Warming up

The waters of western New York are warming up and we are finally starting to see some very good midge and stonefly activity. That is not to say that there are huge pods of hungry rising fish but the fish are indeed hungry and some of them have started looking up. We are seeing some good fishing for the early season on small midge pupa patterns size 20-24 and if you hit it right like I mentioned before some OK surface activity. I have been fishing your standard zebra style midges in a size 22 and I had a great day with a #20 WD-50. I'm laughing to myself reading this and reminding myself that good fishing this time of year is not the the same as good fishing in May but I think you are all well aware. If you are thinking about heading out do so with confidence and a hearty supply of midges and early season stones, the flies in the picture are awesome patterns whipped up by Robert Lewis (please click the photo to see what an awesome job he did) and I am praying some of us run into one of the good stonefly hatches that can be so sporadic but still awesome when you're in the right place. Good luck and keep me posted, hopefully I will be able to post some great grin and grabs!