May 9, 2016 – Beautiful Conditions on the Wissahickon

Philly pocket water.  Got to love it.

Every year around this time, I take a walk into to Fairmount Park and feel profound, unexpected gratitude that this beautiful place exists so close to my home.  Yes, there are folks running dogs off the leash and the odd worm container here and there, but the gorge section of the park is one of the prettiest places around.  The trout fishing is strictly put and take for most, but I release them all, and I have caught them into August while targeting bass on particularly wet, cool years .   After the rains this weekend, the flows were perfect for nymphing this morning.  The higher flow and the slight stain left the fish hungry and cooperative.  I saw a few caddis dancing around, and I even saw a couple sulfurs taking flight, but the fish didn’t seem to be keyed in on the surface activity quite yet.  Another day of rain tomorrow, but maybe later this week, they will start looking up.  

Perfect conditions to nymph, and the fish cooperated.

I fished pocket water with a caddis larvae and size 16 dropper with some yellow in it in case the sulfur thing wasn’t just an isolated incident.  The fish were strong in the current with leaps and bulldog tactics in the riffles.  I caught all browns except for two bows, and one of the bows was a good, healthy fish.

Caddis larvae accounted for most of the fish.

I had spent the morning grading papers and submitting final grades, and then I even went to the grocery store for some things, but I managed at least 3 hours of good fishing, ending up with about 14 trout and many sunfish, rock bass, and a nice smallmouth of about a half a pound.  This may be the last available trip this week with final exams in progress, so I made the most of it.

At least 12 browns and a couple bows.

I never took a water temp, but I would guess it is still around 60 degrees now that the leaf cover is starting to sprout.  We are supposed to get another shot of rain tonight and tomorrow, so I am sure the creek will fish well for another few weeks.  I want to get into some dry fly action on the Wissy this year!  I don’t usually see this much bug activity, but this year has been rather strong.  The midges are always constant, but the caddis are pretty consistent this year, and I don’t remember the last time I saw mayflies like sulfurs and BWOs hatching in any noticeable numbers.

A couple, including this rainbow, hit the dropper.

I did pick up at least one brown swinging a copper john with a soft hackle wet fly trailing, and a couple other fish grabbed the swinging fly but came off after a short battle.  It was such a nice day that there were a few anglers out throwing spinners and bait, but I had the pocket water to myself all morning.  I quit the first time at an even dozen, but I had to try a favorite hole before I left.  This is a difficult one to fish, a fast deep run with eddies on both sides at the base of a sheer rock formation.  I fished the tail out and turned one brown who got off quickly, and then I slowly worked my way up to the head.  Standing about waist deep so I could high stick over the fast current and target the eddy across the creek, I picked up one more feisty brown and the best rainbow of the day, and then I quit for real and hit the showers for a late night at work, grateful for a Monday close to home with great conditions in beautiful surroundings.