Saturday Dec 28, 2013

  Yea I know all us retired guys do not fish on the weekends but it was to be the best day of the week and besides that I had a rod to test. Cameron Mortenson from the "The Fiberglass Manifesto" has a stable of loaner rods for people to try and give comments, what a great way to sell rods. I signed up for a Steffin Brothers 8'0" 3 pc/ 4 wt custom build rod and waited my turn, well it arrived and casting in the back yard is ok but not a real test. Spring Creek was a bit on the high side but still ok to fish, I started with my T&T 8'6" #3 nymph rod, fishing new examples of scuds and was watching for any signs of top water activetly, at about 11:15 AM I saw the first few BWO's hatching along with clouds of midges on the shore line weeds. OK break for lunch and go to a better spot, done and in the water with the Steffin, for most of you a fiberglass rods seems to be a thing of the past but they are making a giant come back. The new glass rods are not your old Fenwick models but a new breed of class in rod making, colors like brown, olive, pale white, pale yellow, blue and yes red. The new reel seats, guides and cork grips are just a work of art. I used the "Tight loop" Steffin and must admit it took a bit to get used to the slow action but wow what a soft presentation and nice easy action it has. Attached is a short video showing what the rod looks like and a typical brown form the trip, many fish were fooled both on a Grif's Gnat and a #20 BWO emerger- yes the olives were on! What a nice afternoon of risng fish with no one around except for the ass hole who just had to walk down and get on top of me to ask what I was using- no clue to the rising fish all around, told him a hair wing royal coachman- screw him.
  Check out the new glass rods you  ight like them, except the price $500.00 and up!- Ouch. I used a Rio new Perception WF3F of the rod becasue I was not sure a 4wt would give me the action I wanted, sure was slow with the 3 on it can not imagine how slow a 4 wt would have made it?

Epic Friday the 13th

  Friday the 13th is to be a bad luck day, ok it was cold in the morning,-2 on a bank clock in State College, just have another cup of coffee and wait till 10 or 11:00 AM. At 10:30 I checked Bald Eagle just below the Milesburg bridge and they were up en mass but with the recent influx of water it was a bit high to get to the major pod of rising fish and with the deep wading and the need to wade up the left bank and not fall into the very deep water I decided not to try it. Checked out some favorite pools and riffles on Spring Creek and found them up big time, all you had to do was look at the seams as they took midge after midge! Hartles bridge downstream and upstream had fish to keep you busy till mid afternoon all with no one around, where can you get that! Under the bridge I found a really nice brown just eating everything in sight, he took my Grif's Gnat, nice really nice. This is the same bridge where Jim Leathers would spend hours fishing to the pod of fish that hang out there, the size of them now is not what they were then. I think that Steve S. from Flyfishers Paradis is correct in his assesment of the population of Spring Creek, overpopulation has reduced the overall size of the fish and maybe we need to see some reduction in them?
  My Griff's Gnat is tied with smaller peacock hearl and sparse undersized grizzle hackle to combat the tendancy of leader twish with light tippets but I do also fish a buzzball when mating swarms are on the water, nothing but a very small body with a lot of hackle, fish this on a 6 or 6.5x tippet or you have a cork screw on you leader!
  Have a great Christmas and be safe if you wade, it's cold and you will not last long if you get soaked.

Check This Out

  If your done with deer hunting and it's too cold for you to fish check out, www.thefiberglassmanifesto.blogspot.com Cameron has "The 12 Days of Christmas" each day you are to e mail him asking for the gift of the day, he has some of the best gifts that I have seen. Give it a try and maybe you'll have better luck than I have had.
  Cameron is the guy that is responsible for the renewed interest in fiberglass rods, yes I said fiberglass, they do weight more than your graphite rods but the action and power they have is unmatched. Some of the new builders are doing things with glass that no one could ever imagine, olive,red, blue and white blanks are just a few choices. These new builders do not do the gaudy crap above the grip, they use top quality components and their workmanship is just wonderful, check some of them out, be careful they are not inexpensive.
  Cameron has a program that offers demo rods to try out and write reviews about, I signed up and am waiting for a Epic to be delivered to my door, I'll report on it when I get to use it.
  Last Thursday and Friday were the days that you should have been on Spring Creek for Olives, my guy tells me the hatches were epic but not wide spread. Ok you Penns Creek guys just stay home and dream till spring.

Bad Weather = Great Olives

  At this time of year the title will tell you when to go if you can, bad weather will bring the Olives out and the fish up.
   "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away"

I really needed to fish after doing all the work around the house getting ready for the holidays and putting the yard and garden to bed for the winter. Started below the kyak course below Bellefonte, fish were up and taking midges very well. A cold downstream wind was gusting and forcing the midges to skitter and pile up on the railroad bank. A cast that put the Grif's Gnat close to the banl would bring a fish up and a slow take was the norm unless they were chasing a skittering morsel then it was a crashing take. Most of the fish were small but a few hit the 10-12" mark and this section is easy wading but when your in the water above your butt you get cold fast plus the gusting wind did not help. Saw a couple of those giant albino rainbows that sometimes come down stream when the browns are spawing, one took a midge so of course I had to give it a try well the dam thing did come up and look at my fly, don't know what I would have done with a 8" #2 rod but it would have been great fun. Well at about 11:30 AM it began to drizzle and sleet which started the Olives- ok get out of here and go to a spot that has better water for them.
  Below Paradise just above the concrete bridge is a good place no one fishes there most times, in the riffle coming in to the bridge pool there were 6 fish stacked along side a downed tree, I thought one of them was still spawing but learned it was just taking emergers and his tail was coming out of the water because of it. Olives were everywhere, so ok put on a #20 emerger (hook 2488) and took all six of them. Got out and started to walk up stream but caught a glimsh of a fish tight to the far bank, ok mark him for later becaus of the amount of water I would have had to cover to get below him, walked to the "Willows" and found 25+ fish up and taking the little green guys, fish everwhere in the middle and tight to the banks, well if you got it over them and it floated like it should they took it, I switched to another color emerger #20 2487 hook, first one was dark red brown and this one was dirty med olive, just to see if it was the color, it was not. I think that if the color is close (they all appear dark when wet) they will eat if provided that the size is correct and most of all the presentation and float is good they will eat! I took fish from 8" to 12" for the better part of 1 1/2 hours, with the last fish a male in full spawing colors and a good kype of 15", there were still fish rising but why be a pig if you want to remember a truly great day! I used the same tipped for the Olives that I used for the Midges, TroutHunter 6.5X and never lost a fly the entire day. The coffee in the thermos tasted great as the drizzle and sleet hit the windshield. This time of year if it gets shitty and you want to catch some fish on top go but do not forget your Olives.
Happy Thanksgiving

November 7, 2013

  Arrived at Spring Creek to a little bit more water than has been the case, the trout have started to spawn in the last 5 days and they are hard at it. Not as many as past years and I think it's a function of just not enough water but there are pairs actively enguaged in the spawn, leave them alone. I opted for a dry dropper rig with a #18 Hair Wing Royal Coachman dry and a #18 bead head Pheasant Tail nymph as the dropper, well it did not take long for the fish to tell me what they wanted, hell they were taking the Coachman! I took the rig off and knotted on a #18 BWO emerger and began to take fish after fish both small and larger guys all the while their brothers and sisters were haveing an orgy? If they are rising they are not spawing so there is no harm to the population. I did float an egg pattern in two redds because of the size of the males on them, took both of them and when I released them they were back on the redd ASAP. Look for either midges or BWO's to hatch every afternoon from now till Spring. A black #26 midge will do the trick as will a #22 Griff's Gnat when they want a buzzing midge as is the case sometimes, if they chase it when you take it off the water for another cast that's your key to add action to it. A BWO in sizes #18 to #24 will have to be in your box for the next few months.
  Sad to say the streamer fishing has been shit, heck I have only tried it one time, when the fish look up that's what I'll do. Ok all you Penns Creek snobs, dry fly fishing to any size fish is much better than killing yourself wading in heavy water fishing nymphs, just too dam much work.The dry fly fishing give you great skills for the warmer months plus it's getting you outside and fishing.
  Have a ball but stay off the water during deer season, your waders look to much like a deer to some guys!?

  Have to vent on a fly shop (TCO in State College) never has prices marked and the other day I wanted a small pack of white minnow wrap from Hareline, no price on it, at the register it was $6.30, WTF, yea I paid it but was bothered all the way home. I looked up the wholesale price and it was $2.97 a pack, no more 100% mark up for me, from now on if it is not price marked it can rot on the shelf!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oct. weather is perfect

  Arrive at Bald Eagle Monday about 1:00 PM and the fish were up big time, it was sunny with no wind, temp at 65. Are we sure it will be Nov. in a few short days? The fish were taking Midges both on and just below the surface, so a #26 black down winged pattern was the choice, a good float and a near perfect wade was the order of the day, I stopped at 4:00 PM and was just thrilled with the results and the fact that there was no one else around. Tuesday I was on the stream by 8:45 AM, it was cold and foggy but perfect, wanted to try and find some of the bigger guys with nymphs, Sherwin and I found a perfect hole for a big fish, deep and with a large tangle of tree roots for a hiding spot, I was armed with a #16 beadhead PT as the lead fly and a #18 rainbow head red body with silver rib Zebra midge trailer. Took a few little guys in the riffles until I got to the deep hole. Well our idea was right, there was a big guy living under the roots, a fat 18" male brown that took the midge pupa and gave me a great fight, no GoPro because I was carrying too much.  fished the riffle at Fishers and took more rainbows and browns then switched to another rod! I'm determined to learn how to spey cast, I had an 11" switch T&T rod with a Rio spey chucker line. What a btich to get used to but can you throw a ton of line, easy reaching across Bald Eagle with no problem but no one was home or bothered to look at any streamers that I was throwing, OK take a break and have lunch. Arrived back at 12:45 PM below the bridge at Milesburg to find every fish for 100 yards up and eating, again stealth and good floats were needed but oh what good time, browns and rainbows from 7 to 12" all afternoon, all on a 26 down winged midge or a #24 BWO emerger, NO one around!

  Wed morning I was to help the Spring Creek Chaper of TU with a stream side planting at the Commerce St. bridge in Milesburg and another site just above the old West Penn Power Compant site on Spring Creek. In less than 3 hours we planted and tubed/staked 310 native shrubs and trees. I was impressed with the turn out and the ease that the members both welcomed me and how they interacted, I'll be helping them with more projects in the future. Next summer they have improvements planned for Fisherman's Paradise and more bank planting. Coffee and snacks along with lunch was offered to everyone that helped and their banner was displayed during the time we were there, they are a model for other chapters to follow. Check out their web site and get involved in their work, heck they are making a difference.

Marabou

 Long time ago I used to tie a ton of marabou streamers and buggers and was happy with the quality that I had, weel in the years since my supply has dimished and I bought some at two well repected fly shops. I decided to use black and white so I found the packs but when I opened them up- junk to say the least all strung blood marabou that did not have many usable long patches, dam junk, looked around at the local shops (including State College) still the same crap. Well if you want good material look to the West Coast because of the Steelheaders, look at www.naturesspritflytying.com , I just received 12 packs of beautiful long dyed marabou, no more junk. When you check out their web site there is a dealer locator, give Worley Bugger Fly Co. a try, great service most time 2 to 3 day delivery is offered and they have a wide range of supplies for your tying needs.
  Off to Spring Creek or Bald Eagle for the late day Olives or BIG tandem streamer bite.

A Perfect Day?

  Fished Penns again looking for that big fish because the weather was perfect for Olives, cloudy with drizzle all day, well not so much. Took a couple of fish on small PT's but the water is very low and I'm not good at low water nymphing so time to have coffee and watch. It did not take long for the fish to rise but no rythm so that means midges ( it usually is better in the sun), they would rise and look and look at a size #22 midge before refusing it or slowly taking it. Found out that if you hit them on the head after they rose they would come back and take the fly, no idea why? Well only a few would show at a time and it was hard getting the correct position of them but it was a good day to just be outside. Long story short a perfect day for Olives but they forgot to show up???
  I'll be on Spring and Bald Eagle next Monday, Tuesday and Wed ( helping the Spring Creek Chapter of TU plant bank side cover near Milesburg) then just have to fish the Olives on Spring or throw big streamers in Bald Eagle, someone has to do it so I guess it's me.
  It did seem some of the resident fish have moved to pre spawn areas but I do not think they could get up Cherry Run yet, hell there is no water to be had anywhere. A good bet is below the Hepner pool in the gravel tail out?

"0" for Four

  Fished Penns last Thursday at Johnson's Pool with the hope that my elusive big guy would be up, well he was and I got him to look at an olive emerger three times, good looks but no takes- dam. Took two good sized rainbows that really did not fight very well but all my attention was on the guy I just can't seem to fool! When I arrived most of the fish in the pool were up and taking something in the flim but I could not see anything. At this time of the year sun is ok if you want to fish midges but if it's olives you want hope for a really bad cold drizzle or snow showers to get the little green guys going, well it was sunny but no looks on a #20 Gri's Gnat? For most of the day the fish rose in a fair rythm but we could not see anything on the surface and a few times we did see the white of their mouths show, I did not take my crane flies so what the heck time to go home. No I did not want to fish nymphs so I didn't!
  I'm going again and will take my 11' switch rod and try some new really wild streamers for the aggresive guys but it is not time for the spawn needs a 3 or 4 week time frame for them. They seems to spawn after we have a good flush of the fallen leaves and good cold weather most time mid to late Nov. is the magic time. We naever have taken a female off a redd only males that hang on the sides in hopes to mate if the dominate male lets his guard down.
  Solved the puzzle for the UV cure, take them out in the sun and bingo they are cured tack free- who knew that!

Last Week

  Fished Penns last week and noticed as soon as I arrived it was clear as it gets, perfect for fall Midges in Johnson's pool but I was up stream. With the low clear conditions stalking each fish was the order of the day
and long accurate cast's had to be done! It was one of those days when the fish took about everything but keyed on nothing but Midges, a small Dun Caddis, Oct. Caddis, or Iso's were taken but the Midge feast was on. A size #20 Grif's Gnat did the trick but you had to have a great float or they would not even look at it.
  A word about fishing with someone, why fish with another guy if all they do is go far away and their is no conversation, only a recap after it's over. I'm not saying that every time you need to be close, stay away if the fish are in a fedding frenzy, but if it's tough it really helps to fish leap frog style. If you fish leap frog you get to learn and compare casting and float tech's, it also helps with spotting fish, I know that it has helped me over the years to become a much better caster and a far better angler than I could have become on my own. Leap frog goes like this, two guys take 2 or 3 rods rigged with different choices, they take turns either catching a fish or missing one, you learn much more this way, yea you still catch a lot of fish but your experience is much better, try it and you'll see it works. If their is a full blow hatch and fish are going nuts, OK go your ways and compare notes, I can tell you when you fish close to someone all day you become someone who does not tell number stories or over estimate the lenght of the fish.
  Update of some items;
Loon Lotcha float, does not seem to make much difference with CDC or anything else for that matter- back to Aquel
UV thick and thin finish from Loon, got the new bottle and it still comes out tacky! Tried some Clear Cure Goo Hydro and guess what, that shit came out tacky, WTF? I'm using a new UC light with new batteries, any suggestions?

Tacky or Not

Fished on Thursday and it was very tough catching, you needed a lot of luck and time to find one that was feeding then float it over them to get them to take, looks as if the Trico's are done for the year. We need a rainy shitty day for the Olives to come off.
  Tried a new streamer tied with Senyo's Lazer Dub, nice effect in the water but try stripping using a Shark Skin WF6F line, after 45 min's my finger was bleeding and not pleasant! I have been putting really big eyes on these new streamers (I talked about them before, Fly Fish Food) but have had issues with the UV finish!
I used Loon (www.loonoutdoors.com) UV Clear Fly Finish Thin & Thick , they seemed to work well and using the UV power light seemed to dry fast- well not so fast they felt tacky? I tried everything to get them tack free but nothing worked, then someone suggested that I wipe them with alchol or let them in the brigh sun light, not so much. I e mailed Loon and they are sending me another bottle because they say that sometimes happens. I suggest that you try (I have some on the way) Clear Cure Goo "Hydro Tack Free" from www.clearcuregoo.com it is tack free and dries fast, should have used it from the start! Now I see why all the guys on line are using it, from Clear Cure Goo a bottle is $20.00 and from TCO it's $26.00 plus tax not much to think about. I'm waiting for my bottle to get here in order for me to fix all my flies that I tied and a few that the eyes were lost in the water. Give the new style of tying a try but get the proper product before you start.

A Cold One

OK so we were on track to fish yet another Trico spinner fall on Spring Creek last week, it was cold and a bit windy! The water temp was 51.3 and that's about perfect but with the cold and wind not many fish took the sparse Trico spinner fall, lesson to be learned for it, do not go early and do not rig and only carry a 2 wt rod, not a good option if you have to dredge them up on nymphs! Might have been better to sleep in and not begin fishing till 11:00 AM and wait for the spinner fall to occur later but to be fair we just did not see many Trico's at all and with the water temp falling the Fall Olives can't be far off, get there if we have a cloudy shitty day!

Cold Sept. Trip

Fished Wed Sept. 18 and it was cold as heck, air temp was in the low 50's and Penns water temp. was 53.4 , that my friend is great but we could really use some water. The early morning was filled with Iso's emerging and most fish took a floating nymph with gusto, I say most but some gave me a snoot and would not come back for a second look. I had the entire Johnson's pool to myself and fished from the top to the bottom, cold wading in the lower big deep water. Took a break to plant 20 yellow water iris for bank stabilization then had lunch before going back to find that big fish I missed the other week, it's not home? At about 12:30 most of the fish in the top half of the pool began to feed and I mean big time, #18 Yellow/Tan Crane flies, no problem I packed my box with them in it- NO I DID NOT, oh well time to go home! If you go remember to take your crane flies with you I didn't. All in all it was a wonderful Fall day and to be there with no one else around is just special, I did end up with over 15 trout and one really big white fish (Penns Creek tarpon) and I did let it go back without teaching it how to fly.

Hot Trip 9/10/13

Fished again on Tuesday 9/10/13 on Spring Creek for guys eating Trico's and they were not great but enough fish and some tought feeding lanes were enough to make it a good morning. Took quite a few small 6 to 10" Browns and lost a few larger ones, this is techinal casting with long tippets and high hopes of landing the hooked fish after you do hook up, there were fish feeding next to downed trees and you had to float it in to them all the while never seeing your fly then try to get them out of the crap, also you never had a good angle because of the trees above but that's what makes it fun, they are difficult! I did see a fish feed between two small branches from a limb that fell into the water, well I hooked him but he broke off then began to go nuts because the leader was wrapped on one of the branches, ok take the vest off and wade up to my boobs and try to get him off, done and he was free but still had the fly and some tippet trailing. At about noon the weather changed and not for the better, high sun hot and very windy, ok we'r done for the day.
  Check out this site www.flyfishfood.com they have some great tying patterns especialy " The Minners" , I have most of the materials and hooks now and will give them a try- check them out.
  To Josh Miller, I'm sorry that I have not seen your e mail questions and an sorry that I have not answered them, yes I do use a GoPro mine is the older Hero model. I really need to find a better way to flim and need another person along in order for me to get some better shots, how do you use yours. Everyone complains that there is no sound but if I have sound it's not water proof. Please e mail me at jhepner@ptd.net with any questions that you might have or any suggestions you have.
  Hey anyone knows where to get "med. palmer chenille" or what the name brand is?

Zero to Hero in one day

  The weather looked perfect for Thursday, cloudy in the morning and cold, OK olives in Coburn? Arrived by 7:45 AM and had a hard time finding fish eating on top, ok give them a bit longer to get going- not so much. Checked Stan's pool, the Bend Pool and the Bridge Pool few if any were up but some at Stan's looked ok, there was not anything to speak of on the water so I knoted on a Slate Drake emerger and began to spot a few fish that looked nice, everyone of them was a dink! This was not what I was looking for should have gone to Bald Eagle for Trico's but that's what happens when you get greedy, I want that Olive hatch again.
  Got in the car, waders and all and beat it to Johnson's Pool, they were up and eating Slate Drake emergers big time, took quite a few really good browns and missed a 20+ fish TWO times! I just reacted too fast to the big fish taking my fly on a downstream take, believe me the next two fish I almost jerked both of them out of the water on atomic hook sets, I had to sit down and calm down after that. Well everything was going well and I was working my way downstream till the cold front came in, bright sun and wind-DONE.
  I was correct in my time with the clouds but not correct in the location, ok I'll have better judgement next time- no I will not, it's a gussing game and we all try to vary our diet of streams and specific locations that we go to hoping that it's the one that will bring us the most pleasure.

  All my fish came on a #14 Loop Winged floating Stale Drake fished dead drift, hell I tried to get the big guy up on Ants, Beetles and a Crane Fly but he would have nothing to do with them, next time I'll be calmer, bull shit I'll do the same thing again if he gives me one of those slow lazy downstream rise forms the I'll be Zeron again.

On Fire!!!!!!!!

If you can get there go fast, if it's cloudy get there faster. I fished Bald Eagle this morning and without the sun the Tan Caddis was weak at best but the Trico's were on big time, from mid pool to the tail out there were fish rising in a rythm, just line it up and keep it in line, they either took it or gave you a snooty false rise below the fly, that means no thank you in bold terms. I took small rainbows that I was sure were good fish on the bank and some really good brown that you just know from the rise forms that they are big. Some of the fish really liked it when I got the fly to sink into the surface and just under, they took it without any hesitation. At about 10:00 AM the fog rolled down stream and we all know what that means, the end. I did try a Walt's Worm and a Tan Caddis Emerger in the early morning but they did not produce like I wanted them to, last week there were a ZILLION med tan/yellow #16/18 Crane Flies all around- so a Carne Fly Larvae- no not so much.
  Had lunch at Sheetz and beat feet to Penn's below Coburn, well every fish in every pool (except Still House Run Pool) was up and eating in rythm. I could not get dressed fast enough and grabbed a few boxes of flies, thank heavens I grabbed my Olives! All you needed was a #20 Med Dark Olive Baetis floating emerger or if you like a dun, then pick a fish and cast till you screw it up or hook it. At Stan's bridge there were 55+ trout above and to the bend below just eating every Olive that came down stream. I took 27 browns till 1:00 PM and it was just as easy as it is in Sulphur time- if it's cloudy go there! Hint there are 4-5 very large fish below the walk over bridge on the parking lot side, it's a long walk to come back up for them but some of those guys push some big water, I like it above that pool and have been a fixture there for years.
  I'll post 2 pictures on Thursday morning, too much coffee to do much now, jitters!

A Ton of Trout

Thursday Aug, 22 found Sherwin and I on Bald Eagle Creek below Milesburg looking for Trico's and Tan Caddis, boy did we find them! We had a trout about every cast, all I heard from Sherwin was non stop chatter, "I got another one", he was using soft hackles to imitate the tan caddis emergence and if you saw his point fly you would not believe how little there was to it. The entire riffle and just below was alive with rising trout both rainbows and browns. I worked my way down stream to just below the riffle and found a couple of pods of fish that had switched over to Trico's and began taking some really nice fish, 2 rainbows over 12" fat and full of fight, then I hung a very big brown, the wind blew and the Trico's were gone, ok back to the tan caddis, just find a fish and keep floating it over him till he took it all the while Sherwin was still catching one after another. We went up stream to a very large pool and I missed 2 really big fish on a loop wing CDC & deer hair Sid Neff style caddis dry, again Sherwin was still catching one about every cast. Between the two of us we had to have taken 50 fish, yes most were small but there are big guys around if you look for them and not miss them on a too fast strike, we will both go back next week! For all you Penns Creek guys who are at home, stay there and we will keep catching fish.
  Spring Creek was just as good on Wed with tan caddis emerging when the sun was out and it will last a very long time.

New Fly Line from RIO

Received a new fly line to test the other week but forgot to make a report last week, well here it is. RIO Perception floating line is the name and when I was getting the line ready to install on a spool I noticed that the feel was very different almost like a long bulb filled with a somewhat semi stiff liquid, not a great discription. It was a task to cut the front loop off, I never use a loop to loop line leader connection, just do not like the feel of them. I used a Trout Hunter 10' 5X leader with 18" of 6.5X tippet on the business end. I am not a fan of tricolored lines but this one has it, they tell you it's "SureFire color system improves casting accuracy by making it easy to guage exact distances at a glance, don't know if that is true but I have used single colored lines for ever and never have had any problem with accuracy? I do not like the colors it is offered but that is just my opinon. From the first cast to the last of the day the line was a dream to cast and pick up off the water, the float was great but I'll tell you the line feels different, Rio tells you it's because of the lack of stretch, it just feels different but not in a bad way just different, it is easy to cast, does not overload the rod as some SA lines will do. Here's the Rio lines; " Built with ultra-low stretch ConnectCore Technology, RIO Perception lines provide phenomenal sensitivity for better, more intuitive cast timing, easier line lift and sharp, precise mends. The lack of strech also means enhanced detection of subtle takes and reduced reaction time on hook sets". I like it a lot and will use it most of the fall and report after it's been used for a few months but so far it feels good, it's not in stock at most fly shops but will be soon. Oh it has MaxCast hydrophobic coating, MaxFloat tip technology and AgentX slick formula!

8/18/2013 Trico's still #1

Spring Creek and Bald Eagle are going strong with Trico's this Sunday morning, maybe the best so far this year, cold and with a bit of fog will bring them on the water for an extened period of time and the fish stay up and eat big time. If it's hot and sunny be perpared to get to the stream very early because the emergence and spinner fall happen fast due to the drying effect the atmosphere has on the Trico's bodies but if it's cloudy and cool sleep in a bit and be prepared to stay for a 3-4 hour time period! I really never know what pattern that I'll use till I get to the stream but you can be sure it's a #24 big eye spinner either in grey, olive or black, I just look and pick the one I want - it's the size and THE FLOAT that gets them not the pattern. I even tried a few fly shop spinners and found that they worked pretty well if the presentation was good if not they would not eat it. Now is the time to go, if you don't you'll miss out on some of the years best fishing.

August 14,2013 Trico's & Wind!

Wanted to fish Bald Eagle Wed. moring but the first area was occupied by another angler and the wind was blowing hard and it was cold! We drove around looking for another spot but with the wind none of them were protected enough to allow a good Trico spinner fall. OK back up and go to Spring Creek above the crap plant in Bellefonte, fish were up not strong but up they were. We arrived at 8:00 AM, with the cold and windy conditions we hit the time correct, water temp was 55.4 !!!!!!! and the air temp. was at 67 not that nice at all to have a small leak in the butt of my Patagonia waders. It took the fish a while to get on the spinners, we did see heavy dun hatching but they were not on them. To say that we had a good day was twisting it a bit, caught a ton of fish but you might have had to put 5-6 of them end to end to get to 24" in total length, with the windy and cold conditions it was worth it to get hours of casting accuracy done. Yes we did take some nice fish but there was just not a heavy spinner fall to get all the fish up, oh well just have to go again on Sunday morning- dam?
  Take a look at your streams current condition and you'll be happy to see that given the fact we did have a hot summer the streams seem to have come thru it well and the fish are healthy, this will make for a great fall.

Bald Eagle Trico Fishing 08/07/2013

Decided to fish Bald Eagle to check out the Trico's, at 8:00 AM the fish were rising and the ducks were eating a very good sign. Of course there were bait chuckers above and under the bridge at Milesburg just as the always are. When you fish there what you look for is fish both on the road side and the North side of the creek, sometime you'll find a few goof one in the mid stream but normaly not, this is dink ville,  did not see any good fish on the road side but the North side had some really good guys up and feeding, this side has wood and a lot of it, most of the fish use the cover and take up lies that make it hard to get a good float over them. The Trico's were falling and the big guys were in a rythm, all is good the fish few fish were very good fish but you could see they have been worked over by the bait guys,, these fish are spooky. Spotted a very large brown rising just above a small branch that was sticking above the water, I'm gussing it hid more cover below the surface. I was using a #24 big eye olive Trico spinner, I use 8/0 Uni thread for the body and cover it with cement to get the darker olive I'm looking for, two split tails stiff poly wings and a olive beaver thorax. Terminal tackl was a 10" 6X Trout Hunter leader with 16" of 6.5X Trout Hunter tippet, this stuff looks stiff in hand but reall give you a great float over the fish and it's strong very strong. One thing you want to make sure of is do not screw the first float up, if any thing make the first one short the guage your distance and then do not pull a float off till it gets past the fish. I counted and it took 10 casts/floats to get this guy to eat and when he did all hell broke loose when I set the hook, this is one fish I could not handle on a 2 wt rod, you'll note my look on video #2- Oh Shit. Took at leat 7 more fish on spinners but I think that if I had a small tan caddis emerger the would have eaten that.

  Looked up above the brige and saw the troops assembling for a full assult on the water, 50+ kids with guides and adults were about to embark on a float thrip, I few boats will not put the fish down but 50 will put them down! Reeled up and climbed the bank for the walk to the car, there is not a good place to park here so it does take a bit of walking., if my cold and cough were better I'd go again and try for him and another one that I hooked but also could not stop, if they are still there.

Trico's 2013

Decided to fish Trico's on Wed July 24th, arrived at 7:55 AM and the weather was cold and windy (did not realize just how strong the wind was), fished just above the old McCoys dam site below Bellefonte and they were there not strong but the fish were on them. Due to the heavy wind you had to look and target each fish, no more that 3' off the banks, the water was still up from the recent rains but it did have good color, temp. was 57 but wind dictated how to fish. Short accurate casts and not long floats over the fish, if it was past them get it off the water and back above them, nice fat healthy fish from 6" to 14" and a mix of rainbows and browns, did have a larger one on but with a 2 wt and 6.5X tippet material and the fast water there was no hope in landing it. Could not find any other fish rising after the spinner fall was over and with two 2 wts. in my trunk not much for an option, ok go to Penns and fish tan caddis. Arrived at the juction pool in Coburn and found the water to be a bit off color but the temp was 59.7 and that's really good. Targeted most of the water that was coming down from Elk & Pine and took fish on a #16 Tan CDC caddis dry, used Locha and I must say it did work well on the CDC. I sould have taken a 3wt along just in case I wanted to fish nymphs but I'll take dry fly fishing any time of the year.
  Did not see another fisherman and any time of the day or on either creek, hint it's your time to enjoy it.
Have a report that the "White Fly" is on below the Fiber Dam at Sunbury and that the bass are on them, will go down and give them a try from shore, it's just a bit high to wade out to the island.
  Took a trip to the Dam at Sunbury and watched the White Flies hatch, it is just wonderful to see them land on you and dthe dogs and in a matter of seconds they molt into spinners and are off with their trailing shucks in tow. With the recent rain fall in New York State the river is up at least 2/3" and I only saw 1 fish rise all night, give it at least a week. Remember that the White Fly is good for at least 3 weeks and it is mostly within the first 30 yards from shore, either the East or West shore is fine, West is clear and East has color.
  Just go down and watch and get covered with them, but if your not a fan of insects all over you don't go!

Bass Fishing with Tom Rall

Tom called and asked if I wanted to go bass fishing with him, have not done it for 15 years but I said OK. Showed up at Tom's at the appointed hour and we were off to Faylor Lake, no we ended up at Walker Lake? Before the trip I checked my bass tackle and found that I had "1" popper and a few streamers but what the heck I don't do it much so I figured I had enought, after I saw what Tom had we had enought to last us years, OK tackle was good. Tom's daughter Liz was with us, maybe to keep us from getting into trouble but she was a great help. We arrived at the lake and all hands started to get the boat ready to launch, looks a bit strange to have a Florida flats boat in an electric only PA lake but what the heck it's better than fishing from shore, boat launched and Tom back in- OH Wait the electric motor will not work!! Tom fussed with it for over an hour and we did get about 40 yards off shore but barley made it back, two batteries and two motor mounts later we figured it was a defective plug and packed up and returned home. For those of you who know Tom this is just something that hapens when your with him, kind of like the time he got beer and when it was time to drink a few we found out that he did not put it in the cooler.

  Attached ia a  video to show some action or not, packing up to come home.

Fair and Balanced Reporting?

I want to comment on a post that a fly shop owner put up the other day, he blamed the off color of Penns on a bridge repair in Coburn and railed about not fishing Penns in the FFF but wanted people to fish the lower water for small bass? Well the bridge has nothing to do with the off color, it's just a fact that the Penns Creek watershed has received a ton of rain over the last few weeks, just look at Spring and Bald Eagle Creek guages, coupled with the fact that upper Penns has a ton of farm fields that drain into it. This guy will say anything to discourage you from fishing Penns in the Coburn area, aside from the floaters this water stays cold due to the infulence of Elk & Pine Creeks but be mineful of the temps and if it 65+ do not fish.
  Have not seen any Trico's on Spring yet but any day they will make the annual apperance but you never know how strong they will be. The last few years they have been a bust, the emergence lasting about an hour, years a go they were strong and lasted all moring. You really need to be there in the first few weeks to see the trout chow down on them after that they get really picky, just saying make your first cast count you may not get another.
  New product that I just received and am in love with, maybe I might not loose it. Loon Outdoors- Lochsa gel floatant for all your flies including CDC. Wow a product that helps to rid of us bottles of different floatant, yes it really works on CDC and noncdc flies. It's about time someone did something about helping to get the dam CDC flies back up and working after you catch a fish, I just tied more flies and changed them when I took a few fish on the flies because you could never get them back in shape.I still use Loon Royal Gel for my spinners because it gives them a shimmer look and that helps them look more like the naturals. I still use an old tub of paste floatant the I got from Blue Ribbon because it works well on old poly, I'll test the Lochsa on them the next time I fish Iso emergers and report back but now it's Trico and beetle time. Oh you can get Lochsa at TCO in State College, at $9.50 not cheap but very effective.

Do not fish Penns FFF area

At this time of the year it is best not to fish Penns from Poe Paddy downstream it's just to darn hot plus the fact you'll catch chubs and smallmouths at best. The best water is from Coburn to below Ingleby because of the influx of cold water from Elk & Pine Creeks. OK all you Penns Creek snobs maybe it might be time to branch out and try Big Fishing Creek or Spring Creek for a cool change. I fished Coburn and found small olive spinners on the water at 8:00 AM, they reminded me of the damm spinner on Big Fishing Creek you see all the time but it never seems to fall on the water- the name escapes me now! Of course I only had Drunella emergers and spinners, they were to big but did find a few that I could cut down and it worked well, nice fish not large but fat and happy.
  At about 11:00 AM started to see tan caddis emerging so I tied on "2" organza caddis emergers and started to take fish on them, 1 larger tungsten and a smaller glass beaded one below it, the fish did not seem to care.  The flies are an off shoot of a Davie McPhail caddis emerger. All action over by 1:00 PM, tried beetles BUT not even a look!? Did not stay for the Drunella spinner fall, just too many hours to bake in the shade. Dam it cooled off and might have been great but just could not nap!
  I'll be on Fishing Creek this Thursday and post something from it. Did take some lessons on the GoPro and have it down pat until I spaz out on another good fish- Think Trico's  July is the month they start not on Penns- just another reson to move on and fish some place new.

Spring & Penns Creek Updates

 Last week Spring Creek in the morning fished very well with #18 scuds and  #14 Walt's Worms, these are some of the best food sources for the trout. The trout at the old McCoy's Dam site were hanging around the banks and a dry dropped did the trick as did a scud in light pink with a red spot in the body (the rainbows love this thing). Water temp and levels are good for this time of the year but we still need rain badly. All morning  long I saw a good number of #16/18 Lt. Tan Caddis emerge and the fish keyed on them, remember this will be a great key to taking fish all summer and early fall- even on Penns.
  Penns on Sunday night in a not so great spot (GP's spot was taken by a guide and 2 clients), looked for Drunella spinners but not in good numbers to get all the fish up, here is the run down;
Larger light sulphurs #14
Potamantus (sp) emergers and duns #12/14 the fish chased the nymphs to the surface
Larger Yellow Stonefly adults crashing the riffles.
Drunella Spinners #16 (they look like a 14 but look at the kink in their body to determine length)
Slate Drakes #12/14 , the key to them is fishing nymphs in every area including backwater's.
  We found fish in areas where guys would just walk over, look before you fish, there could be one at your feet. Same pattern will persist for weeks, be perpared for a smaller Baetis to make and apperance near the 4th of July!

Post Green Drake

Well it's over for another year (maybe still on Fishing Creek?) good bye now the fish can get some rest from the crowds. I had clients out Friday and when we arrived at Coburn in the morning there were a ton of fish up and taking Green Drake Duns, Coffin Fly Spinners and a few larger light Sulphurs! The action lasted till about 10:30 with the Sulphur the main attraction after the Drakes stopped, maybe something to remember next year- avoid the evening crowds and fish in the morning. One lesson to learn from this is at this time of year never forget the larger Sulphur, the fish seem to key on them and like the Gray Foxes they hatch all day long, carry lots of loop winged emergers. Forget that dam mustard colored one that is just a tease and it's the one we see the best and think that's what the fish are taking, not so much.
  Have been seeing a lot of action on Tan Caddis on Spring Creek, this will be a main stay all Summer & Fall, don't forget to pack them. Soon time for the raspberries to ripen and that's beetle time, a #12 black foam guy will do the trick for you.
  Yes the Summer Olives will start any day "Drunella" or the old Cornuta is a great all day emerger fish, target the pools and tail outs for the sippers and wait for the great spinner falls every night 6:30 to 8:30 PM, not every pool has them, you'll have to find them. Remember fish the tail outs for the spinners not the riffles!

Year is Complete but still will fish

Fished last night after a blistering hot day, about 6:00 PM a few fish started to work nothing great but some to keep you busy. I got myself into position across and up from the overhanging tree on the far bank and waited. One fish started to work on the bottom of the small indentation just out from under the tree after 6 good floats he took it, from the start I could see it was big, fumbled around and turned the video camera on (I pushed the button twice and got 3 seconds of video) it was a great fight and when I got him in my hand I could see it was not your typical Penns brown- a true measured 21"+ fish!!! What a relief to finaly get the bugger, sat down to catch my breath then waded back out to try for the top fish, which looks a bit larger. He started to work at the junction of the current and the back water, got at least 3 good presentations to him and of course when he took I was just too fast- nerves! I had the right combination to make the cast, Winston BIIX 8'6" #4 rod and a SA XPS WF4F Grey line with a TroutHunter 10' 5X leader and 18" of Rio 6X tippet attached to a #16 Parachute light Sulphur, using the XPS line gave me the distance that I needed to get to the far bank, something that has not happened while I was using SA Sharkskin lines (they tend to overload the rod at the wrong time). This is not a bullshit story just a fact that I was so dam excited that I screwed the camera up and will have the memory in my mind and the fact that the fish was measured! I need help with the camera operation-HELP.
  Oh heck the only real hatch was a light Invara or Rotunda larger sulphur nothing to write home about. At about 7:30 the sky looked very dark and the wind sounded like a train- time to get out an to the car- call it a night!
  Oh forgot to tell you how to measure a fish, yea Mike it can be done fast.
1. Carry a measure net, just net the fish and add up the total from both side of the net bottom, works well but I do not carry a net just got tired of having the dam thing hit me on the back of the head after it hung up on tree branches. Don't need another item to carry, I'd like to tone it all down, that's why I like Trico's and Terrestrial fishing- you need miminal items.
2. If you have a custom rod built have the maker put trim bands on the rod, above the hook keeper that way you can measure from the butt of the rod up to the marks.
3. Carry what I do, a small plastic bread wrapper tie and measure the fish from the rod butt up and attach the bread tie to the rod, release the fish then measure where the plastic tie is, easy and fast. I'm not big on screwing up a standard fly rod putting tape on it, takes away from the beauty of the finished product.

Never Break These Rules

Here are three rules that will land your ass in hot water and loose your fishing buddies;
Rule #1 If some one takes you to a spot that you have never been to before or you take that person to your spot NEVER take someone else to that spot, it is fine for you to go back by yourself but you can not take anyone there, just a rule that has been enforced from that start of time. Just follow the paths to all the secret spots and enjoy them.

Rule #2 Never ask for someone's pattern if you have never contribulted to the good of the order, if your fishing friend wants you to have it he'll give it to you if not shut up.

Rule #3 Always measure a few fish at the begining of the year just to get your eye back and subtract 2" from the bullshit that you tell everyone about how big your fish are. If your into numbers and size take up another hobby, we have no room for you.

  More rules to follow, oh heck here is the number ONE all time rule; If you see someone is fishing in the spot that you wanted to fish, move on! No one wants a fellow to walk in on him, christ it's hard enought to find peace and quite away from the stream we don't need a Siamese Twin attached to us while we fish- move on or better yet get there early, make sure it's your spot or the spot that your buddy pointed out to you, if not move on to a better spot with bigger fish.

The Truth on sites

If you look at the fly shops web sites and their stream reports you'll find glowing reports of blanket hatches of Grey Fox, March Brown, Sulphurs and Crane Flies- not so much! It has always been the case to have Grey Fox and March Brown's hatch all day long but never a solid hatch just a good amount to keep the trout interested in them and eating them. The Crane Flies are still going on but you'll have to determine if your area has trout keying on them if so tie one on and have at them. The Sulphurs are really not going at this time (lower Fish For Fun area on Penns), did have one fish take a few but the numbers were not their, The hot happening is Grey Fox spinners or Ginger Quills to the old guys, at about 7:45 to 8:00 PM the fish key on them and really eat them. in the next two weeks think Sulphur Duns, Grey Fox spinners then Sulphur spinner till the Drake comes on them I'm off the creek. Last night I refused to show an old guy my fly and he got pissed, oh well tough shit- find your own pattern and keep it to your self. Everyone wants the sure thing and instant gratification, put your time in and have a few fish less days while you learn then maybe you'll understand why some guys just do not share what they have learned.
  Oh yea NO March Brown spinners hit the water if they ever do when you can see them! Want the truth read Gates AuSable or HeadHunters web sites and you'll see truth about their resource not hype.

May 1, 2013

Update on Penns for the first week of May 2013, early it was a Crane Fly orgy, every where you looked they were emerging and the trout were eating them. We had both yellow and orange bodied Crane's hatching in size #16 & #18, easy tie; small vernille color to match the body, burnt at the rear, wing of stiff Zelon and a bit over sized grizzly hackle palmered around the wings, a simple but very effective tie, if you need help with it just ask and I get you one. It has been a while since I have seen that many emerging on Penns and if you don't have one sit it out because they get really picky, no Bruce they were not midges! At about 11:00 AM the Gray Fox and some March Browns began to emerge, it generally takes a while till the fish key on them but they did, not in big numbers but it still provided a good fish, the bright sun did not help with the overall numbers, this week Wed & Thursday will be the best days to fish all day. The evening was filled with Hendrickson spinners, sad to see that hatch over, it is Spring to most of us and we know that we will have to wait till next year to see them again! Next on the list is Sulphurs and the evening flight of Gray Fox spinners and the March Brown spinners that never make it to the surface till well after dark if they ever do fall? This next month is the most technical of the entire year and you'll have to pay attention to exactly what they are taking or just get skunked- good luck. Think Gray Fox & March Brown emergers thru the day and Sulphur's early evening, then Gray Fox Spinners while the Suphurs are emerging- watch the rise forms to determine what the fish are taking.
  Tried for the big guy under the tree but with a Shark Skin line the rod gets overloaded and the last 18 to 24" just wil not happen, next time I'll underline the rod using the same line. If you use a Shark Skin line use a rod that is rated one line heavier that of your line and you'll get the distance your looking for.

Caddis & Hendrickson's

Fished last week, Wed. found me on Big Fishing Creek, the water level was perfect just a bit on the high side but given the fact that Penns was over 800 cfs I'll take the level. Arrived around 9:30 AM to a great hatch of Grannom's and rising fish (you had to wait and target each one), water temp was 49.3 and rose to 51 by 1:30 PM, took fish on a new bubble back caddis dry, it's nothing more that a Sid Neff style tie but with a CDC bubble under the deer hair with some of the fibers sticking out to simulate legs, it works but only floats till you take two fish on it- so you need a butch in your box. Decided to go back the Fishing Creek Thursday and arrived early, no caddis in the air but decided to use a new Grannom pupa imitation, Tiemco 2487 size #14 with a black nickle bead head and a cream green mole body ribbed with black organza and a hackle behind the bead of black hen, that was the bottom fly under a light Hendrickson nymph. All the fish that I took and there were several really nice ones ate the caddis! This might be another caddis folly, we seem to come up with patterns that might work one year then the next- nothing, here's hoping this might be that answer. About 1:00 PM the Hendrickson's started and one by one they cam not heavy but nice- no fish where I was, jumped in the car and drove to the SIG Center, they were eating them there but only a few, must have been the very start because the fish have not keyed on them yet. Friday found me on Penns, water was up but with careful wading not a bad fish, used the same caddis pupa and light Hendrickson tandem rig and they ate it! I thought I video taped some of the better fish but never had the dam thing turned on correctly, did take several fish in the 16-18" class, all in great condition. The Hendrickson's should be on like crazy this week and look for a good spinner fall each evening.
  Here's an update to the flour. tape that I took out of the trees on Penns, seems as if some guys are having competitiona and laying out beats to see who can catch the most fish in a given area while someone watches them- the bucket with a seat on it! The PA Fish & Boat Comm. gives them permission to do this but never comes back to check and see what they have left behind, what a crime by the very people who are chartered to protect our resourse and environment. Next up we'll have the NASCAR crowd handing out stickers and PBR beer- what a shame we have come to this shit, it's bad enough when a company sells a fish counter to keep score like you do in golf- what the hell.

Trash 2013, take some home

Our local TU Chapter completed our annual Penns Creek clean up Saturday April 20, just what we needed "a day no one could fish due to high water"! As shown in the attached picture we had a very good day, please note that not all the trash is shown due to late arrivals and one generous fellow taking his finds home with him. It is worth saying how much any group of people can help by just going out and tackling an area, any trash that is picked up is like a breath of fresh air. If everyone would just take a few pieces with them as they leave an area what a huge difference it would make, please do not use the excuse that you did not put it there, take it out! Next time out look around and see what you could take with you.

It Will Make You Feel Good

The other day when I fished Penns every time I looked around all I saw was trash, plastic bottles- clear and green like little beacon lights. I have no idea how the heck all of them end up in the stream but they are there this year in big numbers, there was also two trees that had red. flour tape hanging from them! Yes you could just fish but that is not all it is about, it's about seeing everything that nature has to offer and taking it all in for the total experience. As I made my way upstream the amount of trash just became to much to bear, well right before me was a 5 gal. plastic bucket with a nice board on top and 4 rocks in it, a home made seat- who the hell does that, well that was taken down ASAP and I used the bucket to put the plastic in it. In less that 10 mins the bucket was filled and the red tape was taken off the trees, a bit better but still not pristine. At this time of year everyone needs to take some trash with them as they leave the stream, yea I know you did not put it there but you can take it out- let's all take a bag out every time we fish.

Spring 2013

Fished Penns today, water at 42.2  degrees and 542 cfs flow, just a bit on the high side to fish nymphs effectively without using a ton of weight. Found good numbers of trout holding in the softer riffles in about 3-4 ft. of water and could get the Copper John down in their zone easily but used an across and down drift, none of that bobber or upstream stuff. Weather was nice till the WIND came and did it ever, could not get any drift without it putting a big belly in the leader, oh well had enough. There were tons of midges flying around but not one rise, just too early this year. Today was nice and that is part of the problem, trout don't have eyelids and really don't care much for the sun, fish early or late when it's out. We are about 7-10 days away from a solid rise, keep watching it will happen hopefully in the week days not the weekend.
  This past month every bad weather day has been a 10 on Spring Creek with the Olive emergence, good days none bad weather they come all day, also not many people when it's bad.
  Hey Bruce it's the tunnel not the bridge, stop giving people bad advice. The tunnel at Poe Paddy will be close due to rocks falling off the ceiling until the DEP can come up with a fix. Count on the road near Swift Run getting over run with cars if everyone has to part there to get to the top of the FFF area, you Lewistown and State College guys will have it rough for 2013 and beyond it the can't fix the falling rocks!!!!!!

Taking a Chance!

Talked to a few fellow guides and the general theme was how stupid it is to have some local shops provide guides that do not have a Pennsylvania Fishing Guide Permit, mine is #207, that means they are not legal. Any time money changes hands from a customer to a client in PA you need a permit to guide, with the permit you also need to prove that you have completed a CPR course and have liability insurance, these guys do not and they could loose everything if they have an accident! Oh boo ho it costs a bit, if that's the case don't put your client in harms way, stop guiding. If you only guide a few times a year don't take the chance. I was told by a well know guide that he takes money for fly casting instructions not guiding, really a stupid thing to do, I'm sure a clients lawyer would shoot holes in that, sad but true you need to protect both you and your clients. No I do not and will not take clients to the FFF section of Penns, purely out of respect for the resource and the land owners, all of the other fellow guides that work with me also share my respect for this section of Penns. Want to find out if a guide has a permit, check out the Fish Comm. web site.

Sure Sign of Spring

  Little Black Stoneflies are all over the Susquehanna River, the sea gulls are here in force, Spring is here. The Little Blacks are also coming off Penns but there have not been any rising fish to them, to be fair most guys really never see them taken off the top, it is a very small rise form and barley makes a surface disturbance, look hard for them This hatch is best fished with a dry dropper rig, the dry can be any black caddis imitation in a size #14 (just to keep the nymph up) and a dropper of a black pheasant tail nymph Tiemco #16 T200 with a 5/64 Black Nickel tung bead, a deadly combination. Pheasant tail dyed black is easy to get and the style really lends itself to the stonefly nymph. Tie up a few and try them out. Also heard reports of a large #12/14 very dark mayfly hatching near the shore but nothing taking them, I'll check them out on Wed!
  Get out there before the crowds are here, Spring is out of the question till Trout season opens up, to dam many spin and bait guys trying to get rid of their rust for me to bump into.

Best answer to mystery

Fished Spring Creek this week and found the water to be just a bit high but still caught fish on scuds. If your not bouncing off the bottom you will not be in the zone. I was thinking about fishing Paradise and wanted to check out the outflow pipe, found an employee and we had a long discussion of where all the fish have gone from the outflow, he told me that the new scrubber (the one they wasted money on) is doing a great job and that no midge pupa or other food particles are getting dumped in to the outflow, this coupled with the fact that no fish are lost has had an effect on the population below, gone are the large school of fish that were present and gave us so much fun. We used to have a great time casting #26/28 midge pupa to these guys and spending an entire afternoon catching them but they have moved on in order to find food. This is about the same thing that has happened to the "Sipping Pool" on Fishing Creek but the water quality has not improved to the extent that Spring Creek has. I have seen great midge and BWO hatches in Fishing Creek but no fish, maybe the escape accounted for the hight population, just do not know that for a fact. The fish at Paradise were very large guys and we believe they grew that way from the constant food but Fishing Creek is still a mystery.

Jan. 2013 Browns & Rainbows

Fished Spring Creek last Tuesday ,the flow was about perfect at 100 cfs. (before the rain). Fished a few good runs at the old West Penn power plant in Milesburg and took browns, using scuds and new pink scuds, no rainbows here or I just did not hit them. Pretty tough wading conditions because of the new gradient after they removed the old power dam. Did not want to wade up and fish the flat water so I decided to move to the Shit plant in Bellefonte, a good walk and wade to get there after parking in the snow but worth the trip. At this spot you have to be ver mindful of where and how far downstream you wade because it will get very deep and you will have to wade upstream in heavy water- not an easy time. Started to take rainbows of all sizes on the new tungsten bead head pink scud #16 2487 Tiemco after 6 fish I set the hook on a fish and it took off down stream then up and out of the water, I could not believe the size of this bow- 20+ and heavy. She slugged it out downstream and just pounded and shook till the 5x parted- dam! Took more bows on the shit plant side in the soft seams and got to the point of no return and made it to the bank. All for today.

   Wed found me below the old pink trailer location above the 550 bridge fishing for browns using a brown/olive #18 scud and they were there, all in the soft seams and dead water off the flow, even took some in the tail outs, this is a nice easy section to fish. Decided to fish below Bellefont angain and picked the old McCoy's Dam site, rigged up for rainbows and they were there big time. If you have ever tried this section you know how hard it is to wade and even walk. Hit a nice bow and saw that my line needed to be retied but did not take the time to do it, a big mistake, I hooked another very large bow and after 3 out of the water jumps the 4x parted, I guess I did not save any time not retying my leader. Here are two videos of the days action.

New Product, a winner for the winter

Fished Spring Creek last week, tried a new product, Patagonia R-1 gloves- WOW they work. I saw the wright up in a few mags and decided to get a pair, they arrived in good order, I tried them on, a bit tight, I used a Large size but OK let's try them. I used them all morning and you can feel the rod handle and strip line from the reel, maybe if your using a bit bigger tippet material than 5x you could tie a fly on but the real test was landing and releasing fish, absolutely no cold hands! With this product they got it right, retail is $39.00 @ pair but if you consider all the other gloves you have used and still had cold hands not expensive.
  The fly of the day was a size #16 med brown/olive scud, this is the go to fly in the winter and most any other time of the year, I did use a #14 heavy chez style caddis to get the fly down. All the fish came in dead slack water or the soft seams along the dead water. Nothing big but just a nice day.
  On my way home I stopped at the Sipping Pool and decided to fish it, what a waste of time, first wading across is a great way to get gassed, every time you move the smell is enough to make you go back but I waded on, getting to the North bank I stood and watched for 1 hour, all the while a terrific midge and #24 BWO hatch was taking place- 2 rises that's all, tried to get to them but the bottom is so soft that I was sinking in over my knees to get close to them, had my 8' #2 Winston and the casts are not intended to be long. I just do not see the fish like we used to but the insects are there, I guess the Fish Comm. has a great excuse for it but not sure that I want to hear it, the area below Tylersville is sick and needs to be dealt with. Don't even bother to stop and try it.

Happy New Year

Happy 2013, I trust your celebration was safe and that your looking for a more eventful year as far as trout fishing is concerned, at least when your fishing you don't have to think about the idiots in Washington! Hope that the Winter blues have not hit you yet, with the Holiday season it is hard to break away and fish but that is behind us now, if your still inside looking out the widow try any of these sites to get you moving:
www.headhuntersflyshop.com a wonderful daily dialogue on the Missouri River in Montana, I read it every day and just love their commentary of fishing and life.
http://globalflyfishers.com/video a great collection of videos of fishing and fly tying,good learning site.
www.worleybuggerflyco.com is the parent company of Natures Sprit fly tying material- I saw them in Montana and they have some really nice stuff and are pleasant to do business with.
www.riplipsfishing.com is a wonderful place to purchase all your tungsten beads, at $13.00 @ 100 it is the best deal in town- check them out- their name sucks but what the heck.
  Looking to tie tube flies for Fall stream fishing here in the East and need to learn as much as I can, check out http://oregonflyfishingblog.com "how to tie tube flies", this should get me going. Any of you guys know how to do it, give me a gingle jhepner@ptd.net and tell me what to buy.
Check the following site to get you warm- http://solidadventures.com and find "Jurassic Lake" if that does not get you warm your dead. Going fishing because the sun is out and the scuds will be active when it shines. It is also midge time, look for the soft seams and back water for the small dimples. Penns has a few truly great midge pools and just below Stan's bridge is one of them- not easy at all but has rising fish.