And right into waiting arms!!

The last couple of months have been hard for the local fly fishermen. We had Hurricane Irene that blew out the rivers. Then in October we had a snowstorm that wreaked havoc with trees and power lines. If you think about it, you can appreciate that fully leafed trees and heavy wet snow make for a big mess.  As the trees gave up to the heavy burden of cement like snow they would split apart or fall over and produce a sound similar to cannon fire.

2011 is in the record books as the 2nd. or 3rd. wettest year on record. We had well over 60" of precipitation which has kept runoff from the feeder streams going all year as the ground has had more water than it knows what to do with.

So fishing has been hit or miss. Mostly miss. Too much water is not a good thing.

There have been a couple of times where I was able to get out and practice my two handed casting, but that was about all I could do.

So last week the flow rate actually dropped to something "fishable". That is until Thursday and Friday when we got some more rain, then the flowrate was right back up there.

Undaunted, Lisa and I met at UpCountry on Sat. morning. We had to get out and decided that the best course of action would be to fish right from the bank. Yeah, the water was pretty fast but the sun was out, the clouds were gone and we actually warmed up for a spell. I had decided to use my 8'6" 5wt. Loomis for a change. I was stripping a black wholly bugger when  I landed a beautiful 14" - 16" brown trout right along the edge of the river. Sweet!

Sunday I was out again with my husband. The river had gone down some and we did venture out into it. I used the Loomis again but as we changed spots I decided to take out the ol' Deek Creek (I really love that rod) and as I fished a spot that looked ever-so-fishy I let her rip.

It wasn't too long before I was snagged on a submerged stick that had been cleverly placed there by water gremlins!

Dang. I broke off that fly and attached another. I was casting away when it happened.

Snagged again.

Pisser.
Broke that one off and put on another fly.
Several casts later and still no fish when...

Snagged again.

For the love of Pete!!
Broke that one off and if you have lost count, that was fly #3.

So I tied on another.

I continued making some more casts and getting back into the swing of things - no pun intended- when I made a cast that I truly did admire.
I did a Perry Poke with the anchor placed in the exact spot I wanted. I swung the rod around low to the water and made a beautiful D loop. The left hand pull aka Goran Anderrson -http://www.flyfishingoutfitters.com/Goran-Andersson-LOOP

was the icing on the cake. Yes sir, I admired that cast right up until I realized I had that fly sailing right into the waiting arms of the oak tree across the river. It made several fast wraps around a branch and I had nothing else to say except...

Fa-shizzle.
Fly #4 was safely secured in the oak tree.

Fa-shizzle. With that I called it quits and we headed home.

Championship Football Games and Fly Tying Colors

Well, I couldn't get out to fish this weekend. It was just too cold and windy.
Such a bummer.

Instead, I tyed up some flies and also watched the championship football games. It was while watching the football that I came up with an idea - what about tying up some flies with the same colors as the teams.

So I did! I matched up the colors as best as I could and here is a sample of what I did.

New York Giants

New England Patriots

Don't know of a team with these colors, but I thought they were an interesting combination.

New Orleans Saints

Mother Nature and Friday the 13th.

Lisa and I had planned on a steelie trip for the weekend. This was going to be Lisa's first steelie adventure and I was really looking forward to spending some time on the river. December 2010 was my last winter trip and I had an absolute blast, as you can see from these couple of pictures.

Ice build up on my waders was the best!!

I don't know which was pinker - my fingers or my fly!

But this trip was not going to happen. No sir-ee!

Last weekend I was out on the Farmington with Jerry, Fred and Lisa. We all enjoyed the 65F and sunshine. It was a beautiful day and I couldn't help but wonder if it wasn't a sign. There were some indications of a weather change but it wasn't until this Tuesday when I saw exactly how much of a change was heading our way.
By Tuesday the temperature for Pulaski was heading south faster than Grannies ta-ta's (how's that for a visual!) Now as you can see I love cold weather fishing but when the high's are predicted to be 13F on Sat. and 10F on Sunday??!! Well, even that is too cold for me.

So here is the latest weather for Pulaski:
Windy. Snow this evening will give way to snow showers overnight. Low 9F. Winds WNW at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of snow 90%. 3 to 5 inches of snow expected. Heavier amounts in persistent snowbands.

Good thing we aren't going because we would be heading right into this mess about now!

... LAKE EFFECT SNOW CONTINUES THIS EVENING...
AT 715PM, A LAKE EFFECT SNOW BAND CONTINUES TO AFFECT THE NORTHERN HALF OF OSWEGO COUNTY AND THE SOUTHERN HALF OF LEWIS COUNTY... INCLUDING THE OSWEGO, PULASKI, NORTH OSCEOLA, AND HIGHMARKET AREAS. SNOWFALL RATES UP TO AN INCH PER HOUR SHOULD BE EXPECTED WITHIN THIS BAND. THE LAKE EFFECT SNOW BAND WILL SLOWLY DRIFT SOUTH THIS EVENING.
GUSTY WINDS COMBINED WITH THE SNOWFALL WILL CREATE LOW VISIBILITIES AT TIMES THIS EVENING. MOTORISTS ARE URGED TO USE CAUTION.

Yup, wind, snow and cold.

So here I am, still in Connecticut. My suitcase is packed. My Deercreek is ready. My flies are lined up and waiting for action. But Mother Nature and Friday the 13th. did us in.

Dang!