March 9, 2024 – I Just Like to Know They’re in There – SEPA Freestoner

Wild fish in what some would call Philly (it's not).

I was out with friends in Philly last night, so getting up to fish before the rain arrived was a bit ambitious for me, I guess.  The boy also had SATs in the morning and was not finished until 11 AM, so it did not look like a fishing weekend, especially with high winds to follow on Sunday.  When I actually watched the forecast for today, however, I was pleased to see that they were calling for the main event to hold off until between 4 to 6 PM, moving (south)west to (north)east.  I have no problem fishing in the rain if it’s just showers, and that is what it looked like.  They do get it right sometimes because I did not hit heavy rain until close to 6 PM when I was back at the ‘Ru ready to make the short drive home.  After a quick look at the Valley gage and driving over the mighty Wissy a couple times, I decided against Valley on a weekend.  It was just mild enough, with nice flows and visibility, that there might be olive chasers.  I would try to fish the falling water next week instead.  There were stockers to catch in some local creeks, of course, and based on the Wissy flows, they would be in good shape.  But I had another SEPA freestoner in mind that is much more of a novelty.

I caught a couple even smaller than the one above too, but they get a quicker release.

So this crick: I visit once a year typically just to see what’s happening.  It is a formerly stocked creek way close to urban and suburban sprawl that somehow has wild reproduction due to clean water and solid tree cover to keep it cool.  It is very small, but it has some good gradient as it flows to the river, and therefore some pocket water to fish.  Those riffles and pockets help the fish survive the warm summer months too, I am willing to bet.  Someone besides the PFBC stocks it in spots, of course, but the stockers don’t last long, not like the wild browns that have learned to survive in here.  Heck, a couple of those wild fish might even be thriving, as I caught probably half a dozen yearlings this afternoon, maybe two young year classes.  It only takes two consenting adults to keep this thing going!  In addition to the smalls, I did catch two adults, and I had one slightly bigger adult chase a jigged bugger clear out of the water as I lifted to recast.  I could not get him to come back, even when I returned with bugs after dialing in what the little fellas wanted to eat, a basic caddis larva.  Still, like the number of hungry babes I caught, it was a pleasant surprise, and helped make a potentially lost fishing day, nay, a potentially lost fishing weekend, a damn good time.