{Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} Re: 2016 Recap: How did everyone do?

Looking back on last year's fishing a few things come to mind. 

The year started off helping Art teach tying and casting classes at the big O, along with the usual shad extravaganza at Fletchers.  I'm an empty nester now and work on an academic calendar so I'm able to plan a summer trip each year.  This past summer it was about Atlantic Salmon. My trip started at the end of June with a ride up RT 81  to Pulaski NY for Spey Nation.  A spey casting event worth going to if you are interested.  I then preceded to Clifton Park NY to spend a few days with my brother. He doesn't fish ( not sure if we have the same parents ) so I went out with my cousin Mike on his boat to the Upper Hudson river for the day looking for bass. We both managed to catch enough to enjoy the day. All went well on the water but ... as we pulled out of the parking lot and took a hard left onto the main road we heard an awful crash and scraping noise. ( note to self "don't forget to hook the transom straps if I own a boat some day" )  Looking in the rear view mirror the boat was on its side in the middle of the road. The sad thing is we weren't drinking so we didn't have an excuse.  Mike recently recovered from a heart attack and I'm 60, there was no way the 2 of us were going to get that boat back up on the trailer. Luckily 2 strong young guys in a pickemup truck stopped and helped us. Now the Atlantic Salmon trip starts,  I took the CAT from Main over to Nova Scotia and drove out to Cape Brenton Island . 3 days of fishing on the Margaree River resulted in 1 solid hook up but didn't bring a salmon to hand. Taking a short rest on one of the river benches at the tail of the junction pool I struck up a conversation with Pere. A Frenchman from Quebec. We exchanged a few flies and email addresses.  Next I headed up to Wilson's sporting camp for 3 more days of Atlantic salmon fishing.  Now on the Miramichi River.  2 more hook ups but still no grip and grin pictures. That trip however, was highlighted by meeting and drinking scotch with Dave Bargeron. Any Blood Sweat and Tears fans out there. He was the trombone player with them for years and the  author of Jazz Flies.  A book of Atlantic Salmon flies that he tied and named after different Jazz musicians that he played with over the years.  Finishing up this long rant, my year was highlighted by the people I fished with and stories I'll have forever, not the usual grip and grins. I have some of those also.  Art, Mike, Pere, the 2 guys that put the boat back on the trailer, and Dave.  As well as all people at Beer Tie during the year.  To me this was a successful year of fishing. 

On Wednesday, December 28, 2016 at 11:37:40 AM UTC-5, Charlie Church wrote:

Earlier today I decided to take a look at the 2016 resolutions thread from last year. It made me think it would be cool to see if everyone accomplished their goals. 

As for me, I got one of mine done. I had mentioned I was dying to get a bull drum (even on bait). Parker, Kyle (VB Local) and I had a pretty epic day this fall on them. We ended up with 10 big ones. 

I log all of my trips which makes providing a recap pretty easy. See below:

Winter:

I did not get out a ton this winter since I was in the process of getting ready to move to Virginia Beach in the spring. The times I did get out went well though and resulted in some early season dry fly for brookies. I also was able to get out and float the potomac once and got a decent smallmouth. I will take it in the winter. 

Spring

Before moving to VB, I was able to go on a pretty big 'going away' binge. It included 2 floats up in Western MD, a couple smallie floats, a shad trip, and a few trips to local spring creeks. In one week I was able to get a brown, rainbow, brookie, hickory shad, american shad, striper and smallmouth. I spent a couple days looking for big drum on the eastern shore to no avail. It seemed like every chance I had to get out on the shore was met with wind / dirty water. 

I also spent a ton of time looking for smaller reds, trout and flounder and did quite poorly. The flounder bite for me never materialized all year and the reds/trout took until fall. Looking through my logs, I had 11 trips that resulted in skunks. The dues were paid heavily. 

Summer

I got out a lot this summer. Highlights included 2 offshore trips, a couple cobia trips, a trip up to Alaska to visit one of my best friends who now guides at the lodge I used to work at and overall a ton of exploring. The alaska trip (goodnews river lodge) was ridiculous. My wife and I got all 5 species of salmon, rainbows, dollies, tons of grayling and a lake trout with a good amount coming on mouse patterns. Locally, I struck out on cobes but was able to get a few big trout, consistent stripers under lights, a few alberts offshore, some dolphin and a good amount of smaller reds later in the year.

Fall
Fall was easily the best time for me. Reds and trout showed up in huge numbers which made finding new wading spots a lot easier. I was able to find a few spots that I could hit after work and get into a decent amount of fish. It definitely made me not miss 495. This fall also included that awesome drum trip mentioned above. The trout bite was strong all the way up to December with more than a few memorable trips. 

Some of my favorite photos from the year are attached. Hopefully next includes a lot of time on the water, some exploration and maybe some dues paid along the eastern shore hunting the silver king.

How did everyone else do?

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