Working the Incoming Tide at Indian River Inlet, DE

Temperatures in the low 70's, water temperature around 62, and a strong incoming tide ripping through the Indian River inlet made for a perfect setup for morning fishing.  The Indian River Inlet 5 miles north of Bethany Beach, Delaware is a great location for a multiple species day.  Depending on the time of year and conditions, it is possible to land Striped Bass, Bluefish, Weakfish, Flounder, Tautog, and Black Sea Bass all in the same outing.   Because the inlet is so prolific with the Atlantic Ocean pouring in and out of the narrow gut four times a day, competing for a spot on the walk above the rocks can be a challenge.  For the lucky few including Capt Joe and Capt C.C., a military ID carries the benefit of unfettered access to the US Coast Guard Station just west of the Indian River Inlet Bridge and a short distance to the open ocean. 

Capt Joe was grateful on this fine Saturday morning to gain entry to the station for some morning holiday weekend fishing.  Initial signs were encouraging as terns were diving 500 yards east and bait was clearly visible reacting to predators underneath. 

Several casts up current, across current, and down current produced little.  A quick change from the chartreuse sassy shad with a white skirt to a Kastmaster, tipped with a white gulp bait also mattered little.  I finally registered a 16 and then an 18" striper after letting the Kastmaster sink for up to 5 seconds and initiating a slow, steady retrieve.  On the edge of the tide line at the mouth of the Coast Guard basin .... Bam! One fish was landed.  The next fifteen minutes produced additional hits and the second striper!  Bigger and better to come this summer!

Tight Lines,

Mikey D Fishing

Back in the Striper Business

The striper season for Mikey D Fishing started frustratingly slow.  While our initial foray into trolling produced only the occasional hit in the mid-bay, we anticipated that the end of the trophy season with more liberal size limits (2 fish per fisherman / over 20" / only 1 over 28") versus the trophy season 35" minimum would work in our favor.  Over the last few years, the Mikey D team was able to get the keepers rolling over the rail by chumming in a few select spots near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.  An early season surge of fresh water from the Susquehanna river changed the dynamic this year with increased turbidity and a influx of Blue and Channel Catfish.

Over the course of 2 or 3 trips, we produced more catfish than stripers.   Undaunted, we tried some new rigs to include floating weightless alewife with #6 - #8 hooks in the flow of chum.  Several hits later finally produced our first keeper Rock, crossing the line at 20".  It isn't a record but it put a meal on the table and put Mikey D Fishing back in business!

Potter County Fishing Report, 28-29 April

The Mikey D Fishing team joined up for a weekend of trout fishing on a variety of local streams. Friday afternoon Captain DiPaola rolled in, After settling in Joe geared up and we meandered down behind the cabin to hit a few spots on the west branch.  The usual honey hole failed to produce, so we moved down to a second spot that normally holds fish.  With the trees leafing out, the stream level was already beginning to drop, requiring a bit of stealth approaching the bank.  A couple of casts of Joe's wooly bugger across a sunken log, though, produced a nice 8 in Brookie, enough to set the tone for the rest of the weekend.

For some folks an alarm clock is just an alarm clock.  It buzzes, beeps, or turns to your local radio station.  In Potter County, the alarm is nature.  Saturday marked the opener for spring gobbler.  Now, I haven't seen a turkey in the field since last fall.  But the gobbling alarm sounded around 0645, and we looked out into the field to spot two Toms, looking for some action,  Unfortunately, the  gobblers heard the call of love, and darted off into the woods and up the other side of the mountain before we could get the Phantom 3 airborne.

After a great breakfast of Belgian waffles it was time to hit the water.  We decided to fish Wykoff Run, a small freestone stream about an hour south of the cabin.  Weather was cloudy with occasional showers, but he temps held in the low 60s so it wasn't uncomfortable.  We spent the morning stripping wooly buggers against the current, with Joe managing a Brookie, and a small native for me caught in a small tributary to the stream.

 Around noon we decided to pack up and drive up to fish the delayed harvest section of the First Fork of the Sinnemahoning, just south of Costello.  Quite a few fly anglers taking advantage of the recently stocked and no harvest section of the stream.  But we managed to find some decent spots, fishing one of the tribs, which produced 3 Rainbows for Joe, and the first fork itself, which produced one solid hit from a big fish that summarily spit out my bugger. On our way back to the cabin we stopped to fish behind the Westgate Motel on Route 6 in Coudersport.  The stretch of the Allegheny normally gets hammered by the bait fishermen during opening day weekend, but we managed to spy a few trout who survived the onslaught, probably because they were holding in nearly un-castable lies.

Then back to the cabin for steaks, followed by a healthy dose of Blanton's, Perdomo Robustos, and a great Penguin victory.  Tough to beat that kind of a weekend in "God's Country," but the spring is young, and the hatches are yet to start in full force.

Tight Lines,
Mikey D Fishing

2017 Trout Season Opening Day Weekend in "God's Country"

Normally opening day up on the "high lonesome" is cold and rainy.  This year provided a nice change.  Above seasonal temps had the trees in bloom a couple of weeks early, the peepers croaking for mates, and the streams full of trout.

Joining me this opening day was long time friend John Hupp.  John arrived Thursday evening in time for bourbon and cigars on the deck.  While a bit frosty, the patio heater provided exterior warmth to complement the Jefferson's warming the insides.

Since the stocked trout waters in the county were not open to fishing until Saturday, on Friday morning after breakfast we headed out to fish the delayed harvest section of the Allegheny River, just above Coudersport.  Air temps were in the 40s, but throughout the day warmed into the upper 60s.  The upper Allegheny looks like a normal small freestone PA stream.  We started the day fishing nymphs to no avail.  I then tied on a wooly bugger and fished a narrow section of the stream.  As the trees prevented casting, I instead let the current take the bugger downstream, then paused and twitch-stripped it back.  On nearly every cast a trout would take a swipe at the bugger, many times I could see the fish coming up for the take.  A very profitable 30-40 minutes brought 7 Rainbows to the hand, all in the 10-12 inch range.

By the early afternoon we noticed caddis and mayflies coming off the water, and it wasn't too long before trout started rising to the flies.  John had his dry fly game on, landing three on a 16 Parachute Adams, while I manged another Rainbow and a Brownie on the same.

Having had a solid day, we headed back to "the lodge" via Mosch's Tavern and enjoyed some wings and beer to celebrate our victory over the trout before dinner another round or two of JEffersons, and a great Penguins' victory over the Blue Jackets.

Saturday morning marked the trout opener for Potter County.  For most anglers the day is more like a social event.  And if you fish the bigger waters, you're going to enjoy the company of anglers standing elbow to elbow.  We decided instead to spend a couple of hours on the west branch of Fishing Creek, a section of which runs along the back of the property.  We started at a neighbor's house upstream a few hundred yards, and fished our way down to the property.  Air temps again reached into the upper 60s, yet the water remained cold, probably in the upper 40s.  That and the sunny skies probably kept the trout down, as we managed only a couple of fish.  On the up side, we only saw three other anglers on the stretch, and engaged in the normal fishing repartee with them.

John having departed late Saturday morning, I waited until the early evening to hit the stretch behind the house.  Fellow fly angler Bob Volkmar showed up with his Black Lab "Blue" and we fished a couple of holes before retiring to the deck for a couple of Rte 4 IPAs before dinner.

Mary had arrived Saturday morning, so the game plan on Sunday was to check out "Knaub Creek," or rather the Genessee Forks that runs through his property.  Unfortunately, chores and weather conspired to keep us off the water. No matter, the trout will still be there when we get back to the cabin next week.

We could have spent more time on the water, I guess, but then we caught a decent number of trout for the time we were on the water.  The season is young, though, with many miles of stream to explore, and many trout yet to bring to the net.

Tight Lines,
Mikey D Fishing

Ops Check Complete - Mikey D Fishing Ready for 2017!

Spring is here, temperatures rising, fish are moving and Mikey D Fishing is underway for 2017!



                                                 

Before Capt C.C. headed to PA for the opening day of trout season, we took advantage of warm, dry spring weather to launch Mikey D Fishing.   Time has taught us to go slow, be deliberate, and keep expectations in check on the first day to avoid disappointment and disaster. Prior to departure we inventoried all of our fishing and safety gear.   At the dock we took the time to check lighting, navigation, and propulsion.  Of course we had to make sure we left ample time to wet a couple of lines once we departed the ramp at Sandy Point State Park.  Though we are open to a variety of tactics and techniques, we have not invested any significant time trolling over the past three seasons.  Early season is often the time to troll, so we trailed a spreader with hookless metal spoons and two sassy shad jigs.  Water in the mid bay was clear (though perhaps not as clear as this time last year due to recent rains), air temps in the mid 70s with bay temperatures between 58 - 60 degrees.  There was a slight 5 kt breeze from the west on an incoming tide.  Seas were near calm.  A couple of hits was all the rig produced on this our first outing of the season, but it was by any reasonable measure a successful day of prepping, checking, launching, and landing.  Now it is on to April 15th and the official start of the trophy season!

Delayed Report: NE Florida Fishing Report, 09-11 April 2017

It's been a pretty quiet 2017 for the Mikey D Fishing team.  Fortunately, the fishing drought was broken last week.  Perhaps fortuitous that the 2017 Society for Military History's annual symposium was in Jacksonville, providing the opportunity to take advantage of the unseasonable warm spring to spend a few days on the water with "budding" guide, former squadron mate and long time friend Curt Toomer.

First, a note of caution ... Sunday afternoons are not the ideal time to put a boat in the water.  The limited number of ramps, made more difficult by weekend boating "gentry," makes parking a rarity.  Fortunately, we were able to get on the water around 2:00 in the afternoon.  Fished some creeks north of Mayport.  Temps were in the upper 70s, low 80s, water temps in the upper 60s.  Fishing with live shrimp, mud minnows, and soft plastics, we only brought one redfish (a three-spotter, though) and two bluefish to the boat.  An inauspicious beginning, but chalked up by a mid afternoon start.

Monday turned out to be a much better day.  Joining us was Curt's friend and inshore expert Kenny Richards.  We headed out from the dock in Curt's 15 foot Maverick skiff around 0900 or so and proceeded south to fish San Pablo Creek.  The morning was partly cloudy with temps again in the upper 70s, and water temps starting around 68 degrees, rising into the low 70s by the time we headed back.   San Pablo creek was your typical tidal creek branching out from the intracoastal.  No more than 100 feet at its widest, surrounded by tall grasses, and the home to at least one 8 foot gator, which slid into the water as we rounded a bend in the creek.

Today was about catching.  Almost immediately the snapper bite was on.  We boated 21, with two keepers, and probably twice that many having chewed off our shrimp and mud minnow baits before a hook could be set.  Included in the day's catch were two amberjacks, three redfish (Kenny boating the only keeper), and Curt's keeper flounder.  Unfortunately, a nasty front was forecast to roll in late in the afternoon before we could complete the North Florida Slam with a seatrout.  So, discretion being the better part of valor, we headed back up the creek, fished the grasses around a local marina (Curt nailing a red on his first cast) for a bit, then got off the water just as the rain was starting to fall.  The rest of the day was spent cleaning our catch for a splendid fish taco meal, courtesy of Curt's lovely bride Michele, who has graciously put up with our fishing and late night bourbon swilling for quite some time.

One of my rules of fishing is that you need to schedule three days of fishing to get one good day in. Tuesday bore out that maxim, as the front moved in overnight, with thunderstorms, wind, and heavy rains that didn't clear out until the late afternoon.  So instead we headed out to Black Fly fly shop, which has a restaurant, The Taproom," attached.  Enjoying a fried cobia sandwich and an IPA while watching episodes of "Silver Kings" on the bar TV was a pretty decent audible.

In all another great trip to the Bold New City of the South, and a nice way to kick off the 2017 fishing season.  With opening day of trout and trophy striper seasons just around the corner, time to dust off the fly rods, make sure the waders don't leak, and get out on the water!

Tight Lines,
Mike D Fishing

A Little Brownie Love on Valentine's Day

It's been somewhat of a strange winter up here in Potter County.  The weather has bounced from snow and sub-freezing temps to warms ups with rain and melt off, followed by more snow and cold temps, then repeat.  Today marked the latest warm up in the cycle.  On the good side, the west branch of fishing creek is up and moving a lot of water.  The current has pushed most of the debris (including most of the beaver condo on the lower section of our stream) out.  The locals tell me they haven't seen the creek in this good a shape in awhile, hopefully a harbinger for the upcoming trout season.

I've tossed a spinner a couple of times earlier this year, with no luck.  Today temps were again in the 40s, with sunny skies.  So it seemed a good opportunity to get out, get a little vitamin D in my system, and try once again for my first fish of 2017.  Walked down to the "honey hole" to try my luck.  Water was moving, but the far side of the hole was fairly calm.  Tossed a spinner fly (looks like a golden stone fly with a gold spinner in front) into the calm water, and slowly retrieved the spinner.  Within a couple of cranks a dark figure emerged from the green water and chomped down on the spinner.  A couple of turns later and a nice 15 inch Brown came to the bank!

After releasing the fish I went downstream to the other open stretch.  Got one to chase the spinner, but the trout must have seen me as it neared the bank and took off.  Hit a few other spots on the property with no luck.  But a good number of fishy spots that should be productive when we get more consistent conditions.

Unfortunately, no photos, as I was a bit skeptical of my chances.  But it was great seeing fish in the stream, feeling the first tug for the year, and finally getting the blog going again.

Spring is around the corner!  Time to replace line, reload the fly box and get ready.

Tight lines.  Mikey D Fishing