June 8, 2019 – Where Jay Gives Me a Nice Excuse to Fish on a Saturday – Brodhead Creek

Patience pays off for Jay.

Jay has read this blog for a while and reached out to me about a guided trip with Sam this year, which I was more than happy to recommend.  The reports from both parties were positive, which was nice too.  That was our first positive connection, but then when I posted about Hus and his outdoor classroom, Jay was motivated to get the kids some fishing rods and lures and all kinds of gear.  We met up so I could get the gear from him and had lunch one day this spring, and I found him to be good company, so it was inevitable that we would get out fishing at some point.  Well, today was the day.  I will post about this in more detail soon, but I did finally take all the fishing gear that Jay, Kenny, my dad, and I put together for Hus and his students, and I had a great experience at the school and a couple surprises too.  I shared the good news with Jay via text, and he mentioned he would like to get out fishing, maybe even during the week next month.  In a moment of weakness, I suggested that I might be able to do a Saturday.  Not my favorite day to fish, but it does happen sometimes, especially for the right reason or right person!  Jay has no issues with early, so I was at his house at 5 AM to load up his vehicle and make the ride north.  We had plenty of company on the mighty Brodhead, whose flows are very fishable right now, nearly optimal, I dare say.  Despite limited options at times due to some surprise and also surprised company too, we caught some fish on a beautiful late spring day in NEPA.

Some bows in great shape came out to play.

I have not been to the creek since April 28^th, when it was a bit too high, and I rarely fish on the weekends, plus I learned this week that some parts of a favorite section have been posted recently, so I had a lot options and considerations dancing in my head when we arrived in town.  I settled on taking us to a popular stretch with easier access, and we caught enough fish that we did not have to drive anywhere else.  It started out very slow and chilly, conditions which perhaps were directly related because around 8:30 AM to 11 AM seemed to be our most productive window.  There were enough caddis to make fish look up at times, and there were also some stonefly husks on the rocks.  I believe Jay got his fish on a stonefly, his anchor fly.  I caught the majority of mine on a big jig, either a CDC jig with a red tag or a Frenchie with a gold hot spot.  A few took the dropper, a soft hackle pheasant tail, when I fished in the riffles.  I actually caught the only potentially wild brown on the swing targeting a riser, but when I stopped to do the same at another spot, I landed a mighty rock bass instead.  I had one other fish take the jig right off my 5X tippet with a jolt of a hit one other time when I let the flies swing, so swinging to risers was not a real pattern, so to speak.

Little riser took my bugs on the swing.

Jay earned his fish and did well handling the new challenges of a big freestone creek, including the wading.  We worked to get into a couple of my favorite spots, only to turn the corner and find hidden by knotweed stands a handful of other fly guys in our path.  We made the most of it, however.  I am sure every hole we fished was tested by at least two other fly fishermen and/or spin guys today, but we had action in each one anyway.  The most memorable fish was landed at the big rock, where Jay is pictured at the opening of this post.  It is just one of those spots that poses a puzzle.  At my urging, Jay dropped his flies in a back eddy and just exercised patience as the fly marinated until a nice fish ate.  I had a few fish hit in similar type spots, including this particular one on the way upstream in the morning, and it is what always makes fishing the Brodhead, even for stockies with the crowds, a memorable experience for me.

Some browns in the mix too.

Jay asked me at one point how many fish I caught, and I really didn’t know at the time.  He twice mentioned 8 as my tally, and it sounded about right but also a bit low, so I took the time when I went through photos and tried to count the small tally at each spot.  It was not a dozen, but I think 11, so a decent day considering.  What I realized is that the water is so loud in spots, even at only 130 CFS, that Jay did not see me or hear me land a few fish!  I did not know he lost a couple fish that he had hooked up either until he told me about them later.  Last May when I was here with young Eric, I had the same experience.  Although when Eric and I were here last May, I landed a big wild brown in one of the spots Jay and I couldn’t get into today due to a gathering of anglers camped out!.  I had hope a couple times, though.

I twice landed huge suckers today in a deep run, and before they showed themselves, I did think I had duplicated last year’s success, landing a pig brown cleverly hidden in plain sight.  When hooked in big water, the suckers do something similar to big browns: stay put for long beat or two.  A big brown usually makes his move eventually, however.  When the suckers make a move, they have one run in them and then they reveal themselves and come easily to net instead of making more runs or digging for obstructions on the bottom to dislodge the hook or any other item on the wild brown list of ways to get free.  Disappointing, but still fun to have a deep bend in the rod and to get Jay going for his net to assist.

A couple porkers left, healthy and strong.

By targeting braided water and riffles once the sun was in full effect, we had some action even midday.  A nice breeze from the north turned into a wind once in a while, but it did keep the perspiration at bay.  We quit in the early afternoon and bushwhacked through all the new green, invasive vegetation to find the path for a more leisurely walk back.  Before heading home, I gave Jay the two dollar driving tour of my favorite creek, and we saw anglers out everywhere.  It made me grateful that I come here during the week, for sure!  Jay is willing to take a day off in July, so he can experience that luxury too.  I have a busy week next week, but June 11 is also my last official day of work until the fall.  I am teaching classes part-time, and the boy is finished school this upcoming week, too, but I should have more opportunities to get out early and take advantage of the false dawn at 5:30 AM now that bus duty is winding down.  I promised my dad a NEPA trip, so we may do the Brodhead or maybe even Little Skuke next week, perhaps Lehigh Valley, instead?  I am also itching for a Lackawanna trip, so more June adventures to come, I hope. 

Out there in the big water made wadable with favorable flows.