31st may,darley dale

went to darley dale with mick today and boy
was it hot on arrival my cars thermometer was
showing 25 .
the river was alive with mayfly and midge with
the odd trout hammering into the mays.
did catch on my own tied mayfly which was a
first for me.below the lovely shade of this tree
made a nice picnic site

caught one or two but was not brilliant fishing
until the evening cooled down taking 5 in the
last 20 minutes on balloon caddis and spent
mays.

nice days fishing apart from twisting my
ankle on a rut made by a cows hoof ,maybe
the cows were getting revenge for me eating
corned beef sandwhiches.mick thought it was
funny,not as funny as his late attempt to
hook a fish(see video below)

mayfly fill the air.





mick a bit slow in striking.

26th may,dovedale,mayfly mayhem

Cracking afternoons fishing on the dove from
the dovedale carpark end.the wind was quite
brisk working my way down to the stones with
loads of people milling about i didnt really fish
till the nursery pool.started spotting the odd
mayfly being smashed into which had me reaching
for the flybox .on with a grizzly wulff straight
into action .

fished most pools on my way up to ilam rock
footbridge where i caught a couple before some
kids started chucking in rocks,ahh dumbf**ks.

made my way back downstream with the odd
shower making me hide under canopy.
the boards area was alive with fish all going
at the mayfly like it was their last supper.

worked my way down towards the nursery pool
stopping on route to speak to another mayfly
mullerer who happened to also be on the wullfs.
he reported catching a few in the short time he
had been there.

on reaching the nursery pool the fish where still
going at the odd mayfly as well as the clouds
of midges now present as the wind had died
down.still caught a load more on the wulff
which was my fly of the day.i had fished upstream
on the dove two days before with the odd mayfly
showing but the fish not being switched on to
them .brilliant days fishing with a couple of dozen
brownies wild and stock fish alike hammering the
mays. i will be back soon.

24th may,wolfscote dale,greedy buggers

Lovely days fishing on the dove at wolfscote
dale.stopped at hartington for tea and a slice
of cake (aunt sally)on arrival the river was still
a bit brown but the depth was about right.

not many fish showing on the surface considering
the amount of olives ,midges and the odd mayfly.
as we made our way down river we caught steadily
fish after fish my best fly was the balloon caddis
in the streamier sections and the F-fly in the
calmer pools.

caught a variety of fish wild ,stock and some
very small ones which means that wildies are
succeeding but they face many hazards.

pictured below is a heron (ardea cinerea) trying
to catch the young trout they better learn fast
these can live 25 years or more. also spotted a
goosander .
spoke to a fisherman who reported seeing a
mink (albino)which also had a liking for
the trout.
lets hope that enough of these wee trout make
it through to adulthood and manage to keep a
good head of wild trout in this part of the dove.






mick resorted to the nymph but caught quite a
few john on the other hand was struggling on a
blank so i decided to change roles and preceeded
to help him to rise a few trout before catching the
one below.not long after he added another decent
trout in the meadow just before last knockings
taking both on the tan balloon caddis.

all in all a smashing day spent in a beutiful place
cant wait to get back when the mayfly are about.

Maine Striper Fishing Blog Report: May 24th, 2009 The long wait is over!!!

Maine Striper fishing is about to bust wide open as the greatest migration on earth quickly approaches!!!

Our 21' Parker "Super Fly" a fly & light tackle SUV (Sport Utility Vessel)

The Boat is in the water. The Gear is ready to go. The water temps on the bays, flats and tidal rivers of mid coast Maine are nearly perfect. Biblical numbers of bait fish clog our waterways. I've been on the water everyday for a week now...fishing like a man possessed. Today we ran nearly to the head of the tide of one of our local tidal rivers...the water temps hovered around 62 degrees....bait fish boiled every where...osprey and eagles feasting heavily on the thick schools of river herring. We have some holdover Stripers to play with but the massive numbers of migrating stripers have not arrived in the mid coast region yet....The run is beginning along the southern Maine coast and migrating Striped Bass should begin pouring into our rivers and bays within a week....WE'RE READY!!! Reports indicate that the waters from Casco Bay south are starting to heat up....We can and do trailer the "Super Fly" to any of the hot areas along the Maine coast to keep you on the action!!!

Maine's Premier Saltwater Fly & Light Tackle Guide Service

Check us out in the the May/June 2009 issue of Fly Fishing in Salt Waters magazine we're the featured guide service for Maine Saltwater sportfishing (pg. 76) Spring "Hot Spots" section. "Maine is shaking off the cool weather in a big way, which means it's time to enjoy the sun and catch that fish of a lifetime. June is time for huge Stripers and Bluefish on the flats. If that isn't enough, how about throwing a 14wt at busting Bluefin Tuna. Fly Fishing for "football" Bluefins has been getting more and more popular in Maine"

Reporting from the cape...Super Fly Salty Anglers Club" member Capt. Nick Santolucito of The Buzzards Bay Angler Reports: Nick Santolucito (Boston, MA) wrote
at 9:43pm yesterday
Buzzards Bay is starting to heat up fast! The Striper numbers have been increasing over the past few weeks, with many reports of fish being taken in the 40"+ class. The Blues are back in town as well. I took 6 this past weekend all in the 8-10lb range. They were willing to take chunks at the turn of the tide, but weren't eager to school up on the surface due to the chop. We are holding an extraordinary amount of bait down here also - if things keep progressing at this rate, we will be in for a very strong season!


For those fishing southern waters... "Super Fly Salty Anglers Club" member Capt. Dave Sutton of On The Flats Charters reports: Dave Sutton (Miami, FL) wrote at 8:22am yesterday
I am hoping the winds will calm down for June. This is one of the best months here in the Keys for the Tarpon. The Oceanside fish will be going both north and south after the worm fest of May and the inside fish will lay-up on our golden sandy colored flats making perfect targets on the long rod. I have been having great luck with the color peach on my tarpon flies this year and also the Tarpon Bunnies & Toad patterns.


If you're looking to fish with us season...please call us soon for available dates!!! We are taking reservations daily. Don't forget to ask about our evening blitz trip...It's becoming a guest favorite!!! Capt. George Harris
207-691-0745
www.superfly-charters.com

Susquehanna River... High and Muddy!

I'm not sure how I'm finding the time today to write this, but I believe strongly in sharing information regarding the river and it's conditions to help others contemplating fishing... especially during the upcoming Memorial Day weekend!

I decided to hit the river alone yesterday, but had to wait until 9:30 a.m. after OT.

The parking lot was like a ghost town.. I even looked for tumble weeds. :whistling There was only one other boat trailer in the lot... Ahhh, I love a challenge!

The water was still awfully muddy at the ramp. In fact, it was muddy a long distance upriver. So, I ran to one area and tried my trusty chartreuse spinnerbait without any luck. I packed it up and went even further north until I found "cleaner water."

Yepper... grabbed a green shad 3/8th oz. spinnerbait and started fishing up against the west bank.

I worked hard for my first fish, but she did told me what was happening. Fish were holding about 10 yds off the bank, behind rock, and in moving water.

The water temp. was 59.7 at 10:45 a.m. and 62.5 degrees at 1:45 p.m. It was Blue Bird skies with a slight SW breeze. The visibility was terrible in the majority of the river... 6-10" at best. I found an area that was clearing and I could see 2' down... Cool!

No one else was fishing this area. I did see a few other anglers out and they all were in the muddy to dirty water. Not a single one ventured out of it to find better conditions (?).

I ended with 8 bass with the biggest being 17.5". I had four over 15" and four under 15".

Here's the largest I caught... you can see the water quality behind me. It wasn't too bad in this area, but not good.


I'm sure that today, the river in and around Harrisburg will be decent. There is mention in the weather reports of more rain coming this weekend through the first part of next week. I love it! The river was around 5.5' yesterday and the predictor is showing a drop over the next few days.

dadTB

dadTB

Evening on the Susquehanna River 05-18-09

My buddy, Dell, called me last week and asked if I could help him get his jet rig running for the season. Dell and I share a love for bass angling and basketball. He was the head basketball coach at Penn Manor S.D. for six seasons and Donegal S.D. for another six seasons. The past two seasons, I have assisted him in coaching the junior high program and Penn Manor.

He bought a jet rig two seasons ago and I help him winterize the 2-stroke motor and get it running in the spring. He thought he had the batteries fully charged and he most likely did, but...

When we got to the ramp, the starter battery was kicked. We switched out batteries and was able to get 'er running. I believe I found the problem when we parked at the high school for bball skills practice. I heard a humming and thought at first that the bilge pump. It wasn't the bilge, but his aerator. He must have hit the toggle switch when he was getting the boat ready two days before. That would answer the "no battery power" question. ;-)

The water was muddy on the east shore due to a small feeder creek just above the ramp that was pumping out mud. However, from the middle to west bank, the water was only dirty. I didn't get a water temp since he has no gauge on his boat. I assumed it was in the upper 50's to low 60's. It was quite windy throughout the day with gust up to 20 mph. The current was swift (50,000+) and the water was rising in Harrisburg... gauge was 5.5' and going to 6.03' today.

We stayed along the west bank searching for bass that would be up close and tight. After doing the battery work, we only had an hour or so to fish before we had to leave for basketball practice. So we had to make every minute count and we did.

I tossed my God-awful chartreuse bladed spinnerbait. Dell looked at me and the first words out of his mouth were, "T, we aren't going to catch a dang thing!" I told him that he always says that and we always seem to catch fish and always to his amazement. Last night would be no different.

Dell tossed a white/chart spinnerbait and I tossed my chart. spinnerbait as we headed down the west shoreline. I explained to him how the fish use the rising water as a feeding opportunity to access areas that they normally cannot reach. I instructed hi to throw the spinnerbait as close to the bank as possible. We came across one small eddy and I tossed my spinnerbug into the upriver end of it, WHACK! To Dell's surprise, a nice 15" smallie hammered it. "Okay, skunk is out of the boat!", I yelled to him.

The very next cast and about 10 yds downriver, SLAM! Another bass took it. "T, do you need the net?", asked Dell. "I'm not sure yet, Dell. She's running with us." Well, I needed the net for this pigbeast!



Another shot:


A 20+" smallie and my first of the season! We didn't have a scale to weigh her, but she was definitely thick.

We ended the night with 8 bass in less than an hour... 20+", 17.5", 15.5", 15" and a bunch b/w 12 and 14".

What an evening on the river! I told Dell that if it wasn't for his starter battery misfortune, it may have been a totally different story to tell.

Dell caught three smallies on an orange colored crawdad pattern crankbait. I always get a kick out of fishing with him. He is only now experimenting with different lures and he's having such a blast. Although he didn't catch anything with the spinnerbait, he had the crankbait working last evening... Cool!

dadTB

p.s. Congratulations to my buddy, catfishhunter, for taking the catfish tourney out of Goldsboro this weekend and to my buddy, Mike Burton, for taking second in the 2 day FLW amateur event on the Flats this weekend. Mike had two fish on the first day that weighed over 9 lbs! The one LM went 5.3 lbs! To top it all off, he was a rider. Great job, guys!

17th may, foremark,rain didn't stop play

fished at foremark sunday afternoon as most
of the rivers had gone chocolate due too the
last few days rain.arrived to be greeted with
a good shower so i stayed in the car watching
mick and some other anglers catching fish but
also getting soaked.after half an hour the skies
cleared leaving a blue sky pictured below.

tried taking pictures of these feisty rainbows
but due to flipping about like a labour mp with
a blank cheque none turned out.
although the bend in my rod felt good i can't
wait to get back on the rivers.

i did get into double figures with the fish fit as
fleas fighting even whilst being unhooked.
mick had quite a few as well all on buzzers with
all mine coming to lures(orange)
if thinking of giving foremark a whirl it is full
of fish at the moment and the water level is back
to about normal levels.

Susquehanna River "A Rose b/w Two Thorns"

What a beautiful day on the river. I'll call this day a "Rose Between Two Thorns" because yesterday it poured on us and it's suppose to rain most the weekend. So I got to smell the Rose!

I had OT this morning on my wrist and hand until 9:00 a.m. I got home and hooked the boat to the truck and away I went. I had to stop to get gas and a sammie for lunch. By the time I got to the ramp, it was already 10:20 a.m. A little late to start a day out, but I was just glad to be there!

I headed up river and stopped at a spot that has yielded me some very nice bass over the pass several weeks. NADA!

Being that it was Friday, there were more boats on the water than earlier in the week. Many were either working the west shoreline or the "cleaner" water towards the middle of the river. There are several creeks and streams in this area that were pumping muddy water into the river.

I got a reading of 59.3 degrees when I got on the water. It rose to 62.2 degrees by 2:00 p.m. There was a slight overcast/haze at the beginning of my trip. I could tell the humidity was still up there. But as the day progressed, the humidity broke and I had mostly sunshine. There was a slight southerly breeze blowing, but it had little effect on my fishing. The air temp was 68 degrees when I launched and 77 degrees when I trailered the G3 at 2:00 p.m..

I headed north and hit an area that gave Josh, Dunkleberger, and me several fish on Tuesday. I caught two nice fish... 16.5" and a 15.5" smallies. The one had the brightest red eyes. We caught two red eyed smallies on Tuesday. These fish came on a 3/8th oz. spinnerbait.

It was around 12:30 p.m. when I moved to my next spot. I grabbed a quick bite of my sandwich and gave Jst Fishin a call to see where he was and how his day was going. They fished north of me and were having a decent day after a slow morning start. After I hung up, I tossed my spinnerbait into a 5' channel and "Smack!" A little 12" smallie grabbed it. After a few more casts, I had an 11" on... I was in a pocket of juveniles! I tossed again and this 13" smallie hit. Check out what was sticking in his gullet...



This 13" glutenous smallie not only had this nice size crayfish sticking in his throat, but he was chasing my 3/8th oz. spinnerbait, too. Cool!

After seeing the beautiful orange pincers on that crawdad, I grabbed a mudpie tube and caught two more. Just a few weeks ago, the pincers of the cray were a nice bright blue. One of the smallies had a nice sore started on the top of his lip from ripping into these delicacies.

I finished the day with a dozen bass with all b/w 11" and 16.5" (10:45 a.m - 2:00 p.m.). I had 9 in the 11"-14" range. I like seeing those smaller bass and hope that we continue to get such nice rainfall as we had yesterday over the next couple of months. I'll keep my fingers crossed for a great 2009 spawn.

dadTB

14th may,ecclesbourne "jacob was not home"

fished the drac stretch of the ecclesbourne
today for a few hours even though the weather
forecast was quite bleak.on arrival we noticed
a few insects about mainly meduim olives ,
hawthorn and midge with a few rising fish.

this is quite a difficult little stream to fish
with some steep banks and a lot of overhanging
trees ,bushes

this chap above came up twice for a yellow
paradun before giving me a chance to hook him.
when wading here the bottom soon stirs up
leaving clouds in the stream below and sometimes
above(back eddies)

the most civilised thing about fishing here is
the cabin which makes a comftable pit stop
point.
whilst enjoying a lovely cup of rosy lea john
thought that the little house resembled the one
in lost so from now on we will know this as
JACOB'S CABIN

Headed to the River

I was going to fish alone today and Josh was taking his buddy, Dunkleberger fishing in his rig. We met at the ramp at 7:45 a.m. and headed north. I stopped at a favorite spot of mine and Josh continued upriver. Within several minutes, I hit a nice 16.75" on a 3/8th oz. chartreuse bladed spinnerbait.

Here's dad in his G3 clocking Josh's rig at 31.4 mph... downriver, full gear, and a partner on board. Not bad for a 1860 with a 90/65 Yamaha Jet.


I called Josh to see how far north he had run and to fill him in my quick success. We knew that his TM was not churning at 100% before we left the ramp. He told me he was going to call Lakeside Marine (JC Nuss) in Harrisburg to discuss the problem.

20 minutes later, when we spoke again, he told me he had tried a few things and wanted to know if I had any silicone spray. I had a facsimile and headed north to meet up him.

By the time I got there, he had spoken once again to Lakeside and had decided to not screw around and take the TM into the shop. So, we ran back to the ramp and Dunkleberger jumped rigs to ride with me. Josh headed to Lakeside to drop off his boat and was coming back to fish with us.

It didn't take him too long before he returned and we fished "Three Men in a Tub".

The three of us picked up 12 fish over the next few hours. The biggest was a nice 17.75" that Josh caught on a spinnerbait. This was right after his buddy missed a nice fish... We think he "stole" Dunkleberger's fish... LOL! :-) When Dunkleberger hooked into that big fish, it shot out of the water like a missile. It was a least 2' out of the water which is a feat for such a hawg.

Josh's 17.75" on a spinnerbait


This pic shows the growth on this fish's left eye... May be a parasite(?)


I had two throughout the day that measured 16.75". Both were chunks and had been eating quite well on crayfish.

We had no evidence of spawn in any of the areas we fished today. The water was 56.7 degrees in the morning and rose to 59.3 degrees by 2:00 p.m. It was mostly sunny with a few passing clouds. The wind blew 10-15 mph all day long. It started blowing from the NE and switched to the NW by afternoon as the high pressure moved into the area.

The water was stained to emerald green on the east shoreline and the middle of the river. The west shoreline was dirtier, but not muddy. Certain islands that we passed appeared dirtier than the main stem. The wind was contributing to this.

Thanks for the great day, Josh and Dunkleberger!
dadTB

p.s. We took a pic of Josh's big fish of the day. It had a growth growing on the back end of it's eye. The fish still could see from that eye, but the growth was partly blocking it's vision. Not sure if Josh got a good pic of it(?)

Maine's Premier Saltwater Guide Service

Maine's Premier Saltwater Fly & Light Tackle Guide Service

Check us out in the the May/June 2009 issue of Fly Fishing in Salt Waters magazine we're the featured guide service for Maine Saltwater sportfishing (pg. 76) Spring "Hot Spots" section. "Maine is shaking off the cool weather in a big way, which means it's time to enjoy the sun and catch that fish of a lifetime. June is time for huge Stripers and Bluefish on the flats. If that isn't enough, how about throwing a 14wt at busting Bluefin Tuna. Fly Fishing for "football" Bluefins has been getting more and more popular in Maine"
2009 Season Overview:
Maine Striper Fishing: June thru September
Super Fly Charters provides friendly professional guided fly & light tackle fishing trips for Striped Bass, Bluefish & "football" Bluefin Tuna. We Serve an area from Eastern Casco Bay to Western Penobscot Bay including the mighty Kennebec river and it's many tributaries. An area covering an astonishing 1000 miles of the Maine Striper Coast. We focus our efforts on the rocky coast & islands of Muscongus Bay & untouched saltwater flats & rips of the lower St. George river.

Starting in late May, the coast of Maine is invaded by a "thousand mile long convoy" of ravenous Striped Bass that pour into the numerous coastal rivers and bays to feed on the vast schools of bait fish. June offers nearly non-stop action with "schoolie" Stripers in the 18-30 inch range. By July, Bluefish join the fray with amazing surface "blitzes" that churn the waters. Huge Striped Bass cruise the flats & lie in deep rips attacking any bait that passes by. August sees the arrival of "football" Bluefin Tuna, in the 50 to 200 pound range that crash into hapless bait balls on the surface of near shore waters with action that lasts through the Fall. September - October offers unbelievable action on Striper, Bluefish, and "Football" Tuna as acres and acres of fish gorge themselves on Peanut Bunker, Herring, Sandeels and Atlantic Mackerel; to fatten-up as the first cold fronts of autumn send these game fish off on their southerly migration.

The Rocky Coast of Maine, which is said have have over 3500 miles of jagged coastline is comprised of thousands of acres of sand, mud & eelgrass flats , all of which are subject to a huge 8 to 10 foot tidal range leaving many of the flats bare or nearly bare at low water. As the tide begins to flood these flats the plentiful baitfish, marine worms & crustaceans begin to feed in the nutrient rich waters. Hungry Stripers know this and feed aggressively, swirling and slashing, their silvery bodies glinting like mirrors as they forage in gin clear shallow water of the flats. This activity makes the Striped Bass perfect sight casting targets for fly & light tackle anglers.
We take advantage of the big tides by fishing the powerful tide rips that form as the heavy current rushes past underwater structure. Striped Bass line up in the current gorging themselves on the smorgasbord of baitfish that get trapped in the turbulent current.

With Maine's jagged & rocky shoreline, spruce studded islands, sandy beaches, and tide marshes, the fishing possibilities are nearly endless!!!
Maine Striper Fishing: June thru September
Super Fly Charters provides friendly professional guided fly & light tackle fishing trips for Striped Bass, Bluefish & "football" Bluefin Tuna. We Serve an area from Eastern Casco Bay to Western Penobscot Bay including the mighty Kennebec river and it's many tributaries. An area covering an astonishing 1000 miles of the Maine Striper Coast. We focus our efforts on the rocky coast & islands of Muscongus Bay & untouched saltwater flats & rips of the lower St. George river.

Starting in late May, the coast of Maine is invaded by a "thousand mile long convoy" of ravenous Striped Bass that pour into the numerous coastal rivers and bays to feed on the vast schools of bait fish. June offers nearly non-stop action with "schoolie" Stripers in the 18-30 inch range. By July, Bluefish join the fray with amazing surface "blitzes" that churn the waters. Huge Striped Bass cruise the flats & lie in deep rips attacking any bait that passes by. August sees the arrival of "football" Bluefin Tuna, in the 50 to 200 pound range that crash into hapless bait balls on the surface of near shore waters with action that lasts through the Fall. September - October offers unbelievable action on Striper, Bluefish, and "Football" Tuna as acres and acres of fish gorge themselves on Peanut Bunker, Herring, Sandeels and Atlantic Mackerel; to fatten-up as the first cold fronts of autumn send these game fish off on their southerly migration.

The Rocky Coast of Maine, which is said have have over 3500 miles of jagged coastline is comprised of thousands of acres of sand, mud & eelgrass flats , all of which are subject to a huge 8 to 10 foot tidal range leaving many of the flats bare or nearly bare at low water. As the tide begins to flood these flats the plentiful baitfish, marine worms & crustaceans begin to feed in the nutrient rich waters. Hungry Stripers know this and feed aggressively, swirling and slashing, their silvery bodies glinting like mirrors as they forage in gin clear shallow water of the flats. This activity makes the Striped Bass perfect sight casting targets for fly & light tackle anglers.
We take advantage of the big tides by fishing the powerful tide rips that form as the heavy current rushes past underwater structure. Striped Bass line up in the current gorging themselves on the smorgasbord of baitfish that get trapped in the turbulent current.

With Maine's jagged & rocky shoreline, spruce studded islands, sandy beaches, and tide marshes, the fishing possibilities are nearly endless!!!

2009 Fly Fishing Film Tour
here’s a date to mark on your calendar: June 4th, 2009. That’s when the Fly Fishing Film Tour will make a stop in Portland. This tour is hosted by Flies and Fins, and sponsored by Sage Rods, Patagonia, Scientific Anglers among others, will showcase some of the most cutting edge fly fishing films to date. Part of all gross proceeds are donated to conservation groups. For more info on the Fly Fishing Film Tour, for tickets and to see trailers of the films that will be showing, check out the website: http://www.flyfishingfilmtour.com
This should be a great event...unfortunately you're probably not gonna see me there though...after a long winter, the last thing i'll be doing is watching fishing shows on TV...a good tide & hungry fish will be keeping me busy that evening...anyone that knows me knows that I NEVER miss a tide!!!....however..I do strongly urge all you addicted fly fishers out there to attend this event...great prizes...spectacular videos...enough said...do yourself a favor and don't miss it!!! check out Flies and Fins for more info

If you're looking to fish with us season...please call us soon for available dates!!! We are taking reservations daily. Don't forget to ask about our evening blitz trip...It's becoming a guest favorite!!! Capt. George Harris
207-691-0745
www.superfly-charters.com

dad is now a granddad!

Say hello to our little angel, Macie Elizabeth. She is the first born of our oldest son, Chris, and our daughter-in-law, Kristi.

Macie was born on May 9, 2009. She weighed 6 lb. 11 oz. at birth and was 17 inches long. She is a little precious sweetheart!

We were called to the hospital at 1:45 a.m. on May 9. It was a full moon... dontcha just love it!

Here are some great pics... Once mom gets back to feeling like herself again, I'll print some pics of her with Macie.

All bundled up and warmmie warm (05_10_09)...


"I love my daddy!" Macie and Chris (05_09_09)


Macie, Daddy, and Grammy (05_10_09)


Macie, Daddy, and Pop Pop (05_10_09)


"Pop Pop and Grammy Came Back to see me after the Barnstormer Baseball Game." (05_10_09)


May 10, 2009 was Mother's Day. Macie was a beautiful gift for her mommy and daddy and came into this world to help mommy celebrate Mother's Day!

6th may,horner water,minehead,somerset

managed a few hours fishing on this lovely
little stream very near to minehead.
got my ticket costing 1 whole pound per day
from the horner tea garden (the cream tea
was delicous)started off near the road but with
the water being very low i made my way
upstream at a brisk pace stopping for the odd
cast at anything rising.this little stream is full
of small trout which seem to rise freely.

i did have to climb a few gates and fences but
after about a hour and a half decided that the
stretch by the horner tea gardens was probably
as good as it was gonna get.

this really is a smashing little stream and i would
love to visit when a bit more rain as risen levels
abit.

caught quite a few little chaps.if you are visiting
this area it might be a good way to spend a
couple of hours.just enjoy the surroundings
and not forgetting the tasty cream tea.

Susquehanna Flats with Mike Burton

I was all loaded up for the river and eating breakfast at our local greasy spoon, when Mike gave me a call on the cell. "Do you want to fish the Flats?" Let me think a moment about that... "Okay! Let's go."

I took the boat back home, placed it back into the garage, and picked up a few LM lures. Mike arrived at my home and we loaded stuff from my rig over to his and headed south.

We launched outside of Havre de Grace, Md. and headed across the river. It was overcast with the sun peaking through. The air temp was a humid 68 degrees. The water temp was in the low 60's and much cooler, according to another angler we met, than last week. The tide was high and sitting still when we hit our first spot. The Conowingo Dam wasn't dumping much water into the lower Susquehanna River and there were plenty of rocks showing below the dam.

Throughout our day, we threw crankbaits, spinnerbaits in a multitude of colors, 7" Blue Fleck Worms (5/0 Worm Hook), Flipping Tubes (5/0 Hooks), regular tubes, and 1/2 oz. Rat'l Traps in several colors. It wasn't a banner day, but we did catch 2 LM and one was lost at the boat. Two came off the Flipping Tube and the third hit a crankbait.

We weren't on the water for more than two and a half hours before the thunderstorms moved in on us. The storm wrapped around on us several times! Okay, enough is enough, we decided to call it a day before bad things started to happen to us.

It was my first 2009 trip to the Flats. We always have a great time running around fishing for "the other" species. The water was rather stained and there was some really muddy water, mostly on the west shoreline, from some of the smaller creeks dumping.

The current started to pick up as the tide began to move. As we drove over the dam on our way home, the water was dumping a ton of water.

The area below the dam is always teeming with bird life. We caught a glimpse of two bald eagles. One was soaring below the dam as we drove south and over the dam. On the way home, we saw one mature sitting on a large boulder, taking it easy, and in total control of things surrounding him.

dadTB

Cinco de Mayo on the Susquehanna River

Coronas for everyone! :D

I had a late start yesterday. I had OT at 8:00 a.m. and got out at 9:15 a.m. I called Josh, my Tuesday fishing buddy, and he was under the weather. When he woke up, he wasn't feeling well. So, dad was heading on the river by himself.

The evening before, I took a bunch of stuff that I didn't want to get wet and put them all into the dry livewell... Well... As I was running up river, I notice that there was water on the back floor. Uh-Oh... I got to my first spot and open the livewell. It was filled with water. I was actually sinking my own boat. :o Not really, but everything in it was soaking wet.

I got the lures, hooks, and weights out. Even my "Little Fisherman" (talking) was soaked... Oh No! I laid it all on my wet stuff on the back deck to dry. I opened all the packages and laid the contents out.

I took a Tupperware container and used it to dip all the river water out... It all took about 20 minutes to accomplish and then back to fishing.

My first stop and within three casts, I pulled this 18.25" hawg in on a spinnerbait!



She was in a 4.5' channel with moving water. If you look under my left index finger, you can see the red sore on her lip from eating crayfish... She was not only spawned out, but feeding aggressively. Good sign!

All my fish today came off that same spinnerbait... until I lost it!! I didn't even get it hung on anything. I had a mishap where the line got caught around the handle and wrapped deep into it. I had to cut the line to free it. As I was pulling the spinnerbait back to the boat, it slipped through my weak right hand and into the drink... Bye, Bye Spinnerbait!

I finished the day with six bass. All of them were 15" and over. The 18.25" was all spawned out. I did catch a 15" that had some eggs left in her.

Water temp was 57 degrees and the air temp was 57 degrees. It was extremely overcast with threats of showers all afternoon. In fact, right after I put the boat into the garage at 5:15 p.m., the rain started. That was about the only good timing thing I did all day.

Once I had the boat in the garage, I worked on my hooks and cranks that had gotten soaked earlier. Most had dried throughout the trip. I wiped all the boxes down and sprayed them with silicone spray. I have some of those smaller sealing plastic bags. I grabbed a few and put all my now dried and sprayed hooks, weights, etc. into them... It all looks brand new and as if there was nothing wrong.

Now, to my "Little Fisherman". I treated this electrical apparatus as I did my older digital camera when it has gotten wet.... Take the batteries out, open it up, allow it to air dry during the day. On the ride home, I put the whole thing on the truck's defog vents and heated it.

When I got home, I got two new AAA batteries and screwed the whole thing back together again. Guess what!? It worked... Yes, I got my "Little Fisherman" Back in working order!

Life is good again!

Heading to a breakfast now for retired educators at the high school and the to OT again. Yesterday, my OT fitted me for a new brace to help my elbow and wrist... a custom made device... Bionic Man revisited!

I see my OT and three doctors on Monday... OT, Chiropractor, Family Physician, and Hand Surgeon. The surgeon will have my MRI report for my elbow and the family physician will have my blood test results and liver CAT Scan... See, Life is so good! :-/

dad

Maine Striper Fishing Blog Report:

Check us out in the the May/June 2009 issue of Fly Fishing in Salt Waters magazine we're the featured guide service for Maine Saltwater sportfishing (pg. 76) Spring "Hot Spots" section. "Maine is shaking off the cool weather in a big way, which means it's time to enjoy the sun and catch that fish of a lifetime. June is time for huge Stripers and Bluefish on the flats. If that isn't enough, how about throwing a 14wt at busting Bluefin Tuna. Fly Fishing for "football" Bluefins has been getting more and more popular in Maine"


Reservations continue to come in for the 2009 Maine Striper season

Call us today to set up a time before prime dates fill...Let's go fishing!!!

Capt. George Harris
207-691-0745
www.superfly-charters.com
Call us today to set up

What a Tough Day! 04/28/09

Josh and I took my G3 out today for a run today. We met at 7:30 a.m. and headed to the ramp. We arrived by 8:30 a.m. and prepped the boat. The water had dropped a few more inches since Sunday's trip and some of the ledges and boulders were beginning to show.

The air temp at launch was 73 degrees and rose to 86 degrees by 2:00 p.m. There were a few passing clouds moving this morning, but as moisture built, the skies became increasingly overcast.

The water temp rose to 66.3 degrees on my Lowrance which is an 8 degree rise in a week's period.

We found it really tough fishing today. We had spoken to a couple of other anglers who were having the same experience. The only thing that could catch fish for us was a 3.5" tube. The spinnerbaits just wouldn't draw a strike as they had the last three visits. We were very patient to get the four fish we finally ended with. The largest only being a 14" female with eggs. The others fell int the 8-10" range. These immatures were wandering the banks looking for a quick meal. All they got was a mouth full of metal and plastic... sorry guys!

We saw a neat sight today. Josh spotted a bald eagle that lives and hunts in this area as we were passing a b/w a few islands. A few minutes after the sighting, we saw the eagle returning with a decent size fish in his talons. At that point of our trip, we hadn't landed a single fish (1.5 hours). The eagle was out less than five minutes and came back with lunch! :-/

On Sunday, we began to hear the trill sounds of male toads calling to the female. Today, we actually came across a muddy beach where hundreds of toads were doing their springtime thing. I have never seen such a sight of this proportion while out fishing.

dadTB