October 11 and 19, 2019 – More Low Water, Boy in Waders – SEPA in Mid-October

Friday fall foliage and fickle trout.

I know if has been quiet on here for over a week.  I have been out twice, but there was not much to write about, just more of the same: busy with work and my own class and uninspiring conditions despite beautiful weather.  I fished the Bushkill on Friday, October 11 and barely avoided a skunk by landing one 8 inch wild brown.  I know I have written about how fickle the fish on that creek can be and how the good days make me doubly content.  I keep going back because of the challenge not because it is easy.  I also got a wet crotch, the seams on my Simms finally giving out, so it was an interesting day and not all that fun in retrospect.  I patched up a few spots, trying to avoid the long wait if I send them to Washington for repair, but I still had a damp crotch this afternoon when the boy and I quit, so I will be heading to TCO this week to ship them back.

The joys of wading.

Today was much more fun, though not any more productive.  The SEPA creeks that get a fall stocking have fish in them now, for the most part, so I took the boy out today to give them a shot with the fly rod.  My dad found him some waders that nearly fit, and I searched Amazon for some inexpensive felt-soled boots.  As you can see from the pics, the highlight for the boy was wading the creek, a joy I’d forgotten but vicariously relived on a beautiful Sunday afternoon on the Pennypack.  The park was loaded with people and dogs and fishermen, so the fish were skittish in low, clear water.  We did give the boy his first on the water fly fishing lessons, even if we landed no fish.  It is good to know they are in there, however.  I like to have some options for a couple stolen hours during the week.  Besides some grading and one meeting on Monday, I have most of next week open, and I will surely get my fix of fishing. For now, I pray for rain!

Having learned my lesson about the limitations of bootfoot waders last winter in State College, I decided to order a pair of replacement stocking foot waders using some LL Bean dividends.  They should arrive by Wednesday or Thursday this week.  It is always good to have a back-up pair, and the Bean’s will be covered for a year, even though they ceased honoring a lifetime replacement.  I have owned multiple pairs of the model I ordered, and the features and layers of material just slightly outpace the comparably priced Orvis Encounters (and I had some Bean bucks, as I mentioned above).  In the meantime, unlike the boy, I will not likely test my wading skills in any kind of depth unless totally dictated by the situation.  It would be nice to stand knee deep and chunk a streamer for some pre-spawn pigges, you know?  Rain, please.