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| Early success (but not too early). |
It became very
clear that the little bit of rain that happened this week had not made any difference
on my chosen crick this morning. I arrived
about 8 AM after letting it warm up some following the coldest night since June, so there was enough daylight to dispel any hope that a little stain or a
boost in flow was present to help the cause.
I like challenges, and I like to be proficient in less-than-perfect conditions,
so instead of heading to a bigger creek, I accepted the challenge. I know this stream intimately, too, so I knew
where to fish and how I might have to fish it in order to make lemonade. By 2:30 PM, I had landed about a dozen trouts,
a few of them very decent for a small freestone crick, so I was glad I stayed. With one exception, a couple of young bulls tossing
spinning rods and high-holing me, I had the crick to myself, so I took
advantage of that situation. I was
covering water fast because I was skipping yards of boney, clear water and
targeting higher percentage spots, so I actually covered a few miles of water,
making two or three short drives and many long walks over exposed rocks. I ended near the lower stretches, hoping to
intercept some big, seasonal interlopers or lovelorn wanderers looking for a
place to settle next month, but I only found a couple holdover bows down
there. Still, it was worth all the steps
and drives. I have never seen this creek
so low, and that is information. I made
mental notes of the spots within the spots, less obvious cover, deep
depressions, things I would not see in normal flows. That is invaluable time on the water, and the
fishing was solid, all things considered.
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| Caught some fishes despite the low water. |
Deep plunges
were the first order of business, but because the leaf cover is still significant
enough to offer low light until 9 or 10 AM, I did pay a little attention to
deeper holes. Fish can only do three
things, or a combination of those three things, in water this low: hide under cover
like rocks and ledges and wood, go deep out of diving range of birds of prey,
or tuck up under the white water (or whitish water today). I found my first fish and a second much
better fish tight to a plunge. Another good
fish shot out from under a boulder to eat.
As the day got brighter, I could see fish in the deep holes and, with
stealth, was able to target a couple. At
times they were with big suckers, a behavior I see in winter from time to time
and during sucker spawn in early spring, and that resulted in me tagging a 20+
inch white sucker that provided the best 15 second fight on a 3 wt. in fly fishing! There were some dinks and average small stream
fish along the way, and even three rainbows, including one solid one in good
shape. I was fishing 5X with a 16 frenchie
on the anchor and a smaller dropper, like a midge or riffle nymph. With some small BWO’s around, the mayfly nymphs
seemed to get more love than any caddis larva imitations, despite cased caddis regularly
finding their way onto the hook of my anchor fly.
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| Boney enough to sight-fish a river monster ;) |
My first stop
was the longest, both timewise and walking-wise, and it produced the three or four
good browns you see in the photos. The
second stop was short, involved me targeting a nice wild male and tangling with
a relative of Karen the white sucker. The
college boys in sneakers and spinning rods that I let high hole me without
comment were also a feature of stop number two.
My third stop was after 12:45 PM, so well past primetime, but also a
hail mary. I know from experience—and lost
access to a stretch now posted—that big fish move through seasonally for the
spawn. They often stayed through the
winter, as well, resulting in some solid pre- and post-spawn browns. The creek is changing rapidly, and I have not
intercepted this seasonal movement in a few years now, but with the high sun
and low water, I was hoping at least to see a couple. Here I caught a two-year old wild brown and
two rainbows. One bow was skinny like she’d
just barely made it from the spring stocking and had washed down, but the other bow was
far healthier. It looked like a
multiyear holdover, and my first impression said male. Looking at the anal fin, that first
impression may not have been wrong. I am
not saying wild, by any means, I am just saying that the Comish stocks females
and mutant triploids. This one may have
been a wanderer or a club stocker, something different. It was not a wild brown, but it was a fun fight and a nice
surprise.
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| A couple more nicer fish. |
Thursday,
yo! The reason I had so much water to
myself—besides the windy, cold front conditions—was that I was out on a weekday. I am using up PTO because I start a new job
later this month. Back to my roots. For those who have read the blog for years, for
some of you 10 years at the end of this year, you know I used to have time off
for 100+ days of fishing. I am not
promising that with this new job, but I am saying that I will have more than
double the days off in 2026, something like 41 paid days off. I can’t wait.
Even with having to earn that time at a new job, I will still have an
extended Thanksgiving and two weeks off for the holidays, a spring break. I will continue to be a weekend warrior for
the time being, but I do have a camping fishing weekend next week with Josh,
Brian, Larry and Josh’s brother in law.
Rain would help, but today’s success proved a theory I have held about
the fall for some time: low water or not, the better fish have to eat if they
want to make babies in November. Let’s
hope I am proven right again on Penns next weekend!
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| A good long day and the first cold morning in months. |
