Long Weekend - Central New York

Taking Friday off and going back HERE for the weekend...

It was the scene of a long weekend last year that led to a little fishing and a two part post you can find HERE & HERE.  It's about a month later this year, so it'll be a bit colder.  Still, I'm sure the three of us will find something to do.

I'm writing this on Thursday night and it's late, so I gotta go pack some crap...I'll try not to forget my underwear like last year...that sucked.

Guest Post - Landing a Steelhead in One of Lake Ontario’s Tributaries

I didn't write today's post.  Considering it's about Lake Ontario Steelhead, that probably doesn't shock you, despite the fact that I do own an underused NY state fishing license.

Larry Chandler is the author who did approach me the other week to write this post...and although he's not that "underground trout" Chandler guy, it's still a very nice piece, clearly much better than I could have written if I tried.  Plus since I don't typically write about steelhead, it should be good fodder for all those Googlie-Mooglie search engines.

So enjoy the read, on what is hopefully a nice, lazy Saturday for everyone.

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Landing a Steelhead in One of Lake Ontario’s Tributaries

If you have been lucky enough to fish the Lake Ontario area of New York you are likely aware of the excellent steelhead fishing. The state of New York has invested time, money and effort in stocking these beautiful strains of rainbow trout throughout the waters. The state even had the good vision to stock not only a winter strain but a summer strain too, providing more opportunities throughout the year to catch a trophy.

Types of Steelhead

In the winter anglers can go after the Washington steelhead. Most of the time the run will hit its stride at the middle of October and last until sometime in November. As water temps cool off during December and January the action noticeably drops. However, the middle of March signifies the spawning period and the fish are ready to bite again.

Starting at the beginning of May the Skamania steelhead will start to move in to the river. As of this writing the Skamania are only kept stock in Little Salmon River as well as Salmon River. The height of the run for the summer fish usually begins in June and will last all the way until September. The Skamania are a little more skittish and tend to be a tougher catch. Experienced anglers have seen their best results immediately after a hard rain or a rise in the water level due to a recreational release of water volume.

Techniques to Match Every Personality

One of the attractive features about fishing for steelhead is the variety in techniques that are used. If you like finesse fishing with light line and long rods, then you will enjoy the spinning reel strategy used by many people. Rods can vary from 8 feet up to 14 feet and the lines may be as big as 10 pound test are as light as 2 pound test.

What if you prefer the traditional fly fishing method? No problem. The common setup for steelhead is a 10 foot long rod along with 7 weight fishing line. A fast, smooth fly reel is essential to handle the quick-as-a hiccup moves of these fish as they dart away once they are hooked.

For those that like to drop a bait in a strike zone and patiently pass the time while the water moves the lure along, float fishing is a great method for landing a steelhead. Long rods, up to 14 feet, are perfect for this technique. The length allows the angler to make a good cast, keep the line from setting on the water’s surface and to set the hook when the bite hits.

Like most types of fishing, the most effective lures are the ones that resemble some type of prey naturally found in the tributaries of Lake Ontario. Mayfly, fish eggs, leeches, minnows and caddis fly larvae are some of the best examples.

Getting Your Chance to Land a Steelhead

Since these fish have great speed and power it is not uncommon for anglers to lose a steelhead in the first few seconds of the bite. It is vital to take up all the slack line immediately when you get a bite. Then, allow the fish to run and let your reel’s drag take over. Maintain pressure by keeping the rod near the water and move the rod side to side. This keeps the fish out of balance and will cause it to tire.

If you want a real fight with a dandy of a fish, try out one of the tributaries of Lake Ontario and launch into one of these beautiful steelhead. You won’t be sorry.

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Larry Chandler is a freelance writer and trout fishing enthusiast. When he is not on the computer he enjoys being outdoors and spending time with his family.

Escape To Central New York - The Conclusion

Did I do a good enough tease at the end of the first post to make you want to come back for more?  No?  Well what are you doing here then?

So picking up where I left off, I had just finished fishing and was going to make another fishing-related stop.

Back in the car, I headed over to the Cortland Line Factory Outlet Store.  Let me tell you something, if you're ever in Cortland, NY, this is a must stop.  It's basically your normal fly shop, except all the products come from one manufacturer...and I do regret not taking any pictures inside the place...for no other reason than to observe the wall of fly line.  It's like walking into Foot Locker and looking at sneakers...but they are all different flavors of fly line.

Pic lifted from their Facebook page

They had all the premium lines, and then had a whole rack of what I believe were factory seconds starting at $15.  In addition, they had a ton of leaders, tippet, rods (including Diamondback Glass), reels, flies from Turral and Riverborn, all that good stuff.  The only thing I didn't see were hats.  I would have bought a hat...especially if it said Climax (their leader brand) on it...because...well...that would have been too good to pass up.  I did buy some flies...just because.

The guys inside were pretty friendly too...I chatted them up for a little bit to find out what I should be tossing the next time I come up.  One thing I need to make note of; bring the 6-weight for the West Branch of the Tioughnioga.  While the fish on the 3-weight that I really brought to fish Factory Brook was fun...they grow 'em up to 30+ inches in the WBT.  When I told one of the guys I was fishing the river with a 3-weight, his immediate response was, "does that rod have a warranty?"  HA!

The rest of the trip really didn't have much of a fishing theme to it.  After I headed back to the hotel to meet up with K.C. & Lilly, we all got cleaned up (them de-chlorinated, me de-stinkafied) and headed out for an afternoon of exploring.

First we drove about 45 minutes to a vineyard/winery.  They were having a tasting event and K.C. loves her some wine.  They also had live music, BBQ, and ice cream to keep Lilly & I busy while Mom got her drank on.

After that, we headed toward Ithaca.  We really didn't know anything about it other than it was at the bottom of Cayuga Lake (one of the Finger Lakes) and is where Cornell University is located.

Passing through we were stopped dead in our tracks at Ithaca Falls.  Hopping out of the car we went streamside to get a closer look (and of course skip some stones).  Could these falls be any more beautiful?

Lilly none too impressed

There was also a gentleman fly fishing at the foot of the falls.  He was dead drifting something and did catch a fish in the 10 or so minutes I was jealously watching from the shoreline.  I'd have asked him what he was tossing, but the falls were so loud, he'd have never heard me.  I want to will go back and fish those falls.

After the falls and a quick cruise through downtown Ithaca, it was getting a bit late, so we headed back toward Cortland for a quick round of...

Mini Golf!  

Random, I know...

Saving the best for last was dinner.  We were totally winging it, but as we drove through Cortland we saw a lot of people lined up outside a place called the Hollywood Restaurant.  Figured if there was a bunch of folks congregating outside, it couldn't be bad, right?

That hunch was spot on.  The restaurant was themed old Hollywood, with lots of movie posters and memorabilia on the walls.  The menu was largely Italian, but there was a little bit of something for everyone.  They had me when they didn't bring out just a basket of rolls with dinner, but a whole freakin' loaf of bread.  My last name starts and ends in a vowel, me and my people are fond of bread.

Note large Marilyn Monroe statue in center of restaurant.  So cool.

After that, honestly we were all wiped.  We headed back to the hotel, K.C. & I had a few drinks on our patio, then we all called it a night.  

We'd drive home after checking out the following morning, knowing we'd be back to the area again in the future.  After all, my new NY State fishing license has a whole year's worth of fishing still needing to be used.  Wonder if that was intentional...

Escape To Central New York - Part One

Last weekend the family headed up to central New York State to spend a rather agenda-free weekend away from everything.  See, a few months back, K.C. saw a deal on an inexpensive room rate offered by an out of season ski lodge on a "Groupon"-like site called RueLaLa.  Hope Lake Lodge was advertised virtually brand new, and had all of the amenities one could want, including an indoor waterpark for the kids.  However being a fisherman, the one thing I fixated on was the location...Cortland, NY.  You know...like Cortland, New York.  The credit card came out of my wallet...

I took Friday off from work and a three and a half hour drive found us at our destination.  Hope Lake Lodge was as nice as advertised.  Beautiful building, wood beams throughout.  Our room had a rustic theme, but modern amenities sucha as a flat screen TV and fully stocked kitchen even with marble countertops.  Fancy, fancy.

Kinda looks like a Cabela's, right?

The room...beyond that door is a small patio overlooking Hope Lake

The lake, which was "closed"

However the place was also pretty empty...hence the nice weekend rate.  I have a feeling it isn't quite as quiet when there's snow on the slopes.  We took it easy that first night, got a lay of the land, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and then went to bed.  I did watch a little baseball on TV before I went to bed that night, however I refuse to acknowledge the result.

Saturday morning was going to be my chance to fish a little bit.  The "deal" was I would go exploring some recommended fishing spots for about 4 or 5 hours in the AM while K.C. took Lilly to the indoor waterpark.  We'd basically just all meet back up at the room at lunch and do a family adventure in the afternoon.

My first stop was Factory Brook, a very small stream, in the neighboring Village of Homer.  Factory Brook is a really beautiful stretch of small water, no more than 15 feet wide, and according to my research, home to wild brown & brook trout.

Note I said "research" in the prior paragraph because I unfortunately didn't have much luck at Factory Brook.  Limited by time, and wanting to check out another stream, I only fished there for about an hour.  No, I didn't catch anything, but I want to go back.  The beauty of this pool haunts my dreams.

I'll be back...

The next stop was the West Branch of the Tioughnioga River.  I think it's pronounced "Tee-off-knee-oga" for those following along at home.  Compared to Factory Brook, the section I fished was downright urban.  It actually flows right through the city of Cortland, so right behind the trees that give the river a bit of shelter are people's backyards and businesses.  I dropped in next to an apartment complex and fished downstream to about 3 or 4 city blocks.

I also happened to catch my only fish of the trip here.  This brown, who crushed a small woolly bugger, and overwhelmed my 3-weight and click n' pawl reel.  What a blast to bring this fish on such light tackle!

Looking at my watch, and totally satisfied that the "skunk" was gone, I realized it was a little after 11:00 AM, so I stopped fishing, & headed back to the car.  I had one more stop to make before heading back to the hotel.  It was a fishing-related stop, but I wouldn't be getting a line wet where I was going.

To be continued...