July 4, 2021 – Let’s Give It One More Morning until the Fall, Yeah? – Brodhead Creek

Sure is good for the soul until it gets hot.

I was going to do this on Saturday, not on Independence Day, but there was no way I was getting up or driving on Saturday after hanging out until after 2 AM with the young bulls in the neighborhood.  I intended to pop up to Eric’s around 7 PM to say hello and get a couple new sculpins he’d tied for me to beta test, but some old neighbors were up there visiting, and the next thing I know I am standing in my neighbor Jason’s garage with Eric and James long past my bedtime and an hour before I would have gotten up to go fishing!  I can still hang sometimes, but the hangovers last a lot longer these days.  Good thing I picked an easy place 90 minutes away to wade and fish at first light this morning, you know?  I had to do it.  They got an inch of rain on Friday in the Poconos, and it has been cloudy and cooler there for a couple days in a row.  I was hoping for another day of pigs, but not really expecting much more than a bunch of fish in pocket water and deep, bouncy runs.  Some larger holdover bows cooperated, and there were a few 10 to 12 inch wild browns, but also a lot of smalls—no surprise this time of year.  I was a little unimpressed with my day, even though it was a gorgeous morning with plenty to delight the senses, but then I went through the photos and realized that I landed a lot of fish from 5:30 to 10:30 AM!  Just spoiled this spring, I guess.

Some pretty fish in pocket water.

It was foggy on the ride up, and the haze stuck around the mountains until 7:30 or 8 AM, but once the sun burned off the fog, I knew my productive window was going to be pretty limited.  I landed a couple small browns and average rainbows in that darker period, but the sun did get some bugs popping and the YOY splashing in all the soft spots, so I took the good with the bad.  I guess the larger fish ate yesterday!  I fished like I was expecting a big fish at any moment, but I didn’t even sting one or even miff on one today.  The flow was pretty good for July, but the stain was almost gone, so if I didn’t get one to move in the fog, it was probably not going to happen today.  Even risking my bugs a lot to fish the gnarliest spots, I only landed those few 11 to 12 inchers.  One bow had been around and fought like a big fish, even if he was only 15 inches.  Some of the rainbows gave in quickly like spring stockers, but this one jumped four times and knew ever stick and boulder in the run.  Not a big brown, but it got the juices flowing enough and helped keep me focused just in case. 

Early but productive start.

Early, I fished a heavy anchor fly with a size 16 red tag fly with a CDC collar.  The rainbows liked that and the bigger, heavier caddis larva on the point.  As I began to work shallower pocket water looking for more wild browns, I downsized to smaller, fast sinking larva.  Most of the browns in pocket water took a simple walts with a pink collar in size 18 tied to the dropper tag.  On one hand, I had a lot of short hits from fish, and on the other hand, some smalls would take it on the swing, afraid to let it get away.  The little guys have to eat, but the adult fish made me work for them.  Slipping and sliding on the rocks that had been exposed to a bit a sun last month, I still waded pretty aggressively to get to those harder to reach spots across the river, still holding out hope for that kicker fish to end the morning with.  It did not take long before the fish and I were in direct sunlight, so I started fishing the bounciest stuff that would provide cover.  A couple of those more perilous wades and casts paid off with nicer fish, but I had a feeling I would have to be content with what I had been given today.

Bows brought the girth and sometimes the brawn.

Catching a mess of little wild browns in pocket water is fun, and the rainbows filled in the void with some girth once in a while.  It was a good morning.  I probably covered about 500 yards of pocket water and riffle/run as thoroughly as possible and had a steady pick for four hours.  By 10 AM it was too hot for waders.  I was thankful I had them in the 58 degree morning in water that was in the low 60’s, but I was getting swampy exerting myself for holdovers and small fish.  The plan was to quit around 9:30 AM, but I got a bonus hour in fishing the remaining shade line on the opposite bank for another hour.  It was productive too.  I believe the best wild brown of the day came in this final hour.  I didn’t have enough water with me, and no food (and I already mentioned I had a rough day on Saturday, so my body was still only about 84%) so I stuck with the plan of ending early with that slight deviation of bonus hour.  I was not going to drive to another spot for 20 minutes of fishing in diminishing returns—11 AM is about the time the bite shuts down completely, and that is only if those 9 or 10 AM flurries of hatches happen.

Smalls gotta eat, and they did eat.

I usually quit the Brodhead for the year after one last July visit, and I didn’t think it was going to happen this year with the heat waves and low water, so I was happy to get one in even if I was on the road back home before 11 AM.  Not that my teenager is nagging to see a parade or fireworks, but it is never a bad thing to get home early and have the rest of the day to chill.  I will definitely not be drinking with the young father’s club tonight, however!   I am taking a mental break from grading this holiday weekend because all the final papers for my first summer classes are due on July 6^th, and I start my own classwork again on the 7^th before my second summer teaching overloads begin, so I even considered checking out a Lehigh Valley limestoner for a few hours on Monday morning.  We shall see.  Honestly, sleeping in is sounding like the much better option right now.