September 25, 2016 – Back in Waders – A Chilly NEPA Drought Tour

A lot of chilly, ankle-deep water.

I scouted a couple creeks and ended up fishing a large Pocono freestoner today with little to show for it.  I got a nice walk in the cool, breezy weather, at least.  This morning’s air was 46 degrees at sunrise, so I appreciated the walking.  Today was the first time I have worn waders since late May, I believe, and I needed them.  Thankfully, there were no leaks.  The water temperature around 7:30 AM was below 60 degrees, but the creek was the lowest I have seen it in a while (and there have been bad years in recent memory).  Herons and raptors have probably had a field day over the last few weeks!  

Dark and lovely on the Dynamic Lures HD minnow.

I worked roughly a mile of water, I bet, just walking and looking for deep pockets and some flow.  I found very little.  I missed a fish under a small plunge early in the morning when I was still trying to shake off a bad night’s sleep, the car ride, and the chills.  It took another hour to land one, and then another 45 minutes to land another.  Browns are not stocked here, usually, but the brown pictured above was so dark, perhaps from hiding in dark crevices, that I questioned whether it was a stockie.  The second fish looked wilder, but was also colored differently than the usual fish I catch here.  I tried to enjoy just being out, as the work week had been stressful.  I would have liked to have caught a few more fish, but I did make the most of a perfect early fall day and thought only of fishing for a solid 4 hours today…  Mental health day, indeed.