May 28, 2020 – Why Is It That After a Great Morning, I Can Only Think About the One that Broke Me Off? - Northampton County Limestoner

A small stream beauty, but not the one today.

I fished the early shift again this morning, but because a meeting in the afternoon was postponed until Friday, I stayed out a while longer.  I caught numbers early, too, like maybe a dozen, but the three of four fish I tangled with around 11 AM, as I was making a second visit to two hot spots, they were the most memorable.  It sucks that after a great 5 or 6 hours of fishing, with fish to 15+ inches and at least 15 fish landed, I am still replaying the one that got away!  This is a small creek, so the fish was not massive, let’s not get silly, but it looked to be about 17 or 18 inches.  The fish that opens this post and the one in the measure net below, as well, was over 15, and that was a great small stream fish.  He was only a consolation prize this morning, though!  The fish I lost broke 6X tippet on a run I should have just let happen, but hindsight is, well….  I was fishing a new reel this morning and new SA Competition Nymphing line on my 10-foot 3 wt, and I thought both performed really well.  I just need to learn the drag on the new reel, I think.  The drag was set well for the 9 to 13 inchers I was landing up to that point, but I did not like how much drag this fish took on his first run, especially since the water was low and mucky today, and he had the dropper not the anchor.  As I added tension to the drag, I was picturing him dredging Eric’s walts over shallow stream bottom littered with muck-covered sticks and stones.  I did not envision him violently shaking his head on a short line and taking Eric’s green caddis larva with him.  Okay, enough of that for now and on with the good parts.

Tale of the tape....

I left the house about 4:30 AM this morning, and it drizzled on the way up, but it did not look like it had rained much, and I only got showered on briefly a couple times.  This creek spiked big time on the gages last week, and the banks showed signs of the brief, flash flooding, but the flows obviously came all at once because the creek was low today.  I was helped by clouds, hampered by swamp-ass due to 100% humidity, but I was feeling good and fishing well.  Like I mentioned above, I got into fish early and often.  The best before 9 AM was probably 13 inches, but even that is good on a creek this size, so I was content.  I was hopeful about finding a little piggy or two because I have landed at least one or two over 14 inches most of the times I have fished this creek this late winter into spring.  The mild winter was kind to these usually smaller fish.  I saw some larger olives but no caddis today, and I spotted two sulfurs very early, likely left over from the previous night’s activities.  I quickly changed to small-ish bugs, a size 16 CDC jig on the anchor and the pinky pt on the dropper.  Both produced until they didn’t.  I switched to small walts and caddis larva later to fish deeper riffles when I no longer saw active fish or bug life.  I did target and catch one random riser with those same bugs later in the morning, though!

BWO conditions, and the small CDC jig worked until it didn't.

Even using small bugs, I don’t think I could make more than two casts in a row without having to pick gunk off my flies.  Not only were the rocks covered, but there were also random strands of grass floating in the water.  Sometimes a(nother) good rain or two and the increased shade of the canopy will alleviate this problem, but that has not happened yet.  I persevered because nymphing was working.  I did take a break and tie on a dry for a minute when I saw three fish bulging, but they were in a rather shallow tailout and even moving as quietly and as low-profile as I could, I put them down.  I ran out of patience waiting on them to get comfortable again, but I did want to see if I could cast this competition line some distance if I had to, and it was not terrible.  Were it not 80 degrees and drizzling, I may have taken a seat and waited, but I was not there in that mindset today.  I took the time to rig the two larva and headed for riffles and a deep plunge instead, and I continued to catch fish, so it was probably the right call for me on this particular day.

Low water, but cloudy, small bugs.

While I was fishing what I thought was my last hole, I received a calendar cancellation and an invite for tomorrow instead.  Tami and the boy had work at home, so I decided to take a walk and check out some water I had not visited in a long time.  I actually ran into another fly guy fishing below one hole I wanted to visit, and he was working upstream towards it, so after a little conversation, I let him have at it.  On the way back up, I saw him again, and he said that he got into a few of them.  Me, well, I saw a lot of shallow, clear water, so I basically took a morning constitutional while I looked for risers for about 30 minutes.  When I ran into posted signs, I turned back upstream.

A few 12 and up.

I had the time, so I fished a favorite hole again, and I lost the pig I wrote about earlier.  Sometimes there is a sucker that holds this line in the run, but it is a big brown trout sort of lie, so sometimes there is a big brown in it instead.  I have caught or messed with a couple of both here over the years.  Today, there was no doubt there was a trout holding there.  Because I was ready to toss my rod into the crick after I felt the line pop, I needed some redemption before I drove home pissed off, so I returned to another favorite plunge where I had already landed a few fish but nothing large.  I expect a decent one from this spot, so I was praying that the smaller fish I landed earlier in the morning were not the only active fish in this run today.  I landed a pretty and strong 13-incher and felt a lot better, but the fish I chose to end the morning on was even better.  I will still replay my mistakes on the piggy I lost, but this ornery 15 or 16-inch buck sure made things a lot better (at least until I go to sleep tonight).

A 13 near the end of the trip too.

So, it was a good, almost great, morning that continues a strong run of good fishing this month.  We need rain, but I don’t think what is here now is the answer.  It will hopefully help a little.  Eric and I are planning to return to our spot this Sunday, so I have the chance of posting eight trips this month, and I am still on pace to surpass 80 for the year.  With all the changes to work and home life, that will have to do.  Even when there are trying moments that make me want to haul off and throw my rod into the woods, the overall effect of fishing is still therapeutic and much cheaper than counseling or legal marijuana!

Creek, pinky, and wildflower pictures!