August 20, 2023 – It Is Good to Mix Things Up Once in a While – Northampton County

Because a #10 Royal Wulff made total sense!

You may have noticed that it’s been a minute since I have gotten out.  I definitely packed up to chase the local panfish a couple of times on weekday mornings, only to roll over and go back to sleep, but the weekends were booked with family stuff.  I finally got out today and nymphed the early morning grind for half a dozen+ small wild browns on a small creek in Northampton County.  Limestone-influenced and benefitting from the shorter days and coolers nights, not to mention average flows once again after consistent rain and storms, the creek was plenty cold.  I started out before 6 AM, so wet wading was definitely scrotum-shrinking with those first few steps.  Of course, old habits on an old standby crick, and I chose to make a thigh-deep crossing to start!  It eventually felt great by 8 AM with the water and air getting to about the same temperatures.  I could not crack the eight-inch range and started getting mauled by YOY as the morning warmed up, so I almost quit around 9 AM.  A small number of tricos were active at that time, and as I crossed back to the ‘Ru, I saw some smalls dimpling a flat glide upstream, likely taking spinners by the looks of the barely perceptible rise forms. 

Couldn't crack 8 inches on the mono rig + beautiful morning.

While not fishing, I have been getting my stuff together for the fall: I used some Shoe Goo to repair a couple seams on wading boots starting to separate, I replaced studs on a pair of felt-soled boots that almost owned me a couple weeks ago, I rigged up a couple bass set-ups in case the river was calling me one morning.  I have also been messing around and casting in the front yard with a primo brookie set up for tight spaces.  I have an older LL Bean rod that is a moderate action 7-foot five weight.  It will throw tight loops in tight spaces with limited line needed to load up, so it is fun to cast.  I paired it with an older bar stock reel and tossed it in the car last night in case I decided to run a dry-dropper instead of nymphing.  It was there in the back of the ‘Ru when I decided to take a water temperature at 9:15 AM while I fished one last hole, hoping even for Karen the white sucker to put a good bend in the rod.  It was only 61 degrees at that time, so I decided to give either the trico sippers or some terrestrial eaters a go for a short round two—mix it up a bit, you know?

Nice trout on the big dry!

The short rod had a small foam caddis with a drowned ant on the dropper, and so I lazily started with that since me waiting for dimplers to resume eating definitely goes against brand!  I had one splashy miss of the caddis, but I landed at least three of that same morning average size on the ant dropper, so the bonus hour would be fun if nothing else.  Instead of waiting, I just moved upstream with some stealth and the long casts in tight quarters the little giant afforded me.  I had to end casts high so the line didn’t arrive too violently, but when I got into some bouncy pocket water, I switched the dry to a size 12 Royal Wulff (yeah, definitely a limestone offering!) and that made for perfect, softer presentations.  I saw some big old crane flies in the morning, and cicadas and bigger terrestrials were making noise, so it was not an insane choice especially with my tired eyes in bright sun and broken water.  The big fly landing more quietly accounted for two more small browns on the dropper, and then a massive surface blow up ended the dinkfest.  The fish pictured to the right was over 18 inches by pretty accurate hand-measuring, nearly 19, and with that massive head, he might have been more than I could have handled had it not been the third week in August after a hot summer.  That was a piggy’s head for sure!  Don’t get me wrong, I still had my hands full with this one, but I was able to keep him out of the rocks and debris long enough to slip a net under him and get a selfish of the first good fish in a while.  He had that big dry in a great spot that was not coming loose.  Had he taken the dropper on 6X, his choppers might have ended things sooner, but I was lucky enough to tangle with and land a great fish.  On that note, water temps good or not, I decided to call it quits, grateful for a memorable return to the water and some validation for my planning, game day calls, and ability to mix it up once in a while.

Some b roll