March 30, 2024 – Tried to Mix it Up, with Very Mixed Results – Brodhead Creek

A pretty bow, and the bobber back there.

With such a wet winter messing with my plans to visit, I have missed the Mighty Brodhead.  There are sections where fishing is legal before opening day, so I decided I would pay a visit on Saturday.  I set the alarm for early in the morning, but I think I messed with the clock in the night and switched things to PM instead of AM!  Well, I did not leave until 10:00 AM, which was fine, I guess, except for the breeze and high sun.  Leaving later would give me a shot at some variety of early spring mayflies, one or two of the quills, and tan caddis, of course, if I could find some elbow room.  When I packed the night before, I was not fully committed to the bigger creek, which was a bit high but certainly clear, so I also packed my small stream stuff and mapped a couple Class As that I had not fished in some time.  I probably should have gone to one of them after missing my shots at a couple dry fly eats around 3 PM.   Instead of nymphing my usual way, I decided to give my 10-foot 5 weight some exercise this afternoon, so I was mostly bobber fishing heavy bugs or one heavy bug and a small imitation on the dropper.  I was definitely out of practice, as I dropped two fish on the retrieve, unable to keep up with them running towards me.  Takes were light, so that did not help either, I am sure, but if I were tightlining I am positive I would not have dropped these trouts, light hits or not.  One was a decent wild brown that leaped off the line not 10 feet in front of me, too.

Moving water but certainly fishable and very wadable (in spots).

I did manage to land two wild-ish rainbows that either migrated upstream from previous spring stockings or migrated down from some private clubs upstream.  They had been around, based on the fins and the skinny shape from having to work for their meals for a couple years.  There was plenty to eat today, even a good hatch of small tan caddis and some larger mayflies around 2-3 PM.  That potential was another reason for throwing an actual fly line today.  I switched to a caddis dry when I had four decent fish rising around me.  I did not even get a refusal, so they were either taking the mayflies or something I could not see.  My gut said caddis emergers based on what they were doing, but my go-to caddis soft hackle dropped off the dry got no love either.  Humbling, of course, but that was why I changed it up today.  These fish are oft-targeted by better dry fly guys than me.  In fact, a nice guy hunting heads in a slick where heads are often spotted was rewarded with a nice wild brown on the dry.  Also humbling, of course.  It will come back to me over time, I am sure, and I did vow to throw a fly line more this year.  Just to really make my day humbling, I also dropped a nice streamer fish just before I quit for the evening ride home (in heavy rain).  Maybe the botched alarm was sign.