glanced up to the rig with the pinfish to see that rod bending over.  What to do?  It's a good problem to have.  The answer?  "You're on your own," I shouted and headed to the bent-over rod.  Five minuted later I landed and released a nice 24 inch red, just in time to watch Curt pull his bull red out of the water.  Since words can't describe that moment, I'll let the photo do the talking.

I've been fishing with Curt for almost twenty years now, and even on those trips that didn't produce a lot of fish, have had a great time.  A great angler, squadron mate, and friend.  Thanks Curt!  And thanks to Michele for the hospitality.  

Tight lines,

MikeyDFishing

Bay Blitz is On!

With the impending change to cooler temperatures, schools of fish emerge all over the middle Chesapeake Bay.  Combine ravenous Bluefish, Rockfish, light winds and flat water and you have the perfect ingredients for a day of constant action.  Mikey D Fishing left the dock at 0645 and turned the corner into the Bay as the sun was rising over the Eastern Shore.  Hacketts Point delivered our first Bluefish and Rockfish to the boat.  We decided to troll to the twin bridge spans but soon detected small flocks of birds to the north signaling rapacious schools of Blues and Stripers. 

We began catching snapper blues and small rock almost immediately.  Almost everything we used worked.  Plugs, Spoons, Flies (Clouser minnows and atom poppers), all delivered results.  In a few hours of fishing we boated 100+ fish.  The largest striper was 16".  Using heavier spoons or metal jigs that descended to deeper waters hooked the larger fish.  CC also had a couple of large Bluefish (18"+) slice right through his 25# braided line.  We're convinced that the keepers are lurking nearby and probably beneath the schools on the surface.  Either way, it is tough to pass on consistent top water action regardless of size. The two videos give a sense of the fishing frenzy.  What a day for Mikey D Fishing! 

A warm dry end of summer meant low water and fish holding in groups in the Yellow Breeches.  CC and I made good use of the last official weekend of summer to find tight lines in the Yellow Breeches near the Allenberry resort.  While water temps remained optimal, low water forced fish to find cover and food sources in deeper holes.  I continued where I left off in June by retrieving a bead head wooly bugger.  I worked to keep the streamer as close to the gravel bottom as possible.  Short twitches produced consistent results early. 

I quickly brought three to the net in one of my favorite spots.  Meanwhile CC worked downstream with a beetle and zebra midge dropper.  The beetle served as more of an indicator than a fly with only a few fish rising throughout the afternoon.  Again proving he is the master of the Breaches, he landed a dozen or so fish with 6 coming from the same general spot.  The weather was perfect with temperatures in the low to mid 80s and bright sun.  While we could have wet waded, I opted for waders to keep me in the water as long as possible.  The brief video below depicts the final phase of a tangle with a Yellow Breeches rainbow trout.  Tight Lines!  MikeyDFishing! 

Southwestern Pa Fly Fishing Outing, 29 August 2015

Captain C.C. of MikeyDFishing took a break from the salt life to celebrate Mary Felker's birthday with a resort weekend and half day outing on the Youghiogheny River.  We stayed at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Spa in Farmington, Pa., about 3 hours west of Annapolis.  While a bit on the high end, price wise, the accommodations, restaurants, casino, and the cigar bar (pouring Basil Hayden bourbon, no less) made it all worthwhile.

Saturday afternoon we drove out to the Field House to meet our guide Mike Steiner, who heads the Orvis-endorsed fly fishing operation for Nemacolin.  In addition to fly fishing, the resort also offers sporting clays and upland bird hunting trips.  After a quick lunch over a couple of Sierra Nevada Pale Ales, we joined up with Mike for the 20 minute drive to the Yough.

The Yough is a tailwater, and with the river on the low side there was a significant release flowing from the dam.  Mike noted that the water was moving at about 900 CFS, which was a bit on the high side.  Once we got there, though, we noticed that the current was moving, but not too fast to make wading too uncomfortable.  Water depth was knee to thigh high.  Air temps in the mid to upper 70s.  Water temps in the upper 60s.

Got on the water around 1330.  We fished about 400 yds downstream from the dam, and you could see the water churning out.  But where we were the conditions were not too challenging.  We fished on top (Adams/parachutes), and hoppers/droppers (scud patterns), and only covered about 200 yards or so of water.

Given we were only on the water for about 4 hours, and the water was higher and faster than normal (around 600 CFS), I'd give Mike and the river a 95% .  Mike put us on fish immediately.  In the end I brought 2 to the net, one a nice rainbow that took me to the backing.  Mary got a rainbow as well.  But we both lost nice fish, and missed several takes.  There were certainly a lot of fish in the river, and some big fish.  Chalk it up to shaking off the rust.

But a great day in all.  Mike was everything you'd want in a guide.  He obviously knew where the fish were and put us on them.  But he demonstrated a great personality, talked about all kinds of things in addition to fishing, and was just a pleasure to be with out on the water.  Many thanks Mike!

Enjoy the pics.  Looking forward to getting out to western  Pa in the spring.

Tight lines.  MikeyDFishing.

Cow Nose Rays, A Flock of Sea Gulls, and More Crabs!

August chumming looked promising with nice takes but the end result produced great fighting but equally annoying cow nose rays.  The rays are prevalent this time of year in the middle bay.  Their frequency all but eliminates chumming as an effective way of claiming keeper stripers. 

So now Mikey D Fishing is shifting to live lining, trolling, jigging, sight fishing and waiting for the magic time----- top water with plugs and flies.

Crabs, Crabs, and more crabs..... the trot line continues to deliver.  Watch Mikey D Fishing work the trot line in the video below.   Once set (and this can involve some adjustments and redeployment), the trot line is an efficient way to provide your own crab feast!

Beautiful Blue Crab Bounty on the Bay for Mikey D Fishing!

Despite utilizing bankers hours for crabbing, Peter Gargano and the Mikey D Fishing team brought a bushel of crabs to the box by 10:30 AM.  We used a 600' trot line baited with fresh chicken neck on snoods. 

Pete Gargano displays the future crab feast

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plowing in a light morning breeze in about 8 - 10' of water Mikey D Fishing consistently netted #1s and Extra Large Jimmies on each run. 

A #1 Jimmy destined for the steamer

Crabbing Tip:  One of the keys using the trot line is to smoothly dip the net outboard of the line to avoid spooking the crabs from the baits and shaking other crabs off the line.  Place the net below and outboard of the crabs lifting up in a single stroke as the crabs attempt to escape by diving away and down -- Mikey D Fishing

Thursday 17 July - Late Post

A late post since we just returned from a trip to Albany, where we participated in squadron mate Capt. Jamie Pierce's retirement.  Took Thursday afternoon off to take advantage of the low temps and light winds to try the Bay Bridge.  Hit the water about 3:00 PM and headed to the eastern side of the bridge.  Set up at piling 51A on the northern span, dropped the anchor, the chum bucket, and baited up with cut Alewife.

The down side of the day was that fishing was a bit slow.  We only picked up four Stripers, three of which were around 20-21 inches.  The fourth was around 18.  On the up side, we were the only ones catching.  Easy to tell that when you pick your head up from watching your rods to see about a dozen boats have magically appeared around you.

Finished the day by trying some top water plugs off Hacketts.  The low winds made conditions perfect for some action, but the fish weren't there yet.  According to LT. Salt Life and the experts at Anglers, the Stripers are spread out awaiting the arrival of the summer Spot run.  When that happens it'll be time to do some live lining, with late summer and fall top water fly fishing just around the corner.

Tight lines.  MikeDFishing.

A One - Two Punch for Mikey D Fishing.  2nd Lt Salt Life was graciously granted his OOD underway qualification and departed Burley Creek at 0700 with two other young salts, Marshal and Jamie, both fellow employees at Anglers.  They proceeded directly to the pilings at the Bay Bridge to jig for keeper Stripers.  The fishing was steady and good with clear skies and a breeze that slowly dissipated over the course of the morning.  The highlight of the half day of fishing was landing a 50 pound black drum that first presented itself like a snag.  After a 20 minute fight, solid teamwork landed the beast.

The second punch came in the afternoon when 2nd Lt Salt Life and company turned over the helm to CC and Joe.  We followed suit by jigging Bay Bridge pilings on the Eastern Shore side of the bridge.  Joe landed an undersized striper on a chartreuse bass assassin.  Not satisfied with the frequency of the bite we anchored a few hundred yards north of the bridge spans to chum.  After an hour without so much as a nibble, a change was in order.  We decided to ease back toward the northern bridge span to enable us to jig and chum.  With the anchor holding our position, we restarted the chum slick and dropped alewife strips astern of the boat.  Almost immediately we had fish on!  The action continued throughout the remainder of the trip.  Infrequent lulls in the chumming action did allow for CC to get a hook up while jigging on what must have been a 30+ inch fish before breaking off.  Joe lost another in the pilings.  The rest was all success.  Eight fish over 20 inches to the boat including a nice 30 inch hog.  We tossed several back with lesions and scrapes but still kept a beautiful 27 incher and two others that provided thick fillets for the table.  CC boated one keeper when the tackle it was carrying from a previous melee with a fisherman snagged his line.  A perfect metaphor for the day was that we landed alewife that became ensnared in our lines just as we exhausted our supply of bait.  Excellent timing on a day when all the elements came together.  Classic Mikey D Fishing!

20 Jun 2015 Late Entry:  Mikey D Fishing completes Sea Trials and is Christened!  ---- In attendance were CC, Mary, Joe, Joe, Liz with Rachel having the honors with the assistance of Captain CC!   Fair Winds,  Following Seas, and Heavy Nets - Mikey D Fishing!

Back to the Breeches!  The Yellow Breeches are a special place.  A mix of limestone spring from the village aptly named Boiling springs, combined with freestone characteristics, the waters produce as many trout per mile as anywhere in lower Pennsylvania.  It was one of the first places I went to learn how to fly fish only to freeze my butt off with CC and came up skunked over 20 years ago.  It was the first place where I felt like a fly fisherman the following summer by adapting my presentation to the desires of our quarry.  It was the first place I took my children to learn how to fly fish.  It was Michael's favorite place to fish and where  I can still see his ear to ear grin after landing his first brown trout under the shade of a Sycamore tree that continues to stand watch over the stream.

With temperatures forecast to be in the mid to upper 70s, it didn't take much time to decide to make the jaunt up to The Allenberry Resort with Little Joe to wet some flies and see how many brown and rainbow trout we could bring to the net.  Adding to the anticipation, CC informed me that it was "fly fishing camp" week for local kids.  This meant that there could be additional bevy of stocked fish in the stream!

Little Joe (a.k.a 2nd Lt Salt Life) headed to the stream ahead of the old man as I wrapped up a work call.  By the time I arrived he reported to have landed 1 rainbow.  The water was more cloudy than I had hoped and was higher than expected.  Recent thunderstorms were the culprit.  Undeterred, I stuck with my game plan and offered a high visibility beetle with a black midge dropper.   It is a go to combination in the summer months.  I soon began to doubt my choice when I failed to spot any rising fish or any bugs coming off of the stream save the occasional caddis.

With an overcast sky and not a single strike after 20 minutes, I decided to shift to a black bead headed wooly bugger.  I sent the fly downstream and retrieved the line in very short strips.  Utilizing a tactic from Belize, I sent the rod tip under the surface of the water to keep the fly down near the gravel as I stripped line.   Within minutes I had a strike, then another, and another.  Within an hour I landed several fish.  Joe was holding his own but came to join in on the frequency of the bite within the 100 yard stretch that I was working. We were averaging a fish every 4 - 6 casts.  Together we landed over 20 fish. The best being a beautiful 17+ inch brown with bright colors and a hooked jaw.

It was a very nice day on the water with my son, plenty of fish to release, and a worn out wooly bugger.

Apologies for the delay.  Headed up to NE Pennsylvania to do a little fishing with Dad this past weekend. 

Fly fishing often conjures up images of serene wooded settings, where all an angler hears in the gurgling of the stream.  Sometimes, though, you gotta go where the trout are.  So Friday evening we headed to the back of the Hampton Inn in Stroudsburg to fish Pocono Creek.  And instead of nature, we were serendaded by the traffic rolling along I-80,which ran next to the stream.  No matter.  Stroudsburg might not be the schwerpunkt of Pocono's trout fishing, but the three streams that run through the city (Pocono, McMichael, and Broadhead Creeks) offer lots of public access, a large population of stocked, holdover and wild fish, and little pressure after the first couple of weeks of the season.

Got on the water around 7:30 PM.  Started out with a wooly bugger that a trout slammed on the first cast, but soon after switched to a sulfur parachute before it got too dark to see.  Over the course of the next hour and a half we picked up another nine Brownies, all with the deep colors of fish that had escaped the frying pan of the early season.  All of the fish caught in a 100 yard stretch of the stream.

Early the next morning we tried the Broadhead at the baseball park off Appenzeller Road.  A few fish coming up to emergers, but what was emerging I had no clue.  So we flailed away at the water, picking up two Rainbows on a wooly bugger and green-bodied caddis.

Took a short break in the early afternoon to fish spinners in Charlie Cole's (friend of Dad)  farm pond in lower Mt. Bethel.  Early on the bluegill and crappies were on the bite.  Dad had to leave, brother Kelly and his son Jeremy showed up, and as the water warmed up we picked up quite a few bass, one that easily went 5 pounds when it jumped, spit out Kelly's spinner, and no kidding laughed at us as he dove back into the water.

That evening Dad and I returned to the Pocono.  It seems from personal experience that fly fishers go through three stages of development.  The first is just trying to catch a fish.  Once that technique is somewhat mastered, then fishing becomes all about numbers.  But finally, (and while you never really stop counting), fly fishing reaches the stage where success is measured by figuring out what the fish are eating.  It's like Zen, I guess, except that you spend a lot on mony getting there....

We had done pretty well the night before, but it seemed to me that the fish were going after emergers.  So I started out with a bunny emerger.  Dad initially stuck to his green-bodied caddis.  On my second cast a Rainbow hit the fly and proceeded to take me to the backing.  Although I was surprised to see that he was only about 14 inches, he had a lot of fight.  And for the next hour the action was pretty steady.  It was chuck the fly across the stream,  and feel the drag as the fly swung down the current.  If a trout didn't hit on the swing, then a couple of short strips at the bottom of the swing enticed a trout to strike.  Dad finally relented and tied on an emerger and got in the fun.

A great weekend, made more so by the opportunity to fish with an 82 year old geezer who knows how to catch trout.  Happy Father's Day Pop.

-MikeyDFishing 

Fishing With 2nd Lt "Salt Life"

Took the afternoon off to hit the bay with Little Joe.  On the water by 1330.  Lines in the water by 1345.  Anchored at Tolley Point, about a mile or so from the mouth of the Severn.  Water was calm.  Air temps in the low 80s.  Schools of baitfish all around. Fished until 1630.  Bottom fished cut Alewive.  Several takes, two hookups, one 23 inch-plus Rockfish in the cooler.

Not a bad way to spend the afternoon.  Fishing is only going to get hotter.  With the temps and low precipitation, stripers should be figuring out soon that the bait fish are schooling on the surface.  Bluefish soon to follow.  Time to break out the long rods!

Off to the Poconos on Friday.  Trout to Rockfish and back to trout. That's  Mikey D Fishing.

Welcome to Mikey D Fishing

Having launched the "Mikey D Fishing", a 21' Carolina Skiff in April, we are prowling the middle Chesapeake for stripers.  We have primarily chummed with solid success landing several fish in the 22" - 26" class.  This past weekend, CC and I headed to Potter County, aka "God's Country" to get our trout fix on the spinner and on the fly.  The pictures tell the tale better than words with four species (Golden, Brook, Rainbow, Brown) pulled from Fishing Creek just steps from the Felker cabin.  It doesn't get much better than that other than lunch provided by the bounty of Fishing creek!