"Live to be OnTheWater"
2Bonthewater Guide Service
Historic Oley Valley
Oley, PA 19547
vinny
December 02, 2015
It is finally feeling like Winter. Yes, you can still wet a line and catch fish; all sorts of fish. Brown and Brook Trout spawn should be close to being over, please stay out of the creeks as to not trample the redds. These fish will migrate back downstream to areas where they will spend the Winter. Smallies can still be caught if you find deeper pockets or pools. Landed a nice Chain Pickerel and Smallmouth Bass yesterday on a Yozuri Brown Trout stickbait. Both fish were 17 inches and the Smallmouth Bass was like a football, one chunky dude. Can't catch them sitting on your couch. Take a break from the Holiday stress and have some fun; go fishing.
Happy Thanksgiving
Hope everybody has an awesome Turkey Day.........and for those who are able to wet a line......GOBBLE GOBBLE GOBBLE !!
FInished a short underwater video. Done with a GoPro. You will be amazed at how quick a large fish can be. Stop on a dime and scoot away.
November 7/8, 2015
Spent the weekend fishing Penns Creek. Flow and color were perfect. Nate and I fished the special regs area tossing big meaty treats around. Nate managed a few very nice Brown Trout that taped 15-18 inches. I managed one fish on Saturday---it was near total darkness when the fish hammered my DSS streamer. I did hook-up a few times while nymphing a 3-fly rig. Sunday, we walked higher up the creek and each landed one fish. As we were working our way downstream, there were two fellers fishing, so we took a break and headed to Penns Creek Angler fly shop. Conversation with Bruce Fisher was outstanding. Love it when folks really know flies are deadly, but what really makes you a champ in the trout fishing world, is the understanding that Yozuri stickbaits -- Pin's Minnow sized and larger -- really do some damage. After talking shop, we headed to an area we fished shortly the evening before. Beautiful water, I mean beyond beautiful water. My shoulders, yes plural were killing me from tossing meaty treats the day before. Honestly, I don't know how Nate was able to move his arm after two days of tossing and stripping streamers all day. I was pretty much just swinging flies all day Saturday, stripping the fly in--was not an option. So, Sunday after our initial session, I switched over to a spinning rod and was tossing around a 4-inch Brown Trout Rapala. No takers. This particular lure has landed many fish over the years, some real bruisers. I switched to a Yozuri stickbait and it was game on the rest of the day. There were BWOs and midges in the air. No huge concentration of either, but there were BLUUPS here and there. One particular fish took a BWO off the surface within inches of where I was standing! Great scenery is abound on this stream. I did manage 2 Fallfish. One took a size 1 tiny crawfish and the other a size 18 BWO dry. We saw a turkey fly across the stream and plenty of deer. The temperature dropped 20 degrees from Saturday to Sunday and I'm pretty sure that had something to do with the big fellas not playing on Sunday; add to that the SPAWN instinct probably really kicked in with the colder temp. It was a superb weekend of fishing on one of the most beautiful streams in the country.
October 26, 2015
Spent Sunday with N8 fishing Pohopoco Creek, first time there. Nice water, but slimy substrate and getting a good drift was tough at times. We moved around a good bit but most action was early on and in one area. A few bugs in the air. We did our damage with streamers, eggs, crayfish and caddis pupa patterns. Salmon fishing picked up the past 2 weeks, but from I am being told, certainly not a huge run. Steelheading on Erie tribs has been tough due to lack of water. Normally around the first week of Novermber, the Steelhead run no matter what. With that in mind, if there is no water, all the fish will be down low on most tribs. Need Steelhead flies, give me a shout. Eggs, Stoneflies, Caddis Larva and Streamers are the flies to have in your fly box. Locally, wild brown trout are starting their spawn run. If you are on wild trout streams, please stay out of the creek and if you see fish paired up, please leave them alone.
Pohopoco Creek Brook Trout that took a Tiny Crawfish
October 6, 2015
My good friend Kenny had his Nelson Amadou featured in the latest article of Southern Trout. Com magazine. I have Ken's Amadou and it is superb at drying CDC flies.
Southern Trout Magazine article written by: Bob Mallard
September 29, 2015
The last few weeks has been nothing but skinny water fishing. Local lakes have been somewhat tough to fish, mostly because the fish have moved to deeper water. Hit the Susquehanna River with Nate and we had a fun few hours tossing Clouser Minnows. Fished a good bit with a crayfish fly and nothing took it. I was baffled by that. Wet wading season is coming to an end, as the waters are now chilly. Reports up until today on the Salmon River have stated that a few fish are in the river, but not many. Remember, this is the 4th year after the horrific flooding in Pulaski. The 2011 year class might have been close to a total loss. Last year, the run was reported to have been horrible. This year might be the same with hopes that 2016 will get things back to normal. It will be hit or miss when you head up there. If there are fish in the system, fish mid-river to the upper fly zone. The fish will be there, your job will be to find them. Nate took the photo below.
September 9, 2015
Waters are skinny and warm. We need a good dose of rain. Worked on a video today, but it was just a hair blurry--so I'll try again in a day or two. Get those hoppers out and toss them around!!! Lake Ontario is fishing nicely and a few fish have made their way up the Salmon River. Nothing to get excited about. Get the gear cleaned up for your trip to Pulaski. Here's a pic of our buddy Jacob and his grandfather-- nice fish from Lake Ontario. Jacob's fish was 26.8 pounds. Great job young man!
Picture courtesy of Jacob's super awesome Dad.
August 3, 2015:
Most recent articles in the Reading Eagle newspaper.
Flathead catfish article: http://readingeagle.com/sports/article/flatheads-present-sizable-challenge
Flies for August article: http://readingeagle.com/sports/article/trout-anglers-have-many-fly-choices-in-august
August 17, 2015
Local waters are very warm. Take the time to walk around a lake or pond tossing some flies. Fishing down low on streams will get you into plenty of pannies and bass.
August 3, 2015
Weather has been hot and muggy. Was out and about with Brandon of Fink's Bait and Tackle Sunday and we had a great time exploring Manatawny Creek. Fishing down low was fun and we landed many Rock Bass, Redbreast Sunfish and Smallies. Brandow was using night crawlers and Mr. Twisters. I was using Foam bugs, buggers and my Tiny Crawfish pattern. Spent the evening on Sunday making an attempt to land a Flathead. It didn't happen. Dripping with sweat wasn't fun. Came across a pair of kayakers who didn't prepare well and were drinking alcohol in the near 100 degree weather. Be smart folks. Alcohol, high temperatures and water do not mix well. I did my best to help out, but nearly dislocated my right arm trying to help. Found a Blue Crayfish, which I was told to be a color phase of the invasive Rusty Crayfish. Remember, PA Anglers are no longer permitted to transport live crayfish. Once they leave the waterway they are collected from, the head must be removed, thus killing the crayfish. If you collect a crayfish from the body of water you are going to fish, then it can remain whole, or live. But once the crayfish leaves said body of water to head elsewhere, it must be killed by removing the head. Found a few Trico's hovering on Manatawny Creek. Waters are really warm.
July 26, 2015
Waters are starting to warm up with the recent heat, but overall--trout waters are not boiling yet. Notice a few bugs in the air and fish rising. Coolest find was a hoss Golden Stonefly, actually a few of them. Hit the river for smallies or catfish. Found a few bruiser smallies on Manatawny Creek.
July 9, 2015
Two catfishing days this past week. Most excellent. First day out with a buddy and we landed a few Flathead and Channel catfish. Hit the water today with the rugrats and they did a great job handling the large fish. Zoe landed a fish that was 36-inches and Vin landed one that was 30-inches. Vin lost a real MONSTER. His line was cut near the end of the battle. Vin went 3/4 today and Zoe went 4/6. It was a great morning.
July 5, 2015
Welp, the kids and I fished more the past week than we did the last month. Trout waters are still cool enough to fish without worry. The rainfall the past few weeks has kept our waters nice and cool. There are still some bugs in the air and the Trico hatch should be here shortly. Summer is here and fishing for carp and catfish is a nice way to spend a few hours. Keep it simple and have plenty of terminal tackle available because you will lose hooks and weight often. Find a nice spot on the river where riffles dump into a nice long pool. For carp, you can't beat fishing with corn. Catfish can be taken by using worms or minnows. You can catch Carp and Catfish while fly fishing, but you'll have to put some effort into it. Now is the time to get the kids turned onto Fly Fishing. Fishing a small pond with foam flies is a great way to get the kids excited about fly fishing. Get out there and Live to be OnTheWater because before you know it, the kids will be back in school. If anybody needs help with planning a day OnTheWater with the kids, give me a shot and I could hopefully get you in the right direction. Any questions about gear are also welcomed. If you need bait, please stop by Fink's Bait and Tackle in Blandon. They will help you out with whatever you need. Fink's Bait and Tackle is the only Official Measuring Station in Berks County.
May 31, 2015
Bugs are still hatching and the fish are still chasing them. Sulphur, Cahill and Slate Drake are on the menu. Had a great time on Friday fishing with a tiny crawfish pattern. Thunderstorm is rolling through and will give our waters a little more flow. School is almost out, so.......get those kids out OnTheWater. This awesome Smallmouth Bass was 16.5 inches and took a tiny crawfish pattern.
Latest article in the Reading Eagle can be found here: June
May 27, 2015
Spent time on the Manny this past weekend. Vin landed a fish on a CDC caddis he tied by himself and Zoe reeled in two brookies that were caught with worms/powerbait. Had a blast one evening as Cream Cahills were hatching. Next night was out with Nate and the fish were not on the Cahills, best guess is they were taking sulphur emergers under the surface. Duns were drifting for 40 yards without getting smashed. Try a greased leader technique with small sulpher emergers hanging just under the surface. Best luck was had with a CDC Loop Wing Sulphur Emerger. Downsized to a 18 and fooled one fish this evening. Again, everything is being taken just below the surface.
May 21, 2015
Plenty of bugs OnTheWater at the moment. Swing some emergers or wetflies during the day and switch over to surface patterns in the evening. Now is the time when matching the hatch is a little troublesome. Have a safe Memorial Day weekend and dont' forget to chase some warmwater species. Crayfish patterns will surely get you into some fish.
May 3, 2015
Had a few good nights with the kids fishing Hendrickson emergers and dry flies in the dark. Skating a caddis fooled a few fish. Temps are starting to get hot. Carp have begun their spawn migration. There are plenty of trout around but water levels are getting low. A trip to Penns Creek this time of the year is a must. All sorts of bugs OnTheWater.
April 27, 2015
Manatawny Creek is scheduled to be stocked this week along with Hay Creek. It has been a very cold April with a few bugs keeping the fish busy. Hendrickson, Spring Blue Quill, BWO, Quill Gordon, Caddis, Little Black Stonefly have all been seen flying around. Look for these bugs to carry over into May. Fishing was fine this past week, just had to find the fish. Some fish were working the bugs, other fish were on Power Bait, worms and minnows. Emergers and nymphs did better than dry flies. But, at times......a dry fly was spot on.
A few Quill Gordon spinners in the air
April 19, 2015
What a great last two weeks. All sorts of flies landed fish: BWO, Little Black Stonefly, Hendo Emerger, Hendo Dry, Caddis emergers, Caddis adult and PTs. The Hendrickson hatch has begun on Manatawny Creek. Plenty of stocked trout left in our streams, so get out there and catch a few of them. If you'd like more up to date reports, please check out the 2Bonthewater Facebook page.
April 7, 2015
Out and about with B. Campion. BWOs in the air, along with Blue Quills, Caddis and midges. The strike to the dry Caddis was outstanding. Rain today, forecasted for tomorrow. If the weather stays warm, the bugs will be getting their hatch on.
April 6, 2015
Opening day was a little chilly but most folks didn't have trouble finding fish. I spent more time talking and taking pictures than fishing, but I was able to touch a few fish. Had the kids out on Easter and we were able to find a few willing fish in the morning. Hung out with Nate in the afternoon, and again found some fish. Landed a fish today within' a few casts, had some lunch and went home. Reports from fellow anglers have been positive. Only one person complained that the Mentored Youth Day removed too many fish. Apparantly that man didn't have any kids fishing the Manny on Mentored Youth Trout Fishing day, nor did the man have a pair of polarized fishing glasses. The fish are there. Three days into the season and fished out already? My goodness, no. As with freshly stocked fish, most anything presented properly will work. For those folks worried about the creeks being void of trout, the stocking trucks will be around all month and into May. Good luck out there and take a kid fishing ! "Live to be OnTheWater"
March 28, 2015
Mentored Youth Trout Fishing Day was a very cold one. Didn't last long in the morning and it was OK, fish were not biting. We hit a section that we helped stock the day before on the Manatawny. There were no crowds to speak of, just a few folks here or there with many stock points without anglers fishing. Afternoon we headed to another section on the Manny, and Vin landed a fish with a spinner. Talked to a few folks who were there most of the day and said the fish were not biting. Then we headed to Antietam and Zoe landed a fish while fly fishing and using a fly that she tied. Ended the day with both rugrats using the fly rod, roll cast--drift--flop back up, repeat. Came across two anglers there, a father and son duo who stated the son landed two small browns. The stomach content's of Zoe's fish was quite amazing: 3.5 inch bluegill, cranefly larva, caddis larva, cased caddis, mayfly nymphs, crayfish and it still smacked Zoe's chartreuse, orange and purple globug.
March 26, 2015
50 degrees and foggy. Water is absolutely freezing and I was surprised that a few fish were willing to play today. Midges were in the air and not much else. Little Black Stonefly had two fish rise to the surface and DSS streamer and an articulated streamer also fooled fish. Skunk Cabbage was found in a few spots. Hopefully Spring is right around the corner. Mentored Youth Trout Day this weekend, get your kids out fishing.
March 22, 2015
Creeks are very cold but are finally ice free. Local lakes still have ice on them. Received my pink fishing license button the other day, very nice. Stopped at the Little Lehigh after Vin's wrestling tournament on Saturday. Water was up, good color and there were many anglers fishing at the wall. The kids had a great time taking photos and feeding the fish. Still a little chilly out there and we really need a good stretch of warm weather to get the bugs moving. Mentored Youth Trout Fishing Day will be this Saturday, March 28th. Open to all approved trout waters this year. Good luck for those who head out. Dunk some worms with the kids and when they get cold, head home for some hot chocolate. Sooner or later the weather has to warm up. Have some Little Black Stonefly, Caddis, BWO and Quill Gordon dry flies ready to go.
March 3, 2015
It certainly feels as if another Ice Age is upon us. All Approved Trout Waters are closed to fishing, with excetion to the Specially Regulated waters. The Great White Fleet should be out and about stocking, but this is going to be a tough task to accomplish with nearly all our waterways being locked tight with ice. Mentored Youth Trout Fishing Day is scheduled for March 28th in SE PA. The Regional Opening day for trout season is scheduled for April 4th. It has been a brutally cold winter. I hope everybody stayed warm and tied up some flies.
January 31, 2015
Fished Antietam Lake for about 2 hours. Landed 3 fish. The wind was brutal. There were only a few anglers on the ice. Jigging spoons and tung jigs tipped with a waxie was the ticket. I didn't see many, if any other fish caught. Dress warm and shield yourself from the wind.
January 25, 2015
Most area waters have ice thickness ranging from 5-10 inches. Took the kids to Antietam Lake today. Fished from 915-1045. Zoe managed to land 2 trout and Vin landed a bluegill. Certainly a slow day for Antietam. Try something new when ice fishing this year. Use jigs, spoons etc., that GLOW. Tungsten jigs drop in a hurry and a little glow along with a waxie or mousie might just turn those finicky fish into biters. Using some form of a fish finder will also help you locate fish. Fishing blind is fun, but once you try electronics on the ice--you'll wonder what took you so long to do so.
Have fun, be safe, dress warm and Live to be OnTheWater.
January 5, 2015
Took a road trip to Yellow Breeches. Fishing was tough but N8 and I managed to roll a few fish, lose a few fish and land a few fish. Biggest fish went to N8 with a beautiful 15-inch very colorful Rainbow Trout. Actually, all the Rainbows we landed were very colorful. The day was cold and rainy, but a break from the really cold weather we had the last week. Water was very cold, even for a limestoner. I had to get out of the water and walk around because my feet were turning to bricks. We started at the run and hooked a few fish. Then hit the main branch where we landed a few fish each. Headed downstream a bit where the area has really changed, fished hard for one fish. Ventured off to an area that I fished nearly every week with my Uncle or friends when I was a kid. The water was still beautiful, but we struck out. N8 had a nice grab when we started and I had a nice grab at the end of the stretch we were fishing. I was swinging a size 2 Woolhead Sculpin and N8 was tossing a Slump Buster. Drove around for a bit and hit a new stretch of water that looked amazing. This was where N8 tagged the big rainbow. Headed back to the run and mainstem for the last 2 hours of daylight. Tagged a few fish in the run but nothing on the Breeches. Children's Lake was loaded with waterfowl and fish. There were a few anglers out and about. We covered lots of water and we did land fish, but the fishing was slow and we worked hard for the fish we connected with. Large streamers, globugs, scuds, beadtail caddis and zebra midge all tagged fish.
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2Bonthewater Guide Service
Historic Oley Valley
Oley, PA 19547
vinny