July 12, 2019 – Looking for 100 not 1000 – Valley Creek

I was out there somewhere mid-decline...

I certainly did not wait until Valley was at an optimum level for streamer fishing this morning, but I was up at 4:30 AM and wanted to be fishing by 6 AM, whether the creek was a little too high or not.  Well, it was.  As you can see from the graph, it peaked at well over 1000 CFS, and the surrounding woods looked like it.  It was one of those mornings when one can skate on fresh mud along the well-travelled trails.  I even tried to rescue a sunfish from a puddle in the woods!   Had it been one of this year’s parr I may have been more diligent than I was, as I abandoned the effort once the fish got under a root ball along the trail.  Raccoon food if a bird of prey doesn’t get it first, I suppose.  The water was up last night for sure.  The Schuylkill already looked angry by 12 noon when I crossed it, and it had a ways to go before cresting.

Sunrise on a humid morning.

I was well upstream of the Park, where the gage was located, but I estimate that the creek was at 175 to 200 when I started this morning.  Gung ho, perhaps, because I knew Tami and the boy had plans today, but I also expected it to be hot and didn’t want to wait until 2 PM when the flows would be optimum but the water temp would be pushing 70, especially after a warm rain.  I took the water temp a couple times this morning before I quit at 11 AM, and it was in the high 60s when I did call it a day.  The reason I was more vigilant that most mornings is that I had to push past 10 AM to round out my day fishing in more favorable conditions with the nymphing rod.  I only stuck one good fish on the streamer, but I did manage to land 6 or 7 more while nymphing before I quit.

A pale one finally took the black leech with some weighted assistance.

A 15 and a 13 = not too shabby.

I started out throwing a bigger sculpin in some high percentage spots, and the thing sure looked like it was showing up in the stained water, at least to a certain depth.  I only got one bump in the first 90 minutes of fishing, however.  I could see the creek improving, so I just kept on practicing my casting.  I tried in tight to cover, I tried swinging more moderate flows, and then I changed to a small black leech pattern and finally landed what I was looking for, a solid 15 inch hen.  I caught this fish high sticking the streamer in some riffles with added weight (you might see the hefty split shot I used to get it down).  I thought maybe I had a pattern now, but I only had two more swipes and one bump before I quit the streamer rod.  I did witness a doe and her two fawns crossing the creek, so the one fish round one was not a total loss!  And round two ended up being short but more successful.

Others wet wading with me.

After taking a break at the car, I returned to the same stretch armed with a couple tungsten nymphs.  The anchor was a size 14 pink tag fly with some CDC on the collar too, and the dropper was the same little scud/larva that fish ate readily on Monocacy this week.  My first fish took the little dropper, and once again I thought maybe I had a pattern going.  The second fish, however, took the bigger jig in a deep seem and fought really well.  It was not another 15, but the measure-net had this hen at 13 inches.  She looked like she had swallowed a crayfish or one of her offspring, a big bulge in her gullet.  The colors on this fish were unreal.  Depending on the angle of the sun in which I held her, she looked muted or gaudy in equal measure, light on spots with many subtle hues popping.

Very pretty fish.

I took a water temperature after catching this fish because it was getting past 10:30 AM, and she was certainly a nice enough fish on which to end the morning.  My thermometer, even after hanging on my wading boot shoelaces for a couple minutes, was showing 66 at my feet in shallow water, so I figured I was okay for a bit longer if the deeper runs were a bit colder still.  I moved upstream through some riffles and another run, landing two more fish, on my way to one last high percentage hole, which did not disappoint.  I landed no more good fish, but I did land some more decent Valley fish ranging from 9 to 10 inches.   They were scrappy and well fed, much like their larger relatives, so I was enjoying the improved action.

No pattern, just persistence.

On the way up to this last hole, I had snipped off the dropper, choosing to fish just the bigger jig in the heavier current.  It worked as expected in the riffles, and I stuck the two aforementioned fish this way, but it also made for a cleaner sink in the eddy and odd hydraulics of the last spot I fished too.  Some longer tosses upstream and some patience as the single bug (and that CDC, no doubt) did their thing in this final deeper run and hole netted a couple more acrobatic and beautiful fish.  After taking a final picture, I saw that it was 11 AM.  I was in the shade and wet wading today, so plenty comfortable, but it was hot in the sun and it was not me I was worried about.  I spend a lot of time on Valley, as you may have noticed, so I have an affinity for these fish, though I haven’t named any yet.  Grateful to put together a good day after very slow start, I turned back and took a walk in the wet woods to my car.

Ended with one fast-sinking nymph and a few cooperative fish.