November 3 and 5, 2021 – A First but Not a Welcomed One + Low, Clear, Windy, and Cool, but Almost Very Cool – Berks County

Def a first for me.

I can’t remember if I ever snagged a lost stringer back in the day when I fished with bait and spinners for stocked trout all over the state, but I am sure I would remember if I ever caught a trout with a makeshift stringer made from a bootlace before.  That happened early this Wednesday afternoon!  One fly was in the mouth and the dropper was hooked to what I swear was a Simms wading boot shoelace.  I guess someone wanted to keep this one for a meal.  I am pretty sure it was a wild brown and, for this very small freestoner, it was a pretty decent fish.  Thankfully, the knot tied through the unfortunate fish’s jaw was no better tied than the other one that was tied to the bank or a wading belt.  Perhaps she had not been dragging this three feet of polyester around for long because the fish swam off just fine and might even make it.  No damage to the gills yet that I could see, so I hope she was fortunate she met me today and makes it this winter.

Broke out the fingerless gloves early!

I don’t know if it was that the flows were up on the bigger creeks or, having fished a small creek with Eric on Sunday, I wanted to sneak around some more trickles this week.  It was cold too, the first frosts of the year this week, so the idea of sheltered woods probably felt right.  A lot of leaves are gone, so neither creek was as sheltered as I would have liked.  I was in no rush and let the morning warm up both days.  It was only going up to the low 50’s, so 10 degrees below normal, and I had to quit by 1:30 PM or 2 PM both days, so I was going to be fishing in the low 40’s most of the trip, anyway.  No jacket required, but I did bust out the base layers and the even the fingerless gloves, at least for the first hour on Wednesday morning.

She might even make it (same bootlace fish now free).

There has been a persistent North wind this week and, with the clear skies, no heat staying put overnight even though the sun is still warm each afternoon.  Both Wednesday and Friday were challenging because of this moderate wind and the need to use small bugs in that wind in order not to spook fish.  These two stops were part of the storm damage tour too, I suppose, as I have not been back to either since very early in the spring.  I am used to the filled-in holes, but the new challenge is fishing the 4-foot holes left behind, mostly sandy, that pop up once in a while after fishing 8- to 12-inch runs for long stretches at a time.  In the bright sun, I saw many fish that spooked at both creeks, and even the mostly dinkers I caught Wednesday required steady, quiet movement and some low creeping.  Even the chubs took some work.  I bet I landed 15 fish, but as you can see from the collage, they were smalls.  This is a tiny creek, as was Friday’s choice, so to be expected, but I did have a couple surprises on Friday that were good ones—not bad ones like wader laces in trout jaws, for example.

A sampling of the rest of Wednesday's haul of small.

On Friday, I fished from about 10:30 AM to 2 PM at a favorite little creek that has a trace of limestone influence but, like the creek earlier in the week, is pretty much a rocky freestoner with pocket water and plunges galore.  I don’t fish this one much, even though I have had some awesome days here.  I guess, I don’t want to spoil it or something.  It is about 2 hours of fishing, maybe 3 if I drive to one other section with some unposted access, so the ride is half as long as the time spent fishing, especially on days like today when water is low.  Unless the water is high and stained, I move pretty quickly through a handful of deeper holes and especially plunges that might better hide my approach.  Even sneaking today, I spooked two big old pre-spawners!  One looked close to 18 inches, maybe bigger.  I think these fish are slightly migratory, as in they cover some mileage in the watershed when it comes time to spawn.  Even though I don’t overdo it at this creek, these fish were big enough that I am seriously considering a trip back next week or the following before they actually start settling down to begin making redds.

Pretty freestoner.

Unaware that the first hole close to parking had changed significantly, I walked up and cast a shadow over a mess of chubs and one 12-inch trout right away!  My second favorite spot was still a deep hole, but due to a major split in the current, it was barely pushing any water through it—basically chub water today.  I did not even spook any trout here when I finally stood up straight and continued my walk upstream.  Apparently, the trout had moved up to the next hole, where try as I might to be stealthy I eventually spooked two pig wild browns after landing a small on a caddis larva.  I knew now just how stealthy I was going to have to be on the last hole in this stretch, which is often my honey hole.  I took one average fish out of the back of this long, usually more bouncy run, but he did not blow up the hole, apparently.  I saw midges in the air, so I rested the spot and added a dropper with a size 18 riffle nymph while I waited.

More storm damage tour and new white whales, the parents of all the dinkers!

I continued to move slowly and obsessively watch my shadow as I made my way upstream another few feet.  Crouching behind a big root ball, I delivered the bugs into the sweet spot in the hole during a brief break in the breeze, and I had a very light take.  I set the hook, and a small stream pig took to the air immediately!  This beauty, probably 17 inches and a pre-spawn male, jumped no less than three more times.  I guess he had nowhere else to go in such tight confines.  This would have been a personal best for this creek by a couple inches at least, but I did not stick the landing and get a photo.  While I was retreating back downstream to a safe spot to net him, he jumped one last time and was gone.  Of course he took the little size 18 bug on the dropper, so that did not help!  Sadly, in these conditions I did not expect another fish out of this hole for a while, so I made my return trip downstream.  I think I was just happy to stick this fish on such a day in such conditions, so it was easier to shake off.  I even rigged a dry dropper on the way back down, convinced I might fool one of the pigs I had spooked on the way up with a stealthier approach, but not a chance today.  I had the same results at the first hole where I spooked a couple with my shadow when I first arrived.

A little better collection of small stream fish on Friday.

I decided that I had enough time to drive to the other accessible spot, and I am glad I did because I actually landed a few more fish there before I had to head for home.  I spooked another one over 12 inches that I had stalked after watching him in the current. I just slipped on a big slick rock and must have waved my rod or arms too much trying to steady, and he was gone before I could make a second cast at him.  At least I was able to dig a few respectable fish out the same hole before I had to hike back to the ‘Ru and start the drive home.  No hero shots this challenging week of challenging conditions, but I did enjoy a change of pace on some trickles, and I did encounter a couple more white whales.  I do wish I had a photo the pig today, more for you than me, as I am sure I will dream about this one for a few days.  I am good as far as memories, I think.