Paflyfish Jamboree and Meetup 2013 Recap - Part 1
The 2013 Paflyfish Jamboree and Meetup was marked by some of the best weather and hatches we have had in years. The crew that made it up starting mid-week took advantage of the great conditions hitting many of the central Pennsylvania streams like Penns Creek, Spring Creek and the Little Juanita (Little J).
The good dry fly fishing conditions dominated the weekend with pretty typical mid-May hatches. The colder weather that lasted into March and April did push the hatches back in general. Sporadic March Browns and sulfurs were the common mayflies every day. The evening crush hit just after 8:00 pm with spinners, March Browns and sulfurs hitting hard with a quick evening flurry of activity the trout went nuts on. Everyone seemed to do pretty well, but you had to be quick to take advantage of the evening party.
Along with he good weather and fishing many PAFFers took advantage of catching up with friends from across the country.
I ended up starting out on Thursday at Penns Creek with Bikerfish, Wgmiller, Csoult. Fun evening with Csoult who crushed it with a big night and Wgmiller catching a chain pickerel. I headed back to Penns on Friday with Afish and Frederick for a repeat. Plenty of guys enjoying the weather most of the afternoon and evening waiting for the evening hatch. Saturday was a little overcast and headed over the Little J. Fishidiot, Maurice and I put an assault on the the Little J. Glad to catch up on the stream with so many guys.
Much of the non-fishing time was centered around the Seven Mountains Campground. As usual Friday evening was a good gathering of campers catching up from the evening fly fishing. Saturday morning was marked with some morning coffee before everyone went of for the day. Saturday night was our raffle and will be covered in our part 2 of the blog post. Phish_On...
Along with he good weather and fishing many PAFFers took advantage of catching up with friends from across the country.
I ended up starting out on Thursday at Penns Creek with Bikerfish, Wgmiller, Csoult. Fun evening with Csoult who crushed it with a big night and Wgmiller catching a chain pickerel. I headed back to Penns on Friday with Afish and Frederick for a repeat. Plenty of guys enjoying the weather most of the afternoon and evening waiting for the evening hatch. Saturday was a little overcast and headed over the Little J. Fishidiot, Maurice and I put an assault on the the Little J. Glad to catch up on the stream with so many guys.
2013 Fly Fishing Jamboree and Meetup
We have a lot of fun fishing over some of Pennsylvania's finest streams. If the Green Drakes often hatching and many head over to Penns Creek. Other streams the Little J, Spruce, Fishing and Spring Creek all offer some of the best in class fishing in the region. In some years it has rained, well every year, and there are many alternatives to the bigger named streams as well.
This year is no exception and members on the forum are making plans to meet the weekend of May 17-19, 2013 at Seven Mountains Campground in Spring Mills, Pennsylvania. Please contact them if you would like to stay there that weekend. They have a limited number of cabins and campsites.
We are working on more details but often we will have guest speakers, casting lessons, fly tying lessons, gear swaps and cool gear to check out.
Jam attendees often start arriving throughout the day if they haven't arrived earlier in the week. We don't have use of the pavilion until 3:00 PM on Friday. Stop by after 3:00PM to help or meet others trying to get back out on the water.
Saturday, May 18th...
Cicada Fly Fishing Coming Soon!
So you probably have already heard about the onslaught of cicadas coming our way on the nightly news and just about every other media source. Cicada's are just weeks away from inundating much of the east coast and more annoying news coverage to follow. Mainstream media will pull out the playbook and ultimately take it to a stupid level like encouraging some Honey Boo Boo wannabes into eating some of these Cicadoidea [latin]. By the end of the coverage, some clever reporter will talk about cicada soup or grilling them or better yet some dumb sauce to put on them.
Sorry I digress and back to trout eating cicada.
So will this be a big deal for fly fishing? For some of parts of the region it may be. It has been 17 years since the Brood II has emerged. Generally they will be covering North Carolina thru New York. But heavily in Eastern Pennsylvania* and New Jersey.
Generally, we will not see much activity until the ground temperature reaches 64 degrees. Most records seem to indicate that this late May to early June.
"Thermal soil temperature is one of the things that trigger their emergence, along with a gentle to moderate rainfall," Greg Hoover, Senior Extension Associate Ornamental Entomologist at The Pennsylvania State University, said.
These insects emerge, mate and die all within about two to three weeks. They have no mouths and do real no damage during this final stage. Remembering former cicada brood fests, it is really just a big pain in the *** having millions of these bugs all over the place. They get into your house, car and just about anything you leave open.
For fly fishing anglers what does this mean? Well these things are insects high in protein and will likely fall in the water. No fear trout and other fish will be eating them.
Will cicadas be the only thing in their diet, probably not. Being prepared with a few tied up cicadas is...
Sorry I digress and back to trout eating cicada.
Generally, we will not see much activity until the ground temperature reaches 64 degrees. Most records seem to indicate that this late May to early June.
"Thermal soil temperature is one of the things that trigger their emergence, along with a gentle to moderate rainfall," Greg Hoover, Senior Extension Associate Ornamental Entomologist at The Pennsylvania State University, said.
These insects emerge, mate and die all within about two to three weeks. They have no mouths and do real no damage during this final stage. Remembering former cicada brood fests, it is really just a big pain in the *** having millions of these bugs all over the place. They get into your house, car and just about anything you leave open.
For fly fishing anglers what does this mean? Well these things are insects high in protein and will likely fall in the water. No fear trout and other fish will be eating them.
Will cicadas be the only thing in their diet, probably not. Being prepared with a few tied up cicadas is...
Team Paflyfish Brings it Home!!
Well I just received an email from Shane on the latest from the Harman Invitational. Phil ended the day on Friday having caught the biggest trout of the day. This put them into a good spot to start the day on Saturday. The day ended with Shane sharing the following line: "We brought it home!"
Here is Shane and Phil during their interview with Curtis Fleming from the Outdoor Channel
Congratulation to Shane "SBecker" Becker and Phil "PhilC" Chadbourn for their efforts this weekend and representing Paflyfish. More details when the guys get back home and to some cell coverage!!
Here is Shane and Phil during their interview with Curtis Fleming from the Outdoor Channel
Congratulation to Shane "SBecker" Becker and Phil "PhilC" Chadbourn for their efforts this weekend and representing Paflyfish. More details when the guys get back home and to some cell coverage!!
Winter Photo Contest Awards 2013
It is always a lot of fun when members share their images from the stream. I love photography and try to capture those moments on the stream when I am fly fishing. So this winter we held a photo contest to add to the fun this winter.
Allen Fly Fishing sponsored our event this season and offered up some of their fine rods for our winners. I want to thank them for their support of the contest. Anglers can find out more about the complete line of rods, reels, hooks and lines that Allen Fly Fishing offers here.
So our judges enjoyed the many entries by members with the contest. Our first place goes to Dshee1 with Steelhead Beauty and wins the ATS 9'0" 5wt.
Second place to Tomitrout with Anticipation and wins the ATS 7'6" 3wt.
Finally and honorable mention by Studiomule for Snowman and is awarded the Compass 9'0" 5wt.
I want to thank all the participants who dared the cold and entered the contest. Thanks to our moderators/judges for their voting and of course Allen Fly Fishing for providing the rods to our three winners.
Winners please PM with your contact info.
No specific plans yet, but hoping to announce another contest this year. So keep those fly fishing images coming this spring and summer!
Allen Fly Fishing sponsored our event this season and offered up some of their fine rods for our winners. I want to thank them for their support of the contest. Anglers can find out more about the complete line of rods, reels, hooks and lines that Allen Fly Fishing offers here.
So our judges enjoyed the many entries by members with the contest. Our first place goes to Dshee1 with Steelhead Beauty and wins the ATS 9'0" 5wt.
Second place to Tomitrout with Anticipation and wins the ATS 7'6" 3wt.
Finally and honorable mention by Studiomule for Snowman and is awarded the Compass 9'0" 5wt.
I want to thank all the participants who dared the cold and entered the contest. Thanks to our moderators/judges for their voting and of course Allen Fly Fishing for providing the rods to our three winners.
Winners please PM with your contact info.
No specific plans yet, but hoping to announce another contest this year. So keep those fly fishing images coming this spring and summer!
2013 PAFF Instructional Jamboree (aka Newbie Jam)
The focus of the jam was the coaching and training to those new to fly fishing. The Newbie Jam was held at the Wildlands Conservancy's Pool Wildlife Sanctuary in Emmaus, PA on March 16.
Several members here from Paflyfish helped Heritage Angler, Pcray and Foxgap239 to then deliver hands-on training about many different topics including:
• Gear/Setup - “Head to Toe”
• Knot Instruction (hands on)
• Leader Setups
• Entomology (What trout eat, and their imitations)
• Fly Tying For Beginners
• Fly Casting Instruction
• Where to Fish – Types of Streams, and How to Find Them.
• Wild Brook Trout Fishing – Gear, Techniques, Navigation
Also in attendance was site sponsor Michael from Gogal Publishing sharing information about fishing guides.
I very popular event and one that speak volumes to the Paflyfish Community. Heritage Angler summed it up pretty well , "Today reminded me what good friends I've met through PAFF. I hope everyone makes the kind of friends that I've met here. Good fishing buddies are the best kind of friends, and I've been blessed with some truly great ones."
A special thanks to Heritage Angler, Pcray, Foxgap239 and all those who helped put this together.
The New Rental Fly Shop for Anglers
Have you ever planned to go on a trip and wanted some extra rods, reels or more? Have you been interested in trying some new items out before you buy? Well the Rental Fly Shop now offers a way to rent rods, reels, boots, waders and clothing.
The Rental Fly Shop is a subsidiary of the TCO Fly Shops. Chris Frangiosa, Manager, at the Bryn Mawr store filled me in at the Fly Fishing Show in Lancaster about the new services. "Rental Fly Shop was designed with both the beginner and the advanced angler in mind," shared Chris. "This site enables anglers to test multiple items before purchase, try the sport for the first time without a major investment, rent gear for a trip and much more," added Chris.
I like the idea that they can provide complete set-ups for anglers. Seems to be a great offering for guides who need extra gear for clients. Anglers trying to introduce the sport to friends and especially if you have a trip in mind.
They provide a selection of gear from manufactures including: Simms, Patagonia, Scott, Sage, Orvis and Abel. Equipment can be picked up or shipped. Consumable items like flies are not available to rent, but are available at the stores.
For more information you can check out the website (www.rentalflyshop.com) or stop in any of the TCO Fly Shops and learn more.
I like the idea that they can provide complete set-ups for anglers. Seems to be a great offering for guides who need extra gear for clients. Anglers trying to introduce the sport to friends and especially if you have a trip in mind.
They provide a selection of gear from manufactures including: Simms, Patagonia, Scott, Sage, Orvis and Abel. Equipment can be picked up or shipped. Consumable items like flies are not available to rent, but are available at the stores.
For more information you can check out the website (www.rentalflyshop.com) or stop in any of the TCO Fly Shops and learn more.
