I told myself I'd fish today, no matter what. It was a solemn oath. So it was no surprise to pass over the Ohio River and see it high, muddy and doing a
great imitation of a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows. All the regional creeks are blown out, too, save Ohio's one troutish spring creek - which
would have been a 170 mile round trip. No thanks, I just drove Cincinnati to Rochester, to Buffalo, to Toronto and back in four days.
I settled on Cowen Lake. I figured a morning of paddling with Gracie and harassing the crappie population would be a good idea. Cowen is home to a sailing club, established there by a former Olympic Medalist sailor. Of course that means its properly oriented to catch the wind with the greatest of fetch. And today is a post-frontal day with gusty, confused winds. Grace and I drove the 35 miles to the lake, but I never took the Malecite off the roof of the Jeep. And that turned out to be just fine.
I surveyed a few spots and then headed to an area that I thought would be protected from the wind and not otherwise occupied. I was right. I'd taken two 2 weight fly rods from the upcoming Fly Fish Ohio shoot-out of 23 (yes, you read that correctly, 23) 2-weight fly rods. Today I fished the David Redington South Fork 6' and the St. Croix Imperial 6'. Both were saddled with a Bass Pro Ultralight fly reel and Bass Pro White Creek 3wt wf fly line. I connected a furled leader and 3' of 2lb test fluorocarbon tippet using a 3-inch link of Maxima 15lb hard mono nail-knotted to the line and offering a Perfection Loop for the furled leader. Despite swirling winds I was able to effectively cast 40'.
The little bay has some wind protection and a smallish area from which to fish from the shore...
Gracie took her spot and started scanning for risers.
First up, the St. Croix
An immediate reaction.
They liked the Bead Head size 14 Blue Hares Ear. An upcoming episode of Adventures In Fly Tying will feature this fly and instructions for mixing the unique dubbing.
The rod is so responsive it's like casting with a thought.
Inexpensive. You'll have to wait for the review for more details....
Enough time looking at the tackle - I see them out there. Cast! Cast!
There were a lot of fish moving... Next up, the South Fork
A very different casting and fish catching experience. This is a roll-casting DREAM rod
Grace inspected every catch.
Another fish on!
Glass sure bends pretty...
Even for the small ones...
I can't wait to get out again, but I'm thankful for what I have. One last look before we go...
Can we come back soon?
Joe C.
I settled on Cowen Lake. I figured a morning of paddling with Gracie and harassing the crappie population would be a good idea. Cowen is home to a sailing club, established there by a former Olympic Medalist sailor. Of course that means its properly oriented to catch the wind with the greatest of fetch. And today is a post-frontal day with gusty, confused winds. Grace and I drove the 35 miles to the lake, but I never took the Malecite off the roof of the Jeep. And that turned out to be just fine.
I surveyed a few spots and then headed to an area that I thought would be protected from the wind and not otherwise occupied. I was right. I'd taken two 2 weight fly rods from the upcoming Fly Fish Ohio shoot-out of 23 (yes, you read that correctly, 23) 2-weight fly rods. Today I fished the David Redington South Fork 6' and the St. Croix Imperial 6'. Both were saddled with a Bass Pro Ultralight fly reel and Bass Pro White Creek 3wt wf fly line. I connected a furled leader and 3' of 2lb test fluorocarbon tippet using a 3-inch link of Maxima 15lb hard mono nail-knotted to the line and offering a Perfection Loop for the furled leader. Despite swirling winds I was able to effectively cast 40'.
The little bay has some wind protection and a smallish area from which to fish from the shore...
Gracie took her spot and started scanning for risers.
First up, the St. Croix
An immediate reaction.
They liked the Bead Head size 14 Blue Hares Ear. An upcoming episode of Adventures In Fly Tying will feature this fly and instructions for mixing the unique dubbing.
The rod is so responsive it's like casting with a thought.
Inexpensive. You'll have to wait for the review for more details....
Enough time looking at the tackle - I see them out there. Cast! Cast!
There were a lot of fish moving... Next up, the South Fork
A very different casting and fish catching experience. This is a roll-casting DREAM rod
Grace inspected every catch.
Another fish on!
Glass sure bends pretty...
Even for the small ones...
I can't wait to get out again, but I'm thankful for what I have. One last look before we go...
Can we come back soon?
Joe C.
