August 29, 2020 – I May Have Officially Hit the Summer Wall (Again) – SEPA Blue Line

 

Low and slow, yo.

Tom and I got all excited about some rain in the forecast, or at least I got excited for Tom getting excited or something.  Even though I may have eclipsed my usual August trip tally, I was game to catch some brook trout and/or some small browns, especially if the rain gave us a boost.  It did not happen.  As you can see from the photos, low and clear conditions remained even as it rained heavily on us at times.  There is no gage on this creek, and no real comparables in the area.  The closest creek got a spike yesterday, but was back to normal.  The flows were higher than average there, however, so I was hopeful that Tom’s hunch about rain spiking this little spot was a good one. 

Count 'em!

The morning started out fraught.  I texted Tom when I got up and told him Google maps was telling me that a highway on our route had closures.  He responded that Wayz did not share the sentiment.  Google won this time, as I went an alternate route and arrived in an hour and change, while Tom texted me as I sat in the rain waiting that he would be twenty minutes late due to the detour.  I did not want to tell him that the creek looked criminally low and clear when I peeked at sunrise.

Frog water at spot two, but also a couple trout, many sunfish and #chublife....

We bushwhacked through the wet woods a good ways trying to ignore the prediction the low water was making, but we landed two wild browns at the first stop, so hope remained.  At one of the few deep holes where we have landed quality brookies and browns in the past, Tom was up and got a tiny sunfish.  Batting clean-up, I got a 4-inch brook trout with whom I did not even pose for a photo.  We continue to move through the beat quickly in search of some water, and we only spooked a handful of fish in the process, at least that we saw.  I am sure that two 50 year old dudes clambering over wet rock on the banks and in the creek were spooking dozens before we even got close.  When we got parallel with the cars again, I suggested we take a quick walk to another known hole that would have some depth.  If that was dead, we should go elsewhere.  I was up to bat at that hole and got bounced once and landed a creek chub on the second cast.  Tom’s sunfish early and this chub prompted me to drop the stream thermometer: about 19 C, which is surely not brookie water.

Respect....

We agreed to give a stocked, and potentially deeper (albeit warmer too), section of creek a shot for an hour before heading back home.  Stop two became a couple old dudes reliving their boyhoods exploring every nook and cranny of a creek.  We should have used dip nets to catch frogs and minnows instead.  Tom learned to respect the weenie, at least, as sight fishing a lone green weenie under roots and trees netted a bunch of sunfish and chubs.  He did land a parr wild brown, and I had a 6-incher on that got chased out of a dark, woody hole by a 10-incher, so trout were encountered.  The morning ended sort of like my last trip to Valley where I chased warmwater fish at Pickering just to avoid going home after two hours of fishing.  I may have mentioned that summer is getting old, and I was happy that Eric did not push to fish again on Sunday.  If the rain had amounted to anything I may have been persuaded—again, my fly fishing fear of missing out (FFFOMO) I concede—but like the rain that got Tom and I excited to commit to this morning, the Saturday evening rain is poised to disappoint as well.  I will enjoy sleeping in on Sunday.

August 27, 2020 – Tried to Mix it Up a Little as the Beat (and the Heat) Goes On – Northampton County Limestoner

Trying to mix it up.  If only the early shift weren't so productive....

Without much rain of late, another favorite nearby limestone creek fished about as well as I expected today.  No size to the fish, but really not too bad for late August.  The flows were low to normal for this time of year, close to clear, maybe a little limestone green in the early morning, and the water temps were good in the mid-60s.  Because I have broken in my new boots enough now, I was able to wet wade in them, and that made the last hour of the trip when air temps were closing in on 80 humid degrees much more comfortable.  Most days in August, that comfort is a worthwhile tradeoff for the first thigh-high wade before sunrise.  It is still a bit of shock, like the first plunge in the pool for morning swim lessons as a kid, but by 7 AM things are feeling just right. 

Only so many productive spots in these flows...

As the title states, I tried to mix it up.  No, I did not travel beyond my usual three or four summer spots (next week maybe since I have a week off before fall classes), but I did start the morning with the intention of throwing some drowned terrestrials under a yarn or foam button indicator with my 8’3” 3-weight rod.  I wanted to target any crepuscular or nocturnal piggies still out in the flat, slick holes.  I mostly stuck with the plan, throwing a weenie with a midge on the dropper under some yarn the first 90 minutes or so.  No piggies still exposed from the previous night’s activities, but I did catch one nice 11-incher and a couple others over 9 inches during round one, so no bad for a small creek in low water.  I ran through productive water, some not very productive today, rather quickly on my way to a summer-reliable spot, a deep plunge pool, one of only a couple in this stretch.  Fish were not stacked here like last time I visited, but I landed at least 4 more fish before deciding that this short stick and indicator watching felt a little weird….  Actually, I saw a couple caddis and a few dinks chasing emergers in a side channel, and I got one to take a size 16 sexy walts, so I was itching to throw some small bugs at them on light tippet with my 10-foot rod, which I did bring with me just in case.  I was hoping too that this spurt of bug activity would wake up the fish I had already worked though who did not eat.

Back to the grind, but Eric's duracel jig worked really well.

During my brief stop at the ‘Ru to grab the other rod, I was fortunate enough to speak with a friendly homeowner that I had never seen in all my visits here, and I thanked him for allowing folks like me to park here to gain access to the creek.  He appreciated it, I think, and we chatted for a bit.  I also learned that if I respect a couple conditions I might even be able to sneak another car into the pull-off, which would be convenient during Covid or even just meeting a buddy here in normal times. I have never shared this spot with anyone, but I am not just being selfish (not completely, anyway). Besides the parking issue, there is not much productive water unless the fish are spread out in May and June, so two guys can work through it pretty quickly.  I fished for maybe 5 hours this morning, and I worked the same stretch twice.  However, I have sent too many pics of good fish to Eric and the Silver Fox, who have shared spots with me, so I have been pondering where to park another car or truck if I were to share.

Plenty of average fish in round two

After the social distancing visit with the nice older gentleman, I targeted a couple favorite holes with Eric’s version of a Duracel jig (just a purplish-brown ice dubbing and CDC creation) on the anchor and a small frenchie on the dropper. Before that, I twice flushed a big bald eagle from the tree tops, which was cool.  Eric and I saw one earlier in the month on a nearby creek too, so they are using the rivers and creeks to spread through the region, it seems.  I had some brief drama when I stuck an old white sucker friend (at least I hope it was a sucker) somewhere in the side or fin and broke off my anchor fly.  Besides that, I only landed two more average browns from the hole.  They ate the small bugs well, however, so I decided to keep going.  The next hole, another favorite but tricky, was a bust twice today, but it was a bit altered by the storms, so I might need to figure it out again.  Water temps were still good, and I was still comfortable, so I decided, what the heck, fish the entire beat again.  It actually worked out pretty well for 9:30 or 10 AM in August.  I landed a half a dozen more fish on the little CDC bug.  A few were in pocket water and had ignored me on the first pass through, and I even landed a couple more at the deep plunge after popping an indicator on again. 

They are pretty cute

I should be grateful for the all the fishing, double digit days in August, and I am, but this early rising for a short window at the limestoners within an easy drive is beginning to feel like a grind.  At this time of year, I usually wait for the water temps to come back after a rain event or something else that mixes up the ho hum, so at least I am getting out and having success in ho hum conditions without the help from Ma Nature.  Both Eric and Tom want to get out this weekend, and I could be persuaded because I have a sickness, a fly fishing FOMO (FFFOMO), I guess, but I am ready for the changes about to come.  My lawn is covered with dry leaves each morning and the ferns are dead, so Ma Nature knows what’s coming!

August 23, 2020 – Almost Always Challenging, Nearly Never Boring – Northampton County Limestoner

Cool spot burn shot....

The Silver Fox helped me log trip 60 of this strange year.  I am working from home again this fall, with Tami and Lukas also home, so I don’t see the numbers trailing off anytime soon.  August has been kind, but the bonus round set off by the last tropical storm and a cooling trend has ended, perhaps until the next.  I have been wanting to visit this particular creek since Isaias left.  I could see that the flows were staying high for nearly a week after, and the gage had been left useless during the floods themselves, but only an in-person visit would provide any real detail.  I remarked to Tom this morning that this is the first creek in the region that looked like it had survived a 100 year storm.  It was a mess.  It is always urban fishing, but this was next level.  There were couch cushions wedged in trees ten or more feet above the water, a freezer or some other metal appliance sunk in a favorite hole, a year’s worth of sundried wardrobe in the bushes (even some sweet jorts that might have time traveled), all matter of backyard tools and toys, even pool liners and vintage toy cap guns—well at least the plastic handle to one. 

Tom found your Christmas decorations

Besides the junk, there was nothing much to separate today’s conditions from any other day in August, but I chose the creek mainly for the visit and because a medium-sized creek would still have more flow this week than the other small creeks in the region.  Average flows, average mid-60s water temps, no stain, no bugs, no risers, one brown trout.  The browns are dickish here, and if you know the creek or have heard me talk about it before, you know what I am saying.  In winter, for example, you may think there are no fish period.  On good spring or fall days, a dozen wild browns will make you think you should start a YouTube channel and spot burn the place in a national publication.  I always come back for the challenge and the odd piggy or two or three each season.  I have landed fish to 20 inches in recent years, I expect one over 15 at least once every other trip, and I still obsess about my white whale—a fish of about 25 inches that I had on the lip of an inadequate net once and who pinned himself under some urban refuse until he broke off another time. 

And your dorm fridge?

Sections are stocked even though there is a Class A (at least B most years) population of browns, so sometimes the rainbows swipe right when the browns ghost you.  Just this summer, I landed a monster rainbow and another little piggy on the same day.  Lucky for Tom and me, the rainbows allowed us some small success this morning.  The biggest came in the eleventh hour and might have been a thick 14 inches, but we at least landed some fish to make all the early waking and driving and wet wading somewhat worth it.  It was an adventure anyway.

Still pretty if rough....

We started out walking in the predawn hours towards a high percentage spot, and we were there for prime time.  It did not pay out today, however.  A walk downstream through some riffles and pocket water produced the only brown of the day, an average 10 or 11-incher, and I dropped him before netting and photographing.  The rest of the stretch seemed barren, not even some dinks in the riffles, until we reached a final hot spot in this stretch.  The pool ends in a deeper plunge, rainbow water, and we pulled at least three average rainbows, likely spring stockers by the looks of them, out of there.  The sweet spot in the hole was filled with some sort of metal box, maybe an old freezer, but we got a couple fishing around the perimeter before snagging up too many times.  The more brown trout friendly run below did not produce, so I suggested a move to a deep waterfall pool that is only a short drive away and might be more productive.

The one in the next lane over let her have it first

The sun stayed at bay, and as evidence by the fog still on the water at 10 AM, the water temperature remained in the green, but besides losing one after a half-hearted take on a weenie at the base of the falls, this spot was also dead.  I thought about another drive, but pitched the idea of fishing some nearby riffles instead.  The storm flooding had filled a lot of this stretch with sand, so I double-timed it through this stretch to two final holes downstream.  Tom must have thought I was trying to ditch him in the post-apocalyptic environs, but by the time he caught up to me again, I had landed a good rainbow that looked so perfect it could have been wild.  The reason I stopped was because I saw signs of a fish taking something subsurface, a little flash of white mouth, and when I stopped to look longer, I spied a fish even bigger than the one I landed.  It too looked to be a rainbow, this one in the 20 inch range.  Unfortunately, it was the smaller one who ate my little16 frenchie on the dropper not big mama.  Tom tried to get the bigger one interested, but I think the fight with the first one had the larger one on alert even if it did not spook to cover.

A couple more bonus shots of bonus fish

We gave Tom first shot at the best looking hole, most pressured too, but we could not find another fish.  I worked really hard in some pocket water for even a dink, and I had two half-hearted bounces—more like slight hops—but did not connect.  It was 11 AM at this point, and we could anticipate the heat even if we felt good wet wading the cool water, so another move was not warranted.  It was probably a good call because I passed the third spot I wished to try on the drive out, and all the cars from a nearby apartment building were parked on the main road.  Several bridges in the area were compromised, but this one must have been deemed too unsafe to cross with a vehicle.  Like I said to Tom, this was the first creek where I truly felt the impact of a 100 year flood.  I am sure there are other creeks in similar shape.  Word on the street is the Little Lehigh, for example, is full of stockies recently escaped from the hatchery.  Someone (but certainly not this mitch) will be trying to feed a trico to a golden rainbow this week, for sure….

August 21, 2020 – SEPA Summer Small Stream Sneaking – Valley and Pickering Creeks

Some post-storm changes and a couple average browns

I had a busy week on the work and home front, but I spent one evening casting my 8’3” 3-weight on the lawn with a dry dropper.  I nymph a lot, but I do know how to cast with some degree of accuracy with actual WF fly line—maybe because I cast on the front lawn when I have nothing better to do?  Anyway, when I was up this morning around 5 AM, I thought of the headwaters of Valley and these large terrestrials I have been seeing, like cicadas, and that little dry fly rod already set up in the garage.  I knew the creek would be low, especially where I had in mind, but I also knew I would likely have the place to myself.  I was right, on both fronts.  The fish were spooky as hell, the creek bed altered by storms in good (new deadfalls) and bad (new sand and silt) ways, and the overhanging brush made casting a challenge, but I got a couple on the perdigon dropper.  In a particular big fish spot, I was able to drop a 30+ foot cast into a flat deep hole, and I had the moment I was hoping for when I rigged up a big stimulator on 4X last night.  I don’t know if the fish was still out and exposed from nighttime activities or if he darted out from a deep nearby root ball, but I had a pig explode on the dry.  I was too far away and too hidden to determine if it was pissed off denial or territorial tail slap or if I was just premature on the hook set. 

Some warmwater action to end

It was still early when I reached the end of the short stretch I wanted to fish, so I walked back to a couple favorite holes with a less aggressive dry dropper.  The only fish I saw were tight to cover and even spookier with the bright sun, so I decided to make a move and see how Pickering made out in the storms.  The place was full of hikers and dog walkers, but I found a spot up high on the special regs section.  I did not expect a trout, but the water temp was under 70 degrees, so there was a chance.  Like most local creeks, the place had been altered, but it was not too bad.  Instead of a dry dropper, I used a green weenie under an indicator a little while before removing the bobber and sight fishing the weenie in the clear, low water.  Besides a few sunfish, I also landed a little smallmouth.  A larger bass stirred and eventually spooked while I was fighting this feisty 9 incher on the 3-weight.  I tried to get the big fish interested again, but he may have been interested in the little bass not the weenie the first time.  It was not hot, but it was really humid and uncomfortable by 11 AM, so I headed for home.  Not much of a fishing day, but an excuse to be outside to enjoy the cool morning, investigate a couple favorite spots post-Isaias, and have some experiences. 

August 16, 2020 – No Set Plan and then a Predawn Change of Plans – Northampton County Limestoner

 

Okay, so I got up early and stood in the rain for a reason.  Now I see.  Future motivation.

The forecast for light rain today prompted me to load up the ‘Ru last night in case I felt the motivation to fish.  The handful of creeks within an hour of my house that I frequent, especially in the summer and winter when a shorter fishing window lends itself better to shorter drives, they were still in decent shape with all the rain last week.  Even much closer Valley Creek was up 10 CFS over normal for this time of year and looked like it had the potential to climb up a click more, but conditions were not sexy enough to get me excited.  When I set the alarm last night, I had a particular favorite creek in mind that I had not gotten to fish in a while, but I was still going to check gages when I got up and make a game day decision.  I woke up at 3:30 AM and learned that Tami had been up since 3 AM, so I ended up talking to her until well after 5 AM.  Once I got moving, instead of taking an hour and change ride, I opted for a 45-minute one instead.  I still rolled into the parking spot before official sunrise or darn close to it and was fishing by 6:30 AM.  I fished this creek with Eric just a week ago, and it fished really well for a couple hours that day with higher flows and a stain.  I think the light rain over night gave the creek a slight stain to start today, and flows were good for August, but conditions overall were rather normal.  I expected a normal day, but I was just happy to be out in the cool weather, alone on a usually pressured creek.  The average fly fisherman is pretty soft, maybe it’s the average age, so I did not expect to find anyone else fishing in the rain, even though it was a weekend.  Eric and I ran into a couple anglers last time, and one dude jumped right into a hole we were working our way up to, so I hit this spot first just in case, however.

On the board early

It was a good call, as a few fish were chasing emergers in a back eddy, and I quickly landed a rogue holdover rainbow and four wild browns.  I started out using a green caddis larva on the anchor and a small CDC tag fly on the dropper, and most appeared to eat the dropper.  I changed flies a lot today based on depth and conditions, but that size 16 CDC dropper probably accounted for the most fish, including some young of year that got active at 10 AM when everyone else seemed to go back to bed, plus a nice 12-inch range fish that I targeted at quitting time in a deep flat with a Palsa pinch-on indicator—about as stealthy as a dry dropper if you discount the hi-vis orange color!  I worked through some riffles where Eric and I moved some better fish, including a real pig, last time, but I did not expect to see that fish two weeks in a row, especially in pretty normal stream flows and color.

Sure are pretty

As I moved through the riffles, I landed a couple small fish in the deep sections, but I did not encounter any good fish.  I decided to fish a size 16 frenchie alone in the shallow head of two pocket pools, and I finally connected with a nice 14-inch wild brown, the one pictured in the net to open this post.  He was in no more than 8 inches of water, so the single small bug was the ticket.  I left it on and fished the hole where I started the morning, only this time I fished the back eddy with the light bug drifting upstream in the lighter current along the bank where a couple other fish were showing themselves.  I landed two this way, a couple feisty 10-inchers, and dropped another. 

Facing backwards and eating

I was hopeful that a favorite run of pocket water, though somewhat altered by Isaias, would produce better today than it did for Eric and me last weekend, but it really didn’t.  Instead, the only hits and connects I made were with a couple 8-inchers and at least four YOY.  They are barely 3 inches long right now, but pretty aggressive already.  Even though it was cloudy and rainy, with the exception of these ravenous little ones, the bite seemed to shut down around 9 AM, maybe a bit after.  I tried a couple really juicy attractors, like a latex-bodied caddis pupa, even snuck back with the bigger bugs to two spots that typically hold a good fish or two, but still nothing was happening.  Just when I was going to call it a day, I was encouraged to see a fish break the water in a flat pool up above me, likely chasing an emerger out of the water.  I also saw a couple other surface bulges as I got closer. 

Big meal next time?

 There was not a pod of active fish, but there seemed to be at least two who had not gone back to sleep.  In a last ditch effort to put one more decent fish in the net, I put a scud on the anchor and today’s hot CDC dropper back on under a Palsa indicator.  You have seen them, the little pinch-on foam buttons.  They don’t cast great, especially with competition nymphing line in a breeze, but they make very little disturbance when they land and are very sensitive to light takes in water where fish have all the time in the world to look at your bug and eat or refuse.  For me, they are more convenient than equally sensitive and quiet wool indicators, especially in situations like this when I want rig quickly to target a particular fish.  The fish did not rise again, but I thought I saw a flash of his side or opening mouth near the overhanging tree where I had placed him from afar.  It was him, or a cousin, because the indicator paused and slightly dipped.   It was a pretty nice fish too, a good 11 to 12 inch wild brown who decided to cooperate and give me a high point on which to end the morning.  High point would have taken on a totally different meaning had a 24-inch carp that showed interest in the scud on my last cast of the trip actually ate instead of spooking when he saw me.  August has been good to me so far, and I like the forecast for this week.  I will be busy with work and the boy’s birthday, but I cannot rule out another trip when all I see are highs in the 80s in mid-August.  Cicadas are staring to crash land, too....

Nice bonus fish.

August 11, 2011 – Isaias Helps Make August a Little Kinder than July to Trout and Trout Anglers – Northampton County Limestoner

 

A really pretty one.

I was up at 3 AM this morning and decided to stay up when I was still not back to sleep at 3:30 AM.  I had at least five creeks that I was watching on the USGS site since Isaias rolled through.  Today, I went to the creek that I had entertained fishing with Eric on Sunday before staying put at a creek on the way that looked too good to pass up.  It was a good call on Sunday, but I still had a “what if” in my head about a couple other favorites.  The creek I fished today holds the flood waters a bit longer and was still over 100 CFS on Sunday, but it was in very nice shape this morning.  It had the requisite damage of trees pinned under bridges and washed out spots, even a bit of debris that had to be cleared from train tracks.  There was the smell of dead animal too—sometimes these flash floods catch the young and old wildlife unawares.  Despite the damage, the storm made some improvements too.  All the mucky algae that had grown in June and July has been washed out, at least for a while, and a couple new scours created new deep holes that held fish today.

Yet another early start, but a longer productive window, at least.

I would call this another silly one, especially for August.  I stopped trying to count after 25 fish, and the fish kept coming until I quit way past normal summer quitting time, often multiples at certain spots.  I spent a good hour at the end waist deep below a waterfall, so I was cool and comfortable.  The water temp here, even at 11 AM when I quit was about 67 degrees.  It was the temp that made me call it, not the heat’s effects on my comfort level.  I caught a bunch of fish early in shallow riffles with Eric’s peeking caddis jig, but the green weenie on the dropper never got touched until I caught a couple uber-dinks at a favorite deep hole.  I was hoping to encounter a pig I lost last visit here, but I only pulled dinks and average fish from this spot.  In stained holes, I replaced the weenie with a very small CDC dropper.   I did have a brief encounter with a good fish that ended the way they seem to be ending this month.  I never saw the fish.  I hooked it in a heavy riffle—the fish had its head right in the white water—and when it finally made a move out of there, it was another drag-peeling downstream dash.  The little size 18 barbless CDC jig did not hold once I gave up on the overhead angle and tried to turn the fish instead of continuing to chase the fish down the creek. 

Daniel Tiger from this neighborhood?  Probably not, but who knows....

I did land a few 12 inchers and one 14 incher, but the highlight was tangling with a tiger trout just prior to the low-light of losing the good fish.  I have caught some brook trout in this creek, like three of them in the last seven years, and there are obviously wild browns, but I always doubt the prospect of wild, especially on such a unicorn.  A wild tiger is the product of a male brook trout sneaking into the redd of a female brown.  The timing of the interloper is key—he has to get in there and fertilize the eggs as she deposits them AND avoid being eaten by her or her legitimate partner.  Chances are this fish, especially following all the floods, came from somewhere less spectacular, like a club stocking or something.  I encounter a scant few stocked fish here ever.  The last time was a possible brook trout, which could have been wild.  And before that, two pig rainbows with tags in their jaws.  The other possible evidence of stocked with this tiger was the skinniness.  Wild browns are festively plump right now, and especially after a rain storm.  This thing was snaky, like he was a having a harder go at survival than the locals.

Some very pretty fish on the small CDC jig

As I approached a favorite run of pocket water, I had low expectations because I had not put together a good run of fish here since May when spring levels had topped out.  With the high water today, it was very productive.  I landed at least 5 fish, and then even landed a couple more on the flats between here and the waterfall where I ended with another half a dozen fish, including the best of the day.  After snagging and losing both bugs in an unseen obstacle under the falls, I changed it up for the last hour.  The long deep pool above the falls is framed by large trees, many that hang over the creek, so I was thinking weenie again.  No doubt, the hydraulics of the dam drowns and recirculates any terrestrials, I thought.  I was not wrong.  I dropped-shotted a green weenie under a small bobber and had a lot of fun for the last hour—it extended the trip a good productive hour, as I noted above. 

Weenie and a bobber for relaxing and productive last hour.

It was fun to relax for a while and get back to basics, bullseye some womp rats in my T-16 back in Beggar’s Canyon, as Luke Skywalker would say??  I have not forgotten how to indicator fish, which is a good thing because winter almost requires it.  Where the competition nymphing line does not excel, like streamer fishing, it is just fine for indicator fishing.  I landed a good 14 inch beauty this way, but I also landed a bunch of average fish that took the bug aggressively, even chased as I picked up to cast again in a couple instances.

Respect the weenie...

When I saw time while snapping a pic of particularly cute wild brown, I knew I should take a water temperature check.  It was fine, but probably not for long, and I was out of drinking water by now, anyway.  I decided to walk back and try two spots with a few quick casts.  I did get bumped again where I lost the good one, and I landed another 10-incher at a favorite deep hole that was a little disappointingly average today.  Walking and also not standing waist deep in cool water, it was hot, so it was time to go.  There is more rain coming later this week, but Isaias already did some wonders for August.  I was able to get to two of four favorite summer spots, so part of me regretted the detour to Valley in lieu of one of the other better spots, but Valley too was a good day in a good month thus far.  After the terrible second half of July, I can predict that I will likely find the energy to get up criminally early a few more times this summer if conditions are favorable to the trout and me.

Because RR....  and more weenie shots.

August 9, 2020 – At Least It Wasn’t Me This Time – Northampton County Limestoner

 

The early shift with good flows and temps for August

Not that I wish a bad night of sleep on anyone, especially a good buddy like Eric, but I am glad it was him and not me that got owned by a legit pig this morning.  As it happened, I was on the bank behind him retying after having a decent fish drag my dropper into some debris and hang it up.  It was a good fish, maybe 14 inches, and I would have liked a photo after pretty much subduing him, but the one Eric hooked was big.  From where I stood, I only saw the initial bend in the rod when he set the hook, but even a 12-inch wild fish, hell, a particularly ornery 10-incher, can stand his or her ground like that.  The fish was in heavy current, so it did not move at first, which is not uncommon of big fish, and Eric uttered something about how big it was from his vantage point.  Tragically, when this trout decided it was time to go, the encounter did not last long.  I did see the silhouette and large wake he made, heard the short scream of drag, when he turned downstream.  That move must have dragged the midway point of Eric’s tippet over some sharp rock because the line was abraded and cut through in a matter of seconds.  The first thing he said was, I am going to throw up.  I have been there.

Both on the board early

Despite these early misfortunes, the creek fished very well, so we really had no reason to complain about roughly 14 fish between us in about three hours of fishing on a heavily pressured creek.  Add the fact that it is August, and a Sunday, and we only saw two other fishermen (one who seemed pissed to see us—seriously, if I pull up to this creek and see two vehicles, I go elsewhere, fella!) then we were especially fortunate.  No hatches, but we saw a couple errant caddis flying around.  Fish were up off the bottom early, and they took the dropper, but we had to work to dig a few out later as the heat and sun returned.  Water temp was 66 and the flow was twice as high as normal, close to early spring flows in my experience.  No gage on this creek, so I really just wanted to do a drive-by on our way to another spot.  It was still dark when we rolled up, but when we encountered no other fishermen suiting up (yet) and optimal conditions, we decided to stay put.  We took our time waiting for daylight.  Eric had a fish on right at sunrise around 6:05 AM.  I would say it was good fishing until 8 AM and then tailed off to nothing.

Some good and bad moments, but mostly good.

As I mentioned, we had a lot of excitement, good and bad, before 7:00 AM.  Even, or perhaps especially, after tangling with a couple good fish, I was hopeful that we might actually net and document one today.  A dude who perhaps unwittingly high holed us, then moved below us, then decided to high hole us again, this time not unwittingly, kind of put a damper on the hot and heavy action (for here) and took one of my favorite big fish spots off the docket.  Instead, we beelined it to a long stretch of pocket water and had to be content with pictures of pretty wild fish in the 10 to 11 inch range.  I think Eric’s new caddis tag fly/peeking caddis accounted for 3 or 4 of my fish, especially later when I had to work to get them to even nudge a bug deep in the riffles.  Before that, because of the stained water, a dark CDC jig worked, as well as a brown hare’s ear larva that often does wonders on this creek—a little brown nothing on a tungsten bead and competition hook that likely looks like a rolling caddis and/or scud/sow bug. Small bugs seem to work well here in all seasons.

An especially pretty one on Eric's green peeking caddis jig.

It was humid—we encountered dense fog on the ride up—so even before the sun starting breaking through, moving around in the heavier water resulted in a lot of sweat.  I am still trying to dry the swamp out of my waders, which I wore this morning mainly to give my new boots a test run.  By 7:30, I was happy with the boots but wishing I was wet wading for some relief from the heat.  We fished a few of my favorite holes here hoping to find another good fish, but it was clear that our last half hour or more on the water was more casting practice than fishing—like they tend to do on most summer days, the fish decided at some point to shut down, perhaps go back to bed.  It was good and bad while it lasted.  I hope Eric doesn’t replay the what-if scenario all night.  I will wait a couple weeks to share my “be prepared for a good fish at all times” speech—partly as a reminder to myself.  He is probably in his garage setting drag and reexamining his spools of tippet for defects, so I will not wait long to remind him (again) that big wild fish are experts at getting away.  They did not survive this long without learning a few tricks, and they resort to hiding reflexes they’ve had since they were wee parr.  Just be happy you saw him.  Like I said, this is equal parts reminder to myself.

August 7, 2020 – Six Hours of Silly Fishing for Trout in August? - Valley Creek

Some good ones in the mix, but no big mama/papa.  This one has met a treble hook....

Isaias came through with a vengeance a couple days prior, and the creek was certainly altered, but as the water cleared allowing the cooler water temps to return, the fish were feeling frisky today.  Not quite used to how many minutes of darkness grow each day, I arrived way too early, but I was in place and ready to fish before sunrise at least.  With gray skies, it really took until after official sunrise at 6:05 AM to be able to see a sighter in my leader, but based on the time stamp on my first fish pic, I was already on the board by then.  The basic pink san juan worm.  If I had stuck with that for all 6 hours on the water this morning, I might have landed 50+ fish.  Instead, after catching 25 or more, I switched to a streamer to fish back to the parking spot. 

Def there early but fish were too.

After the silly number of fish from 6 to 12 inches, I wanted to try and move a good one in the deeper holes where the stain was still prevalent.  I have not been in the park since it was closed for Covid in March; the trip with Tom last month was my first trip to Valley at all during Covid, in fact.  Small changes would have occurred since then for sure, but the tropical storms this summer have really messed up a couple of my go-to spots.  I had a few of these in mind to target with the streamer when I made the switch, so I had to make do with what I had.  That goes for equipment too.  To end the trip, I was throwing a small bugger on my 10 foot 3 weight nymphing rod, just some 4 X tippet added to my nymphing leader.  I know I missed a few fish that I would not have missed with a shorter, stouter rod, but I got to practice my strip set, anyway.  The one better one I lost was due to being unable to control him well: full bend in the rod, downstream of me, and he went right under a big rock with the bugger in his mouth.  He came off as I rushed down to try and change the angle or get him to swim out.  At least I established that I could throw a bugger with the long whip and that competition nymphing line—not that I would choose to again—and I could adapt without hiking back for another rod to throw if I had to in the future.

Basic pink sj worm with small tungsten bead

I witnessed the stream clear in real time, and the water temp go from 66 to 64 in that same window, so conditions for nymphing actually improved, I bet, but the streamer was a lot of fun.  I did move a couple 14 to 15 inchers, one that hit at the surface on the bank, basically.  I landed another 10 on the streamer up to 12 inches, and I lost the better one, but most of the responses were territorial swipes and rolls.  I had no heart-stopping rolls from big mama or papa, but just the number of flashes and follows was worth the switch.  I was in the TCO shop to buy boots on Thursday, and I chatted with Sam’s buddy John for a long time.  Like me, he had a big fish come after a hooked dink this summer, and he noted that the fish are a bit crazy and territorial this summer for some reason.  My experience today gives credence to that.  Not necessarily eats, but just responses to flies are out of character.  They are definitely looking up for terrestrials too, as I had the bugger attacked as it landed several times, and I even had a couple fish follow one that I hooked on the bugger.  Even in the crowded park, the non-human inhabitants of the world have a newfound sense of devil may care security—that is my theory, anyway.  I have had more surreal daytime encounters with foxes, deer, birds of prey this summer than I can remember.  I hope they don’t somehow know that they will be taking over soon!

Photoshop that mess out for the engagement pics?

I watched a 30 foot tree fall in real time around 7 AM, so I should have expected all the alterations to the park.  A well-known cement dam was comprised enough that I wondered if the last dam before the river was finally breeched; it has been moving that way for some time now.  I should have asked the masked park ranger out for a damage assessment stroll, but I didn’t think of it at the time, nor did I hike down to see for myself.  Besides the dams, a favorite photo op for engaged couples was also pretty jacked up.  Some of my favorite down trees from way upstream were pinned under it, and the stone work on the banks seemed damaged too.  A large telephone wire (I hope) and pole were also down in this area and running just above the surface of the creek.  I did not photograph the six foot deep cuts in the softer banks, probably because they gave me the same sinking feeling I get when I walk the Wissy and see all the damage.  Gravel was deposited in new places and limestone and harder surfaces were exposed in others.  The creek was definitely flowing on Route 252 for quite a while.  It's no wonder the water temp had been as high as 74 degrees during and after the storm.

A lot of alterations to the man-made and natural environment

I only ran into one other dude fishing tenkara and a couple young bucks with spinning rods around quitting time.  Pressure from gear fishermen is present but not as bad as it had been in May in the Lehigh Valley, for example.  One of the better fish I photographed had lip damage that was certainly not done by a perdigon or even an articulated streamer….  I also noticed a torn lip on another average fish as I was editing photos.  O, Covid-19 when will you allow people to go back to work and school, so I can get my spots back!  As I noted above, before switching to the streamer I had many, many eats on the pink san juan on the dropper tag and many hits from little guys too.  I only hooked one YOY that stayed on long enough to identify as a trout not a minnow, but it is getting to that time of year where I avoid the midge because last year’s brood is big enough to party.  In marginal spots, they can border on annoying, so I avoided those marginal spots today.

Some decent ones on the bugger

I know that a heat wave is supposed to return next week, but August has felt good so far after such a tough end of July.  It is not uncommon for me to only log two or three trips in August, but this year it was July that was light.  I am supposed to fish with Eric on Sunday somewhere, probably one of my quartet of unnamed “Northampton County Limestoners,” so August already has the potential to be more fishy than July.  I had to do a little work last evening in case we do go.  The bugger put a nice twist in that light competition fly line, so I spent some time unfurling line yesterday before I rigged up again to nymph.  I was throwing a small bugger, but the light tippet probably did not help the thin line much.  Some lessons must be learned or, in this case, ignored in order to have fun and catch fish.  I often carry an extra reel with a traditional tapered 3 weight line, especially if I am fishing all day or hiking a long way from the ‘Ru and want the flexibility to change to dry fly or even indicator fishing.  I should probably spring for the spare spool for this reel but, as I may have mentioned, I am looking to buy a new net too for the fall.  You may notice I used a big net today, trying to get used to it, trying to avoid the mishap of my last trip, but I don’t love this one that I found on the Brodhead—too deep and a little snaggy for my taste.  I dropped 250 on some G3 boots this week, so both will have wait!

Moved and hooked some better ones but settled for many Valley-average/average+