August 30, 2026 – Other People’s Flies + It’s Only a Matter of Time Now – NEPA

Eric's bugger got us started.

I worked the early shift this morning and caught at least a dozen trouts, a mix of browns and holdover bows, including a really nice small stream fish as a bonus.  I was expecting much cooler water temperatures, but I was dealt mid-sixties, so fish were good but also not that active—with the overnight temps in the 50, I was hoping for better, but I am still learning this creek in different seasons and have noted that next time mid-September is better than late August.  They would eat if you put it in front of their faces, and I guess I put it in front of at least a dozen faces between 7 AM and 11 AM.  They were tight to cover and mostly in holes with current, not riffles or seams.  Even though it was humid and gnatty, and I was wet wading, there were signs that seasons are changing rather quickly.  Some leaves falling, wildlife moving about, including three turkeys and a couple small bucks.  I did not see any aquatic bug life, and I tried a weenie and a drowned ant on the dropper without takers, but fish would eat buggy looking bugs.  I caught one fish, the one that opens this post and my first of the morning, on Eric’s small stream bugger, but I caught the rest on big bugs, small bugs, a perdigon, a big prince jig, even Josh’s bug I found stuck in my drying patch.  After loosing my small purple CDC dropper tag, I noticed what we are now calling the Funky Dutchman itching to get fished as my dropper.  Josh broke a rod when we were fishing last Sunday, so I let him borrow one of mine.  His fly was bycatch when I broke down that rod for the drive home.  It did not slay, as it has for him in the past, but I did catch a few fish on it before I hung it in a tree on a hero hookset in a tight spot.

The best of the morning with some early average fish.

I did get a couple things right: Flows were perfect, like late-June flows, the kind of flows when I can catch 30 fish on this creek in the same amount of time.  The rains we got in recent weeks also moved some stuff around or slightly altered holes.  I caught my best fish of the morning behind a logjam, not in front of a logjam, because the hole is now further downstream by a yard.  A nascent beaver dam in a side channel somehow created a deeper spot in a favorite riffle, and a good 11-inch fish came out of the deeper spot.  There were only bows in a spot I thought would be good summer holding water, but maybe they just outcompeted the browns in there today.   None of the fish got stressed from fighting me and my 10-foot 3 weight, but I still decided to quit at 11 AM anyway and not fish another long, usually productive beat.  That stretch is also mostly pocket water with few holes and longer walks in between them.  Fish did not seem to be active in random pockets or seams, as I noted above, so I decided to save that stretch for another visit on a cooler, buggier day.

A lot of holdover bows and Josh's Funky Dutchman digging up more browns.

The other thing I got right was the assumption that no one else would be on this stretch.  The only actual signs of life in the woods were deer trails when I had to bushwhack.  No other footprints or bobbers in trees or worm containers.  A good number of cooperative fish and some solitude was what I needed today after very social week at work (and last weekend at the Josh Jam).  Because I ran into a road closure on the way up to this creek, which delayed my typical “Dawnstalker” (Larry’s new name for me) start time by 20 minutes, I took the scenic route home.  The route follows the creek for a while, and I saw no one else out at 11:30 AM as I made my return trip.  With how muddy the Skuke looked last week, not to mention the great flows in this trib, I thought the Delaware would look much less fishable.  It looked really good, maybe not wading good, but boats were out there fishing.  That would have been my other plan this morning had the gage shown a bit more wade-friendly, but I am glad I got up early and fished this morning.  I like trouts.

A real sexy spot and my last decent brown of the morning.

I am looking forward to the shorter days and longer nights, and I hope the overnight temperatures stay cool even if we hit 90 degrees during the upcoming week.  A busy work week ahead, but I do have the long weekend coming up and may suck it up and rise early at least one day.  Go figure: The summer grind is less of a grind if I can anticipate comfortable and productive fishing conditions.  I think there is more rain coming, as well.  I will not be at the beach next weekend mourning the end of summer, but I may be in NEPA jumping the gun (again) on the fall fishing.  Spoiled, I guess?  I really should not call a dozen cooperative fish in four hours of fishing in late August jumping the gun.  I am certainly grateful for that and excited about even better days on the water in the coming weeks and months.  It won't be long now before it gets real.

Bonus pic of a small stream beauty.