December 24 and 31, 2025 – A Couple of “Eves” in the Cold and Wind with Expected Results – SEPA

A chilly skunking.

Murphy’s Law: I have off from December 19 until January 5 and, with few exceptions, we are hit with unseasonably cold weather, not to mention ice, high winds, and other significant precipitation, frozen and not.  The couple of days when there was a window, I had other plans, but even those windows were short and hardly perfect winter fishing conditions.  In the winter, it’s often the fishing, however, not the fish.  What I mean is that I sometimes use fishing in the winter as an excuse to be outdoors.  A hike is fine, but a hike with a fishing rod means the possibility of something more, maybe a surprise piggy or at least a couple post spawn fish before the signs of the next spring creep in and the line between winter and spring blur?  Not this week.  The weather did keep everyone home or otherwise indoors, so I was able to explore two old favorites that I tend to ignore these days because the fishing and/or pressure have turned me off.  Because no one was out but me, not even dog walkers, I was treated to the nature show in the Lehigh Valley on Christmas Eve afternoon.  Besides the requisite waterfowl, I saw an eagle, many deer, and even had a rather close encounter with a coyote in the late afternoon.  They may have been pushing around a few small deer that I met along the creek.  The young deer certainly looked on edge, and the coyote occupied with more than my presence.  I covered a lot of water pretty quickly in hopes of finding an active fish or two.  It was not a day, or at least I was not in the mood, to set up with midges in a deep hole and just watch a bobber.  The water was under 40 degrees, so I was not surprised to come up empty.  Besides my last skunk on the surf, this was my first skunk of 2025—considering it is late December, I will take it and be content.

Low and clear and cold.

I barely avoided my final skunk of 2025 on New Year's Eve afternoon.  Again, I was fishing a “loved” stretch of SEPA creek in conditions that kept everyone else home.  Props to the two dog walkers and one jogger I encountered for making it outdoors today!  I have not fished this one since last February or March, I bet.  On small bugs, I caught a couple young of the year (from last year) to avoid the skunk, but I did hook a much nicer fish while swinging a jigged bugger in a deep wintering hole.  He got off, but his presence made me retool and tough it out with midges and a bobber in one spot for a good 45 minutes.  I watched at least two decent fish suspended up, sometimes slowly moving to bugs.  Since I saw no olives today, I am assuming they were midging.  I went down to 5X, a size 18 zebra midge, and a small olive on the dropper tag, but I was not digging out the 22s and 6X today.  At 4 PM on a day with a “feels like temperature” of 21 or something, I had run out of patience with tying knots in the wind for the day.  Who knows if they would have eaten anyway.  I did not spook them, but they were in a spot affectionately known as the spectator hole, so they’re not afraid to eat with an audience, and my stealth was probably just passable.  The bugger eat was my chance, and the only bugger eat I would get.  I did try at a few spots on the walk out, but I did not move a fish.  Murphy’s Law: It’s supposed to hit 50s next week when I am back at work.  Happy New Year, mitches!

Let's hear it for the YOY.