February 25 and 27, 2022 – Go Big or Go Native (or Stay Home?) - Valley Creek and a NEPA Blueline

Basically a storm drain today.  I threw black for while too, with same results: leaves.

February has not been easy, so let’s hope March levels out weather-wise and improves.  It may well have been user error, choosing the wrong creek or the wrong section of creek on Friday this week after the rains, but I took my second skunk of the young year and the second this week!  The flows at Valley were great-ish for streamer fishing, like 90 and falling when I arrived, but I should have checked the temp and turbidity gages too.  Not only was it chocolate, but it was also colder after the freezing rain event on Thursday.  It was very slow to clear for Valley too.  Perhaps, had I headed upstream instead, things would have been a little better.  I almost did that when I saw the conditions upon arrival, but I figured the water was falling and would clear in real time, as is often the case here.  I went for broke with a big old fish skull sculpin a few inches long, figuring only a pig might expend the energy to eat a big meal in these conditions.  Not a touch, not a follow.  The bright sun came out and lit up the particulates in the water, and the wind—which has been a near-constant annoyance the last few weeks—picked up too as the day cleared.  I caught leaves like it was fall, and wading was tougher because visibility was all of three inches and lot of the stream bed is loose since the floods.

A bright, windy, and rather cold one.

The Silver Fox and I decided to try and catch our first brook trout of the year today.  One of us succeeded, barely.  I caught and photographed one and dropped two others after a short battle.  It was cold and windy, and the flows—though solid—were crystal clear.  Besides the three I tangled with, I saw a total of two more.  I saw two midges, as well.  Tom got one good bump for all his effort.  We even floated his sighter (and mine) so we could fish the slicks, glides, and the few quiet, deep holes, and that is where fish came from, but 90% of them were hiding in these conditions.  It was a good aerobic excuse to be outdoors, at any rate.  The creek, like many I have seen in my fall and winter travels, is going to need some time to recover from the ravages of those summer storms.  With much of the streambed just bare rock, I am sure the bug life and the fish have suffered a bit.

A few of the target species seen, most at a distance.

I landed one on a grubby caddis larva, and Tom fished a juicy stonefly, but we were both throwing small jigged buggers by the end of the trip when no bugs showed and the wind made nymphing a tiny creek pretty tough.  Having seen early black stoneflies in neighboring counties, I was hoping they might help us out today.  Tom did see one confirmed rise, and I actually lost my final fish at this hole on the second visit.  He spooked one from the tailout of a deep hole too, so a couple were out getting warm and looking for a meal, but not enough of them to make for a successful day.  We saw a couple massive flocks of snow geese, some cool ice formations, and were able to photograph our first native fish of 2022.  And we were fishing, of course.  Better days are coming, for sure!

February 23 and 24, 2022 – Just One Way to Try Harder? – A Few SEPA Cricks

A little dirty at both creeks.

For two hours on Wednesday, I had no excuse not to catch at least one.  Although with my late start, there was a chance that someone had already been through the runs I fished and left.  Again, I had late class on Tuesday night, but I got out the door a little after 9 AM and was fishing one of two Northampton County limestoners that would offer me nothing but frustrations, crowds, then wind and high sun, for my effort.  I was actually shocked that the parking for creek one had no one in it, but that changed by noon, and it chased me off to another creek.  I know it was 70 degrees, but is it a huge ask to get a little elbow room on a Wednesday?  There were two fly guys, one sneaking below and another high-holing me by 11:45 AM, and I spoke to two other dudes in the lot as I was quitting, one was a fly guy and the other thought a spinner might move these pressured fish at noon!  Granted, he couldn’t have done any worse than me.

Sun and dirty water = bad.

Anyway, I took a 15 minute drive to another creek in the county, and I found some open water, at least, although there was a dude fishing at one parking spot.  I would like to say that this move did the trick, but by now the nice day had gotten challenging.  It was warm to start, but it was getting really cold fronty by 1 PM.  I did not get a touch in an hour on this creek and, even though Tami would have gone home to meet the boy after school, I decided to keep my appointment with his bus for 2:45 PM.  Water was dirty at both creeks, but it was not great streamer weather with the sun—I tried, of course!  In fact, I went for broke at least part of the time at both creeks before trying my nymphing hand too.  Nothing.  A solid midday skunking at two creeks I know far, far too well.

Bad weather gave me some solitude, but deer were not happy to see me.

Today was cold and a little sleety with more icy mix on the way in the evening.  What better day to try and find a veritable unicorn!  The little crick I fished today was stocked up until maybe 15 years ago.  I don’t think access was an issue.  It was more about usage.  I believe the Commish stocked, and two guys fished it.  Anyway, it has been on the wild reproduction list for some time, maybe always had a small population even when it was stocked.  I used to visit when I worked in the area just to see the wild trout once in a while, but today I had two hours to kill, so I decided to try and catch at least one.  I knew that being off the radar and in this crappy weather, I would have no problem getting some solitude, and I was right.  I put my waders on at home, though.  Maybe part of me was embarrassed to suit up streamside for such an endeavor?  I only had to contend with the gazes of one elderly couple out for a walk, and they did not seem to find me crazy.  I wasn’t.  I actually found one unicorn, and it was not a bad size for a small freestone creek either.  First, however, I swore I moved a rainbow.  It may have been a really bright brown in retrospect, especially looking at the pale colors of the wild brown I landed, but at the time, I was thinking that someone must be stocking on the sly or something.  One thing I have learned in my many years of trout fishing is to never be surprised where stockies end up.

Might add some ugly, tough, and a little wanderlust to the gene pool?

The water was crystal clear and winter low, so I knew fish would be deep and close to structure.  I spooked another darker fish from under a rock, and he actually poked his head out a bit later to take a look but not a swipe at the jigged bugger.  There were more of these big rocks, so I tucked another cast above one, and as the bugger dropped towards the bottom, a hook-jawed pig came out and ate it.  The water was cold, so the fight was not epic by any means, and he was pretty contained in the hole where he lived, but it was fun.  I was also pissed when I got a good look at him, like dammit someone really must have stocked this creek!  First I thought I moved a rainbow, and now this guy.  Chances are, however, that the proximity to the river had just as much to do with it.  These fish get into the river from other stocked creeks, and then seek thermal refuge in the tributaries.  For the creeks that were never stocked, for example, this is likely how small populations of wild fish take hold.  Most stocked trout are females, so I let this male go and handled him with care.  Maybe he can muddy up the pale, lovely gene pool that is already here….

Eric's jigged bugger, from a distance in the glassy water.

That was confusing and fun, but I was still looking for a different sort of unicorn.  At the base of a deep plunge, I found what I was looking for.  I almost missed the hit on the fall, but I saw the flash, paused a second, and set.  I had been trying to use my 3 weight to drag a floating branch out of the way of the sweet, soft spot.  I missed, but the fish grabbed it anyway, and somehow I was able to avoid wrapping and losing the only wild brown of the day and the reason for this excursion in the cold. It was a skinny fish, but pretty decent sized and just beautiful.  Pale, as you can see, but also parr marks and a bright telltale blue spot on the cheek.  I worked this hole for a while longer, but did not see any more.  Chances are fish were hiding up in the ledges of the plunge and under the big boulders.  With the clarity of the water, I was able to see a couple more fish at another stretch clear as day, so I am sure I would have noticed any others here staged up and hovering for a meal.

The unicorn, although I did see a couple others, so not that rare!

As I mentioned above, I tried for a second time another hole where I spooked one by accident, and he did peek his head out from cover once, but only once.  I decided that mission was accomplished, but I had about an hour more to fish, so I drove and looked for more legal parking.  I found some, and I even had another good size trout move for the bugger in a deep, clear hole.  I rerigged here and put a couple small nymphs on in case there was a pod of fish in there, but that one fish spooked and only one other smaller fish spooked out of the tailout of the same hole on my way back.  Two is not a pod, but it was the kind of day where they were in hiding.  The presence of a blue heron hopscotching in front of me for a while may have had them on notice even if there was a stain and more flow.  I also saw all kinds of signs of deer and eventually spooked two who were bedded down avoiding the snow and rain.  I took a few pics of them climbing a ridge towards the highway or private property before heading back to the ‘Ru.  Air temps permitting, I may sneak out tomorrow too.  Even though it’s a Friday, it sounds just miserable enough to deter a few eager anglers.  Wishful thinking, as I saw olives on the two creeks I fished on Wednesday, so they are probably showing on Valley too, and so the spring games have begun!  I guess I just have to try harder to find some elbow room....

February 16, 2022 – Sneaking Around a Couple Small Creeks – Berks County

May have missed this guy last month.  Pretty fish.

I usually have a class on Tuesday nights, so I often sleep in on Wednesday.  I knew it was going to get warm again this week, but my Thursday and Friday are totally booked up with meetings and appointments, so I tried my best to get up and out today.  I slept until 8:45 despite my best efforts, and I didn’t leave the house until 10:15 AM, but at least I knew I could fish until about 4 PM today and still have time to get home to teach a class online at 6 PM.  Once again, I am not used to these late starts, especially because it has meant that I actually see other dudes in some of my spots!  I guess there is a reason why I get out early when conditions allow.  At least I beat two other fishermen to my first spot this morning, and I landed a couple trout on a jigged bugger.  The best was about 13 inches, which was fun for a tiny creek.  I lost a decent fish, maybe even this one, the last time I fished this hole on this creek, so it was good to get a good hook set and an actual picture.  I caught a few more fish last time, however.

Far less snow melt at spot one, which probably helped my chances.

The other highlight here was getting a do-over at another hole.  The last visit, I found a pod of 8 to 10 inch fish, even one about 12 in the mix, and I stalked them without spooking them.  After landing a perfect cast, I caught the smallest fish in the bunch and it was over.…  Today, I got one a little better to take Eric’s bunny leech bugger, so that was something—and then it was over.  I also saw the first signs of early black stoneflies at this creek.  I have had some awesome days here when there are enough of them for fish to notice.  Maybe it was snow melt or high pressure or high sun, but they were a bit sluggish today and also spooky, so I decided to fish another spot about 15 minutes away.  Before I left for the second creek, I ran into one dude starting to fish below me, and another truck was in a small pull-off, just scouting.  I did not expect to see any anglers let alone two anglers, so it did make me wary of what I might find at the second stop, which is more well-known and accessible.

My second do-over with only slightly better results.

Of course I saw two cars at the second creek.  I still don’t know if it’s been my later starts, or winter fishing has caught on, or way more people work from home and make their own hours.  For as long as I have kept this blog, and longer, I cannot remember running into so many fishermen on weekdays on these little creeks, especially in what used to be most guy’s off season.  I guess I have done my own small part in advertising winter fishing, but my reach is far short of YouTube and the magazines and professional blogs.  Creek two is stocked trout water, but it has a decent population of wild browns that fluctuates year to year.  This year has been bad because of the storms and habitat destruction, but it’s still a tradition to fish this one and one other that I might hit next week at least once in the late winter/early spring before they are closed ahead of stocked trout season and Opening Day.

Only one from spot two.

Seeing two cars and actually seeing one dude fishing, I drove to a couple other spots to find parking and finally decided to park at a business and sneak into one favorite hole.  If I could just get one fish, it would be an accomplishment today, I figured.  The water here had that telltale color of snow melt, and while my feet were not cold at the first creek earlier in the day, they quickly got cold here.  That is a bad sign.  No bugs, no surface activity, and I moved nothing with a jigged bugger the first pass through.  I decided to rig up to nymph a couple bugs under an indicator in the deep, slow section of the hole, and I landed my one and only on a size 18 walts worm.  I am pretty sure it was wild, and a decent size for a wild fish here.  It had no fused spots, full fins, and beautiful parr marks.  I was not able to raise another from this hole, so instead of moving up or down and possibly running into one of the two parties I saw when I first arrived, I just called it good.  Three fish in close to four hours of fishing, even factoring in the drive to spot two and the search for open water, so not a banner day.  It was pretty typical for winter fishing, however.  Sadly, I am tied up on Thursday and Friday, as I mentioned above, but next week returns to normal, and the temps seem favorable. I may even start planning my first trip to Central PA this week if conditions remain pretty level and flows don't go crazy after the massive cold front on the way.

Far less snow left at spot two, and more of that dreaded gray color in the crick.

February 12, 2022 – From Vice to Crick, Eric Masters Jig Streamer Fishing in a Day and a Half?? – SEPA Blueline

Eric's porker pb.

Eric had a rough week homeschooling his daughters because the oldest had to go through Covid protocols.  She is an angel, but the younger daughter T is a character, the total opposite.  Eric’s wife is an essential worker, so he drew the short straw this week.  Everyone tested fine a couple times and cleared the PCR test hurdle late this week too, but he definitely had some standing to ask his wife for a rare Saturday of fishing!  I helped grease the wheels by stopping by after a walk in the woods on Friday and dropping off a copy of a magazine with a George Daniel story about jigged streamers.  I have fished them for about 7 years, ever since Sam shared his patterns, including the might Roberdeau.  I actually teased Sam last month that his mentor George was all over my magazines and YouTube with these “new-fangled buggers,” and Sam of course deadpanned, Yeah, I wish I had gotten into that game sooner….  They are actually friends from back when George managed the TCO shop in State College, so chicken or the egg…. 

Jigged streamers in frog water kind of day, perhaps aided by beaver handiwork.

I have caught some of my biggest trout in recent years using what Sam once taught me, how streamer fishing needn’t be just hitting the banks and letting them swing or big articulated monsters moving water, and my own small stream sneaking has added a few more moves over the years.  Today was Eric’s day, though!  He landed his personal best on our little secret home creek using these non-traditional streamer tricks.  It was probably only 15 inches long, a hair more by hand-measure, but it was by far the thickest and most mature fish we have pulled out of this small creek.  I have been fishing Eric’s jigged streamers for a couple years too, mostly micro guys in the winter, bunny leeches or sculpin that you may have seen on this blog a few times, but we landed 90 percent of our fish today on some bugs he tied last night.  We had a great day for mid-winter, and besides the piggy that ate the bugger, we landed probably 20 more fish, including a few more good ones and good ones that got off before photos.

From vice to crick in one day, Eric masters the jigged streamer???

With the warm overnight temperatures, we decided to begin fishing at sunrise.  I have been talking about needing the motivation to get out earlier now that fish behavior is shifting again ahead of more drastic spring changes on the horizon.  Well, I guess having Eric’s excitement at getting out, and on our home waters with some new ties, did the trick because I was up drinking coffee by 5:15 AM today.  It was about 42 degrees to start, so not a bit of ice to be found, but fish were still a little sluggish until after 9 AM. We caught a few in our usual spots, and I even dropped a decent one before 8, I bet.  The plan, however, was to move more quickly and push further into the snakier and woodier parts of the creek that we often end in after prime time—or sometimes never even get to because the lower sections produce enough.  The best winter water was iced solid last time we fished the creek, so I planted the seed that I wanted to hit some of this frog water today.  We did move quickly, and when the time came we committed to wading waist deep winter waters to sink those heavy buggers next to some undercuts and deep log jams. 

Eric's first of the day.

With Eric up on land as a spotter to start, I waded through the cold, deep water as quietly as possible.  I landed an uber chub or two but also a few trout, so my confidence was high when I urged Eric to get in and fish a particularly good looking hole.  It was a big fish hole in theory, the kind I don’t pass up, and it was a big fish hole in reality too.  I had pulled at least four smaller fish out of this frog water, but Eric still felt guilty for catching this fish!  We are not competitive when we fish, and we take turns or step back when we feel unprepared for a particular spot, but he was up in my mind.  Besides, his success is my success, you know?  I was just happy that the plan worked.  It would have been a lot of work for chubs and average browns.  Anyway, I was standing right there when he came tight to a fat fish.  Based on the shape I saw in the murky water, I thought uber chub for minute, and he actually thought rainbow, at first.  It was just a thick fish, not something we are used to seeing in a mostly freestone creek of this size.  A fertile limestoner this size may have a lot more fat fish, but we have fished this creek for a few years now and have only seen two that were even close to this large.  It has sort of been an idea to search more of the watershed for the parents of all these dinks, and I guess we found one of them today.

Just an awesome fish for a SEPA blueline.

With all the depth and all the wood around, not to mention undercut banks that are cut back at least three feet in places, if the water was 60 degrees today, Eric would have had a fight on his hands.  Luckily, the water was 40 degrees or less, and this fish was pretty easy to handle.  When we knew it was a brown, the urgency to get my big net under him probably helped speed up the fight too!  It was a thick beauty, and we were both stoked to snap a few shots and let him go.  We were not done, however.  It got breezy for a while but also warmer.  We could feel the warm air coming on the wind at times, so hopes remained high.  When we reached the hole where I landed a couple late last month, we had a bit of an adventure.  I pitched the bugger into a pocket off to the side of a plunge, and a fish grabbed it immediately and took off for shelter in a root ball.  It acted like another big fish, but it was just a solid one.  Because the fish acted crazy at first, Eric jumped into action and actually climbed onto the tree stumps to free this one for me.  It’s good to have a young bull along, as my old bull mentality would have let this one shake off in there.  It would not be the last time Eric jumped into action today either.

More fish pics.  Probably 20-25 encounters today.

We pushed past a couple log jams today that we often use as an excuse to turn back, and we found some more fish in some new holes too.  I dropped another 11-incher before the net job at a great plunge pool formed as the creek fell over a down tree buried in stones.  We also found a couple more froggy spots that were pushing 4 feet deep, but they only netted average browns and a couple chubs.  The last nicer fish of the day, however, came at the end of the line.  I arrogantly called this one too.  The spot just looked too good: a solid 80 degree bend with depth and cover, even a rocky shelf with more permanent shelter for a good fish.  The best way to approach it was from a higher bank, so Eric had to slide down the grass and into the creek to net this fish after it chased down the gently hopping bugger.  It was a nice enough fish, probably 12 inches, so I slid in and joined him too.

He let me catch a few decent ones!

We hoofed it up and out of the creek there and hiked the roads with plans to hit some of our honey holes on the way back.  The return trip rarely pans out as well as the first approach, but sometimes we do hit holes too early, so they produce later.  We did land a couple more fish on the walk back downstream, and I also lost a better one where I had jumped a fish nearly first thing in the morning.  No redemption today, I guess.  This fish hit on the swing, so my strip set with a mono rig was not macho enough to stick him well or that hook was finally getting dull.  It would have been another good one to end on, but we could hardly complain after having a great winter morning that felt like spring.  It sounds like winter is making a short reappearance tomorrow, but I hope I can get out next week when it gets milder again.  I am seeing a lot of appointments on my calendar, but maybe today gave me the motivation to get up and sneak a couple in if opportunity arises!

One more....

February 10, 2022 – Again the Relaxed Attitude towards Life Does not Serve Me Well – Northampton County

Many weather conditions in a short time.

Even though I wanted to fish at least half a day today since it was my only free day during this first mild week in a while, I was up late on Wednesday night and slept in a little this morning.  I guess it did not register that half the state would be weighing the options of playing hooky today.  I thought enough about it to avoid Valley or any local stocked waters in my planning, but even taking a longer ride to NEPA I could not avoid a bit of a crowd.  It was partially my fault, of course.  Had I been fishing at 7 AM, I may have been the first mitch through the prime spots, but I guess I am out of practice.  I have been busy.  My MFA program is nearly complete, so I am starting to piece together a thesis.  I am also redesigning two courses and serving on a new committee or two at work.  My motivation is to graduate with this degree by the summer and get back some of my fishing time (a raise and promotion in rank will not hurt either).  I needed to get out this week, busy or not.  I was actually warming up my car to go fishing last Thursday, and I saw Tami's front tire was completely flat.  I located the screw, and thankfully it was repairable and not in a sidewall, but no fishing that day....

Bows.

I did not catch the part of the forecast for today where it was going to blow 15-20 and drizzle some possibly-frozen precip for a couple hours.  I just heard sunny and mild.  I knew something was up when I saw ominous clouds gathering over the mountains on my drive up.  With sun in half the sky striking the white wings of snow geese, and the other half in gray and purple with moisture falling short of the ground, it was quite a sight. I was expecting to see a twister before I arrived at the creek. From about 12 to 2, maybe later, it was challenging conditions out there.  I was barely dressed enough, and certainly not dressed enough to stand still too long.  With the wind, the best bet was to toss a jigged streamer or a big stonefly—or a spinner!  I spoke to a nice gear guy who landed a few before the front came through.  I ran into a few guys today, actually, and that definitely cramped my style.  It’s not like fish are everywhere when the water is 38 degrees.   I moved nothing on a bugger, but once I talked to dude and learned he had fished downstream, I was not surprised.  I did land one rainbow on like my third cast—on a Pat’s rubberleg, a pretty massive bug that helped keep a tight line in the wind. Flows were decent but clear, so I would have seen any more follows on the bugger I tied on a little later. 

A couple were in fantastic condition, however.

I made a move after running into another dude working downstream with midges under a bobber, it appeared.  He might have been the third dude, actually.  I saw no cars when I drove the road along the creek, so a couple of these clowns saw my car and probably saw me working upstream.  Fishing etiquette is in decline, as we know, but it has gotten pretty bad on this creek.  With the pressure and postings, I have tried to write this one off a few times, but I have had so many good days for over a decade that it is hard to give it up, I guess.  I have found that when fishing pressure is high, and not just here, the browns are hard to come by, but the rainbows must feel emboldened because the browns go into hiding.  This is not the only creek where this happens.  All bows today, as a result.  All bows?!  Sounds like more than there actually were.  More like all four of them in five hours of fishing!

An 18 walts on the dropper, so they were off the bottom for a couple hours today.

From 3 to 5 PM, I nymphed pocket water—really rainbow water this time of year not brown trout water—and I did land three more decent bows for the effort.  Again, I had a dude sneak below me and fish a hole I intended to fish eventually, but at least he assumed I was moving upstream and gave me space below.  I also spoke to another fly guy who had some success around the same window of time, but also long before I got there.  He had a decent morning, and then experienced the same ill-tempered weather that shut down the bite midday.  Around 3 PM the day turned out the way it was forecasted, and bugs even started hatching.  No rises to the midges, but my last three fish took a small bug on the dropper tag, which indicates that they were up off the bottom and taking emergers.  It is nice that the sun does not set until 5:30 PM these days, and I didn’t have to be home for the boy, so I fished until 5 and then took a nice stroll in the woods back to the ‘Ru.  Hopefully, with the longer days and more active fish, or more active feeding windows each day, at least, I will find the missing motivation to get up next time I get a chance to get out!

Small enough to be wild, especially given the time of year, but, you know...