September 27, 2018 – I Nymphed Up a Good One, and Some of Her Offspring, Before and/or After the Rains – Valley Creek

A couple shots of the same pretty fish.

It has been harder than normal to select creeks to fish and on what days with all this seemingly endless wet weather.  I have gotten so many flood advisory notices on my phone this summer that they have become meaningless, although I did drive to Center City Philadelphia in a true gulley-washer on Tuesday that was not fun and worth the warnings.  The gauge for Valley Creek, however, often looks like an EKG rhythm; it often dips back down as quickly as it spikes.  Even after rain last night, it was back down to a slightly higher than normal flow late yesterday morning when I arrived at the park.  The pools were stained, but the riffles and runs had good visibility, so instead of a streamer, I decided to use the opportunity to do some tightline nymphing on Valley, not something I can do every day.  I was rewarded for the effort too.

To streamer or not to streamer.... Muddy in the pools, but some decent visibility in the riffles and runs.

I have had luck in stained water with purple flies or purple hot spots, so my point fly was a purple prince in size 16 with a caddis dropper until I lost those in a tree limb (don’t ask).  I then put on a soft hackle jig, a bit smaller, also with a purple hot spot, along with a frenchie with a pop of bright color to cover my chances of being seen in stained water.  It didn’t take long to land my first of the day, which is a good sign. It was a pretty little Valley average of eight inches, but he was enough to put a bend in my light 9 footer.  Not long after, I lost one that put a much more significant bend in the rod, and that may have been how I lost my first set of flies when a long distance release ended up just out of reach in the branches above me.  With all the pressure on Valley, some arborist’s tools, along with a metal detector, would discover a treasure trove of lost beads and feathers and dubbing.  The upside, at least, is that I became confident that a better fish might come out to play, and I even reconsidered swinging a streamer.  I stuck with the second set of nymphs, however, and I caught four or five fish in the first set of runs.  I was disappointed that a spot that usually holds a decent fish or two came up empty, but the next spot upstream did produce the best of the morning, a pale and pretty one that was close to 15 inches and fat, a Valley lil’ piggy, not the biggest I've landed but an exceptional fish.

Purple seems to work well in stained water, just like bass fishing....

There were other fisherman out today, maybe 4 that I saw or spoke to, but I began to have the feeling that there was one ahead of me that I could not see, as a few usually productive spots came up dry or only produced one fish.  In the case of one favorite run, I did fight and then drop an 11-incher before I got a photo, but other spots were not productive at all.  It was good to land of few young of the year, though.  There was a chlorine spill above the park, which I have discussed before, right in one of the tributaries that often serves as spawning and nursery grounds, so at least the fish in the park also did their part to propagate the species.  The spill has forced me to re-learn and concentrate on different areas of the creek, which has been a benefit, for me at least. I have not fished the park this much in a while, and it is good to catch good fish cleverly hidden in plain sight.  I will poke around the affected area at some point, however, perhaps before the spawn to look for redds, even if I don’t fish it.

The future.

I had a meeting at 2 PM, so I had to quit before 1 PM today, which to be honest means I quit around 1:15 PM and double-timed it back to the parking spot, cutting it close, of course!  It was a rather productive 3 hours on the creek, I would say, but not as good as it could be in these conditions.  I teach tonight, and then I am meeting my buddy Dave to see some live music in Northern Liberties, so I will be tired on Friday, but if the next rounds of storms don’t mess things up too badly, I may sneak one more in for the month of September, a month that has been much kinder to me on the fishing front, at least.  I will be watching the forecasts and the USGS site for signs to stay or go or grade papers or take a nap.  It has just been one of those summers, so I was grateful to be able to sneak in a solid short trip close to home today.

A little blurry, but you get the picture...

September 24, 2018 – O, Little Crowded Town of Bethlehem – Monocacy Creek

Some pretty leapers came out to play.

I took a drive well after rush hour this morning to the check out a couple Lehigh Valley creeks.  I programmed a spot on the Monocacy into my phone, but then I decided to take a detour as I approached the turn towards a favorite stretch of Saucon Creek.  That little detour was a waste of time, as there were at least four other fishermen at this spot, on a Monday, no less.  I guess it was the rain followed by the cool weather that made everyone get sick today.  It felt like fall after a long summer, so I can’t blame them.  I drove by one last spot, and that too looked occupied, so I restarted the navigation to Monocacy as originally planned, and I am glad that I did.  I have noticed an uptick in pressure on both Saucon and Bushkill, perhaps due to the new(er) fly shop in Easton pushing both, or perhaps the Keystone book strikes again?  At any rate, there are plenty of other creeks in the Lehigh Valley that have cold water and wild fish. 

Just slightly stained, perfect nymphing day.

Monocacy is a smaller creek, sometimes no wider than Valley Creek or similarly sized little limestoners, so it requires me to exercise different skills than, say, the Brodhead or larger freestone creeks.  There is a lot of tree canopy, and not many places to cast if you are not quietly stalking in the water.  I tend to target riffles and pockets with a 9 footer set up to Czech nymph, but I know there are spots where dry fly guys with terrestrials or dry-droppers can do well too.  I have not been here since Labor Day last summer, under similar post-rain with a slight stain conditions, so I was happy to poke (and crouch, though no crawling) around again today.  I caught perhaps a dozen trout in less than 3 hours of fishing and walking, all in the riffles and runs on a pair of small tungsten nymphs.  I may have caught more if I had stuck with the plan and had not detoured to Saucon, I suppose.  I even tangled with a one that had to be 15 inches that I lost after his third or fourth leap on a short line under low hanging limbs and in tight quarters.

An average 10 incher.  Most were between 8 and 12 inches.

I thought fish would want a small caddis in 18 or 20, so I had one tied above a frenchie that was serving as an anchor fly.  I think all but two took the frenchie, a sexy one with a purple hot spot taking the majority, and one took a walts worm.  None of the flies were over size 18, I believe.  I probably worked all of 400 yards to find so many eager, albeit mostly small, fish.  The average was about 8 or 9 inches long, but a few were pushing twelve.  All were leapers and runners.  All were devastatingly handsome.  I love that wild browns in different creeks have not only different colors but also different habits and proclivities too.  In my experience, Monocacy fish like to leap, often right at you!  That is an effective move, you know?  I lost a pig fish for such a small creek today because the fish was just too acrobatic for some barbless flies while my rod was down low avoiding overhanging trees and bushes.

A jigged frenchie with a hot spot, often purple, took the majority of fish, including the one that got away...

This was a beauty, and I was a little pissed at the trees and my own lack of skills for a minute.  It was only my second fish of the day, so had I hooked him later after I had figured out how to manage the low rod angle (strip, strip, strip to keep very tight on a deeply bent rod) I may have had him.  The experience was more exciting than tragic, in retrospect, as I got to hook, fight, admire, and THEN lose the fish!  Funny thing is, before I left, I decided to give this hole one more shot.  A long shot, as resting a big fish for, what, 2 hours is a long shot, indeed.  After hooking another 10 incher that gave me some hope, and an even dozen fish on which to quit, I hooked another big fish, bigger than the first one?  He stayed down and ran around the hole, too deep to see.  He pulled drag a few times.  I fought him really well, this time.  And when I finally turned him towards the bank to get a look at my second-chance piggy?  It was an 18 inch sucker…  On that note, I decided it was time to call it a day, a good day, just not THAT good of a day.  All kidding aside, I had a lot of fun, had the place to myself, and, on light equipment, caught a bunch of feisty wild browns only 45 minutes from home.  A good day, indeed.

For an even dozen, followed by unlucky #13....

September 21, 2018 – A Little Bit High at My Happy Place – Brodhead Creek

Two mediocre shots of a not so mediocre fish.

I wanted to visit one of my favorite creeks today, and I knew it was going to be a bit on the high side, especially for this time of year.  The gages were showing about 400 cfs, which is early spring flow, borderline fishable, and not great for plumbing pocket water with stoneflies like I was hoping to do today.  However, I figured I would check it out anyway, and then try a couple smaller creeks if I found the mighty Brodhead was indeed too mighty today.  Well, it was high, but it was not all that stained anymore, and leaf litter was minimal, so I decided to try a couple spots that work in the high water of spring and, thanks to some previous experience, most recently with Sam at Spring Creek, I believe, I used a great high water pattern/approach and put together a solid day, including landing a good 16+ inch wild brown in some sporty conditions.

A day to hug the bank, both me and the fish.

As I walked down to the creek, it became apparent rather quickly that I was not going to be doing any hero-style wading.  The visibility of the creek was great considering all the rain in recent days (weeks, months) but the chances of my fishing most of this particular stretch, specifically the other side of the creek, was certainly off the table.  I didn’t bag it and head for a smaller nearby creek as planned because of the aforementioned good visibility and because I actually landed a little wild brown within 15 minutes of arriving.  That was followed by a second one about 15 minutes later, pictured at the beginning of this post, that was a beefy wild brown pushing 17 inches who gave me a heck of time in the heavy water.  This was why I came to this creek today, despite the less than favorable conditions, so I was content with my stream choice within 30 minutes of arriving.  Having fished so infrequently over the summer, I was even more happy than usual to have success at my happy place.  This is challenging water on a challenging creek, and the wild fish especially can be finicky or downright ghostly, depending on the day, the pressure, and/or the conditions.  Tom, the Silver Fox, was jibing me on Thursday about not having any blog posts for him to read at work, so I sent him a preview picture and waxed poetic about my favorite stretch of Pocono freestoner before returning to the water.

Golden stonefly and jigged pt: nothing fancy today.

When 5 out of my first 6 fish of the day ended up being wild browns, albeit small with the exception of the aforementioned little pig, I decided to try a few other spots on this beat of creek and not give up and head for calmer, smaller waters.  I quit after four hours of fishing with 9 trout, I believe, including a holdover rainbow that was over 15 inches and a holdover brown of about 12 inches that I had to examine a few times, and again in photos, to rule out as wild—it was just that colored up and strong!  Regardless of what angle I held him in the light, he was not going to grow that blue eye spot, but besides a few fused black spots on the body, he was a nearly perfect specimen that fought very well and was arguably as pretty as his streambred cousins.

The pretty stockie??

I dug two holdover rainbows out of a deep hole with an indicator, but all the other fish came out of less than 2 feet of water while tight line nymphing the edges.  When the water gets high and fish tire of hunkering down and need to eat, they move to the sides in these conditions.  If I had rushed in and tried to fish, say, the current seam further out and not the seams right in front of me, sometimes at my feet, I would not have had the day I had.  In certain creeks, you might miss a chance at 50 percent of the fish if you are looking midstream and not right along the banks upstream from you.  I remembered a recent day on Spring Creek or the Little J with Sam where all our fish were in the soft water near the bank, so I texted him to let him know his flies and his tutelage paid dividends today.  A large tungsten jigged pheasant tail and a big golden stone accounted for all the fish, with the pt just edging out the stone. Now that I am able to fish again after this tough summer, Sam and I made tentative plans for mid-October when I get a bit of a fall break.  In the meantime, I have not ruled out revisiting another section of my happy place next week.

A nice sized rainbow towards the end of the trip.

First of the morning, tight to the inside seam.

September 7, 2018 – Perspiration at the Intergluteal Cleft or Even if the Arse Be Swamped – Northampton County Limestoner

Don't let the dead leaves fool you...

I taught class last night and then met my buddy Alan at Boot and Saddle on Broad Street to see some live music (plus I watched some of the Eagles game when I got home) all before falling asleep after midnight.  But I was still up at 6 AM to get the boy to the bus stop, which is a nearly 90 minutes earlier this year since the middle school in our district is the most distant from our house.  If I wasn’t up until 12:30 or 1 AM on a school night, this 7:05 AM bus pick-up would be great (and will be great).  On a normal day, it means I can get an earlier start on my weekday fishing trips.  Today, I needed a second cup of coffee and a little motivation to leave the house.  Part of my motivation was having no plans on Wednesday and a desire to fish, but a heat advisory and high water in the rivers (again) and the nagging feeling that I had wasted a free day inside the house.  My other motivation was the promise of overnight rains that might productively spike a couple smaller streams within an hour of home.  Valley was on the short list, but also Monocacy and another even smaller creek in Berks County.  Well, there was thunder, lightning, even a shower or two last night, but nothing to move the gages on those creeks.  No rain in the morning either, but it was coming around noon according to the radar.  Even if I only fished 9 or 10 AM to 2 PM, and I got swampy and wet, it would beat grading papers or napping.  I made a game day decision to table an adventure and visit a Northampton County limestoner that has been good (and bad) to me over the years, a creek I have not visited since the first week of June.

A couple bows, this one looking like he's lost some weight...

I was disappointed to see another truck parked near one of my favorite stretches, but after suiting up and walking towards the creek, I saw that it was an older fly fisherman working an area very close to the lot.  I just decided to keep my distance and head to my favorite hole and look for my white whale again.  I have twice lost a huge wild brown on this beat, most recently in May of this year, but once before during the previous fall.  The most recent time, I had half of him in my net, and I estimate that he is pushing 24 inches.  The water today was low and only stained a normal limestone creek tinge of green, so I took great care wading up to the hole, staying on the bank as much as possible (not easy here).  Even so, I spooked a big fish, possibly the white whale, but maybe not, that was hanging in the tailout of the pool, perhaps just waiting for an opportunity because really no bugs besides very small, like size 20, caddis were about.  At least I know a couple big fish still call this stretch of creek home, but of course I will dream that I chose to crawl up there with a big cicada dry pattern or something!  I will be back the next time the water is high.  The only upside is that this big fish spooked downstream not upstream, so in theory he didn’t blow up the spot—although the numbers I put up today might indicate something quite to the contrary.

A couple wild browns looking healthier.

I caught a couple rainbows and a decent wild brown, plus a 10-inch little beauty, which I caught during a heavy rain shower which made me decide a photo was a waste of time—four fish in probably three hours of fishing, so spooking the pig was the highlight, for sure.  The browns took a tiny caddis pupa on the dropper tag, while the bows took the anchor fly.  When not waist deep in cool limestone water, it was hot and humid, but mostly humid, uncomfortable enough for me to wonder if the decision to forego wet wading was a mistake.  Water temps were in the low 60s, so they may have felt nice, you know.  The forecast said 78 and rain, but it was 85 on the ride home.  Still, as summer holds onto its last days, I was glad to land a few fish , even if the plans were scrapped, the pig was spooked, and the arse was swamped.

September 1, 2018 – Some Success on the Rare, Impromptu Afternoon Trip – Oley Valley

Stained and high, like most of the summer...

The creeks in SEPA got yet another shot of water overnight, but nothing that caused them to rise totally out of the banks, at least not for long.  I got up too late on a weekend to sneak around Valley before everyone else did, and I had to cut the lawn before risking the growth spurt after another ample soaking (I don’t remember my lawn staying this green through August in years—that is, without the help of sprinklers), but I got the urge around 3:30 PM today to take a ride, perhaps under an hour, and find some trout.  Tami and the boy had been out since noon-ish, so instead of napping after doing the yard work, I took a quick shower, loaded up my pack and rod and some boots for wet wading, and just pointed the Subaru towards the west.  I didn’t expect much, but I was hopeful that I could find some hold-overs, maybe even a wild one or two, at a creek in the Oley Valley that has some limestone influence and stays pretty cool in the summer.  After navigating car shows and the early bird special crowds and other Labor Day events, I arrived at the creek around 4:30 PM only to find a couple cars at two of my go-to spots.  Instead of wedging my way in, I decided to try a new spot that I have not fished before, figuring I could learn a new stretch of the creek if nothing else.  Well, if you have ever visited a creek for the first time while it is high and stained, then you know it is not so easy to get a lay of the land…  At least there were no other fishermen here.  There were plenty of mosquitoes to keep me company, however.

Fish #2 looking a bit sad.

After taking a break to dig in my pack for some bug juice, I found some deep water, but only chubs were interested in my pair of nymphs, a pheasant tail and a hare’s ear with a hot spot.  I decided to take a longer walk, and before running into posted signs, I found a decent decline that prompted a stretch of riffles and pocket water.  My intention was to start downstream and work my way up through this cleaner and more oxygen-rich water before moving on to another spot.  Well, after a couple more chubs, I was half-surprised to stick a decent brown trout on my anchor fly in a deeper seam within the first riffle.  It’s been a while, you know, me fishing, so I was not all that skilled, surely not enough to land the fish, take a picture, and quickly release it unharmed in mid-60’s water temps.  I was wet wading, so keys, phone, all the essentials, were in my pack, so the first fish in weeks got to swim away without even a blurry photo.  At least I caught a pretty sad-looking rainbow a little further upstream, and this time I had my net and phone game situated.   Upstream from where I accessed the creek didn’t look all the promising for in-stream wading on a muddy, high water day, and the path ended quickly, so I headed back to the parking spot, and made the decision to return to the first couple of areas and see if anyone had quit yet.

It's alive: a couple pretty browns in the mix.

One of the cars was still there, but the two young guys had locked themselves out and were in the process of trying to get in!  They had a wire hanger, but I dug around for a screw driver (one I primarily use to release frozen or mucked-shut boa releases on wading boots when I wear boa-release boots like today) so they could try to pry and wedge the door open enough to fish for the handle or the lock.  Besides a third set of eyes to guide the wire, I was no use to them beyond my screw driver and an ice scraper they also grabbed as a wedge, so eventually I went fishing and told them I would listen for a yell of success or failure.  About fifteen minutes later, I did hear a car alarm, which probably meant success, followed by a brief silence then a whoop that likely meant they got the keys in the ignition to shut off the alarm and start the car.  When I returned to go home, they had placed the ice scraper and the screw driver, which I did need to get the old boots off, on the windshield of the ‘Ru. Nice catch, fellas.

Nice, bright and healthy rainbow too.

With the hour approaching 6:30 PM or later, I stuck pretty close to the pull-off, knowing full well that the two other parties probably fished a couple of the holes I was going to fish, but it all worked out in the end.  I added three more decent fish to my tally, and I got bounced one other time and lost him when I sent my rod tip into some low-hanging trees on the hook-set.  By 7:30 PM it was getting too dark to see my sighter line, and it was too muddy for risers to the sparse bug population taking flight here and there—very small caddis and maybe an isonychia (?) or two—but three more fish in the last hour was good for the first trip out in a long while.  Besides a couple minor mishaps with photos and hook-sets, and the diversion of the locked out dudes, I probably did lose a couple more flies than normal, but I wasn’t a total wreck.  Two of the five fish I landed also appeared to be wild browns, so I had that going for me, I suppose, and the rainbow I caught at this spot was healthy and bright with white-tipped fins—all good.  I am hoping that I can get out next week again, as the boy starts school on Tuesday, and I am in “syllabus week” for the fall semester with no other meetings or commitments yet.  Last September, I did a little bass fishing with the fly rod, but the rivers are so high right now that I may stick with trout and visit a few Lehigh Valley creeks for the time being.  A short one today, but it was good to be back…