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| A few decent small stream fish in the mix. |
I decided to do a little recon on a creek I have not fished
since the late fall of 2021. It is stocked
a few times in the spring, but it also has a decent population of wild fish
that begin to dominate the scene again once the interlopers are eaten or go
belly up. After this warm and
exceptionally dry summer, I expected to catch the variety of rough fish that I
did, and I was also not surprised that only one holdover ended up in the net. I usually fish this creek in the late fall
and winter, but I guess I needed a change from the Lehigh Valley limestoners on
my summer list. It was probably a bit
premature, as the water temperatures on this mostly freestone creek were in the
mid-60’s today. The last round of slow,
steady rain added a bit a volume, and plenty of small seeps and rivulets were
adding cool water, but I could tell the creek had been low by the amount of vegetation
on the banks. Had the water temps been a
bit cooler to start, I think my plan would have been great, but in the end I
had to return to the usual small bug script to put together a decent tally. It was
humid as heck, and even wet wading it was not the most comfortable morning to
fish, even if the woods turned lush and lovely overnight from just a little bit
of that much needed rain.
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| Mostly stained but certainly not high + mid-60's not magical temps. |
I arrived with a small black bugger on the anchor and an SJ
worm on the dropper, but I had an inkling that would not be the ticket when I
saw the creek. The water was stained in
the deeper holes, muddy in the muddier spots, but the riffles were
clearing. I had two big old chubs eat
the bugger, and I saw two decent trout take a look, but it appeared that the
streamer bite was not going to happen. I
stuck with it a while because I could cover a lot of creek, and this was
partially a recon trip, but eventually I wanted to catch a trout. I rigged with 5.5X, a 16 frenchie with a
purple hot spot, and one of Eric’s buggy little tag flies on the dropper. Once I did that, I had a steady pick of fish
for the rest of my upstream walk. Most
of them were fallfish, creek chubs, and dace of all sizes. They loved Eric’s bug, and only one trout ate
it, so I eventually clipped it off. The
honey holes were disappointing, maybe because of the stain and lower oxygen
levels, but pocket water produced enough to make it a fun, albeit swampy trip. There were no bugs present, not even midges, and
so many fry that I know I will toss a bugger again next time too. Although, there are caddis in October, so
that might be a moot point by my next visit.
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| Lush and lovely, one holdover, uber-chubs dominated. |
The first trout I landed was a pretty fish, but it had no
eye spot and fused patterns, so just a small holdover brown that no one wanted
to eat, I guess. After that, I did catch
at least half a dozen YOY and another 4 or 5 smalls before putting together a
handful of small-stream-respectable fish too.
In the spirit of recon, I walked deeper into the stretch than I usually do. I guess I usually don’t have to cover as
much ground in order to put together a satisfactory catch, but it was good to visit
some of the holes I rarely visit. There
are some good ones that I must remember for the winter! The last real fish came around 12 noon. I was in the shade and wet wading, but I
could tell it was hot out of the canopy.
I did not recall the forecast calling for 85 degrees, but that was what it
was saying on my dash when I started my ride home. Another front coming through on Monday might
bring rain. At the very least, it is supposed
to end the humidity. I may check the gages
in the morning, but I think I will probably wait until Thursday or Friday to
get out again. Instead of getting
excited about warm rain, I am hoping a few more cool nights might make an even bigger
difference.
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| Eventually a good number of pretty wild browns on small bugs. |
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