Saturday, April 29, 2017

New Beginnings ...

     Here we are folks.  The beginning of a new fishing season is upon us.  It is difficult to describe all of the feelings I have when thinking about the upcoming year of fishing.  I am so excited to get out on the water with repeat clients and meet new ones.  The relationships you forge with someone during hours of time spent on the rivers is something unique.  It is not all just about catching fish.  It is so much more than that.  It is about sharing a passion and letting someone else get a glimpse of what it is that truly makes you tick.  "Welcome to my world," is a phrase that often comes out of my mouth during first trips with new clients.  This is not a sarcastic phrase, this is a sincere welcome to them and a hope that they will be able to appreciate and fully experience the sport of fly fishing.
     I have been in Pittsburg for a few days and just going out to my "home" water and visiting familiar pools, puts my busy mind at ease.  I have quite a few things going on in my life at the moment, the most important of which is my wedding at the end of May.  The stress of getting the plans just right can loom large on your mind after a while, but time spent on a beautiful river can help me melt the stress and look at life on a larger scale.  What really means the most in life to you?  I can't say that fly fishing matters most to me because it doesn't.  My soon to be wife and hopefully family will continue to be the most important thing as time rolls on.  But fly fishing will always be there for me when I need to decompress from a long stretch of work or think about how to get through a difficult time.  It is a constant that is dependable no matter what outside influences try to change it.  The woods, lakes, streams and rivers are not what make my life, they are what help me be a better man, husband and eventually father someday.  For this I will be forever grateful. 
     So what about the fishing?  Well everything is very high up here right now.  Snowmelt, rainfall, river levels, you name it.  I have been scouting all of the usual early season areas and we are right on track for a great spring.  I started guiding a few weeks ago and right off the bat we were catching fish in the southern and middle parts of the state. 
Silver Leaper

Having fun!

Young Blood gets it done!

Beautiful Bow

     The Pittsburg area is just about where I thought it should be for this time of year.  The ice went out on Lake Francis and Back Lake on April 28th and I am guessing 1st Lake will be out by the 30th.  With that comes the opportunity to get into some spring salmon.  As of right now our flows are 800 out of 2nd Lake Dam, 400 out of 1st and over 1000cfs out of Murphy.  That is high all around, but early season I would rather have it high.  Hopefully this will bode well for the rest of the spring and summer.  I wanted to feel the tug, so I headed out in the canoe and paddled some ponds.  I was actually able to sight fish for brook trout with high sunshine overhead.  It was a fun little trip with a bunch of fish to net. 
 

      I hope this update finds you happy and ready to start the new season if you haven't already!  If you are interested in setting up a trip in Pittsburg for June, July or August, please feel free to let me know.  Dates are filling fast this season, so don't wait!  Thank you as always!

Here is the best way to get ahold of me:

Patrick@fishstoryguideservice.com