I am happy to see that Wild Atlantic Salmon are successfully spawning in Connecticut. I have always been a proponent of habitat restoration so native fish can reproduce naturally. Scientist in Montana long ago proved that over stocking wild fish and over zealous hatchery rearing programs are in fact detrimental to fish stocks an not restorative if paired with reasonable no kill zones and season. To learn more about why stocking is bad check out this link. While on a professional development trip to Chicago I snuck in some fishing. Before I left I reached out to Terry, http://www.amarbleheadflyfisher.com and Paul, http://www.paulsguideservice.com. Getting some useful information I packed my 9 wt and a box of striper flies. I also called Chicago Fly Fishing Outfittets, http://chifly.com. I spoke with Neil who was very helpful with explaining local liscense requirements and tactics. I love local independent businesses. I highly recomend this shop as the service was wonderful.
Once I arrived the weather took a turn for the worse but thankfully I packed a Goretex jacket. The walk from my hotel to the river walk was a short one but it was def a little scary for the country boy. Chicago is a friendly town. While walking the sea wall in howling wind and rain I came across another angler. Being the only two people around we said hello and Mike helped me learn this new fishery. We caught some fish. I hope we can fish together another time. I used a 9 ft 9 wt and a an intermediate Rio Outbound line. I used 16 flouro tippet which may have bee a little thick. If I were to go back again I might take a line that sinks a bit more and a little bit lighter tippet. Plenty of theses around...... The fact that the two handed is what it takes to make a proper presentation makes it that much sweeter. They ate one of these. Turbid water? No problem. Just break out the "blurple". I fished with Captain Ethan Kiburz on my last trip to Florida. I've sent him some clients who have a great experience with him. We have have been looking forward to fishing together for some time. Ethan met me at the dock in his slick Hells Bay Marquesa. After a quick ride to the outside edge of a familiar barrier island we quickly spotted fish. The Marquesa was equipped with a slick trolling motor that held us in place. Ethan kept a watchful eye up top on the polling platform. At first we didn't have good seeing due to cloud cover and we couldn't get a cast on fish until we were on top of them. After a location change to dodge some weather we caught a window of sun. We spotted several single fish which wanted nothing to do with my fly. I was surprised how hard it was to spot the fish. Once I found my eyes we spotted a group of multiple fish advancing on the boat. I made my cast and let the fly sink. As I made slow steady strips the first fish passed in the fly. I continued to strip. With less than 20 ft of line out the second fish inhaled the fly and jumped out of the water and over my head. Ethan was concerned that fish might hit me. The fish cleared the line with a few more jumps and was well into my backing in no time. After a quick chase I recovered my backing and most of my fly line. I jumped in the water as Ethan continued to use the go pro. After a few mins of recovery time the fish was back gulping air and swam off. I can’t thank Ethan enough for his hospitality and professionalism. If you are in the Tampa bay area and want to catch fish on fly I highly recommend Captain Ethan Kiburz
http://www.captainethankiburz.com |
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