January 31, 2020 – One in the First Hour and One in the Final Hour – Northampton County Limestoner

Limestone green and moving today.

Good fortune, like mild winter weather, is finite.  Therefore, I am not surprised that today was both challenging and a bit chillier than I expected.  I was dressed for the weather, but it was a tad cold to be wading waist deep in bigger water that was still flowing slightly higher from recent rains.  It is one of my favorites, but I have not been to this creek in a while, and it has always been a winter challenge for me.  I guess I try a couple times each winter just to try and crack the code.  I did not get skunked today, but I have at this time of year, so the report today is not all bad.  It can be a challenge at almost any time of year if I am being totally honest.  The wild fish on this creek can be prima donnas, for sure.  I would swear some days that the Class A designation is a myth, and then the next time I visit I land a 19 inch brown and three different year classes of fish.  That is why I come back, of course.  I like a good challenge and a work-out once in a while.  The spring hold-over rainbows, some of them multi-year porkers, are a bit more reliable.  I avoided the skunk with two of them today.  I landed one in the first hour of fishing that was a fat 17 incher, and then I fished for 2 more hours with maybe one hit.  I finally landed one more bright 12-incher with white-tipped fins and a bad attitude before I had to go home.  Or allowed myself to go home?

Someone's been around a while, and that tail.

To make it even more challenging, I fished some of the biggest, deepest water on the creek.  I was hoping to scare up another good fish this week, I suppose, and I guess one could argue that I did.  With very little bug life active and the water cold, higher, and stained, it became clear rather early that I was going to have to commit to tougher wading and deeper nymphing.  I did not get wet, which is nice, but I did get a chill a few times wading higher than waist deep to navigate my way around.  It was lot of work for two fish.  I also lost far too many bugs for my liking!  The recent rains brought down some trees, but they in turn also deposited a ton of smaller branches, so there were new snags to contend with everywhere.  I almost quit after I landed the first bigger fish because I was unsure whether or not I wanted to really do this today.  The first little piggy took the caddis grub on the dropper in a deep back eddy around some bridge pilings.  She stayed deep while she fought, so I almost thought I had stuck one of those aforementioned wild browns that show themselves from time to time.  No dice, but this was a gorgeous hold-over rainbow, so I am not complaining.

Grubby caddis, pink tag jig.

I spent some time after that working a long, exceptionally deep hole, even swinging a streamer and one of Kenny’s eight-ounce hair jigs without a touch.  Geese were a bit crazy, and there were many of them.  They usually don’t bother the fish too much, but they were annoying and loud, so I eventually left this spot for more peaceful surroundings upstream.  Tired of hazardous wading, I skirted one deep hole on the steep bank and actually spooked a 15 inch wild brown taking refuge under a log near the bank.  I did try to fish the near side as much as possible, knowing fish would be close to the banks on both sides with higher flows, but I certainly missed a shot at this one….  A tree was smack in the middle of some pocket water I often try, but the flows were a bit high and the bugs and fish a bit too inactive today to be that hopeful.  The new obstruction forced me to keep moving and I spent my last fishing time working a deep hole below a waterfall, which is often a reliable wintering spot.  There were new snags here too, of course, but I did manage to land the second rainbow, who fought really hard when he got into some heavier water.

Pretty fish, minus the leaf under the eye?

It was a fun way to end an otherwise tough day, at least.  The weather is supposed to be crazy warm on Monday, so I am motivated to get my work done this weekend and give it a shot somewhere.  That may be wishful thinking, though.  This weekend is too busy with personal business and the boy’s activities, maybe even some time with my wife, and then there is football on Sunday.  Honestly, I may not get out again until Wednesday, but I am hoping that the weird warm up has some lasting effects on water temps into the more appropriately mild upcoming week.  I have not really dived into rain totals, but from a distance it certainly looks like potential streamer weather.  My luck of last week is bound to dry up at some point, but that usually does not stop me from swinging for the fences.  On a similar note, January has been an active fishing month, so I am steeling myself for when life gets busier or weather less cooperative.  In the meantime, tight lines, right?

January 27, 2020 – Embrace the Bobber, Stream Etiquette in Decline, Fishing Not So Much – Valley Creek

A survivor.  Might have made the Valley top 5 too!

I was lucky enough to land another good fish this morning, not 18 inches like last Friday, but a good 16 incher, which for Valley might put it in the top five on the all-time list.  It was not a streamer fish.  Despite heavy rain this weekend, that streamer window had mostly closed on this quickly recovering creek.  I was throwing two small bugs, a size 18 olive nothing on the anchor and a purple perdigon on the dropper, in a deep wintering hole, so my first fish of the morning was a bobber fish.  I am sometimes bobber-averse to my own detriment.  Fishermen are like that.  They decide they are fishing dries only today.  Or they will only throw a pencil popper for bass in the surf even though an Ava with a green tube would be the correct choice to match the hatch.  I told myself this morning as I rigged up at the car, “It is January 27, winter, so don’t be afraid of the bobber.”  I caught between 12 and 15 fish today during a 3 hour tour, and plenty of them were caught tightline nymphing when that was the right choice, but I kept the bobber handy in my pocket and had a lot of success suspending my bugs too, even ended with a few on that grubby caddis, a single larger fly, under a small float.  Besides the first little piggie, two of the best fish, one a fat 11 inch hen, came this way.  The water was still stained, so the bobber was not going to spook much in the deep holes.  In other words, it was a good day to embrace the bobber.

Grubby caddis + bobber = yay.

On to the other reference in my title.  Stream etiquette.  It has come up a bit this year because the Silver Fox got high-holed once this fall, also at Valley.  I am more surprised that it does not happen more often not less often at Valley.  We city folks are dicks who don’t say hello to each other while out for a walk in Fairmount Park.  Valley runs through the Main Line, which is synonymous with privilege, so folks are entitled to the hole they want on the day they want it, even if someone else is there already.  Me, I sometimes see another car in a pull-off and drive to another spot.  I have been with Sam where he is crossing his fingers that no one else is parked at a particular spot—the subtext that we would go elsewhere and give the person who arrived first his space.  Today, I had two very different encounters.  I actually landed my first fish, the Valley beauty that opens this post, with an audience.  Two guys a bit older than me had just arrived, apparently, and were making there way down the opposite bank to their destinations.  I got some kudos, had a brief, friendly conversations, and then we ended by establishing that I was working upstream, while they were headed down.  End of story.  Hope they had a good fishing day.

Small bugs, tight to wood and cover.

The other pair of fishermen I encountered who did not talk to me before or after they high-holed me, even when I walked past them on my way upstream and said hello—usually an acknowledgement of guilt on the culprits’ part—they looked like they new better.  They could not have missed seeing me as they walked past me fishing a spectator-friendly hole (I have entertained many an elderly dog walker at this very spot over the years).  They then proceeded to jump into the very next hole, within earshot not just sight of me.  I mentioned looks above, and looks do play a part, I think.  There is a pecking order, perhaps, with some dudes that they use to justify being bad sports.  Based on looks only, as I did not try to assess price of gear, though I could see expensive nets, I conclude that they knew better.  That, or they thought they bought their way into an exclusive club or something.  Me, maybe I looked less professional today.  I mentioned the bobber embracing today. Check.  My Simms waders are still in Washington being fixed, so maybe my LL Bean’s are not pricey enough?  Check.  Cheap net I found.  Check.  Orvis Clearwater, not even a Recon?  Check.  Just landed 6 fish before you got here, one a 16-inch fish on Valley?  Check.  None of this should matter, though.  People should be better, even on the Main Line on a pressured creek.  Fishing well is the best revenge however, so I rarely get pissed.  I know better too, so when this happens to me, I just skip the hole they are in and continue my upstream progress.  Not passive aggressively within sight, although saying hello to silent culprits is passive aggressive, I admit.  But I only let them slightly inconvenience me. 

Close to 15 fish, most Valley average.

I expect to tango on a weekend, and I actually select streams on the rare weekend excursion to avoid the dance, but this was a Monday in the winter and there are a lot of winter holes on Valley and a lot of flats with rising fish on the right days.  Most fishermen know at Valley and other crowded spots that they may have to work out a plan with others or go somewhere else. Most say hi, and few linger for too long.  I debated even giving this discussion energy here, but maybe it plants a seed and/or encourages me to continue to practice what I preach.  Pro not bro.  Today, I caught nearly 10 more fish AFTER I could have allowed these etiquette-challenged dudes to ruin my day. It was a great day, double digits and a good fish, in the middle of winter.  It was the last mild day for a few days, and the conditions were good, so the fishing followed suit.  Almost a shame I didn’t write more about the actual fishing!

January 24, 2020 – First Good Fish of 2020 and Not a Bad Day Overall – Northampton County Limestoner

Releasing a good one.

After putting in a good twelve hour day of working and commuting on the train on Thursday, I needed to take advantage of the milder weather today and catch some fish.  I had a bunch of meetings during the day and had to teach in the evening, so I took the train to Center City instead of driving and actually got some reading done for my poetry class on the way in and out of Philly.  It was not a bad weather day on Thursday, so I did get in a couple walks in the city and had a good lunch and at least two fancy-ass coffees to get me through my long day.  A walk is nice, but it is not fishing, especially on the mildest day in over a week, and Rittenhouse Square does not have a trout stream.  Thankfully, today was also mild, even started out just above the freezing mark, which is often a good sign of things to come.  I was tired, but I got on the road by 9:30 AM and was fishing in Northampton County by about 10:45 AM, I bet.  I landed 5 wild browns between 11 AM and 2:45 PM, and one was a good fish, my first over 18 inches for 2020, so it was a solid winter fishing day.

Sun and still a trace of snow.

I rigged up when I arrived with a frenchie on the anchor and a zebra midge on the dropper, and then I took a walk downstream in order to fish my first beat back to the parking spot.  I stayed up higher on the banks as I walked in, so I had a good vantage point in clear water and sunny conditions and was fortunate enough to spot a handful of fish suspended up in the back of a big eddy that usually looks a heck of a lot more productive than it actually is.  I catch fish here once in a while, but not as many as one would think.  It does have winter haven written all over it, however, and fish were certainly here today, and they also looked cooperative.  They were waiting on something, not sitting inactive on the bottom.  Later in the afternoon a midge hatch was much more prevalent and consistent, which filled in a missing piece of this puzzle.   

On the board quickly.

Because the sun was at my back, I stayed low to mix my shadow with the barren trees and some big rocks on the bank.  When I got into place, I dug for a little indicator I keep in my wader pocket this time of year.  I was set up on the bank to fish the back current because the fish were not facing upstream but, instead, facing into the slower back eddy, which was technically moving upstream.  I am not always this intentional, slow, and deliberate, but it’s been a minute since I fished, so I wanted to land one of these fish.  Bonus: I landed two of them before the second one disturbed the hole too much.  They both took the frenchie, very gently, so much so that I assumed they had eaten the midge.  One was probably a skinny 9 inches and the other was a slightly more plump 11 inches, but I was on the board, which felt good, especially since all the care I took getting into place and my impromptu plan had paid off.  I gave this eddy another ten unproductive minutes and then continued my walk downstream, figuring I could give it another shot later after it had rested, perhaps even from the other side of the creek where my shadow would not loom over the hole if I made a wrong move.

Another shot of the good fish.

The next hour or more was pretty uneventful, unless you count fly scavenging as eventful.  I guess the tired was catching up to me, or I was hungry, because I was making mistakes.  I got bounced once and missed before I hung my bugs in the same rake of tree branches at least twice.  My bugs were not alone, so I used my net to snag some branches and collect some flies, mine and others—one pair even came with an indicator, and there were a couple quality tungsten jigs too.  I would have rather had the fish and not blown up the hole, but I figured I needed to drink some water and eat a Cliff bar or something before I started getting cranky, so my mood was better suited for this work than fishing at the moment.  I fished two more holes, including the first eddy, now from the other side, rather quickly, and then I took a break at the car to drink the rest of my coffee, chug some water, and get a few calories in me.  That seemed to reset the mojo because I was fortunate enough to land a really nice fish not long after.  The beautiful, 18 inch, post-spawn male barely registered a pause in my sighter when he took the hare’s ear larva on my dropper in a deep, slow pocket near heavier water.  He put up a good battle, even making me leave my spot to chase him downstream in order to keep him out of some good rip rap and cover where he surely would have gotten loose.  He was all head with a skinny tail and had some battle scars, but he was colored up nicely and went back in good, still-energetic shape.  It felt really satisfying to get my first good fish of the year, but I wanted more than 3 fish for the day, so I kept fishing.

Number 4 and 5.

Since this little pig went downriver pretty early in the fight, I took a chance that he did not blow up the hole.  I was convinced that at least one or two more had to be sitting in this same slow, deep seam close to the current.  The midges I mentioned earlier were also getting more active in the warming air, so conditions just felt right.  I got bounced once in shallower water at the head of the pool but did not connect.  Eventually, I popped the small Airlock indicator back on the line to really let the bugs slowly move through the less turbulent water in this pocket, and sure enough the indicator paused and I came tight to another wild brown, this one about 10 inches and feisty.  He took the pink tag jig I was now using as my anchor fly.  This fish, of course, stayed in the pocket and made sure to disturb anyone else present, so I took off the indicator and moved up to the next hole, which is usually one of the last I fish on this particular stretch of the creek.  It does not have the deep water of the one below, but there is enough water and nearby cover to hold a fish that is actively feeding.  Bugs were still present in the air, so I fished the soft seam close to the bank on my side and thought I may have gotten hit.  There was no mistaking the bump I got in the soft seam on the other side of the run, however.  I could see that, like his larger cousin, this pretty fella also liked the hare’s ear larva on the dropper.  He fought really well too.  Had I not landed an 18 incher, this fish would have made me even more excited: a bit skinny, but another colored up, post-spawn fish at least 13 inches long.  After releasing this fish, my fifth now—not too shabby for under 4 hours in the winter on a tough creek—I checked the time to see if I should call it good.  It was after 2:30 PM, so I tried one last hole before calling it.  No more fish for the tally, but I enjoyed watching a few smaller fish rising in the flats while I sat and enjoyed the sunny mild weather for a couple minutes.  I was tempted to re-rig, but I just made a mental note to come back to this spot the next time I am here, perhaps with more than 10 minutes before quitting time left to work with.  Still, I had no complaints today.

Not a bad note on which to end.

January 16, 2020 – A Mild Start Before the Blow and the Next Deep Freeze – Pickering Creek

A walk with a fly rod.

I just had to sneak one in this morning before the cold weather made a comeback.  I intended to get out for only a couple hours, trying to beat the approaching front, but I ended up doing a lot of walking and scouting out conditions since I have not been to the Pickering since March of 2019 when I took my dad a couple times to chase spring stockies.  Both Jay and Eric fished the creek for the fall stocking, and did well, but I never made it out there.  The good news is that there are plenty of big fish left, and they may eat more reliably in high water and during hatches.  Many are in shallower and flatter spots, so they are spooky on bluebird days, for sure.  Although there are plenty swimming right where they were dumped, the fish I found had spread out from the holes, and I enjoy catching them off the beaten path(s), pretending I am hunting wild fish, I guess.  I got one of each before the 20, then 30 MPH winds kicked up as forecasted.  It was not great fishing weather after 11 AM or thereabouts, but it was still a bright, crisp day for a walk, so I visited a bunch of holes along most of the DHALO stretch, sometimes making a cast, oftentimes not, before I quit for lunch in the early afternoon.  I also had to teach in the evening.

That caddis again.

I had on the same bugs from my Northampton County trip on Monday, and the first fish, a rainbow, took the anchor jig fly, while the second fish, a brown, took the caddis larva on the dropper.  I found both fish in random pocket water that I often walk by when the fish are more freshly stocked, so that was fun.  Before it got too windy I missed one other on a purple CDC jig on the dropper.  A bad knot unraveled….  Yeah, I am not a fan of tying 5X in the wind.  I only saw one other guy out and looking for risers.  I did not even see him at first because I was eyeing the same flat looking for risers myself.  One nose broke the surface while we chatted, but in the conditions at the time, I really was not motivated to re-tie to fish a dry.  A walk sounded better today, but I will come back before the spring stocking and look for midges and BWOs, maybe some early stoneflies.  There is an extra fishing day in February this year, you know.  The 7 Day is not looking too fishy, so I am glad I got out to stretch the legs for a bit today.

Off the beaten path, and on the beaten path.

January 14, 2020 – It’s Been a Longer Time than I Thought – Northampton County Limestoner

Nice small stream fishy

I had to dig in the archives back to December 20, 2018 in order to determine the last time I had visited this particular creek in Northampton County.  It once was one of my favorites, and I have landed some really good wild browns here, a couple just shy of 20 inches, a handful over 16 inches.  Things change.  At some point in 2018, I know some more posted signs went up not long after I met a new landowner with big plans for a bed and breakfast with private access to the creek, which was very disappointing, but I was sure that I had fished it at least once last year.  I guess not.  Well, the posted signs are still up, and I saw some fresher ones in another stretch, so maybe my gut was telling me that I was running out of familiar water here.  Still, it was good to poke around and find some fish today, and I found a couple in totally new spots.  I landed an even half-dozen, three wild browns and three spring holdover rainbows, and a couple of the fish were solid ones.  I more expected small stream average fish today, even though I was hoping to move a pig with a streamer if the rain arrived early.  Short of a substantial later spring, early summer, or early fall rain event, however, the big ones rarely come out of hiding on this pressured stretch of water.  I did try with a streamer for about 45 minutes, even jigging one of Kenny’s hair jigs on the bottom of some deep holes, but I moved nothing.

Some feeding in the softer seams.

With a couple short breaks and one exploratory ride upstream, I estimate that I fished at least 4 hours today.  I started around 10 AM and had action early.  Instead of starting at one of my old honey holes, I walked down the road from my parking spot and tried two smaller holes that I probably have fished only once before.  Within 10 minutes of making my first casts with a pink tag fly on the anchor and a caddis larva on the dropper, I picked up a porker of a holdover rainbow.  No measure net today because I had high hopes of tangling with a larger fish, but my best hand measure estimate was roughly 16 inches.  The fish fought really well too, especially in shallow water.  All he could do was run around, though he did take one decent tail walk too.   Based on his colors and girth, he has been living well.

First fish of the morning, rogue little piggie.

Not ten minutes later, I hooked another hot fish, and this one was a wild brown at least 13 inches long, the wide-bodied one pictured in the net at the top of this post.  In the same pocket water conditions as the first rainbow, with no place to go but downstream, or up in the air, he chose to go up, jumping three times before coming to the net.  It crossed my mind that this start was potentially too good to be true, but by the time I reached my first honey hole, the reality of winter fishing returned.  I worked this spot thoroughly, eventually losing a couple flies really trying to get deep when it was clear that the fish in this run were not sitting on the soft edges ready to eat like their friends downstream.  Because some midges were present, I even tried a smaller dropper for about 20 minutes, and I did get bounced once on this set up before landing another wild brown, this one a small stream average one.  I had to add some split shot a couple times to get two flies down in bouncier spots, so I eventually went back to the original pair of larger tungsten nymphs.

A couple of these too.

Before reaching my next favorite hole, I landed another small wild brown on the caddis larva.  The hole itself was disappointing, however.  When I got no love working the soft edges, I even popped on an indicator and really let the bugs marinate in the deep hole in the back, but I just found new tree limbs and eventually stirred up the spot too much by freeing a couple snags.  It was past midday by now, and it had rained a couple times, though nothing major, but it also felt warmer, like over 45 degrees.  Not balmy, of course, but I had taken off my fingerless gloves at some point.  It crossed my mind to go get my streamer rod before trying the next stretch of water, and perhaps try to move something in the water I had rested since arriving, too.  After a short break at the car for a drink and some rigging, I took a short drive upstream to fish a couple deep holes.  I moved nothing with a sculpin, so the Hail Mary was a 1/8 hair jig that I borrowed from Kenny.  Even gently bouncing that tasty morsel from Kenny's vice in two big fish spots produced nothing, however.

I guess grubby caddis is my new winter confidence fly?

Instead of watching a bobber in one last deep, slow hole, I decided to walk back to the ‘Ru and take a ride to explore another spot in the stocked waters.  I know there are wild fish the length of the creek, so the Stocked Trout Water signs were not a deterrent at the last stretch I fished today.  Honestly, I just wanted at least one more fish so I could call it day.  It was approaching 2 PM, and the rain was starting to fall more consistently, so I told myself I would quit if I got one more.  I was lucky enough to land two more before 2:30 PM.  Both were spring holdover bows, so I had notched three of each, not too bad.  As discussed above, some of my best spots, especially for winter fishing, were now posted, and I spent 45 minutes swinging a streamer with nary a touch, so I was pretty content with these last couple of fish.  One of them just dug in deep trying to dislodge my fly, but the other jumped multiple times, feeling feisty for mid-January.  One last pic, and it was time to drive home in the rain.  That was by far the least fun part of the excursion!

A couple of these too.

January 10, 2020 – A Normal Winter Day Wedged Between a Deep Freeze and Temps Close to 70 for the Weekend – Berks County Limestoner

The best wild one ate a frenchie.

It has been a mild winter, but go tell that to yesterday.  Of course, Thursday was the day I had scheduled to drive out and fish with Sam in Centre County too.  I still debated making the run, and Sam would have fished, but we decided that fishing would likely shut down that day.  Cold is okay, but the first day of really cold weather for the season, probably not.  Sam texted me in the morning to let me know it was 12 in State College, so we made the right call, but it was still disappointing because I am going to get busy again next week with classes starting up.  Thankfully, the deep freeze only lasted one day (two if you count a windy and cold Wednesday) and it did not completely shut down the bite or ice up all the creeks.  Seeing it was going to hit 50 at some point today, I knew I would get out for a short consolation round, and I did fish for two productive and enjoyable hours.

Sun was getting lower by the time it warmed enough to spark a short bite.

Kenny came by in the morning to complete a punch list of things in our bathroom remodel, so I hung out and talked with him while he worked until about 11 AM.  I also bummed a couple 1/8 ounce hair jigs for which I have future plans—they may involve the heavy jig serving as an anchor in a few deep, deep plunge pools, perhaps with a lighter bunny leech on the dropper above.  He had a few bass rods in his vehicle too.  I guess all this working around my house has cut into his fishing time!  I was already packed up to fly fish, so he went his way and I went mine around 11:15 AM.  I had no clue where I wanted to go, but I knew I didn’t want to chase tiny stockies close to home, and I did not want to go to Valley.  I decided to head west and fish a Berks County creek with some limestone influence to mitigate yesterday’s cold.  This creek also holds over spring stockers very well and has a decent population of wild fish, as well.

A beaut, but probably a longtime holdover.

It took about an hour to get out there, so by the time I suited up I only fished from 12:30 to 2:45 PM, but I landed some fish, including a gorgeous holdover of 13 inches or more that, minus a blue spot, could have passed for wild.  He may have been a multi-year holdover based on the fins and the colors.  I also landed 3 wild browns up to 11 inches, and I dropped a silvery mystery fish on a long distance release.  It might have been a rainbow, though not many of them make it through the summer here, but the browns were rather monochrome today too.  I am out of practice with the bobber, especially on a long cast with a reach mend, so fish number 5 of the day got off easier than his compadres.  I landed my last fish of the afternoon fishing the back of a deep run with an indicator, so I batted .500 with the bobber.  I landed the other three Czech nymphing a frenchie with the grubby caddis on the dropper.  I only landed one on the caddis, and the one I dropped took that fly was well.  The others bounced the frenchie pretty decently even in the cold water.  Midges were hatching, but nothing was rising to them, and I moved nothing when I briefly tied a size 18 zebra midge to the dropper.  It was necessary to dredge the slower water near the bottom of some deeper runs and pockets to connect, at least with the handful of fish I found out there willing to eat today.

One wild one ate the caddis larva.

I expected it to take a while to warm up today, but it really took a while.  It was still about 42 degrees when I started fishing, even though my car thermometer read 53 by the time I returned.  Besides the first fish that I dropped, the rest all came between 1:45 and 2:45 PM, so the window of opportunity was small today.  I am a master of making bad math decisions—driving two hours to fish just over two hours, one of which was productive—but this little creek was actually a good choice for today.  There was no ice, some bugs, no other fishermen, and some willing wild brown trout.  I wish the warm up in the forecast was for Monday and Tuesday, not Saturday and Sunday, but I still may sneak out early with a bugger on Sunday if we get any real rain.  Sometimes temperatures near the 70’s this time of year gives a false hope, but the milder weather is supposed to continue, at least in the 50’s, so I am hopeful that the weekend warm up is merely a catalyst for something even better next week.  I have some post-spawn fish in the Lehigh Valley that I need to visit with, possibly to reacquaint them with a streamer, maybe even introduce them to one of Kenny’s hair jigs, you know?

One last one before quitting time.

January 6, 2020 – Why You Frontin’ On Me Like That? – Codorus Creek

A long, skinny, post-spawn hen that will likely be much more of a trophy come spring!

Two hours is a long ride for four fish, even with winter expectations.  I chose to visit the Codorus Trophy Trout section for only the second time ever today, and I had mixed results.  The first time I visited was two years ago, also in January, and I caught a decent number of mostly small fish after finding productive water.  When I reread the blog post from 2018, I noticed that I said I was not likely to return unless I was passing through for other reasons, but I guess I forgot.  I wanted to have a little more of an adventure today, since I am still off this week.  I also thought it was going to be a more conducive weather day.  I noted the milder air temps in the forecast while planning my trip, especially in contrast to midweek, but I did not drill down and learn that a front would push through.  I left the house about 8:30 AM in cloudy conditions, but as I crossed the Susquehanna River, I could see the edge of the sun and clouds meeting in the sky.  I had to take care of some work at a rest stop, and then I helped Tami with something on the phone at my eventual parking spot, so by the time I began fishing, the breeze starting picking up in blue bird skies.  I was also hampered by other fishermen in two other productive beats.  I drove past three good spots on the way in, and there were trucks at two of them.  In the sparse winter foliage, I could see two fishermen, one targeting the spot that made me want to return today to Codorus.

First and second cast curse....

Two years ago, it took me a couple hours to run into a friendly Codorus regular fishing a stretch of creek with deep pocket water, some the results of his TU chapter’s man-made improvements to the creek.  This is where I wanted to start, as it seemed to present my best chance at one of the eponymous “trophy trout,” but this is a small creek, and a fly guy was already working his way upstream through this beat.  Another guy with spinning gear was fishing another stretch where I actually caught fish last time.  Thankfully, I had at least one remaining good beat, so I drove back and parked there.  The water was a lot lower than the last time I was here, too, but there were plenty of newer log jams, so even in high sun I was confident that I could sneak around and coax a few out of hiding.  Perhaps I also had to contend with the first (and second) cast curse!  I landed two pretty little fish not 5 minutes into my day, and I landed a little better one about 15 minutes later.  I counted several redds throughout the course of the day that looked rather recently abandoned, which is great for the future population of the creek, so I took a lot of care wading around and spent a good deal of time not in the water at all.

The third in 15 minutes, and then wind....

Thirty minutes in, however, I was already dealing with gusts of wind, prompting me to change first to heavier bugs and a bit later to try both an Airlock indicator and then a pair of Palsa foam buttons when I realized the holes I remembered were not all that deep or bouncy in lower water.  It was a bit frustrating dealing with unexpected gusts up to 15 MPH, maybe more.  Had there been more water, I would have just thrown a small streamer and covered a lot of water.  I stuck with my plan, however, hoping the wind would settle eventually as the front passed.  The wind did calm down a good deal by 1 PM, so when I reached my parking spot again, I took a drive to see if I could fish one of the other beats.  Both fishermen were gone, so I chose the upper end near all the improvements.  I also tied on my hot fly of the week, perhaps the fall/winter season, what I have been calling the grubby caddis.  

The spot + signs in Sheetz country.

None of the man-made improvements produced fish, but I was fishing after another guy had worked through them, so maybe he did well!  I explored a lot further upstream than last visit, and I found a couple really nice looking holes with deeper runs.  I had one hit in a soft pocket tight to my side of a good deep(er) run, but I did not connect.  After going into the fields to bypass a long flat, I found a spot that had to hold a fish.  Current was pushing right into the roots of a tree and a deeper hole had formed in the eddy behind the roots.  Sure enough, the beautiful small stream fish that opens this post took the grubby caddis right in the bouncy water.  In trying to pull her to the back of the hole so as not to disturb any others up there, I actually spooked another decent sized fish that was chilling in the eddy, so that plan was a bust.  I just concentrated on landing the one I had on the line, a skinny wild brown about 15 inches long.

A little low today, but a lot of wood in the water.

After taking a picture, I released this post-spawn hen in good shape and climbed up the bank to skip another shallow flat.  Unfortunately, I ran into posted signs and a couple wires across the creek before I found the next honey hole, but it was pushing 2:30 PM anyway, and I wanted to leave before 3 PM if I could in order to beat some rush hour traffic through at least two urban centers along my return route.  I did give the really fishy looking beat close to my parking spot another shot, but I did not move any fish.  I spooked a little guy tucked up in the vegetation along the banks, so at least I know where some of them go when it is low and bright like today.  I was on the road for home by 2:50 PM, and I did get home in just under two hours, so at least one part of my plan today was solid.  Again, not sure I need to visit Codorus again, at least at this time of year and/or by itself—maybe a stop at Muddy Creek too next time?—but I did catch a few fish and one good one in challenging conditions.  I just hope I remember to read my own blog posts in two years when I am thinking about taking this long ride again.  And read the fine print on the weather forecasts!