January 7, 2016 – Better Than February 22, 2015! – First Fish of 2016

I call this a "selfish."   My first fish of 2016 (look closely).

Well, I am on the board for the new year with a couple wild browns from Berks County. Both fish hit scuds under a small indicator in the slow eddies of some deep pockets.  Good enough for me!  It was so cold last year that I didn’t accomplish this same feat until the third week of February, so even though it was chilly today, I am hopeful that this won’t be the last winter excursion.  Sunday, which is penciled in for another fishing trip, looks to be over 55 degrees again, so maybe I'll best the 10 inch mark for 2016 this weekend!

My second of 2016 was a bit better...

Today, I targeted an Oley Valley creek with some limestone influence, hoping it would be relatively ice-free.  As I headed west, crossing over the Wissy, the Skippy, the Perk, and so on, things were not looking all that promising.  Slow pools were iced up, and many banks were rimmed with ice up to 5 feet from shore.  I didn’t leave the house until 12:30 PM, and the temperature was supposed to get to 42 or 43, but I was wondering if I jumped the gun by a couple days (it was 20 degrees last night).  Actually, I did.  The wintering hole that I intended to fish today was unfishable due to ice, but I made the most of my two hour window of fishing, catching two pretty parr-marked wild browns and hooking a third, not to mention enjoying the still, fresh winter solitude.

I lost a third who headed for the roots!

After I suited up and walked down into the creek, seeing a bit of ice, I took a water temp reading: barely 37 degrees.  But I saw enough fishable water upstream that I stuck with the plan.  I quickly targeted a couple small holes that usually have some life in them, but as I said above, the plan was to get to the deep hole where I’d done well in past winters.  Good thing I didn’t rush too much because the only action I had was in these smaller holes, including a root-laden undercut bank where a third fish took the scud.  I fished from 1:30 to 3:30 PM, and besides my toes, I was plenty warm, especially when the sun peeked out a handful of times.  I hope the overnight temps stay mild until Sunday, though.  These winter days are short enough without having to wait until noon to break the freezing mark!