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Upstate Guide Service
Upstate Guide Service

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Fly Fishing Guide In Central New York

A Trout Stream Epiphany

2023-03-07
By: Mike Crawford
On: March 7, 2023
In: Central New York Fishing, Fly Fishing, Professional Guide Service In The Adirondacks, Professional Guide Service in Upstate New York, Trout fishing, Trout Fishing Guide In New York, Trout Fishing In New York, Trout Fishing In The Adirondacks, Upstate New York Fishing Guide

In 2018, after entertaining several public forums across New York state, the DEC fisheries managers reversed their inland trout stream management policies. After some 75 years of put-and-take, hatchery-fueled stream management, they abandoned their course. In the management, of anything, a drastic 360 degree turn in procedure, an abrupt change of path, is interpreted as a serious correction. In this case, 75 years of inland trout stream management based upon an in depth stocking program, was deemed no longer suitable. The creeks, streams, and flows that make up the inland trout waters of New York State have changed over the era for the worse. TheRead More →

Professional Guide Service In Upstate New York

Glass Is Dead

2022-07-30
By: admin
On: July 30, 2022
In: Central New York Fishing, Fly Fishing, Professional Guide Service In The Adirondacks, Professional Guide Service in Upstate New York, Trout fishing, Trout Fishing Guide In New York, Trout Fishing In New York, Trout Fishing In The Adirondacks, Upstate New York Fishing Guide

My first fly rod was a two-piece fiberglass Wonderod made by Shakespeare. It had metal ferrules, cheap tin guides, and a chipped cork handle. It was a terrible fly rod. But the only one I had. When I first discovered it (resting on two nails hammered into the floor joists of my fathers workshop) it was wrapped in a musty cloth sock and covered in years of dust. Taking the rod out of the basement shop, I lashed it to the frame of my BMX bike with rubber bands and bread ties. My father watched as I affixed the rod to my bike seeming toRead More →

Learn To Fly Fish

Sticky
2022-07-30
By: Mike Crawford
On: July 30, 2022
In: Central New York Fishing, Fly Fishing, Professional Guide Service In The Adirondacks, Professional Guide Service in Upstate New York, Trout fishing, Trout Fishing Guide In New York, Trout Fishing In Central New York, Trout Fishing In New York, Trout Fishing In The Adirondacks, Upstate New York Fishing Guide

Teaching fly fishing and fly casting is a large part of Upstate Guide Service.  Lefty Kreh taught me how to cast on VHS tapes in the 90’s. Mastering the presentation of the fly is a skill I have tried to refine ever since. Teaching fly casting is a satisfying and enjoyable part of professional guiding. On-the-water instruction has allowed me to help hundreds of beginners progress quickly in over two decades of guiding.  Fly fishing has changed in the thirty years since I began. Fly fishing can often be portrayed as a faddish hip fashion show. It will always remain just a challenging and funRead More →

Spring Colors

2022-03-15
By: admin
On: March 15, 2022
In: Central New York Fishing, Fly Fishing

Each and every Spring the anticipation of trout season gets exciting. But wait. There is no official trout season opener anymore in New York State! In 2021, the NYSDEC changed its management of inland tout streams. Current statewide regulations allow year’ round trout fishing with special regulations on the inland trout streams of New York State. So why is the coming of April so exciting? The Finger Lake tributaries open for trout angling on April Fool’s Day! Steelhead are a favored species. One that eats often and fights hard! The Finger Lake tributaries produce tremendous fly fishing opportunities for lake-run rainbow trout, or steelhead. HeavyRead More →

An Adirondack Wilderness Trout Fishing Trip — Part Two

2021-04-12
By: admin
On: April 12, 2021
In: Adirondack Fishing Guide Service, Fly Fishing, Professional Guide Service In The Adirondacks, Professional Guide Service in Upstate New York, Trout fishing, Trout Fishing Guide In New York, Trout Fishing In New York, Trout Fishing In The Adirondacks

With the rough parameters of John’s wilderness fishing trip defined, and dates in early May selected, I began to think about the many  options. With over six and a half million acres of rugged forest, containing thousands of ponds, lakes, and flows, the Adirondack Park is big. Planning a week of backcountry fishing would require some thought and a difficult decision. As the Winter of 2020 turned into Spring, I began to narrow my field and began to get excited in anticipation of this unique trip. Then came Covid. John’s trip became insignificant. All my trips became insignificant. With life on hold, guiding was shelved. In mid May, however, the governorRead More →

About Guiding

2020-04-15
By: admin
On: April 15, 2020
In: Fly Fishing, Professional Guide Service in Upstate New York, Trout fishing, Trout Fishing Guide In New York, Trout Fishing In New York

Since as long as I can remember I have always wanted to guide or lead people in search of fish. Mostly trout. The early seeds of which were planted in me by my father who brought me along to the trout rivers and streams each spring when I was a boy. My father would put me on his back when it came time to cross the river to reach another hole. He would let me fight a trout he hooked. And I watched him as he gutted the trout and inspected its stomach contents. To a 10 year old boy this was incredible stuff! SomeRead More →

The Wonder Rod

2020-04-13
By: admin
On: April 13, 2020
In: Central New York Fishing, Fly Fishing, Trout fishing, Trout Fishing In New York

As a boy, with my spinning rod and reel bundled and tied to the frame of my BMX bike with rubber bands and bread ties, I spent many summer days pedaling from my home in the hilly suburbia of Syracuse to the nearby Erie Canal towpath. Once reached, I could travel the towpath west to Butternut Creek or east to Limestone Creek.  Each creek, with its remote green pools of cold water, was an oasis of summer adventure where I fished and explored. In those days the creeks were healthy. Shaded by dense softwood canopies and rich with beds of clean gravel. Colorful trout wereRead More →

Spring Season Lost To Covid-19

2020-04-13
By: admin
On: April 13, 2020
In: Central New York Fishing, Fly Fishing, Professional Guide Service in Upstate New York, Trout fishing, Trout Fishing Guide In New York, Trout Fishing In New York

In the world of professional fly fishing and guiding there is no more anticipated time of the year than the Spring. The busiest season of the year. The Spring trips on my calendar are the  benchmark that can determine my success for the entire year. The loss of the 2020 Spring season will be difficult to survive for my modest guide service. But it is a nothing when considering the gravity and scale of what New York and the country is going through right now. Most frustrating is not all the cancelled fishing trips. It is being stuck here at home. The degree of sufferingRead More →

Rainbows and Waterfalls

2018-04-15
By: admin
On: April 15, 2018
In: Central New York Fishing, Fly Fishing, Trout fishing, Trout Fishing Guide In New York, Trout Fishing In New York

Twice a year trout migrate from the lakes into the streams and rivers that flow into them. Some species travel upstream to spawn in the fall, like brown trout, brook trout and salmon. Another species of trout, the rainbow trout, migrate upstream in the spring to spawn. Anglers take advantage of this bi-annual run of fish and stalk wary lake-run trout in the pools, runs, riffles and eddies in streams and creeks swollen with run-off. In the Finger Lakes on the first day of April each year hundreds of anglers descend upon the creeks flowing into the lakes to catch spawning rainbow trout. In some biological logicRead More →

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“Promote The Remote”

Upstate Guide Service

As a responsible steward UGS promotes sustainable outdoor pursuits with an obvious respect for Upstate New York’s spectacular and unique environments. 

We practice low-impact, leave-no-trace backcountry travel techniques, catch-and-release fly fishing and fair chase hunting.

Fishing Guide In New York

Need more information about where to go and where to stay for outdoor recreation and sporting pursuits in Upstate New York?

Call or email us.

315.283.8871

[email protected]

Recent Posts

  • Ice Fishing Season!
  • Ice Fishing — The Original Die Hards

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