The end of July is the beginning of the period that I most enjoy muskie fly fishing. The fish have found their summer and early autumn ambush lies and under the right conditions can be quite aggressive. I fished the other day with WV guide Jacob Ott who grew up in western NY. It was a nice homecoming as he landed a good fish late in the day on one of his patterns tied in chartreuse. With good length but sparsely tied, it was the perfect pattern to cast into stiff 15 to 20 mph winds. Last week Steve Wascher, Justin Damude and myself floated an intimate PA muskie river. We hooked three and had at least three other follows on one of the hottest days I have ever fished. Now is the time to get after some muskie!

After viewing a recent video within Catch on-line magazine of Brian O'Keefe fishing for largemouth bass in a remote destination, I was reminded how much fun it is to catch old Mr. Bucket mouth on surface poppers. So when the wind howled to 30 mph this past week while out muskie fishing with old friend Dave Mosgeller, we found much calmer conditions in a shallow, hidden bay full of structure and weed cover. The fish required a little coaxing with a variety of retrieve speeds, but in the end we had a fun day of surface fishing. And once again I am reminded of the bounty to be found close to home. 

The first issue of the brand new on-line magazine - Swing the Fly is now available for download at www.swingthefly.com. The first issue contains beautiful photography and insightful content. It is dedicated to the culture of Spey fishing for steelhead, salmon, trout and more.