October 10, 2017 – Still Wet Wading in October – A Short Stroll on Valley Creek

Valley before the heat got too bad.

I took a quick walk along Valley Creek before the heat of the day kicked in this morning, just creeping around with a dry dropper rig on my 8 foot, 3 weight set-up.  As is often the case, any rain event has a short-term effect on Valley, so while still perhaps slightly stained, it was back to low water conditions after Monday’s rain.  I expected as much, so I rigged a small caddis dry fly and a midge dropper about three feet under that to minimize spooking fish.  Last year’s brood is still feeding like crazy, rising to midges, even trying to grab my caddis dry before grabbing the dropper.

The hazards of the zebra midge this time of year.  Hungry little fellas.

I landed half a dozen fish between 3 inches and 5 inches, so if they make it through the winter without getting eaten, Valley should remain a healthy fishery barring any natural disasters.  I spent only 90 minutes hunting, squatting, kneeling, and I burned 60 of that before I found what appeared to be a rising fish of decent size.  I was lazy and didn’t remove the dropper fly.  I got a good cast that was just off the mark, a little left of his position, but my second cast, while on the mark, caused the dropper to enter the water with a little more force than intended.  Game over.  

Finally, a little something to reward my calisthenics.

I did end on a high not, however, landing a decent little fish before heading home.  Unlike his cousin, this fish came out from some down timber to investigate the caddis as it landed and then took the zebra midge a second or two after.  After a brief battle with a leap or two, to boot, he posed for his mug shot, and I set him free before heading home and back to work.  I am hoping the rain on Wednesday gives me another window or two this week.  I was also texting with Sam in State College, trying to figure out a day to fish out there before fish start spawning.  He sent me a picture yesterday of one nice brown in the net already colored up for the rut!

Hopefully, she'll be a big sister in the spring!