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| A real pretty one. |
I was up early
and on my way to the Mighty Brodhead today, when I decided to pivot to another
creek. I think I wanted to privilege solitude
over prime conditions. I didn’t expect
this Class A to have much water in October, but it had rained a lot just a week
ago, and more was supposed to be on the way, so I did expect a little more than
I found. Needless to say, I stayed anyway,
knowing I’d have this place to myself today.
I fished 5 hours and never got even a shower despite the skies looking heavy
with precipitation. It was cool but also
swampy at times in waders, but I think wet wading is officially over starting
this upcoming week. The roads were wet
on my way back home, so maybe this area eventually got some rain, but it did
not happen while I was fishing. Water
temperatures are good everywhere, but the bigger water likely fished better
today, especially with all the cloud cover, which would have made the streamer
I tied on 4X last night make more sense.
No matter, I wanted to see this creek in the early fall, and fishing in
different conditions is good for any angler.
I clipped off the bugger and 4X, found a caddis larva and some 5X, and
started sneaking through the woods with my 10 foot 3 weight.
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| Some early trouts. |
It did not take
long to find a few fish to eat, but I had to work through an entire pool and
run without a hit until I reached the head.
Nymphing and not tossing a dry dropper from afar, this was the pattern
today. Stay low and sneak up to the
bouncier water. I did catch a couple on
a streamer in some holes I had to approach from above due to trees and other obstacles,
and I even skated a caddis dry a few times after witnessing a handful of rises
late in the morning. But nymphing a
single bug and reacting to the quick grabs in faster water resulted in a
respectable morning. I bet I had about
10 fish in the 5 hours I was out there, but I covered a lot of water in that
time because fish were only holding where they were holding. There was a mix of holdover rainbows (some
looking great and some looking stressed) and wild browns, but with the exception
of one decent adult brown, all the larger trout were rainbows. All the fish looked skinny, probably from the
heat and low water this summer. Or the
skinny ones ate today because it was time to eat. They acted fine, chasing a streamer at times,
leaping when hooked, but I sort of wished that I was feeding them actual food
not tungsten. The brown did not appear colored
up to spawn yet, so they likely have time to eat and get back to prime condition
before making redds. The bows can go,
honestly, as they really don’t belong in this creek if it supports a Class A population
of browns—which it most certainly does, today’s showing notwithstanding, of course.
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| Some healthier ones. |
Normally, this
would not be a creek I would target in the fall, but as I said above a challenge
is good and there are reasons to choose a particular spot, especially on a
weekend, that have little to do with prime conditions. Solitude won this early fall day. Some leaves are falling and undergrowth is
dying, so it was easier to bushwhack and not have to wade in the water and
potentially blow up a spot with a wake.
Even in NEPA, we have some time for true autumn to set in, but it felt
good to be out there in the changing seasons.
I heard some practice shots in the distance, so it’s not surprising that
I saw no wildlife today, maybe one squirrel.
The deer must know what’s up. Speaking
of that, it looks like I might have to find some more blaze orange to wear when
fishing this time of year. It looks like
the rules about how much orange to wear exceeds that of just a hat. Maybe a hat AND a buff the next time I head out? The boy is off for fall break starting Friday,
so we may poke around the Lehigh River or another big creek next Monday. I guess I need some orange for him too? There will be more to come in October, hopefully a little more excitement
than some skinny trouts from another bony NEPA creek.
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| Bony and sometimes skinny, but a day in the woods with some fishes. |
