March 13, 2019 – A Tough but Nevertheless Enjoyable Clinton County Trip – Fishing Creek

A pretty spot to take a beating any day.

For the third fishing trip of my spring break, I decided to make the long drive out to Central Pennsylvania and fish the olives on Spring Creek or (Big) Fishing Creek.  Usually, I would meet up with Sam, but he had a few guide trips this week, including today, and work on top of that, so our schedules did not mesh.  Instead of postponing again, I took the personal challenge to do the long run and the long fishing day solo this time.  Sam gave me a heads up about good conditions and bugs, so I was not totally flying blind, but because I ended up in the Narrows, some 25 miles from State College, I did not even get a chance to stop by and give him a high five before heading home.  I have fished the Narrows with him, and I really like the place—it feels like the Lycoming County creeks that made such an impression on me when I was a young fisherman.  My dad and I, and Wardman on several occasions, would spend a week in the Pine Creek valley fishing ourselves silly.  It is where I made my first real forays into fly fishing too.  With cahills and hendricksons alighting everywhere and fish responding, it was tough to keep chunking meal worms or spinners, I guess!  So, this section of Fishing Creek, much like its bigger cousin Penns Creek, reminds me of those days of my youth. 

Some reward.

As the pics probably show, it is exceptionally beautiful up there.  It is also challenging water, and the fish are fickle.  Good days are great days, partially because of this, no doubt, but bad days are both bad and okay too.  I took my licks and reminded myself where I was on a Wednesday.  My expectations were low, so the fact that I landed 2.5 fish did not really take away from the experience.  I learned a lot and explored on my own, and one of the fish I landed was a rather exceptional one too.  A tough day physically and, at times, mentally, humbling too, but in the end it was a worthwhile use of a day this week, and it will make the next solo trip more successful, I bet.  It helped to talk to Sam on the phone, albeit too briefly, before driving home, just to hear that it was a tough day on Spring Creek for his clients too and to get the reminder that fish on the Narrows are fickle things.

Mostly failed photo attempts.

I didn’t leave home until after bus stop this morning, so I was not even fishing until 11:30 AM.  With daylight savings time, and one break after a three hour fishless beating in one section of the creek, I was able to put in a good amount of fishing time, however.  It got warm, though, so snow melt was a factor.  The water went from cold to colder and green to an icy gray in the channel as the day progressed.  Word was it was low a few days ago, but I would say it was getting higher as the day progressed.  That said, for spring the flow was manageable and the creek very wadable.  Not only were blue winged olives present, as expected, but also little stoneflies crawling on the rocks.  The nice weather also brought a small crowd, which I was able to avoid somehow, perhaps because I fished pocket water and wasn’t looking for rising fish on flats much of the time—I saw none, for what it’s worth.  There was a lot jockeying in the pull-offs and no one left when I walked out, so that was probably a sign that others experienced a tough bite here too.  I did catch my last fish—well, hooked, fought and failed to net—after 5 PM, but the fish, not cooperative today to begin with, were probably pounded pretty good too during the prime hours.  I assumed that Spring Creek would have been worse for crowds today, so I just stayed and took my beating, exploring parts of the creek that I had not seen before.  I quit around 5:30 PM and, when I got a strong signal, called Sam to cancel a meet-up, and Tami and the boy to say I was alive, so I was home by 9:15 PM.  I learned as the sun set around 7 PM that both of my headlights were out, so I was that guy on Route 80 with his high-beams on for 90 miles or more.  I know what I will be doing on Thursday, resting my aging body, part of the time while sitting in the dealership getting those lights back on, but maybe the rain on Friday will urge me to Valley yet again to make it an even four trips this week?

No noses on my watch.