October 31, 2021 – Some New Tricks but Only a Few Treats - SEPA Blueline

An early start with young Eric.

Eric and I have not been back to our little spot since August, when we used a dry dropper to land some smalls.  With the rain on Friday this week and the cooler fall temps, I was hoping this Sunday was going to be the day, but in the end it was just a decent day.  We probably landed 25 to 30 fish between us, but fewer than ten of them were over 7 inches long.  The best fish were a trio of 10 to 11 inchers, including a nice colored up male to end the afternoon.  Besides just getting out together for the first time in a long time, the highlight was probably catching fish in new spots where we have come up empty over the past three years.  A couple reasons for that, I venture.  For one, the storms this year altered the creek quite a bit in some spots, nothing major but just the usual filling in of holes with gravel and those new deadfalls.  We caught a few YOY, which was encouraging, and even two rainbows, a first here in three years and not as welcomed.  More on that later.  The other reason fish were in exciting new places was the season, of course.  We had great flows and a good stain, almost too good early in the morning, so the fish were not in the riffles and plunges for the most part.  They were hanging in the softer water, riffles of a very specific flow rate and depth, or those swirly, foamy back eddies.  When we found the right conditions, we could almost call our shots—almost.

Some early fish, inching up in size.

We were suited up and fishing by 7:30 AM and had early success.  I jumped a decent fish on a jigged bugger around some wood, and Eric played clean-up with a fuzzy tag fly in the same hole.  I stayed with the bugger for an hour and had more follows and swirls than hits.  I even had one come clean out of the water for it as I Iifted to recast, but they seemed to feel the bug more than see it.  I eventually switched from olive to black and landed one more on a bunny leech before abandoning the streamer game as the sun began lighting up the water.  I stuck another during this early shift after rigging to nymph, and it happened to be in the hole where we first confirmed for ourselves the presence of wild browns in this creek.  A few other favorite spots were too altered to fish or at least fish effectively, so we moved quickly upstream until we eventually found more consistent success sometime closer to 10 AM, I bet.

Some birth defects, interlopers, and new wood on the way to more success.

After a storm about a year ago, maybe more, I pointed out a new undercut that was forming below a sycamore tree.  Slowly over time it has gotten deeper and more defined.  I told Eric that this was going to be a spot someday, and it finally produced a fish today.  We had a similar experience further upstream, too, landing two trout, a chub, and getting bounced one other time at another hole that I have always claimed should hold some fish or at least one good fish.  Thankfully, a favorite plunge pool and another deeper run where we usually find success also paid off, though the latter was chub heaven too.  A sign of how warm the fall has been, we caught more chubs today than we probably have in July and August on this creek.  A sign of just how much water came flushing out of a tributary, Eric also tangled with two stocker rainbows—they fought like wet socks and looked pretty bad after a warm summer and fall, not to mention a log flume ride or two after Ida and friends.  This spot often holds wild browns, and it had the right flow for today’s fishing, so it kind of sucked to have two interlopers blow up the spot, especially because we fished so slowly today that we did not revisit any of our favorite holes on the hike back.  It was Halloween after all, and Eric has two young kids, so unless he was dressing as a fisherman and walking the neighborhood, he needed to get back in the afternoon.

My best two of the day; Eric in a prime spot (in another season, perhaps).

We were fishing so slowly, however, because we continued to catch fish in different spots, and we notched fish in places we rarely if ever catch them.  At the end of the first beat we usually fish on this creek, there are two bend pools formed by an S-curve in the creek.  The first one is Eric’s and the second one is mine, though the second one is large enough that often we both score multiple fish from it.  The water was pushy through the first one, so until Eric altered his approach for fall, high water conditions he could not buy a hit.  Eventually he found the right weight fly and got bounced in a back eddy.  I was in the back waiting my turn, but I was also eyeing things up and tying on another bug.  He sort of turned up his hands eventually and motioned for me to go for it, and I did land a pretty 11-inch hen out of that back eddy on a heavy jigged prince.  

A close up of one of Eric's best of the day.

Always the gentleman (Eric not me) he still let me have first crack at “my hole,” and I did get a plump 8-incher out of there on my first cast.  Full disclosure, I always get first crack at this spot because I likely lost the biggest fish we have encountered in this creek, perhaps twice if I count a fish that broke me off on a bugger last year.  On a hike with a fishing rod with his mom hunting morels, Eric might have even landed this fish in May of this year—it was a solid 14 inch buck with those shoulders and that pointy snout—but the one I lost looked even bigger.  Eric stepped in next and got a chub, which means do-over, and then got another average trout too.  My turn now, and the third trout from this hole was our best of the day.  I would not bet on twelve, but pretty close.  He was one of only a couple (and, granted, we tangled with mostly immature fish today) that was changing for the spawn.  The hen I landed in Eric’s hole and him might make a good couple in a few weeks.  Our best fish was also our last because Eric’s girls were waiting for the festivities, which were really fun this year.  After some quiet years, and Tami and I now parents to a too-cool teenager, it was fun to see at least 30 kids come around for candy this evening.  We almost ran out!  Overall, a pretty decent day, I must admit.

A b roll beauty.

October 29, 2021 – Went for Broke After a Long, Unplanned Break – Northampton County Limestoner

Oink!

I will spare you the photos, but I actually had to go to urgent care on Tuesday morning this week because I had a cut on my right index finger that got angry. A pretty minor cut, probably suffered while climbing around the Brodhead on Wednesday, October 20 was really infected by Saturday.  The pain actually woke me up and was spreading through my hand that night.  Of course, I waited until Tuesday to seek medical attention—just in disbelief, as it was just a frigging cut, you know?  I even cut my grass that weekend.  Anyway, after only a day of antibiotics and Epsom salt soaks, it was quickly improving.  I probably could have fished Thursday if I had the time, but I had a couple meetings and work to catch up on before an evening class.  I finish the antibacterial on Saturday and have been soaking the wound twice a day.  Good times!  Retracing my steps, I can only assume that I had a cut on my finger on Wednesday and came in contact with some not so clean water on the creek.  One of the spots I fished Wednesday is within a mile of some “trade effluent,” so yeah potentially pretty gross, although part of the Brodhead’s charm, I suppose.  I did not have that kind of trip in me today after a long Thursday and a long week, but I had to get out, so I stayed within an hour of home in the Lehigh Valley.

Gray, mid-fall afternoon.

I did not leave the house until after 9 AM, just moving slowly this morning, but I stuck with the plan I hatched last night.  It should have been a low expectations day, but it was not.  It was more like, I may catch nothing, but if I do catch something, it might just be memorable.  I was hoping to beat the wind and the rain and take advantage of the high flows and cloudy conditions on a favorite creek.  Specifically, I was hoping to stick one of the three pigs I moved with a jigged streamer here a few weeks ago.  I would have been here Wednesday with the same plan in mind and higher flows (and more stain) had I not been benched.  Well, I beat the rain because I wanted to be home before three when the boy gets off the bus, but I certainly did not beat the wind.  I was fishing by 10:30 AM after a long talk with another fly guy just out to prospect and shoot the breeze.  He was a good dude and as knowledgeable about this creek as me, so it was no chore to humor him for a while.  By the time I hiked into the spot, it was already blowing.  I was fishing a mono rig and heavier bugs and managing line like it was my job, but the conditions were still frustrating.  I hooked many a leaf, big old kites that first caught water and then caught air, spinning two flies up nicely.  Fishing heavier, I lost more bugs than I normally would, so I even fished a bobber in a couple spots.  

The insurance photos.

The fishing was just plain tough.  Even re-tying in these windy conditions is an added joy. I waded aggressively and fished the big bugs as best I could in the best spots for a better fish.  The water was moving too much for it to be a numbers day.  There may have been better chances for smaller fish pushed to the banks earlier in the morning, and I may have fooled them with small bugs in lighter winds at that time, but I fished the window I gave myself.  Two and a half hours and only one hit that could have been a leaf, so I switched up and vowed to fish a jigged bugger from the last thirty to forty-five minutes.  I walked back to the first couple of holes where I had originally hoped to stick a good fish.  The wind was blowing even steadier now, so the creek was even more full of leaves, but I did not lose faith.  That was wise because I was mentally prepared when I finally interested a beautiful wild brown with Sam’s Roberdeau bugger.  With time running out, I fished the streamer in the deep sweet spots of two runs.  The first spot produced leaves, but the second spot was the one.  I landed a 20 and a 16 in the same day here at the end of the summer, and another morning I lost a 20 and saw two more fish in that range in the same 100 yards of creek.  This was not the one I caught last time, so I can confirm at least two in that 20 inch range, but I believe there is at least one more.  To be honest, this one hand-measured at 19 inches.  Just a thick pre-spawn beauty, though!  I counted myself lucky or fortunate or blessed, especially after ten days out of the game, did the required fight, land, and photograph, and then headed for home to resume the Epsom salt and antibiotics regimen….

Flotsam and jetsam, rubs and scrapes, one lone piggy.

October 20, 2021 – Had to Go Small Eventually – Brodhead Creek

Go big, but go small before heading for home.

I sort of went for it today and fished the bigger water below a major trib and closer to the Brodhead’s confluence with the Delaware.  I was hoping to find at least one nice fish to show for the effort.  It was not streamer conditions with clean water, the sun, and a cold start to the day, unless I was going to dead drift one under a bobber.  Instead, I fished big bugs deep and in big fish spots for the first few hours.  As a warm up, I fished some pocket water and scored some early rainbows that had been washed out of the stocked sections of the creek.  After that, I think I caught nothing but one hard-won 8-incher in three hours of tough wading.  The flow was up, and it took me until at least noon to start spotting some caddis, so the fish were stuck to the bottom.  This time of year, the sun takes until at least noon to strike the water’s surface in some long stretches, so the daily warm up takes a long time.  When the leaves are gone and, believe me, they are going fast, the lack of shade actually helps here some late fall and winter mornings.  As cold as it was today to start, I do know that this section of the Brodhead gets warm enough to support smallmouth in the summer, and the week of high 70s last week (and today) are not doing much to keep the temps cold.  Further upstream it’s been getting to the mid-50s at night, but probably not here yet.

Some bows that another angler had wrapped in tippet this week?

When big bugs and big fish decided not to converge this morning, I made the decision to retool for some action and some numbers.  I put on a reliable green caddis larva on the anchor fly and a size 18 riffle nymph on the dropper tag.  This is basically a flashy and sparse frenchie with a little CDC tail.  With small bugs on the menu, I put together a good run of average sized wild browns in the pocket water where I only found bows early.  The best was probably 11 inches and skinny, but it was a fun way to end the trip.  Because I was finally in the sun, it was comfortable too!  I even caught a couple more rainbows in the last hour, including one that looked way too familiar.  I noticed that the first fish I landed in morning had scars from a dropper tag or maybe the tell-tale lines that show she’d been wrapped up in tippet during someone’s former net job and landing.  It happens to everyone once in a while, so no aspersions cast.  The pictures show at least two fish with these markings, so someone else had been fishing this stretch recently.  I did see boot prints way down in a spot I rarely see them, which prompted me to go even further in, so I had a nice fall hike today, even if the plan did not amount to much.

Small bugs in pockets to start and end.

Counting the rainbows, I think I landed 9 trout in 5 hours of fishing, so I was happy for the rainbows and the little browns.  With the warm fall thus far, the spawn is some time off, so I will continue to look for the one when I have the time over the next few weeks.  I will have a short fall break, so I will try to plan something cool.  I am busy right now, but I think I can sneak a morning trip in on Saturday, so if I count Sunday that is three trips this week—yeah, really busy right?  This is trip 73 of the year, so I would have to work really hard to hit 100 this year.  It is not impossible however!  With surf fishing on the horizon, a potentially mild December, and a long winter break, never say never.

Not what I went out for but nice nevertheless.

October 17, 2021 – Be Careful What You Wish For – Northampton County Limestoner

Wayward stockers, chilly temps, and Karen.

After a warm and humid period, the fall chill arrived all at once this morning.  It felt great, but trout generally do not like drastic changes in temperature and pressure, even if the change will have longer positive effects.  Looking at a busy start to the week, I decided I was going out on Sunday for a few hours regardless.  I was hoping for more precipitation on Saturday than we actually received.  It was not all that much and seemed concentrated closer to Philly and South.  Valley on a Sunday is never on my bucket list, and it was already coming back down to normal in the morning, so I drove to Northampton County instead.  I have fished this one post-Ida, and it has changed a little, but there are signs that things will be okay here.  I actually caught three or four YOY and a couple fish from last year’s brood.  They were the only rewards for my efforts for the first hour or more.  It was chilly and a little breezy, but it felt good to me and the lone hiker I encountered, bundled up and leaning into the wind. It was sunny too, so I assumed the sun might wake up some bugs by late morning.  I ran out of real estate before I saw caddis starting to get active when I was quitting at 11 AM, but there were midges in the air early.  All the dinks took a perdigon on the dropper tag, a size 18 olive and black, reinforcing the perils of fishing small bugs this time of year.

Perils of tiny perdigons and midges.

I worked hard at one favorite hole where I can usually count on at least one fish.  Changing the two bug rig with the perdigon dropper to a single caddis larva, I dug one that barely fought out of a plunge .  It was a pretty and bright but criminally skinny rainbow.  I catch like one rainbow every two years in this creek, like literally one, and the last time was a club-tagged monster over 20 inches long.  These floods definitely moved some fish.  The scary tiger trout last outing, now this, and it got worse today.  With the sun warming another favorite hole that was disappointing the first time through, I dredged this second spot with the caddis larva.  I was saying to myself, there has to be a fish in this one seam, even if it’s a frigging sucker.  I have tangled with my friend Karen the white sucker here at least 5 times—five times that I landed her, that is—finned, chinned, spooked an additional 5 times in the last 5 years.  As slow as it was, I was thinking, come on Karen!  Careful what you wish for, as Karen did eat the bug and ranged all over the hole for a minute before rolling in the net.  

Big old stocker in the 20s...

The odds of catching a wild brown now that Karen and I had muddied up the hole were slim, but I dropped a couple more casts in the same sweet spot anyway.  I hooked another big fish that started out acting like a sucker, but then she began do trout things.  For one, she had more than one run in her before giving up.  Two, she ran into the shallows on the other side of the creek twice trying to dislodged the hook.  Three, she tried to leave this hole and go upstream.  All this was in slo-mo relative to how a similarly sized wild fish would have acted, so I was not surprised to see this long brown castaway during one of those runs (well, jogs) into shallow water.  It was kind of fun because she was so big, maybe 23 inches, but it was hardly as hair-raising as if the same sized wild fish had eaten the caddis larva.  A rainbow is one thing, but now a big stocker brown taking up residence in a prime lair?  I released her, as I did the tiger last week, but it crossed my mind to take them home.  I guess, in the end I was grateful for the action on a slow morning, and maybe I had willed this to happen by invoking the name of low energy Karen.  Chances are these stockies won’t make the winter, anyway, and they have provided a post-summer storm novelty that I should have expected.

Better days ahead now that fall has finally arrived, I hope.

October 12, 2021 – Novelty not Quantity – Northampton County Limestoner

Le Tigre

I caught a tiger trout today that was so ugly he was beautiful?  Full disclosure: For a fish that was probably 15 inches long and wide, he fought like a wet sock, but he looked tough with a serious kype and great colors.  This is a first on this creek, but I have caught a couple smaller tigers in a nearby creek, so I assume that a club puts them in somewhere and, with the crazy floods, they can get redistributed miles from planting.  He had definitely been around for a while with the shape of his fins and deep colors.  Either that, or he was a unicorn or a really primo, high-end stockie.  When I sent a pic to the Silver Fox, Tom asked if the fish had a tag, and I did not think to look before a quick release.  The photos show nothing that I can see.  It was a novelty, at least.  The sad thing is that I caught a nice wild brown out of this same spot a couple months ago and thought I might have fooled him again this morning.  It is a prime lair, so maybe this tiger was just tired from having to defend it from the locals.  In the end, I was just happy it was a fish, as the early shift was dead today.  The flows were normal (which is low this time of year) and rather clear, but with the low light due to the cloud cover and drizzle, I tried to raise a good fish on a jigged bugger for the first hour. 

A nice brown on the dry dropper.

I had one bump by an unknown fish and had one 12 incher charge and turn back, never to charge again, so I eventually rigged up to nymph.  There were caddis in the vegetation from a recent hatch, but nothing happening otherwise, not even midges or small olives.  This creek has been challenging since Ida, but today ended up better than my last visit, at least.  Besides Tony the Tiger/Daniel Tiger/Tiger Schulmann I did hook and fight two more 10-11 inchers that came off a perdigon on the dropper before the net job—yeah, I tried to use one of Eric’s few failed prototypes again and was rewarded in kind!  I knew when I picked it up that it was probably part of the batch with the formula of hook to bead out of whack, but I also thought it would get eaten, and it did.  Honestly, I was just happy for the action at this point, and he has since fixed the issue with these otherwise effective bugs.

Stopped to smell the musty mushroom because fishing was slow this morning.

At least I did not lose a nice 14 inch fish, which I landed while fishing a dry dropper for about an hour.  After working though some pocket water, I watched a flat for a while and saw some life.  More like fish bulging once in a while or flashing than any rises, but I rigged a dry dropper on the mono rig anyway, just to change things up for a while.  He did not take the dry, but at least it was fun to see a decent brown come up and take the walts worm on the dropper just 8 to 10 inches below the dry.  This fish fought like a wild fish, though nothing crazy.  After the tiger’s poor showing, and this brown not really lighting me up, I dropped the thermometer.  The temp was 60-61 degrees, so better than fine, but I think this prolonged summer has them barely on the cusp of getting active before the spawn.  I also smelled sewage from the septic systems of some nearby houses in a couple places and saw more algae growth along the banks, so we probably need more storms to flush out and repair the effects of the superstorms if that logic makes sense.  

Bonus shots of brownie

A week of cloudy days has made for nice hiking weather and helps extend the fishing day a little longer despite the warm air temps, so I did enjoy the fall colors, along with some turtle watching, even a mushroom photo or two during my bankside walks.  I was very worried about this spot on my last visit, and fishing was not great that morning either, but today was a little more encouraging.  Fish are in there, but they seem to have no urgency to eat unless a hatch happens.  The adult fish are there, that is, as the YOY seem to have disappeared or found sanctuary elsewhere.  Hopefully, nature provides a good spawn this year and the water stays on the high side all winter.  My mailman Joe predicts a lot of snow this winter—he has been right before.  We have had a break from heavy precipitation for the last week or more, but it is not wrong to assume we might be stuck in a wetter pattern for the remainder of the year.

Almost looked like some kind of Pokemon

October 8, 2021 – Gave it the Old College Try – Brodhead Creek

Worth the effort...

Straight out of high school, I had an unsuccessful stint at old ESU, and that began my affair with the Brodhead.  At 52 years old, that means I have been trying not to drown in this mighty river, hardly a creek, sort of the way Penns is called just a creek, for over 30 years.  When I say this is my home away from home waters, perhaps way too often in this blog, this is how deep it goes.  At least 10 trips per year for 30 years, some years upwards of 20 trips.  After a mutually beneficial parting in my early twenties, I have continued to visit the creeks in this region, bringing Ward, my dad, Kenny, and a host of mitches along—Ward and my brother Steve may have even gotten me back into a couple of the bars.  As a first generation college student, I probably didn’t know my worth, and I definitely didn’t know myself, so I found and discarded parts for a few years in these mountains—setting skis and flipping burgers at resorts, drinking at all the locals, not going to classes, and fishing, even hiking into those class A and B creeks before there were guidebooks to show you where to park or PFBC interactive maps complete with topography.

Homecoming.

Only the fishing, which was part of my true identity since I was 8 years old, survived.  At some point during my time in the ‘Burg, I realized my worth, my calling and, perhaps more importantly, what I was NOT going to be.  I think that if a guidance counselor had urged me to eliminate what I didn’t want to be when I grew up, my journey to adulthood would have been shorter.  I dumped a “perfect” girlfriend, moved back to Philly, enrolled in a university and a major that was decidedly more academic, cosmopolitan, and diverse.  I threw myself into music and writing and music writing and eventually a Master’s degree in creative writing (even now working on a second Master’s, this time an MFA, a terminal degree in my chosen field).  Because the memories of the town and the college are complicated, I have no desire to attend homecoming, but every fall the Brodhead hosts several alternatives for me instead.  This is the second trip this fall, and if I am fortunate they may not end until late December when I allow myself to target stockies or post-spawn browns in places where they don’t actually spawn—I messed with some big post-spawn fish in January of this year, even, and will again if weather and flows permit.

Some smalls and a couple bows this time.

The water was higher than when I was here a couple weeks ago, pushing 100 cfs over normal flows for this time of year, but I know that if I can actually get to them, these high water conditions can bring out the beasts.  No beasts today, quite the opposite for most of the day, in fact.  I caught one decent fish last time on a streamer before dark, and a host of smalls and average wild browns.  Today was far tougher.  I landed one dink in the first two hours, I bet.  Sticking with the plan with slight alterations, I eventually caught a little piggy hen today that looked like she had some time before she was ready to look for love.  She was a beauty about 17 inches long that ate a single size 10 hare’s ear jig in a deep pocket behind a boulder in heavy current.   I got tired of losing pairs of flies and working really hard, both wading in heavy current and getting bugs deep under that heavy current, that I landed on a single bug on 5X not 4X with the one modification of the added tungsten bead added for weight—yeah, I guess it was a 6mm of tungsten kind of day.  Whoever thinks of fly fishing as delicate work has never nymphed the Brodhead or the Lehigh or the aforementioned Penns in these good flows.  I should have thrown hair jigs suited for smallmouth on the Susky or Big D.  Reelin Ron might even remind me here that I do still own spinning tackle and a lifetime supply of Rapala CD5s, as well.

A lot of creek pics today, plus that double-bubble hares ear.

I fished the same stretch where I had a fun night in September, but that stretch was a dud today.  It got too dark too quickly last time, so today I was able to fish the entire beat, and I found the upper end far more productive.  Still a lot of work for 8 to 10 inch browns, but the single heavy bug in swirly and deceptively swift pockets and the far seams netted me maybe 8 fish total for the day.  Unlike last month, today I landed two holdover rainbows that moved into better environs.  Neither were the long time holdovers that grow to epic widths here over time.  But all the hard work did result in at least one fish that was the target for the day and a lot of fall foliage and creek porn.  On the ride home after 1 PM, I realized it was getting hot in the Lehigh Valley, close to 80 degrees closer to home.  I had finished my day in a deep gorge where the sun was just starting to warm things up, so my sensors were off, I guess.  I don’t know if I would have given it such the old college try if it was humid and 80 in the mountains.  I often ask myself if it is worth all the effort for one 17-inch wild brown, but when I look at the creek pics and then sleep like a baby from an aerobic day in nature, I usually end up saying yes and, with the clock counting down to the redd making, begin planning the next alternative homecoming.

Some B roll of the best of the day, roughly 17 inches by hand and by net estimates.

October 4, 2021 – Through the Fog, Signs of Fall – Northampton County Limestoner

Warm air, cold water.

I was on boy duty this morning, making sure he got up for school and bus on a Monday, so I got a late start for me.  No matter, as it was going to be cloudy, drizzly, and potentially stormy all day.  I experienced all three, along with fog, during the 4 hours and change I fished this morning.  I was walking to a specific spot by 8 AM, armed with one of Sam’s jigged streamers.  The flows were good, but the water was a little lower and clearer here than the morning I landed a 16 and a 20 on a nymph last month.  Still, with a stain and low light, and that fog, there was a good chance.  I was curious what else I might stir with a big meal in this particular stretch before I spent the rest of the morning nymphing pocket water.  As the spawn gets closer (note the colors on the males even this early in the season) the fish get more aggressive.  Still, even on a great day, my expectations with a streamer are .600, on an average day, a far poorer batting average.  The streamer game is often how many you see, move, get to roll on it, commit.  Like dry fly fishing in this one way, it is a visual treat—or it can break your heart because you are witness to what could have been.

Some pretty trout.

I could have posed in the fog for two hero selfies this morning if things had gone a little differently.  I had two, not just one, fish in that 20-inch range charge the streamer.  I actually thought I got the hook in one of them too.  I was throwing a jigged streamer on the mono rig I was going to nymph with later in the morning, and both fish hit below me on the swing, so maybe the additional stretch in the strip set?  Who knows?  Anyway, I moved these two, and I actually spooked another one later, so this area of the creek remains on my list, especially since summer pressure has shut down a couple of my old favorites, it seems.  I saw two different dudes chunking spinners today, on a Monday, so the nice weekend was likely busier.  The early experience definitely colored the later successes of the day, but in looking at the pics at home, I was impressed with the wide, healthy, colored-up males I did end up tangling with this morning.  Fishing was challenging, perhaps with the low pressure and slowly approaching front, but I managed to nymph up 6 or 7 more trout, with only one rainbow in the mix—an eleventh hour fish on a return visit to the honey hole and just before a torrential downpour and rumble of thunder that sent me packing.

Caddis pupa did the trick, but is was hardly on fire this morning.

It was humid, almost summer wet wading weather, despite the presence of fall leaves in the cold water and those higher spring flows.  I had to turn the waders inside out at home to de-swamp.  Getting caught in the rain does not help either.  I knew the chances of rain increased this afternoon, but I always push it.  I was not alone.  I watched a women suit up to take a power walk, only to power back home double time as the rain arrived.  Sprint workout instead of distance today.  I thought about waiting it out, knowing that with the ground pretty saturated, the water was probably already rising.  I actually had my actual streamer rod in the car, too!  Fishing was not good enough this morning to coax me to continue, however, now soaked to the ass and without a change of clothes.  I had spooked three pigs, so I had had my chances….  And those wide males in that 11 to 14 inch range, already beginning to sport fall colors, those were enough, albeit in retrospect.

Only one dinker brown and only one rainbow before the rains came.