October 14, 2026 – I Wasn’t Going to Miss this Opportunity with Isaias – NEPA

Mr. October

Storm chasing is tough when you have a 9 to 5 job, I guess.  When my schedule was more open during the day, I had quite a run of chasing post-rain pigs with a streamer.  I have since embraced the challenge of catching fish in any and all conditions, which is really the only way to be a truly competent fly angler.  But sometimes, I still get a feeling in my gut that says, Don’t skip this one, fella.  A tropical storm left anywhere from 1.5 to 3 inches of rain throughout most of the state on Sunday.  Sadly, the boy was home from college for fall break, and we had Monday planned as a fishing day on some bigger water somewhere.  These storms often don’t live up to the hype and track differently, but Isaias followed through with the forecasted totals.  The boy and I slept in on Monday, even though I had a vacation day off.  He had to go back on Tuesday, and I had to work that day, so we will have to wait for Turkey Day stripers, it seems.  That disappointment may have motivated me to consider taking Wednesday as an impromptu sick day, especially because work is crazy right now.  When my usual train home was cancelled on Tuesday night, after a long, busy day, and I had to take the next one a full hour later, that made the decision for me.  Nope, not working on Wednesday.  I am getting up early, doing the drive in the dark, and doing whatever it takes to find a pre-spawn brown fattening up for the thing they do pretty soon—maybe REALLY soon based on the colors of the adult fish I caught today.  This was surely my last trip to this crick for the year.

Slow start, then starting put something together.  Second shot of first stud.

I monitored the gages on Monday and Tuesday and chose well this morning, but I had my doubts.  “Dawnstalker” struck out with a streamer early.  I only caught 3 or 4 average trout and a couple YOY in the first four hours of fishing, and those were on nymphs.  The creek was still dirty, and it was cold despite a near record warm day in the forecast, but the leaf hatch was what I blamed for the holes not being all that welcoming, even with a bobber and patience.  By 10:30 AM, I pivoted to targeting shallower pocket water with caddis larva and soft hackles, and I started sticking fish.  There were adults in all the knotweed along the banks even if very little was active on the water at that hour of the day.  Sunrise is not until like 7 AM, so 10 AM is still early for the bugs to be active, at least today.  The fishing was nothing crazy, but it was a little something for the effort.  Confidence restored, I focused up and did not miss the first opportunity I had for a piggy.  The first good fish pictured twice above, took a purple CDC soft hackle up on the dropper tag in no more than 2 feet of water.  He was so pretty, I leaned the camera up against the base of a bankside tree and yelled “shoot” to capture the selfish, capturing another old stud in the process....

Let's do that again!

I picked up a couple average fish working this long stretch of pocket water, so I was growing more confident that I could put together a decent day, even if it was just more 10 to 12 inchers in shallow water, which I always enjoy.  I had done the thing I set out to do, and this was just the bonus round.  They were not everywhere, and I bet I only landed 10 fish total in 5 hours of fishing, but things did get interesting again.  Not 30 minutes after releasing what I thought was my daymaker, my reason for making a predawn drive with the truckers on a Wednesday, my validation that this was the right move, the right creek, the right day, the right kind of water to target, I found an even bigger barely pre-spawn male.  I cashed in my bonus tag for another huge buck.  He ate the anchor fly, a small olive perdigon, again in rather shallow water.  No redds in sight, and he was eating in the head of a riffle not in the tailout or any obvious spawning spot, but he looked ready for love.  Kyped jaw, the dark colors, teeth, all the right tools of the trade.

Another shot of piggy # 2.  Some crick pics (for Ron).

After getting some good shots, including another selfish while yelling “shoot” at my camera propped on a mid-riffle rock, I decided that this was my day.  I am not a glutton, as I have probably shared a few times here throughout the years.  Sure, I have had days with as many as four high teens fish in one session, but many times if I get a good one, I can call it quits.  Two today within 30 minutes of each other was more than enough, especially because they looked like they would soon have other plans on their minds.  If I don’t catch them again, I at least want to catch their kids in a few years.  When I sent the boy some pics, he was jealous, but he understands that these things have their own clocks.  Monday was too soon, Tuesday was likely just a swing for the fences with a big, water-moving streamer, and today was just right.  Thursday had potential to be a 30 fish on nymphs in the same spots that did and did not produce today kind of trip, but I am back to work on Thursday, Friday, AND Saturday.  Maybe I can get somewhere in between on the upcoming, albeit likely freezing, Sunday morning.  I will have my eyes on a couple more gages following the cold front that may bring a bit more rain this weekend.

Bonus shot of a really handsome one ready to settle down and build a redd with someone special.

October 4, 2026 – Sometimes I Pick the Wrong Creek for the Right Reasons – NEPA

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.

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. 

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.

Bony and sometimes skinny, but a day in the woods with some fishes.