April 12, 2024 – Another Soaker but a Productive Window after a Too-Long Absence from the Game – Valley Creek

 A day-maker on Valley for the first fish of the morning (and a couple weeks out of the game).

Besides getting soaked to my boxers during a brief (boxer brief?), heavy shower, I found a good window on Valley Creek this morning.  I had a bunch of afternoon meetings, but after getting the boy out the door for school, I had about four hours of time to catch a few fish.  The fresh stockies would have to wait, as the flows were up and muddy on the Wissy, but seeing the gage for Valley, which is by the Turnpike and the Park, I knew some further reaches of the stream would be less impacted and improving.  I needed a day, so when I landed the beauty pictured above, I was very grateful to the fish gods.  I have just been busy with work, but mostly home: Easter, yardwork for my mom, the boy’s schedule, some college visits, and so on. 

Went for numbers when the bugs made their case.

I arrived around 7:45 and was fishing by 8 AM.  The flows were up, but the riffles and shallower water had good visibility, so I would guess at least a foot of visibility—for me, probably much more for the fish, who had no problem finding my bugs.  As shared, my first fish was a very solid Valley fish that fought her arse off.  I was fishing upstream with a mono rig and one of Eric’s small, jigged buggers to start.  I also got one later in a really deep hole with one of George Daniel’s sculp snacks.  After the first fish, I had the requisite chases and bumps by the many, many small fish until I had another good fish eat the bugger.  I turned this one with a hookset and saw his head turn back towards me like I had gotten him, but a second later the bugger flew back over my head and into the many greening scrubs and overhanging trees behind me.  That greenery was full of caddis, not surprisingly.  Eventually, about 9 AM, I saw a riser in the riffles above a deep muddy hole I was trying to dredge with a bugger, and I noticed that more caddis and a couple craneflies were aloft.  I said, “Eff it, let’s go for numbers,” at that point.  I got the riser to eat a single duracell before I got poured on for 10 minutes or more.

More trouts & bonus shots.

Instead of switching back to the bugger, I took that rain break to rig up a soft hackle on the dropper and a larva on the bottom.  When the rain stopped, I had a steady two hours of action on the nymphs.  No more size, but enough to bend the rod.  I went for broke a couple other times with the bugger, but I could only catch average fish with that, so the nymphs were far more effective.  It got breezy at times, and the trees were creaking ominously, but the wind dried my clothes a bit and all the noise amounted to nothing, at least until I was back at the ‘Ru prepping for the ride home.  One other interesting note, which is sort of par for the course with caddis: Half of the fish hit on the swing.  I just hold the rod out steady and let the bugs swing under the rod tip once I notice that swing getting noticed.  Potentially deadly with grannoms. Anyhow, I am hoping to get out at least once this weekend, but I have a busy Saturday, and I am going to see a band in Philly with Dolf that evening, so a late night with a potential mild hangover and/or a belly full of Mexican food and likely a pummeling live show.  Eric mentioned Sunday evening on the crick down the street.  So maybe I will get into a few of those fresh stockies if nothing else motivates me to take a longer ride.  Buster wants to fish, yo.