October 10, 2018 – Double the Flow Means Double the Work and Double the Fun? – Brodhead Creek

That soft water on the other side is so tempting sometimes....

I had a moment today.  Perhaps you can empathize.  I was already about 5 fish into a good five hours of nymphing on the Brodhead.  The creek was flowing around 200 CFS and falling; normal for this time of year is probably half of that.  There is so much ground water and run-off right now, however, that the creeks are flowing high but clear, sort of like in the early spring when the snow melt and steady rains just keep the water table up for weeks at a time.  In other words, not easy wading, but do-able with caution.  Not dry fly water, but nymph-able with patience and a dose of heavy split shot.  In the summer and in the fall when flows are more manageable, there is a particular pocket or two in this stretch of the creek where it is almost a given that I will get bounced (or chased if throwing a streamer) usually by a decent sized wild brown.  The issue today was that I walked up to one such spot knowing full well that if I hooked a fish in this particular pocket that I had no end game, no easy way of landing the fish, which would have to be pulled across strong current and whitewater and competing hydraulics and netted in still-fast water at my feet.  And in my head I knew that even if I got the fish across, he would use the current to take off downstream, and I would have to chase, taking at least my dry clothes if not my life in my hands.  The water is 4 to 5 feet deep and moving here, and the banks are steep and made of rolled stones the size of cannonballs and baseballs.  While eyeing this spot, I had no problem landing two more decent wild browns, one a nice 12 inch fish, on the soft edges on my side of the creek, but this pocket, behind a big boulder and a froth of swirling bubbles and crosscurrents, was on the other side and was probably best left alone today.

A couple twelve inchers mixed in, including this one that took the big jigged pt.

I thought this as I false casted downstream to release enough line to cover the distance across the heavy current and into the eddy, as I pulled a couple extra feet of slack line out of the reel so my pair of heavy, tungsten nymphs would have a better chance of sinking when they landed, as I stopped my cast high to drive the bugs deeper into the pocket at an angle more likely to get down and get down quickly—hell, I even thought all this, particularly that there is no end game here, as I got bounced as expected and came tight to a sporty 15 inch wild brown who broke the surface only once before heading into the heavy current.  It ended as well as one would expect a plan with no end game to end.  I let him run, while I maneuvered down the bank on dry land as long as I could before having to take a jump in the water.  I turned him towards a deep eddy on my side of the creek.  I even got my net out as he surfaced again near the tailout of this run, which was too fast to wade into.  I had resigned myself to the fact that I would have to use some muscle or this downstream chase could go on and on, so I eventually put the pressure on, reeled in a ton of line, found the net again, and then watched the fish pop off in a foot of calmer water just out of reach.  I got my flies back, at least. 

A pretty and wide rainbow.

This may sound like a lot of drama for a 15 inch fish, and it is, but I was as out of breath and as hyped-up as I would have been with a fish 10 inches longer than that.  I guess any fish, any river fish—who are just badasses—that chooses to live where this fish and a couple of his buddies live just has to be tough.  I knew this was how it would end, and I got even closer to landing a fish here than I expected, but I guess I had to do it today.  And even without this crazy interlude, it was a great day, although the other fish I caught, probably over 10 wild browns and two big rogue rainbows, did not make me work quite as hard.  Last night, as I was driving home from class at 9:30 PM, I thought I would take it easy today and fish somewhere close and easy to wade.  I guess those plans were forgotten when I loaded up the Subaru this morning.  I saw the gages on the mighty Brodhead, and I knew it would be sporty, but I love it, I guess.

Not a full on leaf hatch yet, but I hooked quite a few.  Sycamores can fight!

Moving with caution and purpose through some challenging water to wade and fish, I did not cover a lot of water, but I broke up a few high percentage holes into little sections and enjoyed the rare day where the wild fish here, often pressured and difficult, wanted to eat.  It crossed my mind that some nice fish were also probably eating a short drive downstream at another favorite stretch, but I was enjoying my 10 to 12 inch browns popping a hares ear jig on the dropper tag if my size 10 pheasant tail was able to drag it into the strike zone long enough.  Even the big jig got eaten a few times, twice by nice rainbows in the 17 inch range and wild at heart if not truly wild at this point.  If I landed 12 fish, at least 4 more also leaped off the barbless hooks after a short battle in heavy water, so action was consistent for most of the day. 

Foggy to start but sunny and hot to end.  First fish of the day.

Today was a lot of work, but it was worth it.  It was a memorable day, for sure.  I had the creek to myself, as well, which almost always adds to my enjoyment.  Already tired, I will sleep well tonight, no doubt, and I will try to ignore the rain and rising water as I catch up on work on Thursday at home and teach in the city in the evening.  It sounds like remnants of the tropical storm are moving this way as the day progresses, but I will keep an eye on the precip totals and the gages and see what Friday holds.

Fall colors