March 9, 2018 – Wind, Cold Snow Melt, Suckers, Chubs, and Trout – Valley Creek

A couple 10 to 11 inchers, but mostly their smaller cousins and distant relatives.

Since the last snow storm, Valley, while cold, has been hovering around 40 to 45 CFS, which is good flow for the little creek.  Add a tinge of a stain, granted from snow melt not rain, and I had to give it a try today—even if my expectations were low.  Call it a winter fishing day in a season that started cold, but has been less than wintery most of the time.  It was nice to stalk around with midges and small pheasant tails in a snowy landscape in the bright sun, and I did land probably 10 trout, half of them very small, and some sizable chubs and suckers, who seemed less affected by the quick drop in water temp brought on by the melting remains of the Nor’easter.

Chub Life and micro-trout.

I actually started fishing Little Valley, hoping for more moderate temperatures, and in retrospect I should have stayed there a while longer, as the main stem was colder and less productive overall.  If the zebra midge and tiny pt were not working so well on the trout, I would have abandoned them for good.  I did try some bigger caddis pupae, and even a slowly pulsed streamer after I had my fill of tiny trout and chubs, but I could not get any takers--maybe one or two equally small fish on the caddis  The two best fish, each about 10 or 11 inches, came from the feeder creek on a zebra midge.  Unfortunately, the best fighting fish of the day was probably a sucker, followed by super chub.  Not a soul was out there, not even walking the paths, so it truly felt like a winter fishing trip.  Last year’s young of the year are still voracious, and they are getting bigger as a result, though not big enough yet!  I would have like to have landed a few more respectable ones, but such is Valley some days.  There are worse ways to spend 3 hours on a crisp March day, however.

Clouds and sun, wind, and even a flurry, but a taste of winter fishing before it's gone for good.