At Cornell I teach Intro to Fly-Fishing in the springtime.  When compared to most fly-fishers my view of fly-fishing is quite dissimilar.   I see fly-fishing as a method of angling where the line enables the angler to load the rod and cast - thus you can cast a variety of "flies" (aka lures) that otherwise would be impossible to cast on their own.  That's it.  No romantic notions.  No history of the Catskills and "tradition."    Just another method to catch fish - another method with its own advantages and drawbacks.   Why fly-fishing is so married to tradition is beyond me.  We don't teach people about Isaac Walton and the "Compleat Angler" when we teach baitcasting or spin fishing.   This tradition is part of the lure and lore of fly-fishing, but it also limits the appeal of the sport. 

How effective is fly-fishing?   And what are some advantages of it?

I would say that during the wintertime cold water period and in early spring when tribs are just starting to fill lakes with warm water it is THE deadliest method for catching landlocked salmon.   Clear water with a slight ripple and fish swarming the mouth of Taughannock Creek?  I've watched guys cast jigs all day long and not hook fish - flies just KILL at that time of the year.  The jigs sink too fast - you can't find a jig that casts far enough yet stays up top - those two qualities are mutually exclusive.  Flies fill that void perfectly!

It's easy to control the retrieve when fly-fishing - it's a much more "hands on" approach.  It's very easy to switch things up when needed.

You can create your own lures - custom for the situation!  It's great fun catching fish on your own idea vs. having to wait for the latest hot lures to come out.

Big Pike:  I've caught my two longest, heaviest pike in the Fingerlakes while fly-casting.   I've fished side by side with guys casting jerkbaits and done better.  I've cast a streamer, put down my rod, walked to the back of the boat (to check something) walked back to my rod, picked it up and found a pike on the end of my line!  The fly looked so good it inhaled the fly as it sank.   That just doesn't happen often with conventional lures.  I also had a 22lb+ carp do the same thing!

Giant Gar:  No comparison.  Fly-fishing is tops.  

Skaneateles Lake Rainbows and Salmon:  Fly-fishing catches a lot more fish than jigs do, especially when the fish are shallow.   I've watched numerous side by side comparisons.  The flies land quietly and don't spook fish.

Is trolling more effective?  Oftentimes it is if there's enough wind and warm enough water.  But it's almost never more fun.  Landlocked salmon and northern pike are perhaps the two hardest hitting fish in the region.  You want to catch them without feeling the strike?   Why?  That's like putting a bag over Charlize Theron's head if you're in bed with her.  Makes absolutely zero sense.  

Here's when fly-fishing excels for catching:

Spooky fish in clear water - whether carp, trout, panfish or whatever.

Lethargic fish in cold water.

Suspended active fish.

Fish blitzing bait on the surface.  

And of course plenty of situations with trout in moving (or still) water.  And plenty of saltwater situations.  Plenty!  

Don't be fooled by the fishing media's lack of attention to the sport.  Did you know that nearly all of the In-Fishermen staff are avid fly-fishers???  With the exception of Doug Stange.   They love it.  Some people are too set in their ways to try it.   It's easy to learn and addictive.  They are missing out - whether it's a Doug Stange or Al Lindner - they are missing out!   I absolutely love it and look forward to using the long rod whenever possible.  There's no "funner" way to catch fish!

Catching bluegills on a 2 to 4 wt. fly-rod is as fun as it gets.  Same with giant carp on a heavier rod.   Just writing this makes me want to grab the fly rod....

An entire book could be written on covering water, but I'll include a few basic tips here.  In general, I find it easiest to work from shallow to deep, whether trying to find bass, pike, lake trout, perch or whatever.   Shallower water is usually much easier to fish/cover.  There are plenty of exceptions to the rule - e.g. shallow water bass fishing in the summer after a very cold night is often a waste of time, but day-in and day-out, working shallow to deep is easier for me.   So if I'm pike fishing on an unfamiliar body of water, once I find a good looking area I may start casting in 5' to 10' of water with a spinnerbait, rat-L-trap or jerkbait.   Then maybe move out to 8' to 15' and so on.   I try to stick with lures that I can work quickly (like a swimbait) until I determine that I need to slow down.  

With lake trout jigging, during most of the year this "shallow to deep strategy" pays off.  But in the middle of winter into April/May, the deeper water is often worth a look before spending too much time shallow.  Many anglers make the mistake of staying shallow for lakers in April, just because they catch one or two.  There will almost always be some shallow fish around somewhere, but in alewife driven fisheries the deeper water usually holds the majority of fish in the early spring.  And sometimes the fish are deeper than you think.  In April and early May, Canandaigua Lake's lake trout are often concentrated in around 200' or more water from what I've heard.   I'm going to try some deep techniques out there this spring if I can make it out there.

Re: Lakers - Things get tricky once the thermocline sets up.  A 10' to 20' change in depth can make a world of difference.   I've learned that the hard way on more than one occasion!

If you're on a new body of water, or fishing a new area on a familiar waterway, it can pay big dividends to cruise around a bit checking things out before wetting a line.  Don't just start fishing without knowing what's around the bend!    I try to study maps, ask around and do some homework before I reach the lake/river.   Sanders Fishing Guides were invaluable resources for me - and they still are.    Patience is only a virtue if you know the fishery!   Sitting in a bad area all day long not catching fish is no virtue!     I'll sit on an area if I'm sure it's my best or only option and I have a hunch that the fish will turn on.  Usually there are better opportunities if things aren't hitting.   

One of the things I love most about fishing is that it's fun to do alone or with somebody.   I've had my share of fishing buddies over the years and there's nothing quite like bonding with someone over some great angling.   Of course, as a guide I feel like I've had hundreds of fishing buddies over the past 5 years!   But on my own I've had a handful of fishin' buddies and I've learned a lot from them.   

Most of my fishing buddies have been people I've met while out on the water.  Slow days on a pier or a stream often are good days to chat with other anglers.   As a kid I met my fishing friends at school.   Some of us have girlfriends or wives we introduce to the sport.   For a lot of us, family provides us with our fishing pals.  

The best thing I ever did for myself as a budding angler was find people to fish with that were better anglers than I was.    Some people have egos that get in their way - so they always need to catch the most fish or something like that.  For me, it was always about learning.   When I first started fishing my friend Jeff would take me and he showed me the basics.   After that I was fortunate enough to meet this young fishing wizard in Michigan named Brad.  He was 12 years old (I was the same age) and he was adept at baitcasting!   He was unreal.   The list goes on and on.  I learned stream trout fishing from my friend Gary's dad.   Steelhead from a guy named Todd and by observing and chatting with numerous other anglers on my favorite creek.    My buddy Terry is one of the best multi-species anglers I've ever known.   We fished for everything including walleyes, perch, bass, drum and pike.   My friend Mike taught me fly-casting and fishing.   There were many others along the way.   But the key was all of them knew things I didn't!

I like fishing with good conversationalists.   In the boat I'm more like Jerry McKinnis mixed in with a loon than anyone else.   I like to talk about things apart from fishing.  I've spent enough time talking fishing, though I'm always happy to talk about it.    I think a good conversationalist makes for a good fishing buddy.   It's like finding a good girlfriend or wife.

It's a good idea to share expenses.  Maybe the guy not bringing the boat makes lunch and brings drinks.   Work something out - boats cost a ton to maintain and run, it goes way beyond "gas money."  And some people just can't figure that one out.   Try to be punctual.  Try to be considerate.  Treat others like you want to be treated.  

I have a manuscript written that I will self-publish sooner or later.  In it is a chapter called "Fishing Buddies - the good, the bad and the ugly"  - I'll detail some horror stories in there that you'll all get a kick out of!   

One of the hardest things to get a mental grasp on while contemplating fishing on the larger Fingerlakes (i.e. Seneca and Cayuga) are the fish migrations that take place.   These migrations confound a lot of area anglers, as well as many of the tourists that fish the region.   Fish need food, spawning habitat and wintering areas.   If they can't find what they need, they move (migrate) to find it.    There aren't many areas on Seneca and Cayuga Lake that provide all of these things.  

Huge lakes like Seneca and Cayuga are actually fairly hostile fish habitats - at least for warm water species.  The vast majority of water on Seneca Lake is too deep to support  the species we fish for - like smallmouth bass, pike, perch and other panfish.   Most of Seneca Lake is well over 100' deep!    Not only is the lake incredibly deep, it's also very cold and the water temperatures are very volatile in the springtime.    Fish like smallmouth bass need water temperatures that remain fairly stable in order for their eggs to hatch and the fry to succeed.  

Cornell did studies on smallmouth bass in the late 1940s and early 1950s.   They found via tagging and tracking studies that the bass make huge migrations in Cayuga Lake.   Fish will winter near Taughannock Park and around select other south end areas, then many of them will migrate to the northern portions of the lake in order to spawn in the springtime.  Then they gradually move south.   Lake trout do similar things.   Pike move as well.  Areas like Cayuga AES load up with pike in the wintertime.   Try fishing around AES in May and June and again in the fall and you'd be lucky to catch a pike or two!  These fish are moving there from a long ways away!    Perch move too.   The presence of alewives makes fishing the Fingerlakes even more confusing - since they move around A LOT!

Fisheries Departments haven't really studied these migrations much - so it's mostly local knowledge.   I intend to read some studies conducted elsewhere on pike migrations and things of that nature.  But for now, know that for many species on the large Finger Lakes the motto can be summed up by saying "Here today, Gone tomorrow!"   

After my client Tim raved about how delicious lamprey eels were, my curiousity was peaked.  You are what you eat I thought, so how could a creature that basically eats trout and salmon taste bad?   They do look gross, but if you get past the raspy mouth, they look like an eel.   Google "Lamprey recipes" or "eating lamprey" or "cooking lampreys" and a bunch of info comes up.   Turns out that lampreys are seen as upper class delicacies in Europe.  In France they fetch upwards of $25 a pound and have become harder to find due to demand!    But in North America people don't eat them.   We're grossed out by them.   We eat lobsters, which are related to spiders and consume dead stuff on the Ocean's bottom.  We eat livers, hot dogs and all kinds of questionable stuff, but God forbid we eat an eel out of clean water!    So when Carol landed a 28" laker with a big lamprey attached, I took the eel and put it in a plastic bag and stuffed it in my cooler.

When I got back to the boat launch at Taughannock there was a chicken BBQ going on to support the Rotary Club.   So I bought 1/2 chicken that was served with bread, coleslaw and salt potatoes.  On top of that I bought a nice brownie too.   I ate it all.   Why am I telling you this?  Because when I cooked the lamprey I wasn't hungry - I was stuffed with food.   More on this later.

I got home and put the lamprey on a cutting board.  I cut off the head and gutted it.   It was easy to do.   There was green stuff in its lower intestine.   I guess that's what "processed lake trout blood and fluids" turn into when they get processed in the lamprey's digestive system.   After gutting the eel I cut it into pieces.   I took one piece and sprinkled it with salt and pepper, the other piece went straight into the pan.   I then took a chunk of butter and threw it in my little frying pan.  

As the eel cooked up I felt brave and like a pioneer.  I wasn't afraid!  ;-)   I took the pieces out and put them on a plate and sat down - stuffed from the chicken dinner.   I took a bite of the eel, and then another and another.  It was superb!   This creature I'd been letting dry up in my boat and killing before disgustingly tossing into the water, or leaving in a pile was better tasting than the fish I'd been eating.   Now I knew what King Henry I loved eating more than anything!   The eel reminded me of eating a smelt sauteed in butter, but was richer, yet not in a bad way.  It was hard to describe - a familiar taste sensation but I couldn't place it;  it definitely tasted like a delicacy - something you pay a lot for at a great restaurant and savor.   My client Tim said he'd "eat them by the pound" if he could.   I saw what he meant.   Lampreys aren't for everyone, and most of you reading this are probably shaking your head laughing or in disgust.   But if you have any culinary sense of adventure, try one.   They are excellent and I won't be disappointed the next time I catch a laker with a lamprey on it.  It'll be heading straight for the frying pan!  They are THAT GOOD!   Tim gets the true credit for being a pioneer.   I'm just a follower.      

For a long time now I've been wanting to see what carp taste like.   I'd heard that carp tasted very good, horrible and somewhere in between.   Heresay doesn't do much for me.   I like to make up my own mind on things.   Freshwater drum caught out of clean water taste good to excellent - they are right up there with bass and close to walleye.   Most Oneida Lake fishermen would kick themselves in the head if they realized how good drum were.   Suckers to me are OK.  I'd eat them if I had to.   To me they aren't compelling food.   Carp are utilized as a food fish throughout the world.  In the Czech Republic fried carp is the traditional Christmas dish.    The main reason we have carp throughout the United States is because early immigrants demanded them!   For FOOD!

I was out lake trout fishing yesterday (4/5) with my girlfriend Jessica.   She caught some nice fish and we were near the northern portions of Cayuga Lake.  I decided we'd spend around 1/2 the day checking on the carp up there.   We were pleasantly surprised to find good numbers of large carp working areas around the marshes.   I foul-hooked a fair amount of fish, but had a 5 or 6lb carp hammer my clouser fly.   We had a lake trout in the livewell and I decided to keep the carp.  I was "on the fence" but she thought it'd be a cool idea to kill it and eat it "for science"  ;-)

I'd kept a carp or two before but chickened out on eating them - I'd release them at the boat ramp, and I almost did it again but she made sure we went through with our "experiment".  

The first thing I had to come to terms with, is that carp aren't the easiest fish to kill.   Most of my clients have seen me kill trout, perch or salmon.  I just pry their heads up and break their "neck".  This kills them instantaneously and they bleed right out.   This is virtually impossible to do with a carp.   So I took a sharp knife and sliced right under its gills.   I was then able to do my "pry bit" and kill the fish.  

Filleting a carp is a tedious task.   I'm sure there are better ways to clean them, but trying to cut through their tough scales is very difficult.   They are also very bony with thick, strong bones.   They also have plenty of "floating" bones - moreso than a northern pike.   On top of this, the carp also have a very wide and somewhat deep lateral line.   I was shocked that by the time I'd removed all the undesirable parts of the fish (maybe the entire fish for most people ;-) I had very little left over to eat.   The carp was a female and her eggs were a brownish olive color.  Not appetizing at all.   Trout, salmon and perch all have bright orange eggs.   The carp eggs resemble something rotting inside them.   But I got over it.

After a bit of work I wound up with a bunch of small pieces of fish.  The meat didn't look bad at all - it had a slight redness to it, that gave it some appeal.   I decided not to doctor up the fish much at all.  I added some salt and pepper and heated up the oil.

I was filled with anticipation.  I couldn't wait to finally see once and for all what these fish tasted like!    The carp pieces cooked up quickly and I put them onto a plate lined with paper towel.   So what did it taste like?   All I could say was that it "wasn't bad".   I wouldn't call it great, but it was fair to good.   The fish had a sweet finish (after-taste).   Yet I wasn't very gung-ho about eating a bunch of it.   Maybe I just couldn't get over the fact that it was carp.   But I kept eating pieces of it and saying to myself - this isn't bad at all.   Jessica tried a little piece.   She's not a big fish eater but thought it was "OK - better than I thought it'd be.  Not bad."   

I really didn't enjoy the process of killing and cleaning the carp.   That to me is the tedious part.   If someone else wanted to cook the fish for me - and they knew how - perhaps they had a good recipe, I would have no problems eating it.   I think we are spoiled in this country with an abundance of easily caught, good tasting and EASY TO PREPARE fish.   If all we had were carp here, I could get used to killing, filleting and eating them.  But it's hard to want to eat carp with all the yellow perch, bass, trout, walleye, bullhead etc... around here.   I'd love to see more people fish for and eat carp - we have too many around, but I don't see it happening anytime soon.   But it isn't bad - it's actually alright, and I'll probably try it again with a bigger fish - 10lber or better out of a clean lake like Skaneateles.   Cayuga is a clean lake, but this fish was mudding around a soft bottomed area.  

Here's a link to the Sander's Fishing Guides website and an article I wrote a few years back:

http://www.sandersfishingguides.com/files/Fishing%20for%20Longnose%20Gar.pdf

Boat control is critical to fishing success.  It's often overlooked by novice anglers and even some experienced anglers.   I find three tools indispensable to boat control:  a bow-mount trolling motor, one or two drift bags and an anchor.   Boat control is about positioning your boat in a way that optimizes your presentation.   Various techniques require different amounts or types of control.   Vertically jigging deep lake trout requires a steady or slowly drifting boat.   I like to use my trolling motor for vertical fishing.   The shallower the water, the quicker you can drift and still maintain contact with the bottom.  

I use drift bags a lot while fly-fishing.   When working flies deep and/or thoroughly a slow drift is essential.   A drift bag will make a 10 or 12 mph wind feel like a 5 mph breeze.    Drift too fast and you might as well be reading a book.   Drifting is also a great way to cover water when casting or live-bait fishing.   

Many advanced anglers overlook anchoring.   When winds are too strong for the driftbags or trolling motor, or you need to fish a pinpoint location, an anchor can fill the bill.   I like to use an anchor around 27lbs with a length of chain and 200' of rope.    

Fishing line has a number of qualities that are important to the angler.   Two of the most misunderstood are line diameter related to pound test.   The fish don't know what pound test is.    You often will hear anglers say things like "We had to use 6lb test in order to catch fish, 8lb wasn't working as well".    Yet one company's 6lb test can be thicker than another companies 10lb test!  So knowing the brand and diameter of the line being used would be more important than just the pound test.    Line diameter affects the line capacity of your reel, the sink rate of the line and the action of your lure.   It also affects the ability of the line to withstand nicks and toothy critters' teeth.    I like to use the thinnest line per pound test I can find in most instances.    When anglers are casting lures or fishing live bait and complain that their line is too heavy, it's the diameter that is often retarding their casting ability, lure action or live-bait presentation.   Thick line can really hamper the action of a lure as well as impede the swimming action of a live minnow.    I don't think most fish are nearly as line shy as anglers give them credit.  

Pound test is an arbitrary label.  Many lines listed as testing "10lbs" actually break at 12 or 13lbs.   Sometimes even higher.   There's nothing to stop a company from marketing actual line testing at 14lbs test as the following:

Superstrong 8lb test

High grade 10lb test

Ultra thin 14lb test

It's ridiculous but true.  In Europe anglers are more concerned with line diameter than pound test from what I've heard.   Let's compare a few lines and their diameter vs. labelled breaking strength  - and keep in mind that these diameters and pound test ratings are probably erroneous as well!:

Damyl Tectan 13.9lb test has a diameter of .0098"

Yozuri Hybrid's 12lb test has a diameter of .013"

Sufix Siege 6lbs test has a diameter of .010"

Edge Flourocarbon in 12lb. test has a diameter of .013 but a listed "breaking strength" of 17.6lb test.   How idiotic is that?  At least they are being honest with you (or so it seems.)  Why is it called 12lb. test?  

P Line Spectrex IV has a "15lb test" that has a "4lb diameter" (whatever that is) and it's listed diameter is .009".  If you compare it to Tectan, it's a 13.9lb diameter.

12lb P Line Flourocarbon has a listed diameter of .011".  

Maybe fishing lines should be used as good examples of "Marketing Gone Wild" in Marketing Classes.   My advice is to look at the pound test rating, but also be very aware of the diameter of your line.   Don't be fooled into being impressed by the strength of one companies 6lb test when in reality it's just 14lb test being sold as 6.  

Fishing for different species of fish is not only satisfying, but also rewarding.   If you've spent most of your life fishing for bass, and you get serious about perch fishing you'll find many unexpected benefits.  The same principle applies to countless other fish species.

I began targeting perch on Seneca Lake back around 1986 or 87 with my friend Terry.   By using light line and light tackle we had to focus hard on what we were doing, especially when it was windy and/or cold outside.   We'd routinely catch pike, pickerel, smallmouth bass and even lake and brown trout while perch fishing.  So targeting perch helped me learn a lot about other fish species and their habits.     

I learned more about vertical fishing for smallmouth bass while targeting lake trout, than I ever did vertically fishing for bass.    Everything from interpreting electronics, to fishing for suspended fish.   Day to day location of bass and how weather elements changed "the bite" were other crucial elements I picked up.   

If you get the chance, don't turn down the opportunity to fish for a different species of fish than you're used to targeting!  

Cross-pollination also applies to different waterways.   It's easy to get into a rut if you fish the same lake all the time.   I've found that by fishing different lakes, I can take knowledge I gained from one waterbody and apply it to another.     

One pattern I've been onto for a long time "theoretically" is spring carp.   My own experiences over the years combined with friend's experiences have taught me that early spring is the best time to get very aggressive carp.    The will pounce on crankbaits, jigs, flies and other presentations at this time.  

Why is this the case?

I did a bit of reading on carp, and articles I found in "Fishing For Buffalo" mentioned that carp have small stomachs - they need to keep feeding constantly.   Carp are also omnivores.   They can eat everything from nymphs to crawfish and from minnows to cottonwood seeds.  Vegetable matter = dinner!

What happens is that as water temperatures start going up quickly in the early spring, the carp's metabolism goes up accordingly, yet the food chain - plant life and animal life, has not yet caught up to the carp's appetite!   So the carp MUST eat, but there isn't much around!    Wait until June and July and sure, you can catch carp - but they have the choice of what they want to eat.   They can afford to be selective!   Carp can't afford to be selective in late March and in April - they HAVE TO EAT!  

As a kid I caught a 23lb carp off the Webster Pier near Rochester in late April/early May on a mr. twister jig.   I also caught fish in the spring in Irondequoit Creek on jigs.   My buddy Eric caught 2 or 3 in a row in early April off the Ithaca "Wall" on rapalas!   Last week I had one hit a jig in Skaneateles Lake in 34/35 degree water.    Today (April 3rd.) I got a monster on a flashy chartreuse streamer!   These aren't coincidences.   The carp are hungry as heck now.   Get them while they're hot!

One of the more annoying aspects of pike and pickerel fishing is seeing how many of these toothy critters end up with a hook around a gill-rake.   I see a lot of this with smaller specimens, but it also happens with bigger fish - whether fly-fishing or gear fishing.    A lot of it has to do with the way pike and pickerel feed - they inhale lures by forcing water through their gills.  I see it a lot with flies and lures that are fished with a stop and go motion.   You pause the lure and then the fish sucks it in.   Bass often do the same thing.

A sure way to kill these fish is by trying to back the hook around the rake and bring it back through the mouth.   The fish usually will thrash and you'll get cut or the gill tissue will get ripped - killing the fish.   A great way to remove your lure or fly is to simply cut your line and back the hook through the gills.   If you open up the fish's gills you'll see where the hook is.   Just go through the gills with your hookout or pliers and carefully clamp around the bend of the hook and gently pull it through.   It works great and next time you see that hook in those gill rakers you will know that by working fast and effectively, you will save the fish, your hands and valuable fishing time.