Braddock Bay - Monroe, NY Fishing Report on 28th Feb, 2026

I'll be honest with you. The fish weren't biting the way I wanted them to on Saturday. We drilled the holes, dropped the lines, and waited — and for the most part, Braddock Bay kept its fish to itself. If you came out expecting a cooler full of perch, I owe you an apology. But here's the thing. By the time we were packing up and heading back across the ice, not a single family was talking about the fish.

What Actually Happened Out There We had families show up at 8 in the morning — in the cold, in the dark almost, on a frozen lake — and something shifted the moment we walked out together. I've seen it before, but it never gets old. People put their phones away. Kids stopped fidgeting. Parents stopped rushing. I watched one kid — couldn't have been more than 10 years old — just sit next to his dad for almost 20 minutes. No talking. No complaints about being cold. Just sitting there, shoulder to shoulder, staring at a hole in the ice waiting for something to happen. That's rare. That's actually really rare. I watched families that barely knew each other an hour earlier start talking — really talking — around the conversation starter cards we handed out. You could almost see the walls come down in real time. One parent told me afterward it was the first time in months they'd had a conversation with their kid that didn't start with "put your phone away." And at the end of the day, when it was time to pack up and head in — the kids didn't want to leave. Let me say that again. It was cold. There weren't many fish. And the kids didn't want to leave. That's when I knew we had something.

Why I Started This WayFound Outdoors exists because I believe the outdoors does something to people that nothing else can replicate. It slows you down. It puts you in the present. It strips away everything that doesn't matter and leaves you with the people right in front of you. Casting Connections is built on that idea. Yes, we fish. Yes, we teach you how to drill a hole and bait a hook and identify what you caught. But the fishing is just the excuse to get families somewhere they can actually hear each other. The conversation starter cards, the Legacy Cast activity, the fireside lunch — all of it is designed around one goal: that a kid gets in the car at the end of the day and thinks I never knew that about my dad. I never knew that about my mom. That's the catch we're after.

What's Next Casting Connections isn't stopping at Braddock Bay. We're taking this to Pulaski, NY for Fire & Flow — steelhead season on the Salmon River, a fire, food, and the same mission that made Saturday special. If you've never seen a steelhead fight, you're in for something completely different from perch fishing on a frozen bay. These fish run hard. If Saturday resonated with you — or if you've been looking for something like this for your family — this is your next step. 👉 Get the details and reserve your spot for Fire & Flow Spots are limited. Families who were on the ice Saturday get first look.

One Ask If you were there on Saturday and it meant something to you — would you leave us a Google review? It takes 60 seconds and it's the single biggest way to help WayFound Outdoors reach more families who need exactly what we're building. 👉 Leave a review here And if you want to help us make the next event even better, fill out our quick feedback survey. Good feedback, critical feedback — we want all of it. 👉 Take the 3-minute survey

To every family that showed up Saturday — thank you. You didn't just attend an event. You were part of the first one. And I don't think any of us will forget it. The fish will bite next time. But honestly? Even if they don't — I think we'll be just fine.