June 19, 2026 – A Lot of Work, a Lot of Steps, While Wet Wading Cold Front Conditions, All for a Dozen Youths – NEPA

Low water dinkfest.

Without a major change in the weather pattern, it’s feeling close to over this spring, right in time for the first day of summer.  I am almost ready to switch to bass.  RR knows I say this every year, so I am the boy who cried wolf when it comes to quitting the spring, but today might help me commit.  I have never fished this river this low.  Sadly, I actually chose this spot because I can only fish it in low water, and I have had some really memorable days here with the wild browns.  I first waded up to this spot in early June of 2023 during a prolonged dry spell.  I was not shocked, but I was pleasantly surprised at the size of the browns that had decided to get up into this shallow riffle and feed.  On a big Class A creek in Central PA, I would have expected them to be here in numbers at this time of year, but the river is not Class A.  This section was and has been, arguably remains, Class A, just with really small fish today.  I have heard regulars like Tigereye discuss not catching small wild browns in the river, and the place that always comes to mind as a counter is this stretch, but there were typically nice fish mixed with the smalls.  This morning, I had 6 fish under 8 inches in the first hour and worked for 6 more and my first by-catch smalljaw of the year during the remaining 4 hours on the water.  I actually caught a fish (and managed not to net) in a tributary on the hike out that looked like a brookie, and the brookie was as big at the browns I caught in the main river!  I also caught two YOY in the main river, likely a first for me.  They were 3 inches long and did not need to be handled for a photo, but I know they are there.  Some fish do spawn on the main river, it seems.  Pretty tough fish who are gambling with ever-changing conditions and flows!  I do believe most of the wild fish come from the tributaries, but there is reproduction in the river too.  I saw three or four fallfish mounds, a couple of them nearly dry with the low water, so survival of the fittest here, for sure.

Need some rain, but it was pretty and pretty windy out there with no humidity (or bugs).

A cold front came through in the wee hours, so by 7 AM I had to deal with gusty winds out of the North.  That did not make fishing light bugs in shallow water any easier.  I had to fish heavier and swing my drifts a bit more, but I made the lulls count and got some good enough drifts to fool an adult trout had he or she been in the riffle with their offspring.  The wind doubly sucked because I had hiked in with my dry fly rod in the tube and had stashed it on the bank.  There have been times where fish in this stretch would begin rising in the flat and deep holes below the riffle.  Against brand, I twice sat on a rock and waited for some surface activity.  I never put the rod together.  I probably should have if only to muscle an indicator up into the wind because the mono rig and a thingamabobber were not doing the job in 20 MPH winds.  I could see to the bottom in 6 feet of water, and the sun was bright, so I am not sure anything would have worked all that well.  No bugs of note.  I saw midges, one or two 18 BWOs, and no caddis, so I was fishing a small bug on the dropper tag.  Ironically, all the little fish hit the anchor fly near the bottom, which was often heavy and bigger just to track in the wind.  Trying to crack the code, I even threw a single size 10 pheasant tail jig, just to determine if slate drakes or other big bugs were on the menu still.  Results were much the same.  A dink or two, the bass.

The future is bright for this stretch of river at least.  And some coolwater by-catch.

With the dry wind, it was like fishing out West.  My wet wading pants dried on the walk out and while I was having lunch at the ‘Ru contemplating another move.  Instead, for old times, now ancient times, sake, I snuck up this trib a little ways.  It was a pleasure to be in the deep shade and out of the wind, but the water was low and clear.  I fought the aforementioned fish in a deep plunge for a few seconds before he flopped off in the tail out.  It was good to see at least one in there.  I did not have the juice to keep climbing a mountain trickle with my 10-foot rod, so I quit after this short diversion.  It was a really nice day for humans, but not great for fish.  Stream selection based on conditions is pretty important too….  In my defense, it does not make it easy when all the little cricks is mad low.  I am still happy I got out fishing in mid-June during this dry, warm year.

Pretty and pretty boney.