FlyFishNewEngland.net 7th Annual Fly Swap

FFNE 7th Annual Fly Swap

We are in to our spring fishing season here in New England -- rivers and ponds are freshly stocked, the herring runs are going strong and sea lice laden schoolies are being caught in Rhode Island. And in true fashion of the "occasional blogger", the 7th Annual FlyFishingNewEngland.net fly swap, that happened in January this year, is finally being documented.
It's actually the dead of winter 2020 and one year has passed since the last fly swap. I started to write this post in the spring of 2019 (see lined out intro paragraph above) and am finally finishing just a few weeks before the FFNE 8th Annual Fly Swap.
Better late than never....

New England Fly Fishing, Red Sox and Podcasts

The occasional blogger wants to share some current thoughts about the subject topics. I listen to a lot of podcasts, I love fly fishing in New England (both fresh and salt) and I'm a huge Red Sox fan. When these topics converge, I have to share...

Rick Porcello, a Red Sox starter since 2015 and 2016 Cy Young Award winner, is an avid fly angler. Orvis posted a video featuring Rick recently, but I also just discovered a new podcast titled "Fly Fishing Journeys" where Rick provides some insights to his fly fishing passion and time with the Red Sox.

ORVIS Presents: Off Season

Rob Giannino hosts the "Fly Fishing Journeys" podcast and has many excellent interviews with New England centric guests. His interview style brings the best out of his guests. Rick's podcast was done during the 2018 season and we all know the results from that record setting year for the Sox. 

Unfortunately, Rick's future with the Red Sox is in question as his contract ended in 2019 and, to date, he has not been offered an extension by the team

Wherever he lands in 2020, I will still be a big fan and hope to meet him fishing for brookies in New England.

6th Annual FlyFishingNewEngland.net Fly Swap

-- 6th Annual FFNE Fly Swap --

It's hard to believe we've been doing this fly swap for 6 years now. I've posted about the 1st, 2nd and 3rd FlyFishingNewEngland.net fly swaps. With a record turnout and the high quality flies submitted, this 6th annual event warranted a post from the "occasional blogger".
This year was the biggest with 15 tiers and 18 total in attendance at our host's (Chris M.) house. We also had friends, wives and significant others join us for the festivities. Several tiers submitted multiple flies (Matt B. submitted 5!) so we had a total of 23 flies for each tier to take home.

First Fish of 2017

-- First 2017 Fish --

I'm shocked, yes shocked, to find stripers in January! First fish of 2017 and it seemed like the "fish on every cast" action from November continued. The expectations where very low heading out, but I fished with a very "fishy" guy who figured it out and got us all into some.

New England Fly Fishing Event - Postfly

The good folks at Postfly are hosting a free Fins & Film Event on 13 January 2017. It will be at their HQ (101 Newburyport Tpke., Newbury, MA 01951). If you are in the area and want to attend, RSVP to info@postflybox.com by 10 January. Hope to see you there!

Dock Talk 365 Interview

--Dock Talk 365 Interview--

I was a bit surprised to have a fellow angling blogger inquire about a Question and Answer interview for the Dock Talk 365 Blog. What could a "weekend warrior" fly angler say or offer that hasn't been discussed a million times before?

I took a look at Chris' blog, read some of the other interviews and thought it would be fun to give my perspective with some background of why I fish and love it so much. This sentence from the "About Us" helped seal the deal, "Our focus is on the recreational or local tournament anglers who love to spend time on the water and are willing to share their valuable knowledge of their local waters and techniques as well as their overall perspectives on our sport."

2015 Top Twelve Days on the Water

-- First fish of 2016 --

I'll open this long overdue post with the first fish of 2016. A sweet native Massachusetts brookie from a stream with no name. We are now three months into 2016, but I'd like to look back on a personally successful 2015 fly fishing New England waters.

I use the phrase "occasional blogger" in my Instagram profile for a reason. It's hard to provide relevant content to the blog on a regular basis. It's been 11 months since the last post and I hope you'll enjoy this one.

New England Spring Float with Harrison Anglers

-- Harrison Anglers --

To some, the 2014-2015 New England winter was brutal. For me, it was just another beautiful, snow filled wonderland that is rapidly changing into a glorious spring. This is the reason I love New England. Seasonal changes in New England are rapid and intense. Deep snow is morphed into blooming forsythia and the fish in both fresh and salt put on the feed bags.

Nine years ago, my son Matt, bought me a fly rod for Christmas. Six years ago, Matt convinced me to float a Western Massachusetts river with Harrison Anglers. Before that float, I had caught a few bass and bluegills on the fly, but salmonids continued to elude me. Tom Harrison, our guide on that float, put us on fish and I caught my first trout that day on an olive woolly bugger. I didn't know what I was doing then and probably forgot to tip (sorry Tom), but it was a memorable day. Thanks to Tom's patience and guidance, all aspects of my fly fishing game improved and I started having success with catching trout.

Spring is in the Air

- The Melting Begins -

We've experienced a record snowfall this winter and the rivers and streams in New England will benefit. After two months of brutal cold temperatures and multiple 1+ foot snow storms, warmer temps have started the process of melting the ice on the streams and the snow in the woods.

I took advantage of the warmer air temps and went searching for open water this past week on the local trout streams.