September 30, 2020 – The Silver Fox Takes Streamer 101 Class as an Independent Study - Valley Creek

Muddy to start but dropping quickly

I met Tom around 7:30 AM at the local limestoner, which was still pushing about 100 CFS when I woke up after 6 AM.  It was falling quickly, but it was especially dirty this morning even at 60 CFS around 8:30 AM.  I had commitments at home and work, so I could only do about two hours.  I left Tom around 9:40 AM to go at it by himself after I gave him my promised crash course in throwing a bugger in high water.  I caught a decent one around 11 inches on my second or third cast while I was basically demonstrating what I do, so that was a good sign.  It did not take long for Tom to start getting swipes and follows and eventually landing a decent fish around 10 inches.  We had an active first hour with a handful more fish and many bumps and swipes, but as we worked upstream to some of my spots where I look for pigs, it was clear that the water was still pretty dirty in the deeper lairs. No confirmed pig sightings, and it got really slow for a while just before I had to head home.

Both on the board early, though I was supposed to be demonstrating!

I ran out of time too quickly, but Tom is off this week, so he had the day.  I wanted to get home around 10:15 because Tami had somewhere to be by 11, and the boy was home on Zoom, and I had a lot of grading to tackle.  I am glad I could sneak out of get him going, though.  When I left him for my hike back to the parking spot, I predicted that it might get better, and I actually believed it.  The flow was not high, but the turbidly for the existing flow was high, so I was hoping he would fish through the sweet spot as it cleared.  When I texted him around 11, he was still at it and having a ball with a bunch of swipes, bumps, misses, and many small to average fish.  As I write this, no pictures of pigs sent my way, but I think he is having fun!  We’ll give him a B for Streamer 101 unless he sends me a photo of one over 14.  Then he gets an A+.  This just in: He sent me a pic of his Valley personal best, probably a 12+ from what I can tell from his pic at the bottom (and that clean and clear water already!).  I guess I have to give him a high B+ now?

Another for me and Tom's best of the day (after I went home!!).

September 27, 2020 – That’s More Like It… Sort of - Northampton County Limestoner

Thicc....

It was a good morning, even though I only caught two fish in three hours of fishing.  I targeted this creek knowing it might be a challenge but that the fish I might catch could make it all worthwhile, and I was not mistaken, thankfully.  With the conditions as they were, it was “technical,” as they like to say in the business, and when I landed the first fish in fast pocket water after an hour of nary a bump, I was working on being content with one decent fish for the morning.  The first one was 12 inches and a leaper, and the other was a hen short of 20 inches but in the high teens and thicc, yo.  Water was low and clear even after a trace of rain, so I had to target pocket water and deep plunges where I had the least chance of spooking fish.  The big one that opens this post had her nose right up in the white water, and after she was hooked tried to bulldog back under there several times.  I fished this creek about a month ago, but I had not fished this stretch since Isaias, and as expected it looked the same as the other beats: all kinds of changes to the path of the current, natural and unnatural debris wedged all over the banks and under bridges, tarps and cloths in trees, new stuff in the creek.  No sign today of the football rainbows I landed the last time I fished this particular section, either, but I strongly preferred seeing the browns, anyway, even if only two of them, as they are typically the ones here who are far less cooperative.

Not an easy one to photograph alone + scenes from a beat up creek.

I used a size 16 walts with an oversized “bomb” bead to get down and caught both my fish with that bug.  The reason for the small bugs (even heavily weighted relative to size) was because the live bugs were small.  On my last stop before the return home, I saw one fish make a fool of himself chasing a larger tan caddis, but the prevalent bug life in the air and under rocks was much smaller.  Nothing seemed interested in the 18 caddis pupa on the dropper, not yet anyway, and I did not try the big juicy caddis that I often use for October caddis time.  Eric also tied up some larger fall caddis larva, but I am saving them for higher water and better times ahead.  By 9:30 AM, I was not convinced that more fishing was worth the effort, but I took a walk downstream and fished a couple holes that often hold over rainbows or allow one or two nice browns to reside through the summer.  It was humid in waders after a walk, and fish were not willing to eat at either spot I tried.  The one I saw rise to a big emerging caddis and miff must have been too embarrassed to try again because he never showed himself following the miss.  I sat and cooled off waiting him out, but after a while just decided to call it and head for home having accomplished what I set out to do this morning. 

Bomb walts worked on two

I come to this creek expecting fish to be dickish and they often are, even the hens….  But fish like this one are why I sometimes put myself and others (Kenny, Eric, Tom, Tom, and so on) through the torture.  The place is not pretty to look at, even less now, but the water quality is great and the wild fish, while not as prevalent as the other limestoners in the region, have the food, the depth, and the space to move around and grow larger.  They may even benefit in this way from less competition from each other even if angling pressure is just as high.  I take many trips here each year, and have for some time, and I still have much to learn.  And I will be back many times this year and in the near future for further lessons, triumphs, and beatings, I am sure.  

Thought I might have to be content with this one for a while there.

I hit a milestone of 70 trips on the year so far today, too, and I don’t see any reasons under my control of that pace slowing down.  I am happy for the traffic on the roads but not on the streams, a sign that people are working and going to school, even though my family and I are still Zoom life for the foreseeable future.  The Silver Fox is off this week, and I hear rumors of rain, so more to come this week, I hope!  Eric is tying like a fiend as I write this, texting me photos of prototypes, and he wants to see how our friends at our little secret spot faired this summer, so here’s to a successful October.

One last shot of the chunky one.

September 26, 2020 – A Little Better Morning Walk with a Fly Rod – Northampton County Limestoner

Double digits at least today

No lasting substantive change in the weather, so I still had guarded expectations this morning, but a hint of rain and a lot more clouds helped today creep slowly up the fishing charts. Uninspired, I bagged it and rolled over on Friday.  It was a busy week, and I needed to fish, but sleep sounded better at the time.  Today, I willed myself to the coffee, and it was worth it in the end.  I fished mostly small bugs on 6X and did a lot of sneaking around and slow wading to avoid pushing a wake through the few remaining deep holes.  A pink tag fly took a couple, and so did a frenchie with a chartreuse hot spot, both size 16.  The first hour of fishing from about 7 AM to 8 AM was dead, so I learned something potentially useful about the slowly changing habits of the fall trout at my local hot spots, but I picked up around 10 fish from 8 to 11 AM before I headed for home.  Most were smaller fish, though not true dinks, but a couple of them were about 12 inches, one maybe more, which is still fun on a small creek.  I had the place to myself on a Saturday morning, which was a bonus too. 

Friggin' Chad loves low water

I had about 20 seconds of real excitement in the lower light hours when I winged a big old white sucker.  I think I am calling him Chad.  He should have a name.  I have hooked and/or landed this fish a half a dozen times or more.  Why?  Because the darn thing must jockey for this prime soft seam with a big brown or two on the regular.  I always fish this pocket whenever I fish this creek because I have hooked, landed, or lost a few great browns and even a massive bow one time.  And then there are the times when I’ve hooked this beast somewhere.  Sometimes it’s the mouth and I land him, and sometimes it’s a brief tussle that breaks me off, and sometimes—like today—it’s a pectoral fin and I still end up landing him.  Gotta respect his choice of lair, at least.  He rarely shows when the water is up and bouncier, but Chad dominates in these conditions.  We didn’t totally mess up the spot because I did land one 9 incher before I moved on, but I made a note to try this spot again before heading home, especially now that Chad had had his morning constitutional.

A few shots of this one: Grateful for the real-size fish, I guess.

Thankfully, things improved after that.  Persistence in a tough little plunge pool paid off and after taking a couple smaller fish I was able to drag a solid 12-12+ out of there—the pretty one that opens this post and is also pictured above.  This is another spot where, when conditions are right, I have landed fish to 16 inches, so I was excited when this one stood his ground for a beat or two before taking a run.  Even though in the end not big, I was still happy to see a good fish come to the net in these low clear water conditions.  After watching a few fish spook in a deep flat spot as I walked the bank as quietly as I could, I worked through some shallow pocket water and landed one more 8 incher on a single frenchie.  I was holding out hope that the last plunge pool on this stretch would give me some numbers and/or size, but as I approached slowly I was not all that hopeful.  The water was lower than when Eric and I fished this creek a couple weeks ago and much clearer.  I usually don’t have to sneak up to this one or watch my wading too much, but I did take precautions this morning.  It paid off because I landed two decent fish and another average one before I disturbed the hole too much.  Rested it and tried the weenie, but nada.

Only one pic of this one but still grateful!

I tried two spots on the walk back downstream, the first the plunge where I landed the best of the morning, but I did not even get a bump, even with one heavier bug that I was certain was in the strike zone for at least a foot or two each drift, the second Chad’s hole where I was hoping to land a bonus fish on which to end my morning walk.  Well, no small stream pig would come out to play this morning, but as I inched my way up to the head of the run, I did land one more pretty and pretty respectable small stream fish.  It was still cloudy and comfortable, but I was at a loss for where to fish at this hour on a weekend that would be productive and not occupied, so I tried one last deeper riffle and called it good.  In this current lull I am experiencing/projecting/imagining, I will take a double digit day and a couple double digit fish.

Starting to color up?

September 22, 2020 – I’m Only Happy When It Rains – Berks County Limestoner

Pretty cold morning.

I had low expectations this morning but not that low!  I barely avoided a skunk with one small wild brown even though bugs were swarming like crazy at two different spots around midday.  These numerous adult caddis ended up just being a tease, as they had no intention of coming back to the water yet.  It was still a good sign of days to come (or some other guy tore them up tonight).  We need rain pretty badly, but the flows in Berks County were not that bad, actually.  The cold snap and stream alterations were more likely to blame.  The tropical storms messed up the first spot I visited and pretty badly.  In this same stretch this spring, I had a number of double-digit wild brown days and couple mornings up to 30 or more fish.  Most were small, but I was even surprised by a few 12 to 13 inchers.  All those holes were filled with yellow sand this morning.  And the water temp early was close to 56 degrees.  This creek has been above 70 for weeks, so I assume the fish moved to tributaries or hunkered in deep timber and undercuts to ride it out.  I saw signs of fish hidden deep in a couple log jams, but even as the air and water temperatures warmed, and the caddis swarmed, it was chub life.  Before leaving for home, I took a drive to another spot, and saw the same swarms high in the trees, but more low clear water and no signs of fish.  September can often be this way for me, so I was not surprised.  It is often an in-between time while fish migrate and adjust to rapid changes.  I should take their cue and relax, wait for rain, but sometimes I just need to take a walk with a fishing rod.

Count 'em?

September 14, 2020 – Soft Rock and One Hundred Smallies – Susquehanna River

Fall temps, low water, but cooperative bass in the Endless Mountains

Kenny may not invite me along ever again, but I know Chris Gorsuch of Reel River Adventures thoroughly enjoys both DJing me the soft rock and our subsequent sing-a-longs.  Bee Gees falsetto last year, I believe, but we went all over the place today, even into classic rock of an arguably more macho appeal—arguably, I repeat (Boston, 38 Special?).  And we had reason to sing today.  The river is historically low, but we had cool, partly cloudy conditions, even a bit of wind that got out of hand for a while, and yet we landed over 100 bass between Kenny and me.  Chris keeps track on a pitch counter, and we could have counted a dozen or more YOY and toddlers too.  We also landed a big channel cat, a 28-inch pike, and an average size walleye during our productive 8 hours (and change—more on that below) on the water.  It was a brilliant day and well worth the two and a half hour drive in the wee hours of a Monday morning and the long caffeinated ride home.

The battle for Kenny's pig, a nice one for me, and a slime rocket.

I had never seen the river so low. Without a jet, many places were impassible in a boat, and even in the jet, we glanced off at least one rock during a full throttle run, even while on plane.  Some other jet boats had declined to cross this particular spot, according to Chris.  He does spend nearly every day on the water, however.  We had the most success on soft plastics like ned rigs and paddle tails and grubs.  The vast majority of my share of 100 took naturally colored ned rigs.  We had to go heavier when the wind kicked up to 15 MPH in the afternoon, and things got challenging as a result, but we ended strong too.   We dropped three fish in the 16 inch range (two Ken, one me) earlier in the day while fishing softer seams in riffles and the gravel bars nearby, but the two largest fish came toward the end of the trip in deeper water in front of, behind, and among very big rocks.

The net came out more than twice.

Kenny’s best was measured at 20.5 inches, so likely a four pounder or more, just a pig.  I was lucky enough to land one from the same stretch of water that was over 18 inches, so 3-ish pounds, which is still a great river fish.  Even at 12 or 13 inches, river fish fight, so we certainly had the net out more than twice today.  We even had to pull a slimy pike into the boat for a pic.  At about 8 hours into the trip, Chris said we had 98 fish, so we were not heading to the ramp until we got to 100.  I think we could have called it a few times with little fish, but since bigger ones were coming to net while in the 90s, we kept going at the captain’s urging.  We did find a few more 12- to 14-inchers in the last group, so we could quit with a real fish or two to mark 100.  Chris’s FB page needs this well-deserved content, as he does do this guiding thing for a living even if he seems to have a great time while doing it!  Man can’t live on soft rock alone, although tell that to Barry Manilow?  Awesome day with a couple of awesome dudes, and very few hat jokes, honestly.

Well worth the drive and a lot of fun

September 11, 2020 – And Yet Another Good Outing Clos(er) to Home – Northampton County Limestoner

Bonus round beauty

I am not mad at September or this particular creek about 45 minutes from home.  I also had a good day here earlier this month and once as recently as late August too.  I was hoping for a more significant rain, sustained rain, but even a little bit helps sometimes.  The graph on the USGS site probably looked like the thinnest upside-down V possible, more like an EKG signal, but the creek retained a little stain from the brief pop-up storms on Thursday and into the wee hours this morning.  I was even met at 6:15 AM with a trace amount of drizzle, and the clouds lasted until 10 AM.  All those factors added up to a good morning of nymphing—well, mostly nymphing, I guess.  I landed somewhere around a dozen fish, maybe a couple more than that, with one beauty pushing 14+ inches and another maybe 12, but technically 5 or more of the other more average 8- to 10-inchers actually ate Eric’s duracell on the swing down and across during a brief morning hatch.  Last time I was here, it was caddis and splashy rises, but today they were just suspended up, so either olives or midges.  I see poorly enough in high sun, so forget bug IDs before sunrise!  The water was not high or dirty enough to have any chance encounters with the resident pigs, but a mess of plump hard fighting wild browns that were willing to eat made up for that.

Some decent swingers early

Because of the clouds and light rain, I actually took my time getting dressed to wet wade and walk to my first spot, but I still had to stand around waiting on the bank for some more daylight.  A heron was not happy with me, and I even got the very vocal business from a couple deer.  I was hoping that a rise or two might give away the position of a pre-dawn fish, but the fish didn’t get active until about 6:30, so just before sunrise.  It wasn’t silly like the last visit in higher water and with a strong bug presence, but it was steady for over two hours.  I mentioned catching half a dozen swinging a small CDC jig in a deep run, and that was fun early.  When that petered out, I put a heavier anchor fly on, a small bug with an oversized tungsten bead, and starting working pocket water.  A couple decent 9 to 11 inchers cooperated early.  Every time I set the hook on a gentle take on the swing, however, I was expecting a large fish to start tugging, but I was happy for the cooperative fish of any size.  I nearly launched a young of the year into the weeds behind me, but other than that, the fish were all decent size and feeling feisty in 64 degree water.  It was not that warm out, and still there was a little smoke on the water until about 8:30 or 9. 

Smoke on the water and a number of average plumpers on E-Love's Duracell...

A favorite deep run was disappointing, though I did pull a couple out of there, and I even got another on the swing further downstream before I needed to make a bigger move.   I debated working through some pocket water a short hike away, but instead decided to walk downstream and inspect a section of creek that I have not seen since the winter, maybe.  There is a deep run and hole that always has a few finicky risers.  This hole is a winter midging spot too, but since I always encounter more fishermen in this stretch, I don’t fish it as often as other beats.  I got to fish the hole, and even took a bonus fish out of there, but I also ran into another angler.  We talked for bit, and he was all about us giving each other space to fish.  He even remarked that he saw my car in the lot early and went somewhere else on the creek—my kind of guy.  I told him how Eric and I got high-holed there in August even though both our cars with TU stickers and other obvious signs of fishing gear were in the lot when the mugger rolled up later in the morning.  I was in my bonus round by now, just enjoying the cooler change in the weather that was working its way through, so I encouraged him to jump in ahead of me or fish where he wanted.  I was ready to enjoy the walk back through the woods. 

More fishies

The sun gave me another break, peeking behind the clouds again, and I could still see a few bugs around, plus some very small fish rising in another flat hole, so I decided to fish that deep run that disappointed earlier in the morning. I dropped one close to the bank after a couple head shakes, so the next cast got a little too close to the overhanging vegetation and hung up.  I didn’t want to blow up the hole since I actually had some action on my first cast or two, so I broke the bugs off to go get after I fished the rest of the run.  Good call.  Not only did I remember to go back and get my bugs, including that hot Duracell that did so well in the morning and other mornings this summer, but I also landed the best fish of the day here.  I decided to fish one size12 frenchie in the deepest darkest pockets, and I did, but this pretty fish came out of 6 inches of water, of course.  I like to fish one bug in this kind of water, and when flows are less I will go as small as a single size 16 frenchie or jig.  Today, the size 12, even on 6X did the trick and did not hang up on the bottom, staying in the strike zone long enough to get eaten.

And more fishies

This fish put up a good battle in heavy water.  I took a couple pics in the net, like the one that opens this post, just in case out of the net went poorly, and got a couple shots in my hand before he dove for freedom.  What a great fish to end on, you know?  I checked my phone and it was after 11 AM.  The sun was burning off the clouds again, but the breeze picked up too.  It was just a good morning to take a deep breath and say, ahhh.  It sounds like at least a day of fall preview weather on Saturday, but my last experience with a cold front and fish this month went as expected, so I will be sleeping in.  My last order of business was to cross the creek and go retrieve my bugs.  I got them both without falling in or losing everything, too.  I left my pack and rod on the other side, which was probably smart, although I had to re-cross and go back for them now, so not a flawlessly executed plan.  After retrieving my stuff, I took the final walk back to the parking spot and avoided the temptation of fishing that pocket water lingering in the back of my mind.  I had only stuck two fish and dropped one in the final hour on the water, so I rationalized that it would be a lot of work for little reward.  It had already been a pretty great morning.  This is not a creek that easily gives up double-digits, so with gratitude I just made the relatively short drive home.

One more of bonus fish

September 6, 2020 – …and We’re Back to Typical Late Summer Fishing – Northampton County Limestoner

Back to normal morning

I saved this creek for the weekend when I made a detour on Friday.  It was a good detour, for sure, but I may have missed the window on this one.  As expected, the flush of water took longer to leave this creek, but it was only 10 CFS or fewer over normal and running pretty clear when Eric and I rolled up around 6:15 this morning.  I was already packed up and ready to go solo around 8 PM last night, when I got the text from Eric about fishing.  When we talked during the week, the first week of our kids back to virtual school, he was interested but worried he might have family obligations on Sunday.  When I texted him back that I would be happy to have a buddy along, I also added the caveat that there are two places that I need to have first shot at, that I have a vendetta or two with a couple fish here.  Those vendettas were not settled this morning, but Eric was happy to play along with my grandiose ideas of what might have been. 

That far seam, maybe?

The conditions this morning were much too challenging for the settling of scores with wily small stream pigs.  All that positive self-talk would not change the conditions on the field.  We were lucky to land ten small to average fish between us, and even they barely ate.  The two I hooked before first light were a sign of things to come, as they both came off—often a sign that the eats are half-hearted at best.  In contrast, fish were choking worms and soft hackles on Friday.  Besides the water getting back to low, the air temperature dropped nearly 15 degrees below normal.  It felt great to be in waders and long sleeves, like it was fall or something, but I am sure the high pressure and the quick change from 70 in the morning to upper 50s had the fish feeling a little off.  Like Friday, I saw some small caddis and midges hatching.  At one point, small mayflies even made an appearance, but the fish did not really notice much.

A couple decent ones in the mix.

Eric was grateful to get out and to see one of my favorite spots.  Having no prior knowledge of the size of the fish here, he was happy to see a few 8 to 11 inchers, but I was hoping for much more.  The majority of the fish we landed came from a deep plunge pool where I had them taking a CDC jig on the fall and one on a weenie the second pass through.  Eric was playing with sizes and weights to get the right fall and drift, but he figured it out eventually.  A couple of my favorite holes gave up very little.  The first spot I had in mind when I mentioned my vendettas, well that gave up nothing, not even a dink on two attempts.  The second spot produced one average fish that came off the hook on the first pass through and netted another average fish on the walk back through later in the morning.

Watch those teeth... Many bug changes.

I have mentioned not taking anyone to this spot before because of parking and because the productive stretch of water is short even for one guy working through slowly.  If we did not work through a few spots more than once, as I sometimes do while alone even, we may have been done by 8:30 AM.  I already mentioned the first couple above, but a third stop for the second time did give up one more fish for Eric.  On that note, we called it good.  It was great day to be out, and I was still on a high from Friday that a middling day could not take away, but I am less excited to fish this week without some rain.  Although sustained cooler temps, once the fish have acclimated to the change, that alone might bring me and the fish out again this week.  It is my first week back to classes (all online and 5 of them) but the semester usually starts slowly if I let it.  We shall see.  For many reasons, September is often my lightest month for trips, but I am doing well so far, and next Monday is slotted for a smallie trip with young Kenny.  That is when we’ll get the rain, of course!  Murphy's law....

September 4, 2020 – Four Hours of Silly Early September Fishing – Northampton County Limestoner

A piggy but likely put here years ago?

The short losing streak ended today with a good day of nymphing following some overnight storms in the Lehigh Valley.  I got up early and checked Valley, but nothing had happened, so I searched a couple other creeks that had spikes on the USGS gauges last night, and one of them even had a second spike.  This slightly farther creek holds the water a little longer after the rain, so I headed that direction but stopped at another creek along the way that does not have a gauge.  I was secretly hoping to save the other creek for Saturday or Sunday.  Even in the predawn hours of 6:10 AM or so, I could tell I needn’t drive any further.  After I suited up to wet wade and took a short walk, I started noticing some splashy rises.  The caddis hatch was not heavy, but the stain and extra shot of water had the fish comfortable and up off the bottom taking whatever they could get.  That makes two of us!  A little extra flow, some stain to cover my approach, the place to myself, and some bugs?  Game on.

Worms and bugs and that brown bit of nothing.

I was rigged with a CDC tag fly on the anchor and a pink san juan worm on the dropper, and both got eaten early and often.  Hard to keep track, but the pics show fish on Eric’s pink bomb (before I lost it deep), a single frenchie, and a little brown nothing hares ear that is my hot fly on this creek—I busted this one out for the last walk through pocket water, just trying to extend the morning with a few more fish.  This creek is one of those places that get pounded and the fish can get spooky and picky or go invisible altogether.  When I first got back into fly fishing heavily again, I fished it quite a bit because it is a wild trout stream only 45 minutes from home, and I often had to be satisfied with only a couple fish.  I have it much more dialed in these days and can probably catch a few fish on most days even if I must go with one small bug on 6X and creep around, but it is still a difficult creek on any given day. 

Plump worm eaters to start.

That challenge makes mornings like this even more special!  I bet I landed over 20 fish in four hours of fishing, and none of them were dinks.   It got warm and sunny, so the stain in the water was starting to light up with particulates—and that can be the end of things some post-rain mornings.  Even when it fizzled out a bit, I was still able to land a handful more in shady pocket water, and I quit on a fish, just to end on a high note. I was not even mad at the rainbows I encountered either since the browns outnumbered them by a big margin, and they were sporty and healthy bows to boot.

Let's hear it for the bow.

I landed a few good fish, from 14 to 16+ inches.  The best one I hooked took me for a ride and then broke the sj worm off the dropper when I tried to control him.  In looking at the pictures, the best one I landed may have been a long, long time holdover.  I don’t recall browns being stocked in this creek, and I can’t recall ever landing a stocked brown in all the times I have fished the creek, but this one had the look—few if any orange spots, sparsely spotted overall but silvery not olive from all that time away from the cement pond, and in the light I had to work with I did not see a blue eye spot either.  He did not know he may have been stocked, so I did not tell him.  He gave quite the protest about coming to net.  With the cold water, all the fish, especially those landed quickly as I am wont to do this time of year, were not the most cooperative during the photoshoot.  Humidity on the lens did not help either, so you may have to pair up the beauty of the smaller fish photographed later in the morning with the larger blurred silhouettes of the early fish. 

Some blurry plumper shots

I would have liked to have seen the one I broke off, as it acted like a brown, but I was not fazed when I lost him.  I was more concerned with quickly re-rigging to get back in the game, as fish continued to flash, splash, and make their presence known in other ways.  I did not expect this big one to eat the way he did, I think.  In reaction to the fish chasing emergers, I actually caught a couple casting down and across and letting the bugs swing in a riffle.  This pig hit during one of those casts.  The tight line could have been an issue, but I actually controlled that and was working to get the fish upstream a bit.  I just think the drag was a little tight for a fish this large on 6X.  A third run back into the deep just went *plink* and since he took it all, I can assume he ate an sj worm on the dropper not the CDC jig that the other swingers ate.

Stained and high for September but real fishy looking

After catching another fish in the back eddy of this same hole, I decided to move to a couple runs downstream of where I began the morning.  Eric lost a monster in one of these plunges in August, but the sun was up now, and I had already landed a big fish or two and had probably had my chance at true greatness too.  I did land half a dozen more decent fish picking pockets with one bug, first the pinky bomb and then a size 12 frenchie with a chartreuse hot spot.  I even landed a more browns and a couple rainbows as I worked my way through the holes where I stopped first thing in the morning to address the risers.  That activity had stopped, but the fish were still willing to eat, just deeper in the water column.  The sun was hitting this stretch and sending my long shadow across the water if I was not mindful, so I decided to make a move after rigging to fish some shallower and bouncier pocket water upstream that would be in the shade for much of the way, even at this hour of the morning.  It was about 9:30 AM, I bet.

Not all blurry shots this morning once I noticed....

The last time I fished here, and the time I fished with Eric before that, this section was pretty dead.  I worked hard to dig out some dinks last visit, but they were replaced by a handful of 8 to 10 inchers this morning.  The stream runs heavier here, so the storms definitely moved some gravel and smaller rolled stones around.  At this hour and brightness, the fish were not spread out in the flatter spots but concentrated right in the plunges.  They were active, at least, and up off the bottom still.  Most took a little brown hares ear on the dropper in size 18.  One that took my anchor fly took it immediately, and I even caught one on the swing at 10 AM in the morning, so the caddis emergence had likely appeared here too at some point.  

A few in pocket water to finish the morning.

Based on the size, I think I made the right choice in starting where I did, but there are a few large fish in the deepest pockets here that I would have liked to have seen earlier in the morning too.  The shade helped keep the water from getting too murky for them to see my drab bugs, but as the creek turned again, and I was back in the sun, I had to work really hard to find one last fish to end on.  The last two were really beautiful in the sun (and dehumidified camera lens) so I took a couple pics of average fish just so you and I could appreciate them.  The last few trips were tough, but this was a good one!

Another beauty to end.

September 2, 2020 – September Starts Much the Way August Ended – A Couple Northampton County Cricks

Pretty, low

More recon today, I guess, but I was hoping that the periods of rain and gray conditions might spark a little something with an old flame.  I have not fished the first creek I visited today since January of this year.  I can’t tell you why I didn’t fish it this spring, except that it has not been great the last few times, so I don’t feel the old pull.  When I wrote about it in January, I mentioned that I had to dig back until December of 2018 for priors.  It used to be a favorite—and it has been cyclical over the years so it may be a favorite again—but some new posted land and a lot more stocked rainbows showing up in the Class A waters have contributed to its decline in my little black book.  I also encountered worm chuckers and all kinds of New Jersey readers of Keystone Fly Fishing during the decline—no offense meant to Jersey (I am married to a Jersey girl) but out of state plates indicated to me that this one was headed the challenging way of other Lehigh Valley destinations with cold water.  I think it will be back, however, especially when it loses favor again.  Its name has not been dropped in a YouTube video to date.

More bows

The dude who posted some of my favorite spots had plans to make a business out of renting his house and allowing private access to the creek.  It was never that kind of destination, I am afraid, and I knew it would not hold up to too much pressure.  I also know that it is nothing special without a little rain or a hatch.  But even on tough days, the little wild browns used to fill in the gaps, not these skinny bows that got pushed down by storms.  A glimmer of hope: I spooked a wild brown pushing 20 inches when I was quitting an old favorite hole and crossing the creek to head to destination number two.  Before that, I thoroughly worked some pocket water and two or three high percentage holes for three holdover rainbows.  The storms did some damage, but most of it was on the roads and embankments.  A PENNDOT crew starting closing the road and making a lot of noise by 8:30 AM.  In talking to one of the dudes around 9 AM, I learned that I would not be able to drive to another nearby stretch I had intended to fish without a long detour, so I decided try to two former honey holes one last time and then take a relatively short drive to assess another creek in the area.

Cold but mud all over the place

The Silver Fox and I fished this second creek in August, and it was a mess where we fished.  More rainbows, too, that day, though I did catch one average wild brown.  Well, the two other access points that I visited today may have been worse—not littered with trash and debris like the section we fished last time but more altered in the streambed. All that sand from ball fields, gravel from lots, mud from meadows was deposited in the stream.  A bunch of parking lots were closed for repair and some bridges that were closed last time were still cordoned off.  This time, however, crews were actively engaged in making emergency repairs to them.  I was able to access and fish within a pair of township parks, and flows were not terrible.  I just did not have the time to wander around looking for the new deep water. I went as far as to park myself under a waterfall for 30 minutes and drown a green weenie under a bobber, just to try and avoid a skunk on creek number two.  The skunk here, unfortunately, was unavoidable today.  The true irony is that I got rained on most of the morning, and yet I never saw the water rise even an inch or ever stain.  It was just an unsteady drizzle, the kind of promising rains that fizzled out at the end of August.  New month, same old tease for now.  And my old flame is a dog?