February 21, 2021 – Some Stockie Sunday Stockies – SEPA Freestoner

Some plumpers in with the dinks this afternoon.

I took a short ride to a local stocked creek today and put in about 90 minutes of successful fishing.  I did not leave the house until 1:30 PM, and I had to be home around dinner time to prepare for a class meeting on Zoom, but the sun and relatively mild air temps prompted me to grab my stuff and head out for a little while.  I was glad I did.  I have to work all day online on Monday, so I guess this was a mental health stroll too!  This creek gets a fall TU stocking, but when I fished a couple spots in late fall or early winter, the fish were so small that I never went back. The Silver Fox went one other morning after I went, with a neighbor kid who is all about learning to fly fish, and they too only found these dinks. I did hook and lose a pig the afternoon I went, so I knew they weren’t all dinks, but the dinks were really dinky, like 8 inches at best.

Flat water, bobber, small bugs, small fish to start.

I found the dinks again today, but I also found three good fish, including two rainbows that were in the 16 inch range (or more) and thick.  They had white-tipped fins and were silvery as heck, so they may have made it through the summer.  The crew who stocks this place are not quick to share when they do, however, so they could have been really quality stockies for all I know—not likely from the looks of them, but time will tell.  I landed 6 bows in the short time I was there.  One was on a size 18 zebra midge and the rest were on a size 20 flashback pheasant tail on a caddis hook, so maybe some olives have been showing or early stoneflies or just bigger midges.  I say this because the pt was on the dropper higher in the water column not on the point where I put the zebra midge to get the rig down.  I saw no risers or bugs today, however, and I was in good winter dry fly water.

Pretty bow.  Needed that big net!

Even though the park was snow-packed, there were a good number of snow-shoers and dog walkers out, so I jumped in the creek pretty early.  I nymphed some pocket water where I found fish last visit, but didn’t get touched, so I shortened the tippet to indicator fish a couple very small bugs in a flatter stretch just upstream.  Luckily, I didn’t have to leave this stretch for a good fishy hour.  I don’t fish this long hole a lot, but I used to send my dad here because I know it holds fish and holds fish over too.  I don’t know it that well because I skip over it many times, but I do know it hides some boulders and wood.  I don’t fish the bobber a lot, either, and with the snow, the water was a black mirror hiding true depth and clarity, so I probably missed two fish that I was convinced were rock or wood before I hooked the first couple dinks and then a fat acrobatic 16+ incher.  All three of the larger fish jumped and dug and ran, so they were healthy and fun.  As I said, they looked great too.

Spring holdovers, fall holdovers, grade A stockies?

It may have reached 35 degree while I was there, and I was slowly working deeper water, but I was dressed well enough to stay pretty warm.  I am used to covering more water, so the feet were a little cold by the time I quit at 4 PM to hike back to the ‘Ru.  That mid-30’s range does not start the snow melt, however, so it can be a sweet spot when there is so much snow on the ground.  More precip tomorrow, but it looks like rain, so that will get the flows up again.  I may sneak out Tuesday if the creeks aren’t blown out.  If not, I have Wednesday and Thursday to consider.  I am glad for the warm up in the forecast, don’t get me wrong, but the snow melt adds another variable to consider.  

There will be a lot of snow shots in the 2021 winter roundup!

Speaking of variables to consider, instead of March 1 marking the end of fishing stocked trout water, it was February 15 this year because the Commish started stocking early.  Sadly, that takes some spots that I historically target in late February off the table.  Of course, some of them won’t be stocked for another month either, and our afterthought streams in SEPA like the Mighty Wissy will likely be stocked two days before Mentored Youth Day!   Some things never change regardless of the changes.  It does appear that many of the DHALOs and FFOs in the area now have fish, however, so if I need another short trip like today, there are fresh fish waiting.

Better than 90 minutes on Netflix.