Fall Fishing & Fly Ants

We're gearing up for a month of fall fishing here on Fishing Creek. The stream is in great shape thanks to last week's rain, the leaves are beginning to turn color, and the fishing is good.  We still have some days available for guiding if you'd like to get away for a day or two.  Fall is our favorite time of year and the season is just too darn short! With fall comes swarms of flying ants and if you're lucky enough to be on the stream when the ants appear you'll enjoy some exceptional fishing – if you have flying ants in your fly box! So do get out and enjoy the season and don't leave home without flying ants!

 

One Room at San Huberto  
March 25 – April 3

We have one room available at San Huberto, Argentina. Patagonia is a favorite destination for us and the Rio Malleo is an all time favorite. With miles and miles of spring creek flowing through Estancia San Huberto, you may not want to go home! Private beats, super guides, great accommodations. Come with us for a week of beautiful fall fishing. View the itinerary and let us know!

Rigging Two Flies

In this week's blog Pat Dorsey talks to us about rigging two flies, nymph/nymph, dry/dry, dry/nymph, streamer/streamer. We are always surprised when our guiding guests tell us that they never use a two fly combination and we use it almost all the time. Using two flies will definitely increase your odds of catching fish! Read all about it here. (From MidCurrent via Fly Fisherman)

 

Also, we wanted to update you about the Beck's upcoming schedule

2016:
Ireland (trout/salmon) July 8-18. Sold Out
Bighorn River (trout) Aug. 19-26, 26-Sept. 2. Sold Out
Spain, E. Pyrenees (trout) Oct. 13-20, 3 rooms
Tres Valles, Arg. (trout) Nov. 25-Dec. 5. Sold Out
2017:
Chile, Coyhaique (trout) Jan. 14-21. Sold Out
Argentina, Pira Lodge (dorado) Feb. 3-10. 4 rooms
Argentina, Jurassic Lake (trout) Feb. 11-19. 4 rooms
Argentina, Patagonia, 3 lodges (trout) Mar. 16-Apr. 12. 5 rooms
Belize River Lodge (tarpon, bones, etc) May 6-13. 5 rooms
Africa, East & South, Safari July 14-27 & 28-Aug.11. 10 rooms
Bighorn River (trout) Aug. 19-26 & 26-Sept. 2. 5 rooms

Please contact us or refer to our web site for further information.

 

Fishing continues to be good here on Fishing Creek.

For our blog this week I wanted to fill everyone in on what's going on here at the Becks. It seems like our work changes with the seasons. As soon as the weather started to show signs of spring, we were bombarded with phone calls for guiding. I guess you were all as anxious to get outside and on the water as I am to get my gardens started! So here in the office we've been busy scheduling guides and setting up casting lessons with Cathy. Our guides tell us that the Hendrickson hatch this year here at home has been one of the heaviest in years and now anglers are looking forward to the March Browns, which should start anytime. It's been a very good season so far on Fishing Creek. Cathy took me on a tour of our home waters and where the guided fishing takes place and although I'm not an angler (yet!), I can see why everyone wants to come to Fishing Creek. Beyond the great trout, the scenery is just beautiful. We were walking along the stream and it felt like there was no one else around for 100 miles. How peaceful!

Anyway, we've also had some changes in the office. As I mentioned a few months ago, Nancy has mostly retired so we're all working together to keep things going smoothly. She has done such a great job that it's pretty big shoes to fill but we're doing the best we can. She's taking this time to enjoy her grandsons and I know they are keeping her very busy!

Eddie, who if you don't know him, is our techi guy. He's only in the office one day a week but we call on him more often than that. Right now he's updating laptops for Cathy & Barry's travel needs and making sure our computers here in the office are as fast as they can be. We just recently got higher speed internet out here (yes we really are out in the middle of nowhere), which means we can do more uploading and streaming. He's pretty impressed with the service we get "all the way out here".

I'm also working on updating the web site for 2016. It seems so far away but in reality we're almost half way through 2015. We have a few confirmed trips already scheduled for next year including Chile for January 9-16, New Zealand February 2-16, Argentina Feb 28-March 20, Alaska August 6-13 and Mongolia September 26- October 3. These will be live on our site soon but in the meantime if anything sounds interesting to you, don't hesitate to give us a call and I'll be glad to give you more information. From our photography end, Barry and I have been busy working on submissions for late summer magazines. We just landed the covers of American Angler and Montana Outdoors for May/June. We've also been back and forth with Field & Stream for some upcoming issues that we're excited about. Make sure you grab a copy of these magazines when you're out shopping!

Cathy & Barry are at Rockwell Springs Trout Club in Sandusky, Ohio, this week conducting fly fishing schools and clinics. They've been doing RSTC clincs for 20 or so years and have made many friends and always look forward to returning each year.

As I look at their upcoming schedule, there is still one room open at Holbox, Mexico, in July that we're hoping to fill and a couple rooms open on the Bighorn in August. If you're still looking to schedule a summer fishing trip, give us a call.

We hope you are having a great Spring and from all of us here at Beck Photography, Happy Casting!

Need a last minute idea? How about a day of guided fishing for you and her? Get her out of the house, away from the job (or kids), and spend an enjoyable day on the stream with one of our guides. We still have a few days available in May and June for prime time fishing. We'll email you a certificate which you can print and slip into a card. Presto! Your shopping is done.  

$395 for 2 anglers. Lunch is included and any needed tackle.

Beginner or novice?No problem. Make it more special with a night at our local B&B. Lots of options. Check our web site for complete details and then give us a call or email. We've got you covered and you'll be a big star!

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 570-925-2392

 

 

Also, we came across a great article on catch-and-release techniques from Patagonia Clothing Company we wanted to share with you. It's interesting and we hope you'll take time to read it. There is new information on fish survival and recovery all the time and we think you might learn some new tips. I know we did.

http://www.thecleanestline.com/2015/03/the-release-fundamentals-of-fish-and-path-to-responsible-angling.html

And lastly this week, we have a few openings on upcoming trips. It's not too late to plan a get-away this summer or fall:

Holbox, Mexico (tarpon) - 1 room, July 6-13
Africa, Photo Safari - 1 spot/shared tent, 7/23-8/4 or 8/4-16
Bighorn River (trout) - 2 rooms, second week, 8/29-9/5
Spain - (trout) - 1 room, 10/13-20
Tres Valles (trout) - 1 room, 11/27-12/7

Tomorrow is the first day of Spring and we are all looking forward to it.  The snow is really melting here and the sunshine feels wonderful.  The opening day of fishing season here in NEPA is just a few weeks away, April 18th.  Our office is busy scheduling guiding and casting instructions for those eager to get out on the water.  If you would like to be guided on our private waters this Spring, call us at 570-925-2392. Our guides are fantastic and love what they do.  We also offer Weekender Packages if you'd like to receive individual instruction and then follow up with a day of guided fishing.  We would love to hear from you and share this beautiful fishing area with you. You can find more information about our packages and pricing here.

 

ALSO,

We had a cancellation in our Mexico departure April 6-14, which includes tarpon in Campeche and bones, permit, and snook in the Yucatan.  One room open.  Drop everything and come along!  Visit our website for the itinerary.  

 

There's no place prettier in the fall than the northeast, particularly so on our freestone streams.  Our home stream, Fishing Creek, is heading into fall with excellent water levels and lots of healthy fish.

 

Terrestrial fishing will stay good until the hard frosts come - along with baetis and cinnamon ants.  It's a beautiful time of year to be on the water.  We still have a few days available for guided fall fishing.  It's a short season and winter is just around the corner.  Treat yourself.  View our Guided Fishing page here and contact us for available dates. 

 

s with much of the country, our spring has been cold and late. We're just now seeing March Browns hatching and no one knows what happened to the Hendricksons. We simply didn't see them. We had a beautiful hatch of Grannom Caddis and March Browns yesterday afternoon and it was nice to see rising fish. We've had a good guiding season so far, but everyone is still wearing heavy layers under their waders and often starting the day in down vests. Three fish over 25" were landed this week and lots of fish in the 16" - 22". Although we had a cold winter, the fish wintered well and are in excellent shape. Here are some recent guiding client photos and you can check out our guiding page for more information on scheduling a trip to visit us.  

 

Up until just a few days ago, most of the fish were caught on nymphs and split shot. It's nice to be back up on top. Our March Browns should last for a couple weeks and will lead right into the Sulphur hatch. We have a number of different Sulphurs here on our stream but the most common is on a size 16 hook. Our favorite patterns continue to be comparaduns.    The high deer hair wing makes the fly float well and easy to see. It's also very durable and will last through many fish. After the Sulphurs, we'll see Lt. Cahills and Slate Drakes. With the arrival of these two hatches, we'll know for sure that summer is here. 

 

Memorial Day usually means the beginning of the terrestrial season with beetles, hoppers, crickets, inch worms, ants, and others. This is always a fun time of year because when these insects fall into the water it's seldom a quiet landing. A big beetle makes a plop and struggles which often gets the attention of a fish immediately. After a few weeks of delicate presentations with dry flies, it's fun to fish a big foam beetle in the riffle or along a grass bank. You never know who might show up! The Super beetle can easily support trailing a pheasant tail or inch worm behind and it's nice to offer a couple of options to the fish. I'd recommend using 4x though if you can.

Our Comparadun and Super Beetle Selections will keep you prepared and ready for late spring and summer fishing. You can find them here in our website Store.  This is an exciting time in the east, lots of hatches, rising fish, and fun patterns to use. We hope you have a great season and get out often to enjoy all that spring fishing offers.

 

With fishing season right around the corner (our opening weekend is this Saturday), we are busy scheduling our guides.  We still have some days available in May and June which is primetime for hatches and rising fish here on Fishing Creek, our medium size freestone home water.  Get the details here and give us a call at 877-278-5638 to look at dates.  Hope to see you on the water.  

It's a rainy, dreary day here in NEPA.  I have been saving up some interesting articles that we've come across and I think that today is a good day to share a few of them with you.  There's a little bit of everything here so I hope you find something that interests you!

We're excited to announce a new addition to our website... 

As you can see from the photos, our guides and clients have had some great days on Fishing Creek so far this spring. We still have a few openings in June. Give us a call and come & see for yourself! Details on our website.

 

With trout season just around the corner (April 13) here in Pennsylvania, we thought it might be a good time to let you know about a tying video that we posted to YouTube this week, Cathy Beck's Super Beetle. This beetle is a fun, inexpensive pattern to tie and you'll be surprised at how well it works.

As soon as the weather warms up, terrestrials will become active and this is a great pattern to tease up fish. It floats well, is easy to tie, and is a great fly to trail a nymph behind. We've used it for trout all over the world and it never fails. 

The Super Bugger is another great eary-to-tie pattern to use when the water is cold, high, or off color. It's a good search-type streamer and it pushes a lot of water so it gets the attention of the fish even when they may not see it. Both of these patterns are also available for purchase from our store. We tie the Super Bugger in tan, black and olive.

Our water here at home looks very good. We haven't had any extremely high water this spring and now that the weather is warming up, we should have good spring hatches. If you haven't fished our private water on Fishing Creek, you might want to consider a day with one of our guides. We think our freestone water is pretty special and we think you will too. Check out the details and then give us a call to arrange a date. Wherever you are, if you're in trout country, we hope you have a great season!

 

Although we've had way too much rain and everything is soggy, drippy, spongy, and soaked, fishing has still been very good. We're starting to see Hendricksons and sulphurs won't be far behind. One of our guides, Jim Kukurlo, guided John Radcliffe the other day here on Fishing Creek. Here is one of the fish they landed. We've still got days open, better come and fish while it's good! Read about our guiding.

Our casting clinics and guiding dates for the spring are filling up nicely but we've still got space so if you or someone you know is thinking about learning to fly fish, want to improve your cast or thinking about a day of fly fishing for trout on private water, we've got you covered! Our casting clinics are April 23 and May 14 & 21, for Basic fly casting and May 28 for Intermediate levels.

If you're looking for a special day of trout fishing how about a day of fishing on private water with one of our experienced guides. Carefully managed for over 30 years, our private water has an excellent population of browns and rainbows and some big fish that will knock your socks off! Come check us out for yourselves. We think you'll be impressed.

Check out the details on our website under Casting Clinics and Guiding. We're centrally located 3 hours from both Philadelphia and NYC in the heart of the Endless Mountains. Contact us for details.