March 19, 2018 – A Hole in Two – Bushkill Creek

The BWOs were getting started, but it was too cold to wet wade, and I have sprung another leak...

I took a ride around 10 AM this morning to fish the Bushkill in Easton, trying to crack the late winter code.  It must be said that I love the creek, and I have caught some nice wild browns and holdover rainbows at other times of the year, including the trico hatch in August and a good fall streamer bite many years, but I often have a hard time with this challenging creek in the winter.  I know I am not alone, but I like a challenge, I guess.  I figured that blue-winged olives might wake up the fickle, pressured trout, but I worked really hard for one decent wild brown on a midge dropper above a stonefly, digging deep to find my one and only in about 3 hours of fishing  (and tearing a hole in my backup waders).

Still haven't cracked the winter code...

I was waist deep in a rather fast run, working hard, as I stated above, to get a good drift through a prime holding spot, one where I have moved a pig of a wild brown on at least one occasion.  I didn’t hook the pig, but I did catch one skinny 12 incher that escaped his photoshoot (afraid of taking another swim, I was).  I couldn’t dig another one out of this spot, and even though olives were pretty thick in the slick below one good stretch of pocket water, I had no risers and my pheasant tails were ignored below the surface too.  When I was close to having enough, instead of backtracking to the parking spot, I decided to billygoat upstream through the pocket water to a dam that allows an easier climb out and a shorter walk on city sidewalks to the Subaru.  Well, I must have gotten stabbed by a good thorn or rubbed up on a sharp rock because I felt the cold rush of a lot of water coming into my waders below the knee as I waded into position at what would become my final spot of the day.  Yep, I stuck a hole in two this winter, I guess, so no chasing afternoon risers for me this afternoon.  I am down to my dad’s loaners that barely fit, and a pair of flyweight hippers.  I gather I am in the market this week for a replacement for my backups.  At least the next Nor’easter will give me an excuse not to fish again this week as I pray for Simms and the USPS to expedite the return of my repaired primary waders?