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.