A fly fisherman's weekend

[Soft-hackle]

This past weekend is usually our annual trip to Roscoe, NY, however to save us some money, we decided to skip the long trip and fish our home water, The Genesee River. The weekend started for Bill, my son-in-law, and I on Thursday evening. We fished one of our favorite spots, but there were so many insects, the fish kept switching preferences. We did catch fish, but the evening was a constant guessing game.

Friday morning was bright, sunny and cool. I had invited a friend, Ray Tucker, to join us. Ray lives a few hours away, and I thought it would be great for us to share some fishing time. The day clouded over in the afternoom, but there was no rain, and fishing continued to be fairly good through the day.We did get on and off showers in the evening, but continued to fish and took some nice browns before the sun sank behind the hills.

All the fish I took were taken on wingless wets.

It was great seeing Ray, and he supplied me with some of the photos.

Saturday morning was beautiful. Clear and sunny weather brought the water temps up a bit and the trout were very active. All my party, Mark, my son, Bill and my Grandson, Colin all took trout. I took two very nice browns on a cream colored flymph, fished just under the surface. Both fish were good size, with one of about 18". The other about 15".

Saturday evening found us searching for a place to fish. I have never seen so many fly fishermen on our river. (Looks like it's time to open a fly shop, here. It almost reminded me of being in Roscoe.) At any rate, we did find some water, and fishing was very good. The same Cream Flymph took most of my fish that evening, and again as the evening went on bug activity increased. The fish, once more, kept changing their preference, but we managed quite a few browns and feisty rainbows and the evening set in.

We returned home- 4 happy, tired, and contented fly fishermen. We could not have had a better weekend, even in Roscoe.

Check out the photos.
Tight lines, everyone,
Mark



Here's Bill working the water on Thursday evening.



Mark, myself and Colin checking out the water Friday morning.



Me-if my beard gets any whiter, I'll be playing Santa, soon.



Me, taking a fish off. Mark and Colin are downriver.



Me, playing one in.



An interesting stone fly Ray discovered.



Here's Ray, fishing upriver of me.



One of the beauties Ray took.



More of Ray's fish. Great photo Ray.



Here's Ray working a run in the Afternoon.



Mark and Colin in the run.



Where I fished Saturday Morining.



The first of two browns I took.



Second of the pair.

[Davyfly]

Mark,

Seems like you guys had a great time there. Are those fish wild or is it a stocked water system.

Davy.

[Soft-hackle]

Hi Davy,
Most of the trout in the river are stocked, however, there are some feeders where natural reproduction can take place. I've taken trout, off and on, that do not look as if they had been stocked. The river also has a very good hold-over rate, and there have been some large trout taken over the years I've been here.

The fish can get very selective, even though they are stocked. The fishing was a hit or miss proposition throughout the weekend. It was very difficult, at times, to determine what the fish were onto. You might catch a fish on one pattern, then not catch any. It seems they kept switching their preference. For example, on Thursday evening, I took to fair fish on an Iron Blue Dun #14, then could not get another trout to hit it. There were lots of insects about: Sulfurs, dorotheas, Light Cahills, Tan Caddis, and Black Caddis. It would seem the fish would take anything that resembled any of these, but not so. Perhaps it was more presentation, but it didn't seem that way. Often if you switched flies, you could pick up another.

Mark

[Troutastic]

Nice little river, looks a bit like the Farmington. I was thinking that hole above the Boneyard, lol. Nice fish, I'm jealous, still can't get out on any water at the moment due to snow runoff...

THREE WEEKS!!!

[Soft-hackle]

Be patient, Troutastic, your time is coming. Ours will be falling off soon due to warmer temps. Then it is me that will be jealous.

Mark

[LopatNympher]

I am jealous as well, not for the fishing but for having your son-in-law and grandson there to share the moment with you. Isn't that what it's all about? Perhaps in ten years or so when my newly born grandson Cody is old enough I'll be able to have a weekend like this too. I am really looking forward to it.
Thanks for sharing your weekend with us Mark.

[Magnet]

Soft-hackle,
I love the pic of the brown with the camera half submerged. Thank you for sharing your special day.

[Soft-hackle]

Hi LopatNympher,
I'm lucky indeed. I have 9 grandchildren, 3 step grandchildren. I have fishing with many for some time now. My oldest grandson, Cody, is graduating this year from high school, and has shared time on the water with me, here, as well as in Roscoe, NY. If you look on my personal page, you will see a photo of us, on top, fishing together. (link at bottom) This year, my step-grandson Colin showed interest in fly fishing, and my son and I started him off, giving him instruction in casting, fishing, etc. I also tied him some flies, of course. Now, my grandson, Mark is showing an interest. I have a wonderful LL Bean First Cast outfit that's a joy to cast and great for beginners. I'm starting Mark on the lawn, showing him how to do it. My son-in-law, Bill and I may take Mark to the river this weekend for his first fly fishing experience. I also have a granddaughter who is interested in learning. Don't rule out the ladies. Take a look at what Joan Wulff has accomplished.

In my life, nothing has been more fun than sharing my fly fishing time/experiences with my family. I have a rather large one, and they all know it is my passion-besides them, of course.

I hope your experience will be as fruitful and rewarding as mine has been.

To Magnet,
That wonderful photo you like was taken by my friend Ray Tucker. I met Ray a few years back while doing a tying Demo at the Oak Orchard Fly Shop In Williamsville, NY. I thought Ray would enjoy fishing with my "troupe" so I invited him. He used A Pentax Optio W30, I believe, for the shot. It'll take video and photos underwater. After seeing the great shots he took, My son-in-law Bill is seriously considering purchasing one.

Thanks, guys,
Mark