April 30, 2017 – A Visit with an Old Friend – The Wissahickon Creek

Can Philly get an FFO or DHALO around here, yo?

For a long time, due to bridge construction (still in progress, mind you), a favorite section of the Wissy in Philly has not been stocked, even though it remained on the maps and documents for much of that time.  It is some of the best water, and the coldest water, in the entire creek, so much so that I would love to see Philly get a FFO or DHALO there, which is sorely missing in Philadelphia County and in my home county of Montgomery.  Nothing against Ridley in Delco and some Chester County special regs creeks, but the Wissy here is a far better trout stream.  Off the soap box, now…well, kind of…  

Great pocket water, though getting a bit warm for April.

While walking with the boy this winter, I noticed that scaffolding that was once 8 or 9 feet high, was now taller and even marked with clearance signs of 13 feet!  That is plenty high for the Commish’s trucks to get under, yo, I thought to myself at the time (I often think with the yo used post-positively, so don’t judge me, yo).  I even took pictures of the new scaffolding and signs in case I got civically inspired enough to inquire why a great section of the creek is still not stocked now that there appears to be plenty of clearance.  Before I did that, however, I would have to take an exploratory fishing trip in the spring to see if the clearance made a difference.  I am happy to say it did.  It only took probably 5 years or more, but it appears that Philly has some trout fishing water back, unless someone carried buckets a long, long way or got themselves a float stocking rig.  If anyone has caught at the end of the stocked section in Philly, the confluence of Forbidden and Lincoln Drives, please let me know!  I will likely take a walk this week myself, too.  I have disregarded the area for a few years, except in the summer for bass.

The first of the morning in good shape: one of probably 20 on the morning.

Tami knew I was antsy yesterday since I stayed home while the boy had a friend over, and when she went out with a friend in the early evening, so she encouraged me to take an unplanned trip on Sunday morning.  I hate the crowds that come with weekend fishing, and I had plenty of mugging today (more on that below) but I got out early enough to get first crack at the fish.  I was up at 5 AM and fishing by 6:15 AM. The creek had not been stocked since April 11^th, so I only expected to find a handful in the runs and fast water if I was lucky, but I quit after 5 hours of fishing and wading just shy of 20 trout and countless panfish.  Caddis was the fly of the day, a Z wing pupa, which basically looks like a cased caddis that has some bug parts coming out of the casing.  A couple even hit it on the swing and the lift.

The little Z wing caddis was very effective, even taking this 14 inch beauty.

I met a nice young dude who was new to the sport.  I only talked to him because he showed some courtesy when he arrived in the morning.  He saw me fishing and moved down below me a good distance without disturbing the water I was fishing.  This is rare in Philly for some reason.  In contrast, two bait guys moved in on both sides of me, so there were four of us fishing about 50 feet of creek, like it was the only place with fish for miles around…  I moved downstream a good 200 yards after talking to the new fly fisherman and offering some advice and a strike indicator to help his chances of catching a fish this morning, but these bait guys pursued me and mugged me everywhere I went.  The old me would have been pissed and let it ruin my day, but the newer, happier me just continued to hook fish in front of them while they caught next to nothing.  I was tempted to use Tom C’s line about us becoming best friends, but there were two of them and one of me, and 20 fish released in front of them is the best revenge, especially when one is carrying a creel and hoping for a meal.  They weren’t even friendly, and they were lucky they didn’t get hit with a back cast since I wasn’t even aware how close their muggings were sometimes in an effort to just ignore them, land fish, and have fun.

A brown who's been around for a while, maybe even a year?

The positives were many, though.  I caught a couple bigger fish, which is surprising because they tend to be kept when caught, you know?  I also caught two nice browns that had moved into riffles and pocket water.  The first 10 fish, in fact, were pickpocketed from hard to reach or hard to fish little holding spots on my way down to my old favorite holes.  The last 10 came from one such old friend, one of the nicest and most “isolated” spots on the creek.  Isolated is relative in Philly, with voices behind me on Forbidden Drive and voices on the bridle trails in the gorge above me, even Fido-- off leash, of course--splashing down for a brief visit from somewhere in the wooded hills.  But, I am ever-grateful that I have this beautiful place less the 15 minutes from home, thankful that old Billy Penn had the forethought, and the City’s mayors, despite party affiliation, have preserved the open space.  I also used my 10 foot 4 weight this morning and tagged over 30 fish with it, so that will definitely help the reflexes for next time I attempt to tangle with wittier fish on tougher water.

This 13 and a 14 incher, to boot.  Surprised they had not been eaten yet....

I was back in the Subaru after a good walk in the pleasant 65 degree morning by 11:15 AM, and I even took advantage of being in the city to stop and get a great cup of coffee from one of my favorites, High Point, in Mount Airy.  I even got my lovely wife a few shots of espresso on ice to have later and shared my pear/walnut scone with her.  The water was 66 degrees this morning, so all the warm weather early in the spring and without the protection of leaf cover has definitely heated the stream quickly, but there is one more stocking in May, the leaves are popping, and more rain and cool weather in the near future, so I will be back at it next week, I am sure, with thermometer handy.  I actually have to work hard again this upcoming week, so trips close to home will be perfect.