June 21, 2016 – Awww, the Baby Skuke… – A Good Day on the Little Schuylkill River DHALO section

Life is good in Schuylkill County.

A guy who posts a lot on PAFlyfish and works for the PFBC has been promoting the Little Schuylkill River because the commission feels like it is an underused resource, and a reader of this blog, Alex, sent me an email about a successful trip earlier this spring, so the creek has been on my list to check out for a while.  A 90 degree day with pop-up thunderstorms and very low water may not have been the day, but the spooky natural light early in the morning made for interesting photos.  Even swamped up and sweaty, I caught and moved a lot of fish too.  I will be back next year when conditions are better.

Early morning success on the streamer

Despite the trucks, it was an easy, quick ride out the Port Clinton and New Ringgold, PA area.  In the dark, the skies were lighting up all over, and the sunrise was ominous.  Of course, it didn’t rain until I found the upper end of the DHALO.  I just sat it out until the rain let up a bit, and then I went on a drive through the beautiful Hawk Mountain region in search of the lower limit of the special regs section.  By the time I parked, it was just overcast and humid.  The gages in Tamaqua the night before showed the river as very low, so I was happy for the jolt of stained water as I walked into the Baby Skuke.  There was also a railroad that followed the creek for a long stretch, which would make it easier to get back (and reach my fitness app’s goals for me again).

A healthy holdover fooled by the muddler.

It didn’t take long to hook a couple bows on a muddler minnow.  A lot of the creek between the holes and runs is flat and shallow, so the fish were easy to find and target.  They were under overhanging trees, in the fast riffles, in the log jams, and in the few deep holes.  The first 3 fish smacked the streamer on the swing, probably chasing it out from the bankside cover I was targeting.  It is always great to have early success on a new piece of water. Getting a visual on the pursuit and the streamer strikes is also fun!

Which way?  Both.

The water was not all that cold, about 68 degrees when I quit, a little cooler earlier in the day, and the rain in the morning probably had some influence one way or the other, but the fish were in good shape and quickly scooted back to cover when released.  Right above the bridge where I parked, the river takes a detour and forks around a rather large island.  I chose the right side for the first round, but I also had success going to the left after a second early afternoon break.  I landed five rainbows before I decided to take a morning rest.  It was hot and humid, so getting some water and food while I changed over to wet wading sounded really good.  Streamer fishing requires a lot of false casts and a bit more oomph to the stroke, so my fisherman’s elbow would thank me for this morning rest, too.

Brook trout on the plug.

Bow on the plug.

By the time I quit chucking a streamer, fish were getting wise in the higher sun, even with the stained water, and there was little bug activity.  There were few good nymphing holes either.  All signs were pointing to my ultralight spinning rod, a few plugs, and covering a lot of ground to find spots for the next time I visited the river (early in the spring!).  As a bonus, I caught a bunch of fish this way, lost just as many, and explored a lot more of the creek.  I even caught a brook trout and some other guest stars along the way.   

A fun surprise in a deep undercut bank.

I can honestly say that I have never caught a crappie on a trout stream before, and I now have the photographic evidence that it can happen.  I ran into an old timer fly fishing and chatted for a bit, leaving him to a great hole.  Most fly guys are not that friendly when they see someone throwing hard baits, but I could talk isonychia and Yellow Sally with him, so I guess I checked out….  I actually got some good info and made a mental note to hit the hole he was in on the way back down.  Before I saw him above me, however, I did land the brook trout, possibly wild, on the plug.

A good spot to try some other time,

I ran into only one other fisherman up near the upper limit, and I covered about ¾ of the DHALO.  I found some spots that would be great in the spring, and there were a couple stragglers and holdovers in those prime spots.  At one particularly good hole, where the current ran perpendicular right into an undercut bank, I pulled out a little bass and a healthy rainbow.  I did catch a couple browns along the way too.  Based on the size and brilliant colors of a few who shook off before a photo, there are wild ones in there, and a few I caught looked wild except for a clipped pectoral fin, so they are holding over a lot of years too.  I did not spook or turn any wild brown monsters, though.

A first for me.

I turned back after running into the dude on the upper end of the stretch, and I worked my way down to the great hole where I spoke to the old fly fisherman.  Above the hole was a fast and shaded riffle where I caught a nice bow on the way up, so I tied on a shallower running plug to try working the pockets.  Honestly, I have had it forever, and I have no clue who makes it.  With the Rapalas’ history of breaking (2 broke today alone, you Finnish bastards!) I always try new trout plugs.  Anyway, I did not catch any fish in the riffle on the plug, but I tossed it in the deep hole just for the heck of it.  I was planning to tie on a CD 5 and work deeper.  Well, I’ll be damned if I didn’t see an out-of-place shape giving chase.  It was not a bass or a trout, that was certain.  He wasn’t all that fast, either, missing multiple swipes at the plug until I slowed it down.  After a short fight, I lipped my first white black crappie caught on a trout stream.  I wonder if someone put him there with plans on stocking this honey hole for summer fishing?  Or maybe there is naturally a small population of warmwater fish in the creek?  Who knows?  I snapped a pic and set him free in case the latter was true.  The old timer must have torn the hole up before he left for the morning, because the crappie was the only fish willing to bite.

Like a completely different creek... but not.

After another rest, I tried the other fork of the creek with the plug.  It veered off so far that I thought maybe it was a tributary until it rejoined the main river at a spot I recognized.  I think there were some wild browns in this stretch, and the stockies looked great.  It was hot, and I was hotter, so a lot of the pictures look fogged up like the one below, even after editing the heck out of them.  This stretch had the characteristics of a little mountain freestoner, so I switched to a tiny Rapala CD 1, which only has one set of trebles in the back and wouldn’t drag the shallow bottom.

Swamp-shots....

I guess I was finally getting tired because my hook setting percentage plummeted to below .500 on this final stretch.  I did land a few, and had a few shake off while handling them.  At least two were wild browns, I believe.  I think that the fact that I had to do the trout equivalent of the musky figure eight to get a couple fish to commit to the plug also contributed to so many shaking off the small trebles on a short line.  It was still action-packed and fun, like fishing an entirely different stream.

Even the stockies were pretty fish.

I probably landed 15 trout of all shapes and sizes, though nothing over 12 or 13 inches, and I bet I had just as many come off after short battles on short-line, last minute strikes.  With more water, I know the creek would produce even more fish.  The Little Skuke will be a fun one to add to my list to visit each year.  It was easy wading, so I made a note that this would be a good one for my old man too.  The guy I saw in the morning had to be 80 or older, so young Joey would be able to cover a lot of ground with me in the stream and on the rails.

Mmm... meat....

I ended the day with a trip to Cabela’s, but I only picked up a few things, resisting the urge to buy 12 items in the bargain cave, including a dirt cheap pair of felt/studded wading boots.  I just returned a pair of LL Bean boots and used the credit for a pair of Korkers boots with sticky rubber for walking and studs for the mighty Lehigh and Brodhead (and hopefully Penns this year!).  I did pick up some more Dynamic Lures HD Trout in hopes that I can break my Rapala dependence.  I had two Countdowns break at the lip today, and one of them was purchased this week!  I am going to fill out another return form and see what happens.  If they get enough of the plugs—now selling for close to 8 bucks at Cabela’s—back, maybe they will update the materials.  I also picked up a “blade”.  I have seen videos of Australian and European trout guys using metal blades instead of plugs and spinners.  I may give it a shot this summer.  I owe young Kenny a trip to NEPA, and maybe even THess and I will get out when he’s on vacation in a couple weeks.  

Blade?

Fluke  fishing should be happening now, and if not then shortly, so I was happy to find the new Uncle Josh saltwater “Meat” too.  They are pork minnows and, if Kenny’s experience with drop shotting the leeches in Canada is any indication, they should be nearly indestructible to fluke, who love to eat Gulp tails.  He had to cut them off the drop shot hooks, so I think it should be no contest with fluke, provided they like the scent.  I will post the results of my experiment when it happens….  I just have to stop trout fishing long enough to fish for another species this year.