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