July 2, 2017 – When Life Gives You a Lemon – Storm Chasing on Valley Creek

Tropical Chester County, PA.

With the passing showers and storms on Saturday, I was watching the gauges on local creeks pretty closely, more for curiosity than any set plans.  The forecast was for 90+ degrees today, so the high water would only bring a short trout fishing window, at best or at all.  I can get to a few spots on Valley Creek in less than 30 minutes, so when I went to bed, I had a tentative plan to fish the creek if I was up early enough, like 4 AM, so I could take advantage of the high water AND the early morning risers and/or the low light streamer chasers.  The summer window is from about 5:30 AM to 8 AM or earlier some days, then it gets tough, even in higher water. Plus, when the air it too hot, I don’t like the idea of catching trout even if the water is only 60 degrees.  I am sure it’s okay in most cases, but there are plenty of warmwater species to target too. 

More chocolaty than limestone chalky, but fish were cooperative in the riffles and runs.

I was up around 5 AM, so I got dressed in the garage to wet wade, grabbing my 8 foot 3 weight rod and my pack.  The creek, as you can see from the pics I took later in the morning, was chocolaty and steamy, cold water hitting humid, sticky air.  After eating spider webs and slipping in the mud to my first spot, I broke my rod on the second backcast of the morning.  Good times.  This is the second time I have broken this stick in less than a year.  It has a lifetime guarantee, but I still have to ship the darn thing back again for a replacement.  Good thing the season is just about over for trout, I suppose.  Anyway, for the short term, it kind of sucked.  If the creek was not so close by, I would have packed a backup rod.  To boot, I watched at least 3 decent fish rising for emerging caddis based on the splashy chases.  Well, as I said above, Valley is less than 30 minutes from home, so back to the garage I went.  Despite the risers early in the morning, I knew that window would be closing by the time I returned to the creek, so I grabbed my ultralight spinning set up instead.

Pale and lovely 12 incher.

I had a Rapala CD 3 still rigged up and doctored up for wild fish—the front trebles removed and the rear trebles barbless—so I just exchanged packs and got back in the car, heading for another equally close section of the same creek.  This second spot was even muddier, I think, and I had my doubts when I got no follows or hits at a couple honey holes.  Then I remembered where the fish would be, even on a spring creek, in the summer: the riffles.  After I checked myself and changed tactics, targeting braided runs and riffles, I had a lot of fun with the gorgeous wild browns.  There were no surprise piggies this morning—they were probably chasing emergers at 6 AM when I had to return home with a broken fly rod—but I did catch a couple good ones for Valley, at least 12 inches, pale and lovely.  I lost count around 9 fish, maybe 8, and I dropped a couple little guys on the first head-shaking jumps, but the CD 3 does cull out the really tiny fish, so I definitely got a good bend in the rod a few times before I headed for home at 9 AM.  

The barbless CD 3 plug with only one set of hooks in the back.

Not the greatest start, and I was close to having a second cup of coffee and forgoing the fishing this morning after the first minor fiasco, but I am glad I didn’t give up completely.  Summer storm chasing is the only game in town right now, and I had the time, so what’s an hour round trip if it salvages the day in fine fashion?  I am lucky to have this little gem called Valley so close to home.  It can be maddening, but on the right day, it can be magical.  I don’t worship it like some guys I know, but I do take the time to fish barbless, and keep the fish wet and fresh, regardless of the tackle I use, so I do respect and appreciate the rarity of such a strong population of wild fish in an urban area.  I will be at the post office with a rod tube on Tuesday, hoping for my replacement stick in a timely manner, but I don’t think I will need the 3 weight anytime soon based on the forecast this week.  How many times can I break this rod before invoking the lemon law, I wonder?

Another pretty pale one