Reports

Sorry for type-O's and words jumbled together.  The YAHOO program that I was told works perfectly, loves to play editor. 

Check out this story:

http://www.joyrox.net/stories.html

Planning a 2 or 3 day excursion is possible. Contact me for the days you'd like to do something like that. If you'd like just an hour or two on the water--we can figure that out also !!!

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December 12, 2012

I have been sent a nice report with pics that a few trout are still swimming about and they are willing to eat nymphs, buggers........and how about a:  GREEN WEENIE !!!!

Here is a pic that was sent to me from NATE---  N8 

Berks County Stream

December 09, 2012

Cold and rainy day, but I had about 2 hours to myself so I hit a local Class A water.  I was tossing stickbaits and the DSS streamer and managed a few trout and some fallfish.  Fishing SLOW was the ticket. 

November 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving

Enjoy a day filled with family and friends.  Cherish those you love and remember those you have lost.  Gobble Gobble Gobble

November 13, 2012

The kids and I have been poking around the stream bank the last few days.  Found a few salamanders and crayfish.  This crayfish was about an inch long.  Note the RED/ORANGE claws.  

November 11, 2012

HAPPY VETERANS DAY

I was just emailed a pic from Mark.  Mark is from NY and has been buying flies and testing flies for me over the past 2 years.  He has a few videos on YouTube showing him landing some nice steel--  Steelhead Video        His fish was a HOSS and was taken on a Crazy Spawn fly--tied with Bill Skilton's Micro Flash Egg Yarn (which you can barely find anywhere) and on a VMC size 10 RED walleye/Salmon/Steelhead Octopus hook.  Mark said it was in the mid-teens and is one of the few fish he had to chase in order to land.  Awesome job Mark---that is one impressive steelhead !!!  Six-pound tippet !!!!!

November 9, 2012

Welp, with all the craziness of the past few weeks, I have only been on the water one time.  I tossed some stickbaits and landed a good number of wild brown trout.  Nothing large, but I did hook a few nice ones that threw the hook.  Hope everyone is out fishing or hunting and enjoying the great outdoors.

October 08, 2012

Just got an email from a Marylander who purchased some flies and headed to the Salmon River.  He stated the river is polluted with fish.  So, the year I certainly can't make the trip......BA-BOOOMMM, fish galore.  No complaints though.  There are always fish galore.  Get up there and give me a shout when you get home.

October 3, 2012

Scuttlebutt is that the Salmon River is absolutely loaded with fish at the moment.  Take a day off work, burn a vacation day---head to the river now. 

September 21, 2012

We wrangled up our own worms and headed off to Manatawny Creek.  The kids were into fish quickly.  Many smaller smallies, rock bass and fallfish were landed today.  The kids did great casting on their own and Zoe was putting worms on the hook--through the collar.  Zoe put on a worm, made a cast and reeled in a nice-sized SUCKER.  Vin used the net to land the beast.  Have to love teamwork.  I was throwing the SQUIGGLER fly around on a spinning rod and landed a few fish with it.  I missed  two nice-sized  trout and two nice-sized smallies with the SQUIGGLER.  Off to the Oley Valley Fair to get some tasty grub.  Take your kids fishing !!!!   Tossing some CRICKETS or BEETLES might get you into some topwater action.  I saw a few rises while we were out.

September 16, 2012

Drove around Manatawny Creek for a little bit today.  Water is low, but there are plenty of fish you can catch.  I saw many nice sized Smallies, Fallfish, Chubs and Panfish.  The cooler weather is coming.  Can't wait for the FALL COLORS to kick in.

September 12, 2012

Spent a few hours chasing smallies and anything that would bite on the lower section of  Manatawny and Schuylkill River.  Landed a good number of pint-sized Smallies and Redbreast Sunfish.  Managed 3 Smallies that went 12 inches.  I was tossing Rebel Crayfish, jigs, topwater plugs and stickbaits.  It was fun and relaxing.  Saw 2 HOSS CARP and 2 nice sized Smallies. 

August 25, 2012

The streams are cooling down but are still on the very low side of things.  Be stealthy and you can land a few fish.  Took a few casts today.  A few fish were interested in my MOTHRA fly.  Reports from DSR and 1880 House in Pulaski, New York tell about a few salmon being caught !!!   Looks like fun. 

August 08, 2012

Hot and Muggy........so, tie some flies or do some early morning Carpin'.  Not sure about anyone else, but I have had a horrible year dealing with allergies.  I added a new video, go check it out:     Salmon River Fun 

July 29, 2012

The weather has cooled a bit as of late. Rains the last few days combined with the cooler temps should have the fish in a feeding mood. I posted a video on my FACEBOOK page with my buddy BESH landing a nice salmon or two. Can't wait for October.

July 09, 2012

Took the rugrats fishing for a few hours. They had a great time landing rock bass, redbreast sunfish, bluegill and smallmouth bass. Since it was so HOT, the kids went swimming in the creek. What a great late morning/early afternoon. Vin landed a nice 14.5 inch smallie.

June 30, 2012

Spent a few hours looking for anything that would bite. Managed a good number of panfish, a few smallmouth bass and a trout. I hooked into 3 carp who promptly ran for the hills. I was saddened to see way too many stunted bluegill. I did see one HUGE largemouth bass come to the shore and snack onone of those stunted gills.

It is TOO Hot, so tie some flies

June 23, 2012

TOO HOT -- HOT -- HOT

The weather has been too hot for me. I hate hot weather. At least in the winter, you can dress to stay warm.....in the summer--there is little that can be done to battle the heat. One way is to find a cool creek and sit your keester in it for a spell. That is what the kids and I do. If you plan on doing any trout fishing in the area-- go early and go late or don't go at all. The fish are there, but watch the creek temps. Terrestrials are working best........and as of late, my MOTHRA pattern has been the hot ticket, closely followed by a beetle that goes SPLAT on the water.

June 17, 2012

Happy Father's Day !! The Father's Day Fly Tying Class was a great time. Here's to hoping this becomes an annual tradition. The class was filled with father / daughter combos !!! Super great job by all the tiers and their Dads. My afternoon was spent with the rugrats playing Tennis and Baseball. I could hit groundballs to my kids all day long. I hope that the 2012 Father's Day was a great one--for everyone !!! Thanks to Sandy at the Treasures of Oley for allowing us to use her wine and gift shoppe for the class. THANKS SANDY !!!

Photo by Sandy -- Treasures of Oley

June 06, 2012

Now is the time to get your rugrats out OnTheWater. Manatawny Creek is fishing nicely with all sorts of fish being landed over the last few days: Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, shiners, chubs, fallfish, bluegills, redbreast sunfish, rock bass, trout..... Plenty of fish for everyone !! Grab the rods.......get the kids in the car and GO FISH. Take some worms or minnows and you'll have some fun. I've been doing well with CRAYFISH styled crankbaits, Berkley Trout worms in Pink and Orange---but if you start to dunk worms--you should be able to keep your child busy....if the fish stop biting--- head home for some lunch or move to another spot........need to keep the kids busy....use bobbers or weighted floats (theymake casting a little easier for kids--adults too)to make it more visual !!! Take your kids fishing !!!!

May 31, 2012

Fished a stream that I have not fished in many years. It is stocked by the state, but does have a nice population of wild brown trout swimming in it. Landed quite a few wild browns on a beetle pattern. Fished the Bottoms Down emerger in the deeper pockets and managed to hook 2 real nice stocker rainbows. They both threw the hook. The creek was tight and a challenge to fish, but it was certainly a great day 2Bonthewater. The creeks are in great shape andmost watersare still on the cold side.

Can you match these guys?

Memorial Day Weekend

I have been told the Tricos are out and about !! So get out of bed early and have at it. Sulphurs are still your best bet for some dry fly action in the evening. Beetles, Hoppers and Ants will take their share of fish from here on out. Nymph wise, fishing a tandem of a pink larva lace worm with a pheasant tail dropped off the bend should get you into some fish. Local ponds and reservoirs should fish nicely over the weekend. Warmwater streams should provide outstanding action all day long. Grab the rugrats, pick up some worms and minnowsand go fish !!! If you like to sitin your favorite chair and just chill out--- carpin' and catfishing shouldprovide some solid action for you. Local hotspots this weekend: Maiden Creek, Ontelaunee Lake, Trout Run Reservoir, Manatawny Creek, Tulpehocken Creek, Green Lane Reservoir, Deep Creek Lake, Perkiomen Creekand the Schuylkill River. Be safe and have fun as we observe Memorial Day. Please take a second, a minute or a moment to remember those who have fallen to preserve our freedom......please remember those who have given their lives while serving in our United States Armed Forces ---

Weekend

Spent 2 days out with clients. Many wild browns were landed witha few rainbows and stocker browns in the mix. Most of the action was on the surface with a few fish taken by nymphs. A few bugs in the air toward evening.The forecasted rain will certainly help maintain nicewater levels on OleyValley streams.

May 09, 2012

I've been seeing a few different bugs over the past few days. Sulphurs, Hendricksons, Isonychias, Yellow and Chartreuse Stoneflies, Caddis and Midges. Fishing emergers has been the ticket. Manatawny Creek was stocked this past Monday--middle to lower sections. The recent rains have put the streams back to normal flows. The streams look great at the moment. Now is the time2BOnTheWater.

May 06, 2012

Spent a few hours with Mark on Manatawny Creek. Mark was into a few fish withone beautiful wild brown landed. I saw a few sulphurs in the air, a handful of Isos taking flight and nearly no caddis. I might have seen one fish hit the surface. More rain on the way this week. Yippeeee. Manatawny Creek is probably in the best shape it as been this year. Nice flows and a few bugs in the air. Hey Folks, I need some fly orders !!! I need to purchase a new camera !!!!

End Of April

I was out with Roger for a few hours on the Manny. We wrestled with a few fishwhile waiting for a hatch to materialize. It didn't happen. There were a few straggler Sulphurs and Cahills in the air. The fish would take them, but it was sporadic. A few guys were into fish using Power Bait. A nice lady landed a fish or two on worms. So, the afternoon was fun with no complaints.The creeks are in good shape.I have a photo or two on myvideo camera. I have not downloaded them onto the computer, as I know---thequality will not be there.My Olympus Camera has finally said no more. RIP--that camera has served me well.

April 24, 2012

Well, spent a few hours chasing some wild trout. The first stream was like the dead sea. It was like the fish were waiting for something. I did roll a large wild brown on a BH caddis larva. I hit another section of water and started to toss a caddis around. Then I noticed a yellow bug scurrying off the water. I busted tail to catch the guy. Cute little guy. Took a picture or two and off it flew. Then I moved my way upstream, landing 2 browns in short order, then I noticed another yellow bug. The wings on this guy were still wet !!! So, I switched over to an emerger pattern and the fish took notice. It was fun. But, I had to head back to the house and get the little league practice in order. With the skies being black, trees swaying and rain in the immediate forecast. I cancelled baseball practice. I'm sure all my little rugrats disliked that decision as much as I did. So, yellow bugs anyone??

HAPPY EARTH DAY !!!

Spent about 2 hours doing a creek clean-up today with the rugrats. We were celebrating Earth Day in style.We headed to Manatawny Creek to pick up some trash. The cold air temperature and rain didn't deter them from doing a great job. We managed one bag of garbage before we decided to head home for lunch. We also found a beautiful rock. It was an Earth Day rock that originated from JOYROX.NET. It made my kids smile and gave us a great family moment when my son asked: what does it eat? I said, Nothing--It's a rock--we all cracked up laughing. Manatawny Creek looks to be in great shape after the sprinkle we received last night.Big thanks to Roger for thearticle in the Reading Eagle.

April 18, 2012

Found a new spot to fish for wild trout. Landed a crazy 14-inch wild brown on a wooly bugger. Snapped a nice one off on a dry caddis and I lost a HOSS on a bugger. Headed to Antietam Creek to see how the water level was. It was low. I walked and walked and walked tossing a wooly bugger. I was rewarded with a few trout, a largemouth bass, creek chubs and a few rock bass. There were many families out and about. It is so nice to see parents taking the time to take their rugrats fishing. I was told "minnows" were the ticket today.

April 17, 2012

Made itoutto the Manny for a few hours tonight. Made a few casts and then I noticed a bug. A nice bug. A neat bug. As for fishing, not much doing again. I know I have plenty going on inmy life and concentrating is hard, but my goodness-- I don't think I have ever had a dry spell like this. Not much going on rise wise. I hit one spot and nothing doing. Then to another spot and found a cloud of Hendrickson spinners. Not one fish rising to the spent bugs. I waited and waited, nothing happened.I even made an effort to stop at a likely spot for fish taking spent spinners. I stood there, in the darkness and waited and waited. Not one rise. Tisk Tisk Tisk........ The fish are there though !!

April 14, 2012

Spent a few days with Roger on Manatawny Creek and let me tell you what-- we need some rain. We fished hard with a handful of fish brought to net. We missed a few, hooked a few and landed some. The menu was mostly dry caddis patterns. One afternoon, I spotted a Hendrickson scooting off the water, then another, then another. Switched to a Hendrickson dry fly and the fish wererising toit. Roger walked down to me and I said Hendricksons. I gave him one and a few minutes later, Roger had a fish on. But just as fast as they went after the Hendricksons, the action stopped. We fished normally productive water and found really skittish fish. There are trout there, no doubt about it. Fished a deeper pool and had the fish swiping at emergers.If you could find a riser that would NOSE your dry fly-- the fly was switched to a weightless Pheasant Tail and the fish would swipe at that. There were no rythmic feeders and the rises were sporadic. The fish were moving all over the place. You'd see a rise and make a cast--but that fish had already moved on. We had a great time watching the fish. A caddis skittering about on the water was dead meat after only a few feet of staying on the water. It was quiet, it was peaceful. But, my left arm is hanging.

April 08,11, 2012

Took the kids out Easter Afternoon and little Vinny landed 2 rainbow trout and Zoe lost one. The kids had fun--but the wind was brutal.

April 11-- Did some scouting on Manatawny Creek for tomorrow. Found a few risers to caddis. Plenty of Black Caddis along the shoreline. Even found a very nice sized fish who swiped at a caddis dryand followed a skittered caddis shoreline to shoreline. Stopped and fished for some wild browns before calling it a day. My shoulder can barely move. Landed a fish I've caught before. Bruiser Berks County wild Brown Trout.

If I were heading out, I'd keep the menu simple: caddis dries and caddis emergers. You can throw in your standard nymphs too. The wildflowers are really starting to sprout.

April 06, 2012

Fished early afternoon with Roger Mallon of a Great Day Outdoors fame. We hit a Class A stream and found that the water was low, the wind was ripping and the trout really didn't want to play. Roger and I decided to call it a day and made plans for another few hours down the road. I made a dash to Manatawny Creek where the wind was BRUTAL and relentless. I was freezing from the get go. There were a few risers, the trout were chasing emerging caddis. I managed a few fish on a caddis dry fly. Tried a few nymphs, but nothing doing. I was so cold, I had to call it a day.

March 30, 2012

The last few days have seen the trout really looking up. Currently, Quill Gordons are hatching and the trout are all over them. I was out yesterday afternoon around 3pm and Quill Gordons were hatching. It was awesome to watch them try to escape the water as they tried to reach land so that they could dry their wings. I had a few crawling up my legs and on my sneakers-- it was neat to watch. Opening Day is tomorrow, so good luck to everyone. The kids have baseball practice either in the morning or late afternoon. Either way, I'm going to try be on Manatawny Creek tossing some Pink Berkley trout worms. Then again, I might just try tossing some Quill Gordon dry flies around. Nothing like dry fly fishing on opening day of trout season. I have a few dates available in April and May. If you want to get on the creek,enjoy a day away from it alland hopefully catch some fish---give me a shout.

March 25, 2012

The last few days have been full of bugs. I believe I have seen, little black quills, black quill gordons, spring blue quills, quill gordons, a few caddis, BWOs, little black and little brown stoneflies. The fish have been looking up!! They have been taking emergers also. Approved trout waters are closed, but you can still fish Class A wild trout waters. So, get stealthy and have fun some fun.

March 20, 2012

It is way too warm for March. Landed all sorts of fish today: green sunfish, fallfish, creek chubs, shiners and a handful ofwild brown trout.

March 19, 2012

Spent the day with Joe chasing some wild brown trout. There were plenty of risers, plenty of players and many laughs shared. It was a very hot March day. Not sure what is going to happen if we don't get some rain? There was a variety of bugs in the air, but the fish only had one bug on the menu. Now is the time to book your dates for the Spring 2012 season.

March 13, 2012

Spent a few hours on Tulpehocken Creek. I was hoping to find some Carp grouped up preparing to spawn. That didn't happen. Saw a few fish taking Midge Pupa. Landed a few trout on smaller pheasant tails, copper johns or midges fished under a bobber. Over 80 degrees today--not what I like when I am trout fishing. A few folks were fishing, but overall, the guys were spread out. Little Black Stoneflies were fluttering about, but the Trout paid them no attention.

February 25, 2012

Spent about an hour today on a Class A water. Conditions were weird !! Snowing like crazy when I left the house, then the sun came out and melted it all away. All in about 30 minutes time. I managed 2 very nice wild browns on the pink worm. Water is still super cold and the fish are very lethargic. A few little black stoneflies in the air, but nothing like my last outing where they were dancing all over the water.

February 02, 2012

Well an unexected gift showed up at the house today. It was a beutiful Bamboo fly rod built by R. Isaac of Maine. This is the gentleman who created my prior bamboo rod that was broken by my father while fishing for wild brown trout. Mark Beshel, my college buddy decided it would make for a great gift. He was spot on. So, the sun was out and the second my rugrat was on the bus --I was down the road to fish some Class A waters in search of brown trout willing to take a dry fly on my newBamboo fly rod. It didn'ttake long to accomplish this task. Although, the sun went away andthe wind picked up the second I got to thestream. No bother, this stream is too beautiful to upset. I also landed a few fallfishon my DSS streamer pattern. Now, this fly is tied on a Togen Size 2 Black Nickel Salmon hook. I had a few trout pick up the fly, but I couldn't get the hook set. So I changed to a trout sizedbugger and landed a nice fish. Iwill shortly create the DSS streamer on hook that is not so bulky. The search is on, but for now I am going togo with a Mustad low water steelhead hook.

Pretty sure there will be no Ice Fishing this year. Not sure what Mother Nature is up to, but she is being wickedly unpredictable this winter. Get out on the water and land some fish. I'd bet the house that the crappie bite at Ontelaunee Lake is on fire. Also, Fly Tying courses being offered. Click on the Fly Tying Classes title to the right. As always, it's good 2Bonthewater.

January 22, 2012

Is the ice safe? Absolutely not. Did I still go out onto the ice and catch some fish? Yes I did. No matter what, frozen water is not considered safe. Today, the ice was 2.5 inches. NOT SAFE. Every second on the ice my mind was focused on what to do if I went for a swim. I mean every second. With that in mind, I highly doubt there is any safe ice in SE PA. We still need to wait for a nice cold spell to hit us.So, clean up your ice fishing gear.....sit back and relax. Soon the ice will be a few inches thick and it willbe game on.I really miss not having aShowdownDigital Fish Finder. Ireally don't like fishing blind.

January 08, 2012

Chased some wild trout today for about 2 hours. It wasn't that cold--38 degrees, but the wife thought I was nuts. Even nuttier is that I wanted to catch a fish on a dry fly !! My plan worked out nicely. I landed only one trout today, on a Rusty Cricket. The take was pretty cool. While moving upstream and tossing buggers around a few boulders, I missed two fish. The one was about 14 inches. That was the only action I had. Most of my time was spent just chilling out and listening to the water move. There were a few Little Black Stoneflies in the air along with a few midges.

January 06, 2012

After having a check-up at the doctors office, I decided to fish the Little Schuylkill River on the way home. I thought I'd be the only one out and about. I was wrong !! Three other fisherman had the same idea. I ventured downstream and left the best water to the Old Top who showed up 5 minutes after I did. On the way down the road another fisherman showed up. I was throwing fly combos to no avail. Then big streamers, then midges-- nothing doing. As I made my way back to the best water, fisherman number 2 decided to make a dash to the head of the pool--thanks big guy ! I made a few attempts to fish some midges deep and again my offerings went without a nibble. I figured, the only chance I had at landing a trout on this side of the river was with my spinning rod, stickbaits or the pink worm. Just then another angler showed up. So, now we have 4 anglers in a very small area, not what I had imagined for my day of fishing. I made a few casts with the stickbait but I couldn't get it down to the bottom. So, can you guess what I did? Pink Worm. Fish on. Landed. Time to go home !!! I saw one other trout landed by the fisherman tossing a stickbait. A very pretty fallfish was landed by the smoking fly fisherman. I didn't see Old Top land a fish, but I can guarantee that during the time I was downstream fishing, this dude landed a fish or two. The water was up and was super cold. There are fish there, but Old Top stated most of the fish get taken out by poachers. Old Top stated that he fishes the Tully a lot. I said, I really don't like the Tully, Old Top stated that, "you don't know what you're missing, especially in July when the Tricos are on".

January 05, 2012

Ice fishing might not happen this year !!! Well, I certainly hope that isn't the case. There is absolutely no safe ice anywhere in SE PA. We have been getting some cold nights that would help start the ice making process, but then we have warm days and some rain. At best, we have skim ice in a few places. Keep your fingers crossed. Best guess would be late January to early February as to when we might get some safe ice.But, the way things are going, I wouldn't be surprised if we couldn't get on the ice until aroundthe middle of February. We need about 2 weeks ofserious cold weather to come our way.