I’m not fanatical about fishing on opening day in NJ since it’s legal everyday of the year in so many waterways to fish for trout in this state. Still, there was one particular location chock full of wild trout that I hadn’t been to all winter, and I was itching to get back. While fishing last...

Who plans on going to the SGM Fest tomorrow at the Califon firehouse that's sponsored by Shannon's and Dette's fly shops? I'm planning on being there for the first 2 or 3 hours, and then probably wetting a line somewhere if the weather is as good as the forecast.

Squeezed the last day out of my 2015 fishing license with my good friend George on a stream that benefitted from some recent rain. The water was a rather chilly 42 degrees, but the air temp was pleasantly warmer, and there's not a single flake of snow in the woods to melt on a warm day and shock...

Had a nice day fishing a small stream the other day that has wild rainbows. Now I have heard of a few people catching the very rare brook trout in this stream, but even a friend who fishes it with regularity has not caught a brookie in more than 10 years here. So I was pretty exited when I saw...

Sunday morning followed a chilly evening that kept water temperatures quite cold in the WTS I was fishing with a good friend. Got a 38 degree reading in a medium/high flow. The action would most likely not be brisk, but we were each rewarded with a handful of pretty trout by fishing nymphs low...

Since it's snowing like a mofo right now, it seems like a good time to post a fishing report. Got out to a small TP stream yesterday that I was trying for the first time. Really liked this spot, and although there was still a bit of snow on the ground and some ice at the stream's edges, the...

When I stumbled back from my driveway this morning with today's newspaper, I was surprised to see this as the front-page story: A new angle on cleaning up Passaic River: Swap your catch for a cleaner fish - NorthJersey.com It seems that companies that are on the hook for the clean-up costs of...

Fishing yesterday in a Pocono wild trout stream, I caught a good number of the usual suspects in 50 degree water using a soft hackle beadhead PT nymph for the most part. A few took a dry a little later in the day, but the action on top was fairly slow. This stream is not stocked, and the PA...

Made a quick trip to one of my favorite brook trout streams, and was surprised to see so much green algae on the bottom. It really showed through bright green in the sunlight, and slimed up my fly when it sank. <style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria...

Got out to a small stream yesterday to take advantage of the warm spell. Water levels were good, lots of tumble to this water, and I got a stream temp of 41 degrees. I really wanted my first trout of the year to be on a dry, but only a few dinks picked at it and didn't hook up. Got tired of...

Most fly tyers appreciate a good patch of muskrat fur. I thought this was an interesting story in today's Record: Muskrat love lingers on in the Meadowlands despite fewer critters - NorthJersey.com A very good story about muskrat trappers, the declining muskrat population in NJ, and how...

Got out to a nearby stream today to squeeze out a couple of hours fishing before Christmas eve festivities. The wind was calm, and although the air was chilly, the water measured 40 degrees. I suspect there are some spring seeps influencing this piece of water. Several trout were sipping midges...

Fished the SB today many miles above the KLG, and started off with 3 small trout; a rainbow, brookie, then brown. Always nice to fish for the cycle. The brookie and brown were clearly wild, but I'm wondering about the rainbow. Is this a wild bow? I'm inclined to say yes due to the size and...

Last week, I fished one of my favorite rivers when the water was up and slightly off-color. Fishing right through the center of a busy town, my friend and I caught wild brown after wild brown. Got a few on large dries, some on dropper nymphs, but then really did well with an olive Slumpbuster...

These pictures should have been attached to my reply to Philthy Phil's South Florida post, but I no longer get the Insert Image icon when I reply to a thread. I only get the icon when I post a new thread. Is this happening to anyone else? Here are some pix: Spanish Mackerel The "sight...

Made a trip to a friend's camp in the middle of the week, and was pleased to see that an overnight storm put a lot of water into some Catskill streams. We stayed dry, but got to take advantage of the higher flows in some cold headwaters. Had a fine day catching numerous wild brookies and one...

Fished some refreshingly cold water today (upper 50's temp) that has wild browns and no stocking. I'm always amazed at how the browns in this particular water vary so much in appearance. Some are beautifully colored, and others are almost as drab as stockies.

Finally got out late Sunday afternoon for a couple of hours fishing, and went to a stream with wild browns where I used to do well, but has treated me to several skunkings in recent years. I was sure that the trout population was severely diminished, and had all but written it off. Just had a...

It has been a crazy warm winter so far.....and I know that people have been catching trout on dries already. Got on some wild brown and rainbow water Saturday and had slow action on nymphs until I felt a decent sized LBS crawling on the back of my ear. We switched to dries and had brisk action...

After reading Mike Valla's wonderful Tying Catskill-Style Dry Flies, I figured I'd take a shot at tying a Quill Gordon. I haven't used many Catskill style flies over the years, but the beauty of the flies in Mike's book, along with the rich history, has really sparked a desire in me to catch a...