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.