October 13, 2017 - Without a Doubt, Huh? – NEPA

Fall in NEPA on my favorite creek, without a doubt a true beauty. 

There has been a Magic 8-ball in my powder room for 10 years, I bet, and it rarely gets handled, except by guests, perhaps, but for some reason I picked it up this morning and asked this dollar store oracle, “Is it worth it to drive to the Poconos this morning?”  I worked about a 12 hour day on Thursday, a day of meetings followed by an evening of teaching and then grading annotated bibliographies for research papers.  A lot of minutia there, even with my expert wife’s rubrics.  I definitely work a lot of hours some weeks, but they are my hours, for the most part.  I tell students not to judge me by the time stamp on my replies to their submissions and their emails and, in turn, I will not judge theirs (even the obvious all-nighters with the 3 AM time stamps).  I was tired this morning, and I had to take the boy to school early for band practice, but I also knew I was not going to spend another day grading, especially a cloudy day following a bit of rain.  I was about 75% sure that I was going to take a longer ride today, but I guess I needed a sign from the universe.  The 8-ball’s response was, “Without a doubt.”  

My second big wild brown of the week chewing a big bugger.

It eventually was, without a doubt, well worth it to drive 90 minutes and walk a couple miles on a 30 degree grade and waist deep in slippery boulders and leaf litter, as the photo to the left hopefully shows, but I had to withhold judgment for much of the morning.  I arrived at around 9:30 AM, and then took a 30 minute walk down an old railroad right of way.  It was only 54 degrees, and I was underdressed (I noticed people in fleece at the rest stop) so the walk was welcomed.  It stayed cloudy all day, and the water temp was a good 60 degrees, but very little bug life was active, and what was active was very small, size 18 or smaller caddis and midges.  I watched a pair of sunfish rise and saw maybe 3 random splashes all day.  Granted, in the area I chose to fish, I was not expecting numbers.  This is marginal water that holds some big fish.  Probably 25 years ago, I landed a legit 26 inch wild brown on the trusty Rapala CD3 in this same area.  It is strange to think that I have fished the same place for 30 years!  Had I caught that behemoth on the fly rod, I may have been retired from the sport for 25 years now...  I guess my trip earlier in the week made me greedy to set the hook on a fish that pulled back when I set or, better yet, felt like a soft, heavy snag until it started swimming.  One quality fish would make it all worthwhile.  I would keep plugging along and enjoy the day, knowing that the oracle did say without a doubt.

A good fall morning walk.

I was expecting fish to still be in the riffles, so I was rigged up to Czech nymph, but I only scored a bevy of warmwater species for the effort: I started with sunfish, then a couple 12 inch bass, followed by a fallfish and a chub or two.  I double-checked the water temperature at a deep hole, and it was still 60 degrees, so I resigned to fish a pair of midges under an indicator in case the trout had vacated the shallower riffles with the cooling off and shortening days.  I finally had a hit, and after at least two hours of catching everything else, I finally landed a trout—a hold-over rainbow that vacated stocked waters for better environs.  He was skinny, but otherwise he looked better for the move; even his anal fins had grown back and turned translucent.

Besides needing a meal, this bow looked nearly perfect in his adopted home.

Confident that I could at least catch rainbows now, even if I wanted wild browns, I stuck with the midge for another hour and managed to land one more bow and lost another one after a short battle.  Both fish I landed were 12 to 13 inches and in good shape, but I was certain that a brace of stockies with wanderlust was not my reason to fish the Brodhead today.  During a little break to check messages and emails, I had a brief talk with Tami, who offered to leave work early and pick up the boy at the bus stop if I wanted to fish longer.  I gladly took the offer, figuring I could relax, take a longer walk down the creek, and maybe even find some evening risers if I stayed long enough. 

Another pretty bow.

This guy, some bows, and a 30 dollar net could not be the reason for my trip, could it?

I stopped to rig up to Czech nymph again now that I was in pocket water and riffles.  Perhaps I was tired and my knots were bad, but the second cast ended up snagged to the point that I lost both flies and half my sighter line as well!  Maybe it just cut on a sharp edge or some other debris.  By this point, it was nearing 6 PM, and sunset comes quickly in a deep valley, so I decided to spend my last 45 minutes fishing a streamer.  The first one I grabbed was a big, size 4 olive beadhead bugger, so I cut my leader back to about 6 feet long and 2X.  On my first cast through this deep pocket behind two boulders, I quickly stripped, hoping for an aggressive take.  Nope.  

Not 19, but 18, yes...

The next time, I let the streamer swing all the way down to the tailout.  Nope.  One last trick.  On the next cast, I put the bugger right in the white water and highsticked it so it got deep quickly and, as it began to move downstream, it stopped dead.  I could not believe that I was attached to another big, wild brown trout this week, but I was, without a doubt.  She jumped once and then decided to bulldog around the small hole.  On 2X, I was able to use side pressure to keep her out of the snags and also keep her in her pool and not 20 yards down the stream in a field of boulders and logs.  I only had to let her take drag one time because, otherwise, I thought I could lose her, but I rather quickly had this lovely fish on a short line and into the net.  I am certainly not sure I deserved another 18 inch fish this week, but I would gladly take it after the long, mediocre day I had persevered.  After a couple pics in bad, low light conditions, and a reckoning in the measure net, I set the fish free and moved down to the next pocket.  As the bugger was swinging in the current it got popped, but I did not connect until I started slowly stripping it back.  A very decent smallmouth leaped at the end of my line.  Not another big trout, but fun anyway, especially on a 4 weight rod.  He was about 14 inches long and fat.  Could I get more?  The next cast, I also hooked another fish, and this one stayed down.  I was hoping for another trout, but it too was a bass, this one about 12 inches.  And then I got another as well.

Another low light shot...

It was getting darker, and I had a 20 minute walk back to the Subaru, so I ended on this high note, a hot and heavy 30 minutes with the streamer at "magic time" of the evening, and I started hoofing up the hill to some level ground.  It was dark for half the walk back because I always stay too long, especially when I have my wife’s blessing to do so, but it was also peaceful, alone with the evening songs of birds and the earthy smells of damp woods.  I will, without a doubt, be tired tomorrow too, but it will be a much better variety of tired.  Even though I have lived two hours from it for far more years than I lived near it, I still proudly call the mighty Brodhead my home waters for this reason.  Despite being in a steadily urbanizing region, it is still ruggedly beautiful, sometimes mysterious, oftentimes frustrating, a little treacherous at times for many reasons, too (tent cities, anyone?), but then it gives me a little something for the effort and beckons me back, usually without the additional affirmation of the Magic 8-Ball..

October 10, 2017 – Still Wet Wading in October – A Short Stroll on Valley Creek

Valley before the heat got too bad.

I took a quick walk along Valley Creek before the heat of the day kicked in this morning, just creeping around with a dry dropper rig on my 8 foot, 3 weight set-up.  As is often the case, any rain event has a short-term effect on Valley, so while still perhaps slightly stained, it was back to low water conditions after Monday’s rain.  I expected as much, so I rigged a small caddis dry fly and a midge dropper about three feet under that to minimize spooking fish.  Last year’s brood is still feeding like crazy, rising to midges, even trying to grab my caddis dry before grabbing the dropper.

The hazards of the zebra midge this time of year.  Hungry little fellas.

I landed half a dozen fish between 3 inches and 5 inches, so if they make it through the winter without getting eaten, Valley should remain a healthy fishery barring any natural disasters.  I spent only 90 minutes hunting, squatting, kneeling, and I burned 60 of that before I found what appeared to be a rising fish of decent size.  I was lazy and didn’t remove the dropper fly.  I got a good cast that was just off the mark, a little left of his position, but my second cast, while on the mark, caused the dropper to enter the water with a little more force than intended.  Game over.  

Finally, a little something to reward my calisthenics.

I did end on a high not, however, landing a decent little fish before heading home.  Unlike his cousin, this fish came out from some down timber to investigate the caddis as it landed and then took the zebra midge a second or two after.  After a brief battle with a leap or two, to boot, he posed for his mug shot, and I set him free before heading home and back to work.  I am hoping the rain on Wednesday gives me another window or two this week.  I was also texting with Sam in State College, trying to figure out a day to fish out there before fish start spawning.  He sent me a picture yesterday of one nice brown in the net already colored up for the rut!

Hopefully, she'll be a big sister in the spring!

October 9, 2017 – Finally, a SEPA Soaker and a Small Creek Reward for the Effort – SEPA

A good 18 inches and gorgeous colors, but he's all head and shoulders for the time being...

Following an evening of showers and the promise of more on the way, I decided to give a small creek about an hour from home a chance today.  I fished in the rain from 10:30 AM to around 2 PM before I had to head back to the car to get on a phone conference/meeting—good time management, using the drive home as productive work time, yeah???  With wind and rain, this small Northampton County creek was certainly leafy, but the mud held off for the most part, and the stained water helped me connect with at least 5 wild browns and one very lost rainbow in the short time I fished.  

The release.

One hour drive, roughly three hours of fishing, followed by a 90 minute ride home, this may not be the best math, but I love to fish this particular creek during and after a rain because big fish often come out to play.   Today did not disappoint either.  After tagging two 10-inchers and losing another athletic jumper a little bigger, I finally found what I was hoping for about an hour into the late morning, a beautiful, wild brown of 18 inches.  It must have been a rough month or so because he was all head and shoulders, but he had the right idea leading up to the spawn: grab some big easy meals.  He took a size 10 tungsten hare’s ear on a j-hook bouncing on the bottom of a deep run.

Nice, beaver?

The water temp was in the low 60s, and the creek has been low, no doubt. There has also been some water-scaping. The first photograph I took in the morning was of a beaver or two’s impressive workmanship, especially so far south.  I have been reading reports of their range expanding again, but I had not seen evidence until today.  At least they chose to dam a small feeder creek that runs into the main creek, but I don’t know if that little creek provides a shot of cold water in the summer, so while cool to look at, I am not sure it’s good for the creek.  I didn’t take many photos today because the rain was coming down rather steadily at times, but I did get one good shot of the big brown and one of the rainbow during breaks in the weather.  I did try to snap a photo of one particularly pretty little brown that I coaxed out of an overhang with a swinging wet fly, but he was too acrobatic to last long in my wet hand on a barbless hook.

Long way from home.

As is often the case, I ran out of time too quickly, but I was content.  I made this longer drive to fish a particular creek for a particular reason and, although I didn’t break any records, I did land a good fish, especially for a small creek.  For most of the trip, I was tighline nymphing with a soft hackle jigged hare’s ear or stone, but the small fish took a wet fly dropper, at least 3 on the swing, so despite the rain, flies were emerging or caddis were being flushed off the streamside leaves.  At any rate, it felt especially great to set the hook on a big trout and test out my knots and the drag on a new reel.  It’s been a while, but everything seems ready to go once fall arrives for real.

Tough day for photos.

September 29, 2017 – Different Day, Different Results on the Big D – Delaware River

More fun with filters: Stylized treacherous beauty.

After having a good day earlier in the week, chasing smallies on the fly rod, I figured I would try to find another productive spot or two.  I have fished the river a bit over the years from a boat, but finding accessible spots that fit the bill not only for bank or wade fishing, but also fly fishing is a different story sometimes.  The area I targeted today was in New Jersey, actually, only because the access to the PA side is tough with miles of rock walls, initially constructed back in the day, I assume, to protect the canal levees.  I thought of Tom C and his comments about bringing a rope with him to the Lehigh River, even Batman and Robin climbing the side of buildings in the campy 70’s version, but I decided to cross the river and find easier access instead.  I drove and walked more than I fished today, but I caught a few fish for all the effort, and I found legal, accessible spots for the future.

Made me want to trout fish, unfortunately!

The topography or geology of the area I fished today, even though it was probably only 10 miles from the location of my previous trip, was quite different.  It felt like a trout river, and I even tried nymphing some pocket water after seeing caddis in the trees and some small stoneflies hatching.  Fry, perhaps shad still making their way back to the ocean (?), are feeding everywhere in the flat water, but at this time of year they could be any type of young of the year.  I bet the striped bass are having fun in the evenings!  The wading was a bit hairy, and even though I brought my staff, I left it behind in the ‘Ru for some reason.  I was tired from a long day of work on Thursday, but I waded as aggressively as I felt comfortable doing, at least for the first couple of hours.  I fished and explored from 10 to 2, and I only tagged a few small fish.  

Still put up a fight at this size, but they were hard to come by today.

The weather had changed, a cold front was still moving through, so the high pressure and wind was a big change from the last two weeks.  I am sure that contributed to the lock jaw.  I tried it all:  I went smaller, different colors, deeper (and lost plenty of flies that way, of course), faster, slower, even hung a small wet fly off the back of the swinging bugger.  My casting was better, however, even in the wind, and the area I fished was gorgeous, so it was still a good day.  

A bit smaller today!

I will try this area again next year or in a different season because it looks too fishy not to produce, unless it gets pressure that I am not aware of.  There is a boat ramp or two nearby, but boats can only pass through here, not slowly fish every pocket and run.  My trip on Wednesday was definitely in a less accessible area, and that has been an experience I have had with the Delaware River, in general, and one that probably ensures the sale of jet boats for years to come: if you find spots that are hard to reach, the fishing improves exponentially.  I guess I will just have to work harder next time... and bring a rope ladder.

I'll be back on a better day.

September 27, 2017 – Waist Deep Wet Wading for Big D Bronzebacks – Delaware River

The Delaware River in Northampton County.

I can think of worse places to be than “family jewels” deep in the Delaware River on an 88 degree day in September.  I have had a new 7 weight set up just crying to be taken out for a couple months now and, with the weather over the last couple of weeks making trout fishing next to impossible, not to mention irresponsible in all but spring creeks and tailwaters, today was the day.  The lack of rain over the last two weeks or more made the river tame enough to wade in a place I have been itching to try in Northampton County.  Usually, this stretch would be float trip or jet boat territory, but today, I could effectively get into a few spots that I knew would hold bass—if I was willing to hike half a mile.

One of the better ones of the afternoon chewing a basic olive bugger.

I got a late start because I ended up spending an hour chatting to my 90 year neighbor who lost his wife last year and is in declining health himself.  What I thought would be a 10 minute conversation ended up being an hour at his dining room table covering everything from my family to lawn care and tree work to the successes of his many grandkids all over the globe.  He obviously needed to talk because I got a hug after!  I guess I carried that good karma with me to the river because I did well for a hot, sunny mid-day excursion.  I bet I landed close to a dozen, with at least 3 fish in the 15 to 16 inch range too.

River fish are mean.

The rod I used today was a bargain AND L.L. Bean, so it could be returned if it didn’t perform, but it actually did well for a 100 dollar rod.  Kenny gave me the reel a while back, an inexpensive one, but one with a solid Rulon drag, large arbor, and other upgrades that belie its price tag.  For me, it was free, so it performed even better for that price range!  Unlike trout, bass don’t run much, so it’s not like I needed more than line storage, especially throwing 2X tippet, but the drag did sing a couple times today on a few solid, leaping smallmouths using the river current to their advantage, as only river fish can.  Valley Creek and the mighty Wissy don’t require the double-haul very often, as you can imagine, but I was able to get back in the swing of things and shoot some decent casts into the river—some ugly ones too, of course.  Most fish hit an olive bugger—big, probably size 4—and a couple hit a conehead muddler in black—also big or at least long—after I hung the bugger one too many times to expect to get it back.

Borrowing from John Gierach: I like where smallmouth live too.

Besides trout fishing, and fluke fishing in the bay, my earliest fishing with my dad was chasing Delaware River smallmouth and walleye, first from a Grumman squareback canoe and then a series of different boats that may even rival his truck and car purchases over the years… maybe.  I love this kind of fishing, and I don’t do it often enough anymore.  I go in phases.  Trout is king right now, but plugging the surf for striped bass was a prior and, arguably, concurrent obsession.  Before that, back bay fluke and weakfish.  But I still love smallmouth bass!  I fish for trout because I like the places trout live, and the same goes for smallmouth.  I can’t handle too many trips in a sloppy lake chasing largemouth in one year, but give me the Suskie or the Big D, and I still get the same charge I got as a kid.  I guess what I am saying is that I had a fun day.  I did a mitzvah, took a hike, wet waded on a hot day, saw bald eagles and gorgeous rocky bluffs, and I even tangled with a bunch of fish.

One that obviously came from a deep, dark hole.

I saw my first fish of the morning chasing the bugger in the current before we connected, but most hook-ups were on a long line, out swinging in the current.  The jolt of a tightline strike, followed by an immediate jump was par for the course.  A couple fish leaped multiple times before resorting to the oldest smallmouth trick in the book, using their wide bodies to bulldog in the current.  Funny how they aren’t led by side-pressure the way big trout are.  If anything, that attempt to lead them only makes them pull harder in the opposite direction.  Did I mention I like river fish?

I fooled a few on the muddler too, once I hung the bugger one too many times.

It was hot,yo, and shade was hard to come by, so by the time I hiked back to my parking spot, it was unclear where wet wading ended and sweating began.  I packed more water than usual, but one can never have enough, so I downed a couple even before packing up my stuff to drive home.  Instead of napping, I graded papers and made a phone call before taking the boy out to dinner because Moms was working.  I am surprised I am still awake at this hour, but I know I will sleep well when I stop moving.  I have meetings on campus most of the day tomorrow, so I have to figure out how to explain my own new bronze complexion, but I still may take advantage of cooler temps on Friday.

I guess with all the trout fishing I have been doing, I have not seen this much sky in a while...

September 22, 2017 – Breezy, Beautiful, and Barely a Handful – Tulpehocken Creek

Not a Keystone Select fish but still a fat 14 and change and feisty.

I have not fished the Tully DHALO since March of this year when I wrestled with a couple Keystone Select piggies.  I am not a fan of crowds, and it is hard to avoid them on the Tully, especially now that the new designation and the accompanying big stocked fish are in effect, so I fish it only a few times each year, sometimes only once or twice and usually on weekdays in the winter and early spring.  That said, the creek had been higher than normal for weeks, as it is a tailwater fishery that experiences releases of water from Blue Marsh Reservoir, and I was hard-pressed to find another stream within an hour of home that had both healthy temps and flows.  Even a favorite NEPA creek was borderline earlier in the week, so I know I am pushing fall expectations a bit.

I am deadly hooking leaves this time of year (a few nice weeds too).

It felt less humid today with a nice breeze stirring the leaves and sending them into the creek, but they were not impossible to fish around yet.  To that, add a bit of grass and other debris from the dam, I assume, making its way downstream, not to mention heat and sun again, and you still have a potentially challenging day to fish.  I took a relaxed pace in the morning too.  I teach on Thursday nights and am wired up when I get home sometimes, so I did not get to bed until later.  I also had to take the boy to the morning bus and take care of some work, but I arrived in a nice shaded stretch of pocket water and braided runs about 10:30 AM.  Nothing optimum, of course, except that I was fishing.

A smaller but prettier one.  It took a basic black zebra midge after I "cracked the code." 😏

As expected, there were a handful of other cars, and I spoke to one nice guy who was leaving after a less than spectacular morning, but this same guy mentioned that another fisherman had tangled with quite a few in the same general area.  Some positive and negative feedback at the same time, but while taking a pre-wadering piss, I took a peek at the creek, and it looked promising for September, so I was hopeful.  

An arty release?

A bit of color and healthy flow.

I caught only 4 trout and a little bass in about 3.5 hours of working the same stretch, which had also been worked by another fisherman before me.  I spoke to him as we were both packing it in, and he ended up being the fisherman who was part of my earlier conversation.  He had a slow afternoon, like me, but he stuck probably a dozen on the day, most in the morning.  While Czech nymphing, I caught two fish on a jigged mayfly nymph, and a bass on my wet fly dropper, before tying on a size 22 zebra midge and taking two more.  Go figure!  I learned after the fact that this was what this successful angler caught all of his fish on today.  I was seeing fall caddis, so my droppers were more like size 18 and looking caddis-like or BWO-ish, as I saw a couple of those too, but the midge was working all day long…  I guess these fish have seen a lot of flies this year, so I will be fishing small the next time I visit during this season of the year—which may be a long time, mind you.

Plenty left from the spring stockings.

One brown was pushing 15 inches and was a lot of fun to fight in fast water, but I didn’t mess with any remaining Keystone Select fish from the spring.  There are a lot of fish left in the creek, however.  With another stocking coming in October, it should be a good bet.  The water temps were in the mid-60s, but it has been hot, so that bodes well too.  A little rain would help the entire region, at this point, but the Tully is fishing pretty well, it seems, just not for me on this particular leisurely day!