May 23, 2017 – The 14-Hour Nymphing Master Class with Sam – Little Juniata River

Sam high sticking later in the day in one of the fishiest places in the run.

During a perfect break in a week of unsettled weather, I took a 23 hour tour of the Juniata Valley today.  I was up at 2 AM, out the door before 3, and knocking on Sam’s door at 6 AM.  He was upstairs tying, unless he uses “tying” as a euphemism for something there’s no need to discuss here, after a day of fishing with another buddy from TCO who works down in the Bryn Mawr shop.  On Monday, Sam landed two beautiful 19-20 inch browns, so he was in no rush this morning, which was an unexpected benefit for me.  Since Sam was content to hang back and take his time in the morning and periodically throughout the day, I got to have a free guide over my shoulder at different times, and I got to see how he works as a guide when he is working, which was cool.  I said this before, and not just because he’s a friend, but if you are considering a guide to fish State College or the Pine Creek gorge, Sam is the man.  My confidence in euro-nymphing skyrocketed by the end of the long day.

1st stop: Chalky spring limestoner water on a cool morning.

 I did not get tired until I was 2.5 hours into my return drive home, and I was entitled at 12:30 AM on Wednesday when my day began at 2 AM on Tuesday, not to mention 14 hours of hiking rails and wading slippery limestone in good flows.  My body felt good, even my tennis elbow, which I seem to have cured by fishing 4 days per week (and losing nearly 18 pounds over the last few months).  Capzasin works too, but don’t do any “tying” for a day after applying because it stays on your hands for a while.  The label says apply while wearing gloves, which is just good advice in life, I think...

On the bigger end of the scale for the day, but beautiful "river fish" who don't play nice.

As a drive past the lower end of the gorge confirmed later in the day, the river was a zoo due to rumors of green drake hatches.  I just followed Sam all over a 15-20 minute radius and avoided other fishermen all day, not a one in sight, honestly.  We saw plenty of small bugs and some large caddis during the day, but instead of staying overcast, the sun popped out by late afternoon, so the sulfur hatch, which was decent, did not materialize until the light was really, really low, too low for this guy who squinted at sighter line or an indicator all day long.  Sam tied on a dry right before dark and hooked one, which might have even been an acrobatic fallfish, but I just watched for the last 15 minutes, content with a steady pick of fish all day and the sights, sounds, and smells of dusk on a postcard stretch of river.  Rare, but there are times when I just stop and smell the horse manure.

A lot of Little J average fish took flies subsurface at a steady pick all day.

We hit about three, maybe four different stretches, and targeted only the fishiest runs and pockets, a Little J greatest hits tour, while avoiding the popular ballads and crowd pleasers.  The area is amazing and unfair!  Wild fish are in every run, brook, and roadside piece of running water, some too small for me or even Melvin to fish.  I saw a 12 incher in a trickle next to the gas station, you know?  It’s just not fair!  We used nothing fancy, just Sam’s simple, functional, and beautiful jigged tungsten pheasant tails and mayfly droppers.  Fish took both in equal measure.  My largest, which I lost before a photo op, took a big brown stone, I believe.  The agreed upon plan was to look for the “one,” not necessarily numbers.  The one did not come, though we both missed one or two better fish in a prime lair or two, and we saw a couple that would have made for a great grip and grin shot.  However, I had a great day regardless.  At the first drop I caught a couple in the 12 inch range, along with the Little J average fish of 10 inches or so, but I also caught a 14 inch football that jumped 3 times.  Sam calls them river fish, and I know what he is talking about.  Catching a 12 incher in fast pocket water with heavy flows most of the year is a different experience than even a 20 incher in a flat pool or a Jordan Creek jumbo.

A real looker, this one, with a bad attitude.

My best fish of the day bested me after a couple runs through the boulder field downstream of his lair, but one gorgeous, pale 12 incher later in the afternoon thought he was huge!  I could barely turn him after he took the nymph, as he headed right towards the roots he probably hides in most of the day.  I fish rivers, like the Brodhead, for example, so I really appreciate a strong, pretty fish, even if he’s not 18 or 20!  Sam uses 4X and a 5 weight for good reason.  I have to become more confident in the butt section of my rod’s ability to turn them out of dangerous territory quickly, so besides getting a lot of helpful tips on my nymph rigging and fishing, I also filed away another lesson on fighting fish. If an 18 takes my fly next time, I will be more confident that I can seal the deal.  That said, I have caught plenty of big trout in my life, so I honestly don’t get upset when a good one gets off, especially if I got to enjoy the take and the fight and even saw him in close.  Barbless, small flies, treacherous wading that precludes the downstream pursuit of a hot fish, all these things weigh in the fish’s favor, and I am cool with that.  I have rarely felt the urge to heave a golf club into the pond in fishing or in life (Although, there is one 10+ pound fluke I lost in the Old Grounds that kept me up at night for a while, but that was because Ward was there and it would have made him give up fishing for life J.)

A solid one from our second, maybe third spot, who knows?

I also trusted my gut at times and added split shot or changed flies or added an Airlock "bobber" if conditions warranted.  With a gifted angler watching sometimes, it is easy to second guess, but I am getting confident again in my fly fishing skills, and fishing with Sam today was no different that fishing with Eric—it was just fishing with a buddy who can kick my ass most days.  It must be what fishing with me is like for a lot of my fishing buddies, especially mitches like Kenny and Eric!  My dad will feel like that all day in Canada next week, no doubt ;)  I am packing and prepping for 5 days away from home, so not much fishing before Saturday, if any, but I am bringing the lap top to Ontario for work, so I may write a little each night about the bass and pike fishing.  The place my dad secured is unbelievably nice, too nice for a couple of smelly fishermen, but I am really looking forward to it.

I'll be back again...

May 22, 2017 – More Tip(pet) Drills and Airlock Indicator Experimenting in the Rain – Wissahickon Creek

A slow steady rain all afternoon.

The rain was not all that bad, steady, but not heavy.  Plus, it was warm at mid-day.  I only had a small window to fish, maybe 3 hours, so I maximized fishing time with zero travel time, heading back to the Wissy near my house.  I started at a section that I have not fished in a month or more, a deep, scoured-out run where I guessed a few had to be left.  It is not a place that is easily fished with bait or lures, as it’s just too deep and fast.  That was pretty much the plan this afternoon: hit the Wissy’s greatest hits and skip the dead spots in between.  Also, I am heading to the Little Juniata tomorrow, so I wanted another round of practice with the indicator tippet, and I also wanted to try out the Airlock indicators in some slower holes.  I had equal success with both, so I hope I get some sleep tonight and can have a great day tomorrow.  If the sulfurs are on, I may not even be fishing subsurface, but I will be ready for whatever.

Skinny but looking good otherwise.

After catching a couple at the first hole on the tight-line rig, I slipped on an indicator and headed up to a long, deep hole above.  I was only going to give it a shot for a couple minutes with the Airlock indicators, but I ended up catching 5 or 6 more fish here while slowly working my way up to the head.  Fish did not have the piss and vinegar here that they have had in the fast, oxygen rich runs, but they were all in good shape, albeit a little skinny.  The Airlocks are great, especially because no tippet is too small in diameter to lock onto, and they are easily adjustable too.  A small one was also able to hold up a couple heavy nymphs in decent current, so I am a fan so far.

Only one brown today, but one of the better fish landed.

Following the bonus round in the slower water, I walked back down to give a good spot that yielded nothing the first time another shot—and landed a fish, which is nice.  I then hoofed it back to the car and drove to another nearby section of the creek where I had access to two or three more deep, oxygen-rich runs.  I sent Eric to one of these holes on Sunday night, and he got at least one, but I was happy to hook two more here too.  I also missed a couple, but it’s a tough hole, and that’s the reason the fish last there, I suppose.

A fatty to end the trip.

There was one last spot that I had not fished this spring, but it fit the bill for the necessary conditions: deep, enough current to stay oxygenated, and not easy to fish with bait or spinners.  I was happy to stick two more here in a short time, high-sticking the deepest, fastest section of the run.  I also landed what was probably the fattest, healthiest fish of the afternoon, though maybe not the longest.  It was getting close to bus stop time, so I quit on a high note, happy to get another day of practice in before the long drive to State College.  If nothing else, today’s trip will help me sleep well tonight.  I covered a lot of ground on foot to catch 12 fish!

May 20, 2017 – What are we talking about? Practice? – Wissahickon Creek

I am lucky I got one on camera tonight....

I took the my long rod and indicator tippet down the street for a couple hours on Saturday evening while the family was resting from a busy day and watching a movie I had seen before.  Good call, except I stayed out until dark without letting Tami know where I was.  It happens…  I guess “taking a walk on the Wissy with the fly rod” is not very specific.  Even my son thought that was a good one, the mitchling!  The creek has not been stocked in over a month, but the flows looked good, and I figured that the cooler temps had bought us some time together, the stockies and me.  I was right, as I tangled with 7 or 8, landing maybe 4 of them.  Stockies 5 minutes from home are so convenient, even Iverson would have taken the time for some drills!

In the faster water and deep, so the tight-line nymphing was perfect, even if I was batting 500 with landings.

I was tired, I guess, and was not all there.  At least twice, when a fish popped off before I could net him, my flies ended up in the trees above me, and there were other ugly moments, like when I went to net a 15 incher and my hemostats were stuck in the net and wouldn’t allow it to disengage from the magnet.  I was glad I got out, however.  I got to hone my high-sticking with an indicator tippet in some deeper runs and had success.  I also saw two snapping turtles embracing each other, for lack of a better term.  I am not well versed in the mating rituals of said reptiles, but I witnessed either two males trying to kill each other, or a couple trying to make more snapping turtles.  I have never seen anything like it:  they were in a, umm, 69 position, I think, and were floating down the creek, hissing once in a while.  When I tried to get close enough to get a good picture, they let me have a hiss too.  I just let them float on by.

Things you don't see at home watching a movie, unless it's a movie about snapping turtles.

Before it got too dark, I also threw a streamer for a few casts and landed one and hooked up with another fish in a short period of time.  In my defense, I was home after sunset, but certainly not after dark.  It was a night, neither awesome nor terrible, and productive for this late in the Wissy’s season.  Practice?  Practice?  No one else is fishing for these guys, so I hope young Eric gets out before he goes back to work on Monday!  If not, the week of rain showers ought to keep them alive and kicking for a while longer, anyway.

May 18, 2017 – Taking Myself to Indicator Tippet School – Bushkill Creek

The trifecta today, a couple of each species and an education too.

I am not a stranger to high-stick nymphing; it was my bread and butter as recently as Tuesday this week.  I find it very effective in pocket water and shallower runs, where an indicator can spook fish, get in the way, or just be ineffective because of drag and constant mending.  But I have never used a Euro-nymphing leader or even sighter tippet while tight-line nymphing before today.  Since I have been using a 10 footer as my primary rod recently, I have been more interested in giving indicator tippet or even one of those long, 18 foot leaders a try.  Instead, after picking Sam’s brain again, I decided to put my blood knot tying skills to use and make my own indicator leaders.  I found some high-vis 10 pound test mono, good limp Suffix, on sale the other day, so I started tying on Wednesday.  

Picking pockets with an indicator tippet,

I could have picked an easier creek to go to school on, but besides a few other spots like the Brodhead or Penns Creek, I couldn’t think of a place more appropriate for the method than a certain 500 yards of pocket madness on the Bushkill.  Since I couldn’t leave home until 9 AM, and the creek is only an hour away, and usually flowing quite cold, it was perfect for a 90+ degree day in May, much better than sweating it out on the Wissy (though not more scenic, as we are talking industrial trout fishing near Easton, PA here, after all).  I probably didn’t start fishing until 11 AM due to some work related emails and calls that had to be taken at two different Wawa parking lots on route, but I still got in a good 3.5 to 4 hours of fishing.  Besides at home in the central air, waist deep in a creek was the place to be today, anyway, especially under a canopy of old trees.

This one needs to embrace the local diet and start eating...

The last time I was here, another fisherman had beat me to the most desirable, well… beat, so I hunkered in a hole or two and caught all stocked brookies and rainbows.  Today, I was the only person in sight, so I picked my way upstream through each little pocket and run.  There were close to zero bugs on the water, and no signs of feeding fish, except a pair of little guys rising in a pollen-choked eddy, so it was not a light’s out kind of day, but I caught at least two of each, rainbow, brook, and wild brown.  I tangled with maybe 3 other fish that got off before I could land them—including, of course, the largest fish of the day.  One rainbow was pushing 16 inches and had moved a long way from the stocked stretch of the creek.  Both bows had great fins and colors and fought like possessed wild fish. 

A good looking rainbow.

The browns were both about 12 or 13 inches (one the victim of the dreaded swamp photo op due to my steamy body by 2 PM) and put on a great air show, but I wish I had gotten a better look earlier in the day at the flash of yellow that I turned and lost on the first downstream run.  There is a certain, perfect hole, where I rarely catch a fish.  I believe that is because the apex predator lives there, not because there are no fish living there.  I am not saying that was him today, but I did hook a fish in this hole today, and he was potentially big.  I just wish I had seen more of him!  Perhaps when I getter better with the indicator tippet, he will grace me with his presence again.  Overall, it was not a great day, but it was a satisfying day, and I learned a few things along the way.  I can be deadly with an indicator and a 10 foot rod when I am in the zone and the water is appropriate, but I want to be able to say that about the tight-line, especially since many of my favorite creeks are so well-suited to the technique.  I am working all day tomorrow in the city, but class will resume soon, maybe even out State College way…  I also have tentative plans to fish the Lehigh River with Tom C next week.  I am sure the Wissy will make an appearance before Joe and I head to Canada too…

The slightly smaller cousin of the first bow, also looking good.

The wild one....

May 16, 2017 – More Good Flows for Small Creeks – Little Lehigh Creek FFO

Have I mentioned that Lehigh County does parks right?

While I have driven by and stopped to peek a few times over the years, I have never targeted the Macungie stretch of the Little Lehigh Fly Fishing Only until today.  Knowing it is small, no more than 15 feet across even in high water, and pretty shallow, I figured today was as good a time as any to give it a shot.  It takes me under an hour using back roads to get here, which is perfect for something close but different: exactly what I needed today with my schedule.  When I arrived I was pleased to see that it was still stained and flowing well from the weekend's soaking rains.

A nice sized average for the day.

Usually a nymph fisherman through and through, and not knowing where to begin, I went walking looking for runs, riffles, and braided pools, of which there are some, thank god.  Otherwise, it looks like the headwaters of a spring creek, slow and flat, and with no risers, I would have been out of luck.  Thankfully, I found a good plunge pool, probably an old dam or mill pool, and I picked up at least 6 high sticking with a prince and a caddis pupae as the dropper.  One fish was about 15 inches long and angry, but the average was about 13, with a couple fat little ones thrown in here and there.  

A little bigger and a lot angrier than average.

Lucky for me, the pattern that developed was that fish were bunched in shallow, fast runs, some right up against the edge of the riffle’s lip.  Each place like that where I stopped produced multiple fish.  All were rainbows.  I don’t know if they don’t stock browns here because in theory there are still some wild ones, but I did not hook any today.  The water temp in the heat of the day was only 59 degrees, so maybe the browns haunt the habitat I avoid on spring creeks unless I see a riser.  The water I did fish was perfect for high stick nymphing, and the fish fought well in the shallow fast runs on a short line, so I simply enjoyed what the creek gave me today.

Looked for a brown or two on wood?  Just more rainbows...

I did find a few fish on wood too, all bows, while looking for a brown trout.  Besides one other friendly guy who was parking at the upstream end of my short trek, I had the place to myself.  The area is a pretty, suburban oasis, so the folks in the community are lucky to have it, and we fishermen are lucky that it remains open to fish, even if it is mostly just a stocked fishery these days.  It was a good afternoon of small creek fishing.  I lost count early in the trip, but I would say over 15 and less than 20 would be a fair estimate for about 3 hours of fishing and exploring.  I made it home in less time than it took to get there, even at 2:45 PM, so I will keep this one on the list for the future…

Stained water, but pretty and hungry fish to be had, probably between 15 and 20 in a few hours.