Admiring a Spring Rainbow

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In: Fly Fishing, Trout fishing, Trout Fishing Guide In New York, Trout Fishing In New York

A popular early spring technique for fly casters is throwing streamers. It is suitable for fisheries that harbor good populations of baitfish…Forage-based lakes and rivers. A large eastern Finger Lake that I fish often is unique in that it has escaped (so far) becoming a forage-based lake. No introduced baitfish are present. While sculpin and immature yellow perch are a staple of the lake-dwelling rainbows’ diet in this natural lake, the trout are keyed in on insects, crayfish, and scuds. But matching the hatch, on big trout lakes, is often unnecessary in early spring when water temperatures hover in the low 40’s or below. In fact, theRead More →

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In: Fly Fishing, Trout Fishing Guide In New York, Trout Fishing In New York

  So I began this blog, weeks ago, to describe and introduce a technique I have refined that I call dead drift float fishing. But I have lost my way. And the whole topic of fly fishing lakes for trout is a voluminous one. One that I could write a book on. And these blogs may be the seed of what will grow into just such an endeavor. I will soon come back to the components of dead drift float fishing, both for the fly rod and the spinning rod, but here today I digress into “The Other” kind of fly fishing on lakes. ThereRead More →

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In: Fly Fishing, Trout Fishing Guide In New York, Trout Fishing In New York

In 1999, when I transitioned into fly casting on the lakes, I quickly found the medium-fast action eight-and-a-half foot rods I was using on the creeks and rivers to be inadequate. Not enough rod. So I made my way into The Troutfitter in Syracuse, and bought a pair of used nine foot two-piece Sage rods. An RPL five weight and a RPL+ six weight. Both of these were two piece rods. I believe Sage created these rods for the bone fisherman. They are very fast action with strong butts, yet light and accurate for small-to-medium sized flies. But I also think they were not enough rod for the avid flatsRead More →