From that point on, my day immediately got better!  I shot her back an email telling her to pick up some extra line for one of the extra poles and  got right back to work.  I became super efficient and mowed down the rest of my work load for the day, jumped in the truck and ran home to get the tackle ready.  I arrived home to find my wife packing sandwiches and drinks.  I grabbed the Gander Mountain bag with the new line off the table and quickly rigged the extra pole.  We made it from Accord to the upper basin in about 23 minutes!

We got down to the shore and got setup pretty quickly.  Chairs out, 3 poles in the water and had my sandwich half way unwrapped when I was reminded how much different it is fishing with the family then fishing with my buddies.  “Honey can you unsnag me”,  “Daddy can you untangle me”, “Daddy can you put some bait on for me”, “Can you go back up to the truck”.  It is a lot of work being a fishing guide for two girls!

After we got settled down, my wife broke out the rest of the eats.  The guys down shore from us have already pulled in two and my daughter is starting to become impatient (imagine that).  No sooner did she get the last complaint out when WHAM!  the pole goes over.  My daughter quickly picked it up and started reeling like crazy until the fish began to fight and her reeling became irratic and hard-to-reel.  “Daddy, help … I can’t reel it.”  I grabbed the pole, reset the hook to make sure it was deep and bang … fish on!

As I got the fish close to shore I realized that I forgot one of the most important things a fisherman can forget … the net!  Keeping the tip of the pole as close as I could to the water, I made sure the fish stayed in the water as long as I could as I reeled it to shore.  Reaching past the tip of my pole with my hand I grabbed the line just above the fish and quickly (and as smoothly as possible) relocated the fish over dry land.  The result: 19 inched 4 1/2 pound brown trout.  Yum.

While fishing with the guys is fun, there is a huge amount of satisfaction that comes with having your family enjoy the outdoors with you.  In a day and age where most kids are glued to their iPods, computers and video games, a shift in the way we perceive our new age culture can be accomplished by simply taking your kids fishing.

Lou Lynch is an avid sportsman and advocate for the conservation of the North American Whitetail Deer.  For more information on the QDMA and how you can help your local deer herd visit www.HVQDMA.com .

If you are able to pull in some early fish get those photos and share your catch here or on our facebook page!

I am throwing in this link to the county stock list for New York. I am wondering if they will delay the stocking because of the conditions, or maybe stock the fish in the high water to allow the fish to spread out downstream?

Good Luck, Fish On!

This year the DEC put out a baitfish publication. They have a list of baitfish that are allowed anywhere in New York State. This list is called the “green list”, if a baitfish is not on the green list, it either has a restricted use, or is no longer allowed.

Many anglers will notice immediately, as I did that Sawbellies are not on the green list. Don’t panic though; they can still be used in areas where they are necessary. When looking through the brochure just remember that a Sawbelly is a small species of Herring and you’ll find it listed under its real name “Alewife”

For the convenience of the Mighty Angler users I have tracked down and installed a copy of the brochure here.
It is in PDF format just like our maps, so if you do not already have Adobe Reader you can get it here.

 Or maybe it is that the water temps have reached the peak of perfection causing feeding frenzies before the months ahead bring on the ice.

Well whatever it is August has always been good to me and many other anglers. I find hitting your favorite spot early in the morning before the sun gets too high in the sky is peek time for summer trout.

 Bass on the other hand will attack all day long as long as you cast where they are. Hint: usually in the shade or under a canopy of some sort (trees, rock out croppings). Just lure them out away from obstacles and you will be catching fish nobody else is finding.

So no matter what your plan is for August, don’t give up on your favorite fishing spot yet. Because there is plenty of time to still catch that trophy.

If you would like to read more on August fishing I found a good article on nyfisherman with some solid evidence of great fish caught in August.

Until next time Fish On!

Scott Linden gives some great casting tips in this video, I am sure you will find this helpful. We all know casting correctly is the single most important thing in Fly Fishing. Enjoy!