Sunday, April 24, 2011
Fishing the Starbucks special…
After peaking just over 5000 CFS on Wednesday, the river had dropped to just over 600 CFS and was just about to be fishable Friday when it began raining. After a meeting with my TA, I had an hour or two before dinner so I hit the stream near the house to swing big nasty streamers for some chrome. It rained the whole time I was on the water and the visibility went from bad to worse. I didn’t catch any steelhead, but I did land a trophy size bronze back on a 4” leach pattern. This fish’s mouth was as big around as a pop can. This was easily one of the largest smallmouth I have ever caught. I forgot my camera so I didn’t get a picture. Not a bad consolation prize for a couple hours of fishing a river that looked for like a mocha latte while it was pouring rain. Sometimes you have to take what the river will give you and make the best of it.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Swinging between the rain
It rained hard Thursday night and Friday morning. The river spiked to 2200 CFS by noon on Friday. I went and looked at the river Friday afternoon and it looked like chocolate milk. With more rain in the forecast, I figured my chances to fish this weekend were blown out with the river.
It didn’t wind up raining on Saturday and the river dropped fast. By this morning it was down to about 600 CFS. I headed out to fish one of the small tribs figuring it would be clear enough and would be holding fish. When I got there, there were a ton of guys on the water. I worked the open water I could find and caught two suckers and one bright chrome jack steelhead. I also hooked and lost two other steelhead before I fished all the whole trib.
I jumped in the car and drove upriver looking for some clearer water. I decided to fish a place that has a lot of good holding water where I always find steelhead in the spring. There was less than a foot of visibility. I fished through choppy run that usually produces, nobody home. I worked up into through the text pool and again nobody home. I figured there were fish in there, but there was not enough visibility. I saw a fish porpoise confirming this theory.
Up to this point, I had been nymphing under an indicator. I put on the sink tip to swing a large streamer. Catching a steelhead on the swing is a special experience because of the way the fish slam the fly. Swinging big flies for steelhead is more difficult than catching a steelehad while nymphing under an indicator. You won't catch as many fish on the swing, but the ones you do catch will be the most agressive fish in the pool.
I tied on a 4" black and blue leach. It was a real big piece of meat, something large enough to get the fish’s attention in the dirty water. I fished through most a good pool that always holds fish when the fly stopped swinging, I got hung up on a large rock. Once I freed the fly, I picked up where I left off swinging through the tailout of this pool where a fish whacked the fly hard. I set the hook and a fish leaped out of the water, fish on! The fish headed straight down river for the lake. I ran down river chasing the fish putting pressure on it. I eventually turned the fish and worked in towards the bank where I landed it for the obligatory photo.
I never expected to get to fish this weekend. By the looks of things today was the only day the river will fish as the forecast is calling for more rain tomorrow. I got out just when the river was on the high side of fishable. It was a brief window of opportunity between the rains. I caught a bunch of fish today and I caught a steelhead on the swing! It was an excellent day on the water.
It didn’t wind up raining on Saturday and the river dropped fast. By this morning it was down to about 600 CFS. I headed out to fish one of the small tribs figuring it would be clear enough and would be holding fish. When I got there, there were a ton of guys on the water. I worked the open water I could find and caught two suckers and one bright chrome jack steelhead. I also hooked and lost two other steelhead before I fished all the whole trib.
I jumped in the car and drove upriver looking for some clearer water. I decided to fish a place that has a lot of good holding water where I always find steelhead in the spring. There was less than a foot of visibility. I fished through choppy run that usually produces, nobody home. I worked up into through the text pool and again nobody home. I figured there were fish in there, but there was not enough visibility. I saw a fish porpoise confirming this theory.
Up to this point, I had been nymphing under an indicator. I put on the sink tip to swing a large streamer. Catching a steelhead on the swing is a special experience because of the way the fish slam the fly. Swinging big flies for steelhead is more difficult than catching a steelehad while nymphing under an indicator. You won't catch as many fish on the swing, but the ones you do catch will be the most agressive fish in the pool.
I tied on a 4" black and blue leach. It was a real big piece of meat, something large enough to get the fish’s attention in the dirty water. I fished through most a good pool that always holds fish when the fly stopped swinging, I got hung up on a large rock. Once I freed the fly, I picked up where I left off swinging through the tailout of this pool where a fish whacked the fly hard. I set the hook and a fish leaped out of the water, fish on! The fish headed straight down river for the lake. I ran down river chasing the fish putting pressure on it. I eventually turned the fish and worked in towards the bank where I landed it for the obligatory photo.
I never expected to get to fish this weekend. By the looks of things today was the only day the river will fish as the forecast is calling for more rain tomorrow. I got out just when the river was on the high side of fishable. It was a brief window of opportunity between the rains. I caught a bunch of fish today and I caught a steelhead on the swing! It was an excellent day on the water.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Best advice ever...
About a year ago, I was getting ready to start law school and I knew that my time on the water was going to be drastically reduced. As I prepare to finish my first year, that prediction has become a brutal reality.
I wanted to go do some quality fishing before classes started and my life changed. Steelhead season had ended early. The lake run smallmouth bass were gone too. The resident smallmouth bite had not really turned on yet. With no great fishing opportunities around here, my attention turned to Pennsylvania trout.
It was trout season in Pennsylvania and some of the legendary hatches were a couple of weeks early because of the premature warm temperatures we had last spring. I considered making a few trips into Pennsylvania to fish for trout. The sulphers were hatching and I was excited to fish for stream trout on my own for the first time. I set aside a few days to make two trips before class started and began planning all the details. I bought a 7 day license so I could fish Oil Creek for a day and then a couple of days later I could head to Central PA for an overnight to fish Penns Creek and Spring Creek.
Researching stream access before the trip.
The trip to oil creek was good, it was sunny and in the mid-60s. Most of the day was spent nymphing, and at dusk the water started to boil with rising trout which I threw dries to. I had several hookups and landed one rainbow. It was a good trip for my first effort to catch PA trout. Oil creek was a good practice for the week to come when I would fish two of the most famous streams in Pennsylvania.
There were a few days between the Oil Creek trip and when I left for Penns Creek. During that time, the weather got bad. It was very cold, and rained a lot. At first I thought I would have to scrub the trip. The day before I was to leave, it rained hard here, and reportedly rained in Central PA too. The forecast called for more rain in Pennsylvania while I was supposed to be fishing. This was bad. I thought for sure the rain would blow the streams out, if the rain didn’t ruin things the cold was sure to put the fish down and ruin the fishing. I was still mildly hopeful that I would get to go and was at one for the local fly shops to get some last minute essentials when I bumped into a guide friend.
I mentioned to my buddy that I was planning to go fish Penns the next day and I was worried that the rain and cold conditions would ruin the trip. I was thinking maybe I should just scrap the trip. The worst part was that I had no other chance to go because class was scheduled to start two days after I was to return. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to drive four hours for some crappy fishing. I asked him, "what would you do?" He gave me some of the best fishing advice I have ever received. He said, “just go, just go.”
I did as he suggested, I just went fishing. I was glad I took his advice. The weather turned out to be decent. It got sunny and warmed into the mid-50sand it didn’t rain at all the first day. The next morning it was really cold in the high 30s or low 40s, the rain held off until about 2:00pm. I was heading back to the car to leave for home when it started raining. Talk about good timing.
There was no dry fly action because the sudden cold and rain had put the hatch off, but I managed a few fish on both Penns and Spring Creek fishing nymphs. It was a great trip. I was very thankful I took my buddy’s advice to “just go.” The moral of the story is don’t hesitate, just go!
I am so glad I went
I wanted to go do some quality fishing before classes started and my life changed. Steelhead season had ended early. The lake run smallmouth bass were gone too. The resident smallmouth bite had not really turned on yet. With no great fishing opportunities around here, my attention turned to Pennsylvania trout.
It was trout season in Pennsylvania and some of the legendary hatches were a couple of weeks early because of the premature warm temperatures we had last spring. I considered making a few trips into Pennsylvania to fish for trout. The sulphers were hatching and I was excited to fish for stream trout on my own for the first time. I set aside a few days to make two trips before class started and began planning all the details. I bought a 7 day license so I could fish Oil Creek for a day and then a couple of days later I could head to Central PA for an overnight to fish Penns Creek and Spring Creek.
Researching stream access before the trip.
Filling the fly box for the trip
The trip to oil creek was good, it was sunny and in the mid-60s. Most of the day was spent nymphing, and at dusk the water started to boil with rising trout which I threw dries to. I had several hookups and landed one rainbow. It was a good trip for my first effort to catch PA trout. Oil creek was a good practice for the week to come when I would fish two of the most famous streams in Pennsylvania.
There were a few days between the Oil Creek trip and when I left for Penns Creek. During that time, the weather got bad. It was very cold, and rained a lot. At first I thought I would have to scrub the trip. The day before I was to leave, it rained hard here, and reportedly rained in Central PA too. The forecast called for more rain in Pennsylvania while I was supposed to be fishing. This was bad. I thought for sure the rain would blow the streams out, if the rain didn’t ruin things the cold was sure to put the fish down and ruin the fishing. I was still mildly hopeful that I would get to go and was at one for the local fly shops to get some last minute essentials when I bumped into a guide friend.
I mentioned to my buddy that I was planning to go fish Penns the next day and I was worried that the rain and cold conditions would ruin the trip. I was thinking maybe I should just scrap the trip. The worst part was that I had no other chance to go because class was scheduled to start two days after I was to return. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to drive four hours for some crappy fishing. I asked him, "what would you do?" He gave me some of the best fishing advice I have ever received. He said, “just go, just go.”
I did as he suggested, I just went fishing. I was glad I took his advice. The weather turned out to be decent. It got sunny and warmed into the mid-50sand it didn’t rain at all the first day. The next morning it was really cold in the high 30s or low 40s, the rain held off until about 2:00pm. I was heading back to the car to leave for home when it started raining. Talk about good timing.
There was no dry fly action because the sudden cold and rain had put the hatch off, but I managed a few fish on both Penns and Spring Creek fishing nymphs. It was a great trip. I was very thankful I took my buddy’s advice to “just go.” The moral of the story is don’t hesitate, just go!
I am so glad I went
As I write this, I am in the last few weeks of spring semester. I will be taking another trip into Pennsylvania when I finish finals. There will be no hesitation this time around. Lesson learned.
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