Flyfshn76's Blog

New Beginings!

2010-03-17T19:09:00.000-07:00

Ok so it has been a long time since my last post. Hmmm...where to begin. Well the job that I worked at decided that they no longer needed my services at the end of September. I can say that I was very surprised. I worked there for almost 7 years and thought that everything was going good. Man that was a shocker. As most know there is always a silver lining in the dark clouds. By just pure luck a local utility company was hiring, so I decided to put my application in. It went very fast after that.

November 16th I started my new career. Lots of stuff to learn and take in. I have worked hard and have made great strides and I believe that I have found my career. There is something to be said when you wake up every morning and look forward to going to work.

I had a hard time at first with losing a job that I thought I was good at. God had other plans and if the strife had not happened than I would never have had this chance. One of the greatest things in life is when you can be given a second chance. Although situations can be stressful at the time look to the future, put the past behind you and remember you will never be given more than you can handle.

Soon I will be going back to school and finishing my electrical engineering degree and then the sky's the limit. BTW I have only been fishing once since November, responsibiltys take priority and with the hours that I work now, I have been able to get to spend alot more time with my son and wife. These memories will never be able to be replaced. I can't wait till my son gets old enough to fish with me and more memories can be made.

Guys and Gals have a great weekend and enjoy life.

Brookie Fishing 7/10

2009-07-10T19:21:00.001-07:00

Went out today for some much needed brookie fishing, and had a great day. Went fishing with a good friend who is always a joy to fish with. The fish that we caught were all very healthy and were meaner than a junkyard dog. Most were caught on a size 16 tan elk hair caddis tied by yours truly. Nothing like catching fish on something that you made with your own 2 hands. Also used my bamboo rod, which is always a joy because it makes me look like I can actually cast. So thats it for now short and sweet with some fish porn. Enjoy..

Biggest Trout that I have ever caught and and a few others.

2009-03-31T18:31:00.000-07:00

Made it down to the lady today, yea I know some may say, is that the only stream you fish? Until water temps move up a bit elsewhere,yes. Anyways had an awesome day caught alot of good fish and also hooked into moby dick and actually landed it. Was fishing a spot, that is known to those in the know, to hold several very, very large fish. No not the mill pool, mayby upstream from there or mayby downstream...hmmm. Was fishing an olive slumpbuster, throwing it out into the current and letting it swing in front of a downed tree. Picked up three right away ranging from 15-17 inches. Made another cast and all of a sudden my line stopped. I raised the rod tip and nothing. Felt like I snagged on the bottom. Could be, I was using 3 split shot. Than it happened. The all to familiar head shake. Holy crap this is a fish and a nice one at that. I rolled the fish and seen this was a monster. He then headed into the downed tree and everything stopped. I begin to panick and then felt the shake again. It did have me wrapped around a branch but it was still on. I slowly made my way to the tree and spotted the fish. I grabbed my net and scooped the fish up. Man this guy was a monster. It wouldn't even fit in the net all the way. I started to make quick measurements. Estimated length by my hand was 32 inches. From tip of my thumb to tip of my pinky fully extended is eight inches, and it took 4 to cover tail to nose. My hand would not even fit around one side of this fish. A fish of a lifetime for sure. I went to reach into my front pocket of my wading jacket to grab the camera and the rule to get 100% accurate measurements to dtermine weight. As I was doing this the fish came out of the net and went back into the water. And it was gone. I won't lie and tell you I didn't say things I shouldn't have but I did. I might have been able to get the fish back if I was not using 5x tippet. I came to my senses a little bit and climbed the bank. As I was coming across the field John and Elkfisher were standing on the back deck. They both seen me run the 40 in 4.4 in full fly fishing garb. I told my self that I was not going to let myself lose another fish to small tippet. So off to the fly shop to get 2x tippet, because there was another fish down there that was quite large. When I got to the shop I was shaking and Could not speak. Dave and John were laughing so hard that they couldn't breathe. I told them the story and we all just shook our heads. A quick coke and some 2x tippet and I was back in business. From that point on during the day I fished with nothing but streamers hunting for another moby dick. Caught several more that were smaller, but did get a pick of the next to biggest that was caught today. Measured at 19" , and that was considered small for what I caught earlier. Also got some really good pics of the little black stones that were all over the place. No topwater action until 3 today, bwo's and some little blacks(28) were coming off and some of the smaller residents were taking to the surface. Enjoy the pics.

winter is almost over

2009-03-03T14:31:00.000-08:00

What a winter. Been able to do alot of fishing this winter, and I have had a blast. Been fishing the Elk river at monterville alot. Mainly because of it being spring fed, which makes it a 12 month fishery. Also the hatches on this river are phenomanal. The little black stones are coming out( size 16) and are the first big hatch of the year. Went week before last and was able to hit a hatch of them. Didn't catch any big ones but caught alot of fish and had a blast. Going to fish it tommorow and hopefully the fish will cooperate. If they don't that is ok because any bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work. If I do good tommorow I will post some fish porn. Have a great day everyone and see you on the stream!

The new toy

2009-01-07T19:24:00.000-08:00

Well guys and gals it finally arrived on Dec 24. I am now a proud owner of a bamboo flyrod. It was built by a good friend and hopefully soon fishing partner Earle Goode. It is built off of the Thomas and Thomas taper "the caneis", 7'6" 2/3 wght. I finally got to take it for a test drive with my friend Mark on my beloved Elk river. Although I wasn't able to hook any of the big boys we did catch tons of the little guys. The fly's that were used was a size 16 little black stonefly nymph and a wet fly that is called the heresay. The rod casted like a dream and will roll cast for miles. It was a joy and can't wait to hook into some large brookies with it this year. Anyways short and sweet and here are some pics from the rod and some river shots from the other day hope you enjoy.

I love fly swaps

2008-11-24T11:17:00.000-08:00

Hello to all again. Havn't been doing a lot of fishing lately, been busy with work and playing with my son. I have been tying though right now I am in 2 flyswaps on wvangler.com, nymph and foam fly swap. For the nymph swap I am tying a size 20 olive caddis pupae and for the faom swap I will be tying a size 10 foam inchworm. Both are very easy tyes and have been alot of fun to tye. I really love the swaps because you get to see what the other guys tye and I get alot of new ideas for patterns. I used this foam inchworm pattern that I developed this year on a favorite brookie stream and it did exceptionaly well. When I get a chance I will post some pics of these flys. The best thing about tying with foam is that the stuff is pretty much unsinkable. Alot of times with the inchworm pattern I will twitch it to make it go under the surface and as it rises back to the surface I will get some massive strikes. Anyways just a little bit that I have been up to. I just want to wish everyone a great thanksgiving and to all that are out there hunting good luck and be safe.

Yuck politics

2008-11-04T21:04:00.000-08:00

Ok so Obama is now the new president. Nothing can be done about it now. There are those out there that are saying.. I will not support this president, thats fine because you voted for who you wanted. Myself I didn't vote for Obama not for race, creed, color, political party etc. but because he does not represent my values. I will pray for him every night so that he will be able to make the right decisions. It is a scary time but guess what in 4 years we will be able to vote again. I am just glad that it is all over with so that we can get back to normal life. Yes it sucks when the team we are rooting for loses but we just have to come back look at our gameplans and go from there. If the world dows come to an end I know my future, do you?

Sincerely,
Bryan

The size 32 conspiracy

2008-10-17T22:17:00.001-07:00

So here it is my offering to the size 32 gods. Really was not as difficult as what I thought it would be. Simple fly uni size 8/0 olive dun, which has a brownish tint to it and some lt dun cdc. I am going to tie these up with every color I have. Only color I don't have is white, which I will soon have. I wish that I could have had a better picture, still trying to get the macro figured out on the new camera. I have made it my goal this winter to get better at tying the small stuff and to get better at tying dry's up. It is amazing what a little practice will do for your confidence. Sorry no fishing pics, got in a tussle with a door at work and it messed my ankle up a bit. Will try to get to the stream within the next month to try and get one last trip in before winter. I will probably go fish the elk a couple of times this winter and see if the small flys I have tyed up will be to the fish's liking. On a great note, tommorow my wife, my son and myself will be heading to Richs farm. Taking Eli to his first pumpkin patch and to thier petting zoo. Eli really likes animals so i am sure we will have a great time. Hopefully get some good pics to post, mayby even some video. Just remember to limit your catch not catch your limit, enjoy what God has given us and fish on. Peace.

poacher caught on the elk C and R

2008-10-12T19:09:00.000-07:00

Went to visit an old friend the other day, and she treated me very good. Caught alot of fish and missed quite a large rainbow. This fish came up and attacked my size 24 split wing olive. I watched the fish come and take the fly, which was the promblem, as soon as it hit I went to set the hook and set it a little early. BTW also caught a poacher, but I am sure he will never pay the fine. Was able to get a few pics of him though.

Went downstream and started to fish some holes that I knew held decent fish, watched alot of browns that were paired together, in preperation for the upcoming spawn, which is being held up because of the water flows. Noticed a nice brown laying at the end of a pool. Decided to throw a olive hares ear size 16, as the nymph got closer to the fish I watched her move and then take the fly, a split second and I sat the hook. She was on and hooked good. On the 3 wght she put up an awesome fight and got into the current a few times. She really gave the rod a workout. Got her netted and the fly out of her mouth. As I picked her up to take pictures I noticed that she dropped a few eggs. As soon as I seen this I made sure to get her in the water as fast as possible and got her rejuvinated. She swam but not before I gave her a kiss and thanked her for the fight. In the picture of the me holding her in the lip look at the lower left hand corner and you can see an egg flying threw the air..

new water and good friends

2008-10-01T15:12:00.000-07:00

Saturday the 27th of Sept was a good day. Went to the stocking of the headwaters of the little kanawha, and had a great time. Also got to see some new water and handle the little feeshes. In a couple of years I know these fish will be "hurgan durgans" and hopefully will have the chance to let one the little fellas bend my rod. As always any time that you can get out of the house and into the wilds of WV is a good time. Time for your battery's to recharge and to come up with new ideas. I like to call it God's chalkboard, because it is changing all the time. A new season and a blank slate. I hope to have a better fall than I had this spring, as long as I can stay out of the hospital than I know I can meet this goal. I did more fishing this summer and late spring than I have in a long time and I have came to a conclusion, I am a pretty good fly fisherman and it doesn't take all that long for the rust to come off. Again to any that read this thank you and don't be afraid to leave a comment.

foam fan

2008-09-24T22:26:00.000-07:00

Back again for another instalment of my blog. Been tying some flies up that are so simple that my son could tie them up if he could hold the bobbin. Some crickets based on a friends fly and a inchworm type that I use to imitate the catalpa worms that are in this area. Both of these are deadly when fished in the right situations. They take no longer than 5 mins and are very,very durable. Might post some pics later. Fall is now here and looks like we will be getting some much needed rain. Glad to hear that, especially for the stocking that we will be doing on the 27th at the little kanawha headwaters. Looking forward to the stocking and getting to meet some new people, new contacts. Anyways a short blog this time. Thanks to anyone who reads this.

Fish on,
Bryan

Bring on the fall

2008-09-19T18:42:00.000-07:00

Fall is coming, no doubt about it. Some will wence at the thought of it ,but there are those out there in cyberspace such as myself, that are looking forward to it. Wonderful brookies here in WV are getting ready to spawn, brown trout too. For those that have never seen a brookie in full spawning colors, it is a sight to see. The next best time is spring but its a while off now, so I will enjoy this wonderful time of year. Just a simple blog for a simple person. Anyways hopefully soon I will be joining the brethren of the boo, can't wait to catch a fish on a piece of big grass.

A few pics from the last trip, on a favorite brookie stream, with a great friend Bubba Holt.
I have titled these Bubba's Baptism. He had just fallen in the stream. It was very funny, and luckily his bamboo rod made it out with a small scratch and nothing more. Have a great weekend and enjoy what we have been given .