January 4, 2020 – The Silver Fox Helps Me Make it Three in a Row – SEPA

The Silver Fox in action.

Yesterday afternoon, Tom H. tossed out the idea of fishing Valley or somewhere close to home today.  Having just finished fishing Valley, and worried about the crowds on a warm Saturday, I pitched another idea.  A small stream aficionado, he readily accepted the proposal.  I still have a lot to learn about this little creek in Berks County, but I have had a few successful trips in recent years, so I was confident that we would find some little wild fish and possibly some holdover stockers too.  We were not alone, as there were some other fly guys out and about, but we all seemed to give each other plenty of room naturally and with no discussion.  With a willing explorer along for the walk, and two guys inevitably covering water faster than one, we also ventured a lot farther into the watershed than I had ventured before.  In the process, we caught some fish where I expected, but we also had a few nice surprises in spots new to both of us.  We landed about 15 trout between us, but we tangled with a half a dozen more, along with the requisite chubs and fallfish that take hold in a freestoner that stays cool, but marginally so, every year.

My first respectable one of the morning.

To say Tom had a rough start would be an understatement!  I was empathetic because we have all been there on days when you find every tree, stumble and create epic two-fly plus indicator tangles, lose flies, have a buddy (in Tom’s case me) break your 3 weight while trying to offer an assist.  Yeah, I broke the tip of his small stream rod after freeing a snag…. I was just pulling line from the reel, as I have done a thousand times, by tugging on the rest of his leader, as one might do to get more slack after netting a fish, for example, so it may have had a small fracture in the blank section before today.  To make matters worse, I landed a decent wild brown, our first of the morning, between his epic tangle and rod breakage.  I only brought one rod, but luckily Tom brought two, and we were not far from the parking spot, so after a short walk back we were back in action.  Things did get better after that rough start.

Dinks, mega-chubs, and a gangsta blue heron.

Before we caught a good holdover apiece, mine a white-tipped bow of 12 inches, Tom’s a beautiful former stocked brown of 13 inches, I did land a handful of very small wild browns.  The thing about a creek with a small population of wild fish is that even the small fish can get into a prime spot.  Expecting a nicer fish after sneaking a beautiful cast into a prime lie, I was rewarded with a few 4 and 5 inchers and even mega-chubs.  Fish were eating though.  After landing the really nice holdover rainbow, our only bow of the day, I stepped back and gave Tom a shot at the same deep hole, and he connected with the holdover brown, which fought really well.  In past visits, I had not gone much farther upstream of this productive hole—I hadn’t needed to, honestly, finding wild and stocked fish aplenty well downstream of this point.  Today, we pushed ahead and found some new keeper spots and more fish, as well.  

The only holdovers, but they were a couple nicer ones.

A brave heron would not move from his honey hole, which became Tom’s shortly thereafter.  I was tighlining with a frenchie and that caddis grub again, but I had convinced Tom to add an indicator, so I jumped to the head of this run while he fished the hole in the soft water near a down tree.  He caught at least four fish and dropped a couple others in this spot.  The heron was miffed and seemed to want a piece of what Tom was catching at one point—part seagull, I guess.  The creek narrowed here between a steep natural bank on one side and a sharp drop from rip rap on the other, so we basically had to fish from the rocky bank.  From that perch and without a net, Tom just had to let a couple fish flop off.  These were “real-sized fish” as he noted, like 7 or 8 inchers, but had he hooked something bigger, I certainly would have tried to hobble down the rip rap again to net and get a look.  I was just happy to see him get into some more, especially after, you know, breaking his rod, but he wasn’t done yet. 

A few more "keepers" to end the afternoon.

The hole where we quit for the afternoon was memorable.  I think we both pulled a couple more fish and tangled with a couple others here.  It was deep with a back eddy, so the longer we messed with it, the dirtier it got.  Before we muddied it up too badly, I landed two 8 or 9 inchers myself after putting on a little Airlock indicator, and I missed the likely fish of the day.  Before taking my own advice about popping on an indicator to fish a deeper, slower hole, I tightlined this spot and made a half-hearted hookset on what I thought was either the front face of a mid-stream boulder or a fish.  I guess I was leaning towards boulder based on my limp-wristed hookset, but after I felt a good fish pulse one, twice before coming off, the same 14 inch wild-looking brown jumped three more times without my fly in his mouth.  He thought he had been stuck, and I wished that it were true!  Disappointing but entertaining, at least.  It was after 3 PM by now and getting darker in the valley, perhaps due to approaching rain more than dwindling daylight, so we found an easy trail, cleverly hidden in plain sight, and took a leisurely walk back after a rather decent day of winter fishing.  Oh, and the broken rod is probably under warranty, so I am likely off the hook for that….

January 3, 2020 – Look, Ma, Still No Bobber (Yet)! – SEPA

Back to normal and no real rain.

I was tied up until noon today waiting on a dude to haul away the debris from Kenny’s handiwork on my bathroom.  Wait that sounds bad.  I did write On my bathroom not In my bathroom!  Anyway, it was painless, cheaper, and quicker than expected, so I even had time to fish Valley for a tad over 90 minutes today.  Flows were back to normal, but a very, very slight stain and the overcast skies provided some assistance.  It was much warmer than yesterday in the Lehigh Valley, where I was still able to avoid using midges under an indicator, so I decided to nymph some prime targets in the park.  I moved pretty quickly, avoiding clear, shallow water, but it took a while to find a pattern of any kind.  I thought it was going to be a dink-fest when the first three fish I landed from slightly deeper riffles were all less than 5 inches long.  What’s the point of throwing bigger flies to avoid the YOY if they still try to choke down the bigger bugs!  Thankfully, the last 4 or 5 were a little better.  Regardless of size, it was fun to find a few actively cruising in the riffles looking for a late lunch.  I did observe a large fish, likely over 16 inches, looking out of sorts, just hugging the bottom of a deep eddy facing sideways into a micro current or maybe still resting after a tough spawning season.  I gave him a go, of course, and he did not spook, but he was not in a feeding mood either.

A couple respectable ones on the CDC jig.

A few fish ate the caddis grub that I used yesterday, but the two slightly better fish I landed took a hot spot CDC jig on the anchor.  They were both in the same hole, a deeper pocket close to both wood and heavier current.  Not long after landing them, however, I caught up to another dude working upstream (or had been, unbeknownst to me, hopscotched), so I decided to turn back and retry two other usually productive spots that were not productive today.  I expected a couple fishermen out today, and they were.  I actually had to change plans when I arrived and drive somewhere else because someone was already fishing the first spot I had in mind.  Besides the weekends, Friday is another day I usually avoid on Valley, but I guess I was hoping for more rain to keep others away.  In retrospect, I enjoyed not getting rained on.  That, along with once again avoiding the grind of midge fishing, well, it made the casual trip on a mild afternoon a touch more enjoyable.  Over a half a dozen fish in 90 minutes in early January, and all of them while tightline nymphing?  I will take it.

A Valley average and a few dinkers liked the caddis grub too.

I texted with Sam this morning to confirm that, barring an ice storm or anything too ridiculous, I would be heading out to State College area to fish with him next week.  When I told him I was on the board for 2020, he responded with a couple shots of a nice big brown from yesterday, so I am excited to make the long drive.  I could only respond with my wild 19 incher from yesterday (a sucker). I may head out with the Silver Fox tomorrow, and I have some ideas for next week’s trips too.  I do have to take care of a little prep work for my three classes starting the week of January 13, but if the weather cooperates (or doesn’t cooperate in the right way) I will get out at least a few more times before the vacation is over.

January 2, 2020 – Didn’t Roll the Odometer Last Year, but I Did Reset the Trip Meter Early this Year – SEPA

Not a post-spawn piggie.

I managed to log 84 fishing days in 2019, which is not too shabby.  In June, I would have told you I was going to hit 100 this year, but things change.  There was a lot of rain this year, and we never fished the shore this summer because my dad was sick and cancelled his month on LBI.  There was, of course, the time spent not fishing after he passed this November.  I guess starting an MFA program in the summer and continuing this fall also cut into my time, and I have a long way to go on that still.  All things considered, however, I know I am lucky.  Not many people with a wife, a kid, and a full time job while in graduate school (again) have the ability to fish as often as I do.  Even ten years ago, those who only knew my social media presence often assumed I was an underemployed twenty-something.  High praise in the fishing world?

Spot the beach ball.

With the bathroom renovation finally completed, and the boy and Tami back to school and work, I began my 2020 fishing on a Northampton County limestoner today.  I usually begin by chasing stockies or stalking Valley, but I figured there was a lot of winter left to do that.  I had the time today to take a little longer ride, so I let the morning warm up a bit and then headed north.  With higher, stained water, I was hoping to move a post-spawn piggie, but I gave it a good 90 minutes with the streamer without moving a thing.  The water was cold after a cold night, I suppose.  Even when I turned to nymphing, it was slow until about 1:30 PM.  I guess I had about an hour of productive fishing, landing four trout and a big old sucker, mostly by tightlining a juicy-looking attractor pattern.

One pale one just over 12 inches long (and that grubby caddis larva).

Instead of busting out the sj worm, I used a grubby caddis pattern that often does damage in the fall.  The time I spent drop-shotting midges yielded the 20 inch sucker in a deep slow pocket and not much else, so I just went the opposite direction and offered a nice big meal—one that didn’t need to be chased down in 43 degree water.  I have a decent track record in this department.  I am not sure there are even golden stoneflies in the Bushkill, for example, but I have caught some fish with them in the winter.  I was happy not to watch the bobber on my first fishing day of the year, and the fish that did cooperate hit pretty well.  Besides the monster sucker, which had me excited for the 20 odd seconds that it acted like a big brown, the biggest fish was just a hair over 12 inches and rather skinny.    A couple others were 10 inchers, and one was barely 8.

Wild 19 incher....

By the time I quit, just before 3 PM so that I could make it home for the boy’s bus, it was close to 50 degrees, and there were some midges hatching in one favorite stretch.  I may have landed a couple more had I stuck it out for another 30 minutes, but I showed a little discipline and quit on time.  I have off until January 13, and I even have a date penciled in for next week with Sam in Centre County, so there will be more fishing this month.  On the walk out, I also found a fly box with about 6 basic flies in it, so at least one other had stalked this stretch in recent days.  I may post a lost and found message on the fly fishing forum, but it is probably 10 dollars in flies and a 10 dollar box.  Still, good karma, I suppose, and who doesn't need that in the new year.

December 28, 2019 – It Usually Ends with a Thorough Skunking – Ocean County Surf

We had a chance.

Jeff and I gave it one last shot this morning with mild temps and an incoming tide at first light.  I have not even attempted to fish this late in the season for a long time, but I was happy to have some enthusiastic, reliable partners this fall in the absence of my dad.  Jeff is perhaps the most enthused, but Pete was also out this morning a little further north of us, so he is also sick with it.  Since I have been keeping the blog, it appears that that latest I have quit in recent years is around December 22.  It was a long shot today but by no means a lost cause.  Geese and loons were still diving, though I did not see them coming up with anything specific.  We also had a school of Atlantic herring right in the wash with us, but no bass big enough to eat them—almost no bass period, perhaps. 

Calmed a bit after high tide, but no fish made it to the sand.

Despite some whitewater and good visibility, we unfortunately did not go out with a bang in 2019.  I was only hoping for shorts or even rats, but I dropped the only fish I hooked after it was clobbered by a 4-footer.  Otherwise, we both had a couple bumps in close that did not connect.  That usually means overenthusiastic little fellas.  Besides few remaining fish around, the heavier surf may have been the issue: the surf was sexy for bigger schoolies, a steady shore break, but it was a bit dicey for 15 inchers, I think.  I have done best with rats on a calm high tide before sunrise or just before sunset.  The little Mag Minnow I tried to throw to target little ones before we quit was just getting pushing around aimlessly in the north to south sweep and the 3 and 4 foot shore break.  Sexy surf for November, but maybe a bit much for today.  At least it was warm enough to give my gear a good hosing down back home this morning.   All in all, it was a rather good fall run of small fish, and I hope some of these many shorts survive until next year, but I am ready to go back to trout fishing.

December 23, 2019 – Caught Three While She Caught a Birthday Nap – SEPA Freestoner

Smalls.

Today is Tami’s birthday, but I was still able to sneak a short one in this morning.  We have some plans later, but the boy had one last half-day of school to log, and Kenny had a morning appointment—no construction until noon-ish—so the birthday girl wisely wanted a birthday nap to take advantage of the quiet.  With those factors in mind, I just took a short drive to a SEPA freestoner that gets a fall stocking by my local TU chapter.  I had heard the fish were small, and they certainly were ridiculously so, but I was just looking to get out for a couple hours, total driving and fishing, and so this fit the bill.  I also put a new 3 weight line on my reel yesterday, a pricey one that I wanted to cast in the cold.  I landed three rainbows under 9 inches long on a size 18 pheasant tail under a small indicator, and I got a bit of a walk in on a mild early winter day.  The line performed well too, so fishing day 83 of 2019 was a mild success.  I am sure the afternoon festivities, and possibly a trip to Asbury Park tomorrow for the Pinball Museum, will be far more fun, though!

Pretty, cold, but tomorrow could be good with this warm up.

December 21, 2019 – Now That’s What I Call Surf Fishing! Volume 4 – Ocean County, NJ

Yeah, that reads 18 F.  The boys look much warmer on the beach at 9 AM though, right?

It was bound to happen.  It always does at some point each December.  I certainly had a nice run of three consistently good trips, but my luck in the surf ran out today. It is not all that surprising that Pete, Jeff, and I had a tough bite on the morning before the winter solstice.  With a steady, NNW wind and low air temps, it is amazing that we did find a couple little fish to help us avoid a total skunk today.  The small fish are still around, I believe.  Water temperatures are okay, and loons and other diving birds are still bringing up sand eels just out of reach of our most heroic casts.  Blame it on a less than favorable tide at sunrise, no surf to speak of, and sunny conditions, maybe.  Pete and I even left the plug bags on the sand and tried to forge the distance of the slough to get to the bar, but it was just a tad too deep in this particular spot, even with low tide quickly approaching.  Jeff, in hippers, wisely watched from the strand.  It’s a long ride for a couple 18 inch fish, but I still have a tolerance for a good solid skunk in me before I give up for the season, and the other guys feel the same way, so we may get out again before it is all over. 

Muted sunrise but flat calm on the quickly falling tide.

Fishing the surf this time of year is not without its inconveniences.  Besides the cold and the long rides that are just part of the experience for a registered shoobie, it becomes a real pain to rinse off the salt water from ones gear when the outdoor hose is iced up solid.  Perhaps you are familiar with rinsing waders in the shower?  Plugs in the sink?  Bring a bucket from the inside to the outdoors to pour over all your stuff?  Well, young Kenny is still working on my master bathroom, so the shower trick was out today, but maybe the others took that option.  I chose the bucket of warm water trick.  None of us had many plugs to rinse.  Pete’s fish took an SP minnow in the 11^th hour (8:45 AM), and mine took a soft plastic sand eel delivered with a 1 ounce T-Hex well after closing time.  Jeff was just good company today, but it could have been any one of us.

The hail marys to avoid the skunk.

The parking lots for shoppers were far busier than the beach today, but the warm up around Christmas may change that.  I think the cold kept most fishermen off the beach this morning.  Jeff kicked around driving another Ocean County beach tomorrow, but I think we will likely wait until December 24 or after the holiday—at least I will!  We want to get my buddy Dolf out one last time for the year, even if we only catch a mess of rats.  I am still confident it can happen, but today was a reminder that someone is warming up her pipes.  At least someone was warm today.

December 17, 2019 – Yep, I Was Out Standing in the Rain Again – SEPA

First Valley fish in over six weeks was not a bad one.

I tried to fish falling water today with a streamer, but I had to turn to the sj worm again to put any fish in the net.  I did not expect to fish this afternoon because I am working through final papers for my three classes.  Grades are due on December 19, and then I am off until mid-January, so I am motivated to get them finished.  By 11:30 AM this morning, however, I had graded all the papers submitted thus far.  I have a bunch due tonight at 11:59 PM, and Kenny is resuming work on my bathroom remodel.  I have provided some unskilled labor for the demo so far, and am on stand-by as the muscle(?).  Not needed today, I took advantage of a few free hours to fish Valley for the first time since the first day of November.  I usually give the fish there some time to spawn, and even today I waded as little as possible to avoid disturbing the eggs.  Chasing stockies again was an option, but I figured the freestoners would be even colder and even higher.  Valley was around 100 CFS and falling when I checked at 11 AM, which looked encouraging, but it kind of stayed there.  I was hoping for clearing and improving conditions, but rain continued to fall and, if the gages are correct, kept the creek around 100 CFS for the entire time I was on the water.  I certainly noticed no change in conditions or fish behavior.

Stayed dirty and just over 100 CFS

I tried a few different colors, sizes, and styles of streamer, and I also tried a few different types of water.  In the first 90 minutes on the water, I only had two half-hearted bumps, and I never saw the flash of a moving fish.  The water was cold and dirty, so I should not have been too surprised.  It was raining off and on, sometimes steadily, and the air temps hovered around 35 degrees, so neither the atmosphere nor the sun did anything to warm things up either.  I decided to look for the one for a little while, throwing a big bugger that would get deep and move some water, but to avoid the skunk I eventually rigged up a tapered leader and a couple big bugs under an indicator.

Again, with the sj worm.  Desperate times, I guess...

I used a big dark stonefly or slate drake pattern as the anchor fly and a san juan worm on the dropper to target a couple deep, slow holes, the kind of places I would midge if the water were clearer.  I was relieved to shake the skunk and really happy to land a good fish over 12 inches shortly thereafter.  I was worried my first might also be my last fish, as 3 PM was approaching quickly, but I also landed another on the sj worm a little while later.  This fish was a Valley average.  I would like to say that I had finally figured out today’s pattern, and maybe I did, but it was getting towards quitting time.  Not only that, but the prime hours of the day were also quickly passing me by.  I could feel the temperature getting colder and see the skies getting darker by the minute.  Knowing traffic at 3:30 PM in the rain would be dicey, I headed for home with a whopping two fish tally.  Not the best fishing day of the year, but I did get out for a while and notch trip 81 for 2019.  I think a warm up is coming, so while I am not going to hit 100 this year, 85 is a strong possibility?

More time for standing in the rain remaining in 2019?