December 31, 2021 – Some Kind of Winter Bookends – Brodhead Creek

Still 25+ CFS down from normal.

Not my intention, but I realized as I was suiting up in the morning that I was closing out 2021 much in the same way I opened it.  Technically, the Silver Fox and I fished for brookies (with a 2020 license) first, and Eric and I got out on our SEPA spot, but by the 14^th (the 6^th at Penns with Sam but that has some limestone influence) I was fishing bigger water hoping to find a big hungry trout on big bugs.  While a bit treacherous, slow, and monochrome, there is something about winter fishing on the Brodhead and bigger creeks that I love.  I used to think the same thing about small game hunting, for example.  For what other reason besides hunting or fishing would a sane person be lumbering through the gray woods in late December?  I have seen that change over the years, as I do encounter more fisherman in the winter than I did even 10 years ago (Magazines? YouTube? Blogs like this? More young guys fishing again?)  but mostly on smaller limestoners and stocked waters.  Much in the way I would rather walk and toss a plug on the beach for a skunk than watch a spiked rod with a bunker head soaking, I feel the same way about nymphing big bugs on a tight line as opposed to watching midges under a bobber.  I get to the point where I embrace the indicator each winter, but usually not as early as December, I guess, or at least not this mild year. 

Fish were caught, even the intended quarry on a bugger.

With midges hatching, living and dying by the big stonefly, or in the case of today a sexy walts or caddis larva, is an acquired taste.  I would not say the choice paid off completely today, but I did land four fat fish, including the target species, a wild brown close to 15 inches.  The water was frigid, like under 38 degrees, but late in the day, I got a brown to strike a streamer too—well, a micro-streamer, a size 8 black bunny leach (with an extra tungsten bead) just hopping down the stream.  Worth it?  That is always the question.  But with what feels like the twelfth spike in Covid cases what else was I doing today!  It was close to 50 degrees and misty all day, so rather comfortable winter fishing but not so nice that everyone got the urge.  I saw no other soul in about 5 hours of walking.  And fish were caught.  Thank goodness for the holdover rainbows, however.  I had one other wild brown make a move for the bugger earlier in the day, but those spring survivor bows, one that looked like it had eaten a mouse it was so fat, filled a void for me today.

Pristine holdovers

They like to move, rainbows, and a select few always end up in the unstocked sections of this big watershed.  Somedays I say dammit when I see the silvery flash after setting the hook, but in the winter I take what I can get!  They may have even been around multiple years, as two of them were nearly perfect in color and intact fins.  Nevertheless, I was overjoyed to come tight to a wild brown during the warmest part of the day.  I had thrown the olive jigged bugger to start, but the water was very clear, and besides one fish that moved to the bug, I saw one other spook.  With water so low and clear despite another night of potential rain, I actually spotted a few fish throughout the day that I could not entice off the bottom.  It was brighter to start the day, but the drizzle and clouds came again after 2 PM, so I tied a black leech on later.  Fishing some pocket water for an active fish or two, I was lucky enough to find what I was looking for.  Granted, I would have liked a few more inches on him, but it was a dark, big-jawed, and photogenic male.  I was throwing my 10’6” 4-weight at cold fish, so I had no major battles on my hands today, but all the fish fought okay for the conditions.  I was certainly ready if big mama or papa decided to eat today.  I had the big net, a wading staff, food and drink—all for a few holdovers and one decent brown.  Go big, I guess.  I went small earlier in the week, and the results were worse!

Photogenic.

I covered some water, so I had a longer walk back to where I parked.  With the clouds, I knew it was going to be dark in the woods by 4:45 instead of 5 PM, so I started hiking back by 4:15 or so.  On the walk back, I remembered why I do this.  Ending on the target species close to the target size helps, but it was really this excuse for a midwinter walk in the woods on a favorite creek.  I spent years avoiding freestoners in the winter except on freakishly warm days in February or something, so I find it oddly satisfying to stick a few under the unique challenges they present at this time of year.  I saw midges for an hour, so it’s not like the river was devoid of life either.  I will return next month with those big golden stones that I left at home today too!  Not a record year, although many big browns landed, but I hit an even 90 fishing days this year, a year of weather extremes, so I am pretty satisfied with the effort.  Happy New Year, mitches!

Monochrome but still a beautiful excuse for a walk.

December 26 and 28, 2021 – Mild Temperatures and Low Water Continues – SEPA Limestoners

Pretty evening, small trout.

Well, I have off this week, and at least twice rain was promised and amounted to very little, but I had to fish a couple days anyway.  It has been hard to find the motivation while checking USGS graphs at all my spots within an hour or so, and I have not committed to a longer trip to a bigger creek yet—maybe later this week—so I did about as well as I expected.  I think I caught 3.5 fish in two days.  Sunday, I did not leave until around noon, deciding to try the later shift at an old favorite in Berks County.  I did a drive-by of two of my parking spots, and forgot it was a Sunday.  Spot one had too much activity in neighboring backyards, and spot two had a couple cars parked in the siding.  I paused in view of a honey hole, and saw at least one dude swimming a dog, maybe fishing too, so I had to take a 15-minute detour to another creek.  This creek has not been good since Ida, and I had previously sworn it off until at least late spring next year, but with few options I gave it one more go.  At least now I know to avoid it the rest of this winter.  I moved one decent fish on a bugger and landed an 8-incher.  I also know my pricey new Christmas net won’t let a dink slip through the mesh, so I've got that going for me?

A couple more and a little bigger today + need real rain.

Today, I got on the road by 9 AM at least, and I drove to a Northampton County Limestoner where I stuck at least one decent fish after the spawn.  Again, it had rained in the night but just barely, so the water was near drought conditions.   Even a couple springs that feed this one looked sadly in need of a recharge.  With the mostly cloudy day on tap, I was hopeful but still realistic about my chances.  I tried nymphing the warmest part of the day, but with no bugs hatching, the only action I had was on a jigged bugger.  I turned one decent one on Sam’s bugger earlier in the day, landed one on a small rubber-legged bugger about size 8, and eventually lost another fish on Eric’s black sculpin before quitting time.  The fish I landed and the one I nearly landed acted crazy in the low water, jumping half a dozen times each, so I don’t think the water was too cold.  There was just no bug life to draw them out of hiding.  I kept hoping to find a little concentration of even small fish to pass the time, but besides one that rose maybe two times and stopped, the three fish I messed with were the three fish I messed with.  I see more precipitation and mild temps in the forecast, so I know it’s going to happen one of these days.  It did not happen Sunday, and it did not happen today, though!  One more trip for an even 90 in 2021, so I have to get out again regardless?

December 17, 2021 – A Short Morning Visit with an Old Friend Feeling Low and a Little Damaged – Valley Creek

Wide and flat is another Ida effect it seems.

I am not sure if I remember Valley getting much below 20 CFS even in the summertime, but it has been around 19 this week.  The Silver Fox said he heard that we have had a total of .25 inches of rain for December, and it certainly feels about right.  Low water in late fall is nothing new, so I was undaunted by the prospect of sneaking around in low, clear water conditions, but the additional destruction made by Ida this year was an added variable.  I did some recon in the upper reaches of the creek right after the storm, and it was bad, but I stayed out of Chesterbrook and the Park, knowing that too would be depressing.  It was too nice to not fish today, and I only had a small window, so today was my day to go back post-Ida and post-spawn and see what’s up.  There are still washed out and posted paths, some new channels and ultra-deep sandy holes, along with piles of gravel and stones small enough to get moved by flooding rains.  But there were also many redds, not to mention a heron and I getting into a few fish.  Valley is nothing if not resilient.  Except to photograph from a high bank, I steered clear of the redds, now unoccupied but full of eggs, but I managed to raise about 8 fish and land 4 of them on a bugger during my 3 hours and change of walking and fishing. 

Many positive signs, however!

Despite it being low and clear, those deep holes that were dug out by the storm(s) made me choose a jigged bugger, especially because there was a decent NW breeze that would have made it tough to nymph the size bugs I would have chosen to throw.  Instead of a bobber and midges or micro-caddis, I just tossed a jigged bugger on the mono rig.  Fishing at least a 20- to 25-foot leader and fishing upstream, I was able to stick a couple without spooking them.  Any little old man stumble in wet leaves or loose stone sent them scurrying, but as I said I did interest 8 fish and land 4 of them.  For Valley, they were very decent fish too.  I would say between 10 and 13 inches.  The bugger does tend to weed out the dinks that would be all over a zebra midge.  I would have been happy with dinks, and I almost quit after two fish.   I just wanted to get out for a walk today and see the creek, which I will see a lot of this winter.  I am glad I kept going and saw more creek and landed a couple more decent fish, however.  There is still plenty more to see on a less crowded weekday after the holidays, of course.  Doing a rain dance for Saturday.  If it works, Sunday somewhere, maybe even with the Silver Fox, is a possibility.  I guess I am making up for the beginning of the month?

Some Valley-decent fish along the way too.

December 16, 2021 – One Last Trip before Hanging up the Surf Gear – Ocean County Beaches

Another long ride to photograph a cloudy sunrise.

Well, this year was as bad or worse than the years past that made me refocus on fall and winter trout fishing in lieu of the surf.  The sandeel honeymoon of the last few years has been fun, although the fish have been so small.  I would have taken a day of dinks today to end on a high-ish note, but I ended the way I began this fall.  There was a good South blow yesterday, I guess, because the water was dirty and weedy about two hours after high tide—cabbage at the beach lip and dirty foam as the tide continued to fall.  I was suited up and casting by 5:30 AM, and I hit two likely spots before 8:30 AM when I decided it was not going to happen.  No birds, no bait, no boats, no buggies, no signs of life.  With an East swell, the surf looked great, plenty of whitewater and depth, even on those improved beaches, at least for the first two hours of outgoing.  The water did not feel that cold, either, but as the morning air warmed with the sunrise there was a slight fog over the water, so maybe colder than it appeared.  The boys are going tomorrow in the Park, so maybe good news will coax me out one last time, but I do believe this morning was just that.  I was actually scouting for even dinks this morning because I wanted to get my son out on the beach on Sunday (and last Sunday!) but that too might have to wait until spring.  Maybe he will be my trout good luck charm?

December 14, 2021 – That Bathing in Tomato Soup Thing Is a Myth, Right? - Northampton County Limestoner

Real low, yo.

I got out for a full five-hour skunking on only my second trip of December.  Maybe I still had the smell on me from my last surf outing.  The surf continues to be a long drive for lackluster returns, so we bagged a trip on Sunday, and I have just been busy with the end of semester stuff.  I have a month off starting on December 19, so fishing will be done, cold or not, next week and into the New Year.  The creeks are really low, but if it rains this Saturday, I will give it a shot on Sunday.  Today, besides meeting the need to get out on a beautiful day, was nearly a waste of time.  Midges and even some olives were hatching for about an hour, but nary a nose to be seen.  This creek fishes poorly for me in the winter, but I was hoping for one last hurrah until late February or early March.  I had one moment of excitement all day. With the water painfully low and clear, I saw a big brown give himself away with a flash of mouth, eating something or chasing another fish, like an intruder rainbow.  Or he got the spawning memo late and was still juiced up.  I stalked him with a bugger and got him to move twice, nip the back twice, and when he finally ate, my overzealous hookset turned him.  With a shake of the head and a panicked bolt upstream to spook the rest of the hole, he was gone.  I think that my ability to see the whole thing so clearly, right down to the eat, caused me to set just a hair too early.  I should have waited for him to turn, maybe, or for that whole bugger to disappear.  It was a nice 16+ inch wild brown too and would have made the trip a lot less lackluster and maybe gotten that skunk off me.  I don't believe those things are like slumps, however, so no silly rituals until the next outing on maybe Thursday morning.

December 2, 2021 – More Blitzes Out of Reach – Ocean County Beaches

There was a chance.

Maybe I am a glutton for punishment, or maybe I remember how good it can be with peanuts if you are lucky enough to be there at the right place and time, but I took the ride this morning too.  I am now 1 fish for 3 early morning trips.  Getting up at 2:45 AM and driving 90 minutes for a skunk hardly makes me want to do it again, and that is why this blog contains so few surf fishing posts—I started the blog around the time I got back into fly fishing and trout fishing again because, post-Sandy and the latest beach replenishment movement, the surf game began netting ever-diminishing returns.  Sucks, because I do love it out there, and I will log more trips (as I have since the inception of this blog) to chase the higher-percentage run of dinkers that spells the end of the run and the beginning of winter, but it is hard to justify all the driving, casting, and not sleeping.  Today, like last Sunday, I had a good chance.  I actually fished a good piece of beach in the dark that I scouted earlier in the week, and I then when the birds and bait materialized a few hundred yards off the beach at sunrise, I pursued a blitz at least 2 blocks long by car through about three beach towns.  The closest they got to shore was close enough to see fish busting and birds coming up with 5-7 inch bunker but not close enough to reach, even with an old secret weapon: a peanut bunker tin.  I think the same dude who created the THex also made this one back in the day.  Because high tide was at 5 AM, there was actually water in the surf for a couple potentially productive hours, but even fishing some nice moving water with small baits to end the trip failed to interest a rat or two.  There was a lot more white water today, but also a strong South to North sweep and a South wind—not great conditions, generally.  So many variables with the surf, and I know just enough to know when it is just not going to happen today.  If I lived on a beach block, I would toss a plug every morning and evening in any fishable conditions, and maybe even some borderline ones, but these long drives, you know?

A lot to love, but a long early or late drive....