August 20, 2021 – Not the Kind of Rain that Always Makes Things Happen – Northampton County Limestoner

Sometimes just one makes it worthwhile.

Not all rains are created equal.  I thought this morning might be a little more bonkers, but I know these flooding rains at this time of year can also mess things up for a while.  I took two water temp readings of 64 degrees this morning, but I was fishing near known springs when I did this, and the water had also fallen for a day, so it may have gotten warm over here.  For example, Valley Creek was not yet below 70 degrees when I checked on Thursday night.  A lot of rain water that comes all at once and then sits on hot roads, not always the best.  Still, I had to fish the good flows, had to give it a shot.  I even started out with a pair of jigged streamers and, while I landed one, got bumped and move two others, it ended up being a nymphing day—and mostly a slow and low nymphing day, at that.  Eric and I fished here earlier this month, and it was a bow day.  Not a one today, which is fine by me, but it does underscore how every day is different on this particular creek.  We ended with some cicada dry fly fun that morning too.  I did see a massive fish come up once, and I did end the day tossing a cicada—the noise was deafening here by 10 AM—but they were not feeling it today, not even the sunfish.

Let's hear it for the YOY.  Time to be careful with those midges and perdigons, I guess.

It was a drizzly morning and not uncomfortable wet wading.  I learned my lesson after having to de-swamp my Simms earlier in the week.  I was fishing by 6:15 AM or earlier, and landed the first small streamer fish by 6:30 AM, but I could tell by the lack of follows and very few early rises that it might be tough today.  I was wondering if I was fishing falling barometric pressure but settled on my hypothesis above—the water was fine to fish and getting cooler as the rain flushed out, but it must have been pretty warm yesterday.  I actually caught my first fish by targeting him after he showed himself with a rise.  Not many gave themselves away.  There was not much bug life until around 9 AM, when a short, sporadic caddis emergence gave me a good run of three or four fish on a CDC jig.  Before that, and after abandoning the tandem of jigged bugger and bunny leech on the dropper, I had to dig a few smalls out with a walts.  Sometimes one fish, though, you know what I’m saying? 

Some more small to average pretty fish.

After maybe 4 smalls in the first 90 minutes of fishing, I snuck a cast into a perfect little spot that many would not have cast to, one of those spots that are cleverly hidden in plain sight or appear to be too snaggy to risk a bug.  I decided that there had to be a fish in there, and there was a good one, but I got very lucky.  I put a perfect cast in this snaggy spot, the pocket between a large rock and an undercut bank, and I saw a big flash of gold.  I never felt the hit, just saw the flash, but luckily I did not stick him when we did not connect.  The fish took my second cast into the same exact spot, maybe even closer to the undercut.  The fish gods were kind to me in this moment at least.  It was a gorgeous fish that I slipped the net under, about 16 inches and a perfect specimen of a wild brown trout.  It gave me a little hope that changing tactics back to spooky summer fish from post-rain feedbag might help me piece together a decent morning.  But sometimes one fish like this alone can make it worth getting up in the wee hours and taking an hour drive in the dark.

A couple more of the healthy 16-incher.

I landed a couple more fish deep in pocket water, and I dropped at least two more smalls before seeing some caddis activity in a deeper hole.  Normally, this would be dry fly water, or I sometimes float the sighter, but the remaining stain in the creek let me sneak up and take four fish up to 11 inches in this hole.  I caught one more about 10 inches from another pocket in riffles upstream and then watched a long, deep pool for life.  I saw some noses taking midges but at least two splashy rises and one rise from the monster fish I missed earlier in the month.  I tried to float the sighter with unweighted nymphs and even a weenie and only caught sunfish.  I thought about going back for my dry fly rod in the ‘Ru, but stubbornly held onto the idea that I might fool one or two with the long rod.  When it was quitting time, of course, that was when I couldn’t help myself.  Instead of quitting, I took the cicada pattern for a walk downstream to a couple other spots where I know big fish live.  It was getting towards 11 AM, and the sun was trying to break through the haze, so it ended up just being casting reps for a few minutes before I decided it was time to go home and time to allow these fish and the creek to bounce back for a few days—or at least until the next rain warms them up on Sunday and sends them hiding again.