If you have read this blog for a time you will know how much time and effort I have put in learning what products do and do not work in the UV resin world, gone is Clear Cure Goo (bad product and really bad company). I settled on "Deer Creek" from the UK because is was thin and cured tack free but back then it was a bit hard to get but now it is readily available on the market. The UV lights have been a source of frustration because unless you use them a lot by the time you set up to tie you will need batteries in them or wonder why you heads are tacky, along comes Loon with a really nice new product;
Loon Outdoors UV Infinity Light that uses a USB charging system, it has a 3 watt output, rechargeable using a USB cable (included), uses 1 18650 battery( included), on/off switch indicates power level. I got mine and wanted to set it up so like a dumb ass I hooked up the USB cable and plugged it in and left it for 4 hours, green light on but no light, OK what do I do- call Loon. Loon tells me to take the battery out and take the plastic off, OK I thank them and hang up. Well trying to take that GD battery out is just madding, until I discover that the light comes apart in two sections and you only have to push it out, I tried every way to get it out even resorting to a pair of pliers! OK set it up again and same shit, OK now I have to turn the battery around to get it to charge. I leave it charge 4 more hours and took it off the USB cable and turned it on- NICE bright light and now I want to tie some streamers but can not get the dam thing to turn off, I can turn it off when plugged in but who the hell wants to do that, call Loon again and they tell me to hold the switch down for "2" seconds-WORKS. Tied some big streamers and some midge pupa using both Deer Creek and Loon UV resins and the cure was tack free and less than 10 seconds, and in all a dam good product, not cheap but worth the $59.95 price tag. Loon has told me that they will include a better set of instructions and also Fly Fish Food is going to do a short video on how and what to do when you buy one.
Loon has been one of the top companies in the Fly Fishing industry always moving forward with better products, this is just another example of that as is their selection of resins that do cure tack free. Give them a try, available in most well stocked fly shops and on line.
Now is a good time to hit the water, post spawn trout tend to eat to regain their spent energy but they will not move that far for your offerings. Have not seen a great deal of movement to their typical winter spots yet, the water is not that cold yet but look for them to seek the softer water very soon and at that time it is slow and deep!
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Monday, December 4, 2017
Final results of 2017 Spring Creek Redd Count
Well another redd count season is behind us and the results are down but confusing, best guess is that we were early in our counting, perhaps another week was needed in order to get the trout going but here they are with some sections to note.
Boalesburg downstream to just above the quarry, 13 active redds BUT in 2016 this section had 171 active redds!
Route 26 bridge downstream to Puddintown bridge, 67 active redds and in 2016 this section had 30 redds BUT - NZ mudsnails were found in this section! Be careful and allow your wading gear to dry well between fishing sessions or have two pair in the ready to rest one and allow the snail fry to die in the air and absence of moisture.
The bridge on Rockview property down stream to the bridge above the PFC pistol range had 181 active redds and in 2016 it had 184 redds, a good solid number each year.
The Rout 550 bridge downstream to the Distillary bridge had 39 active redds and in 2016 it had 119 redds, some of this area is very hard to see but still the numbers are down.
Overall the number have fallen in the past years,
2015 had 1945 redds
2016 had 1597 redds
2017 had 1236 redds
A drop of 348 from 2016 to 2017 and a drop of 361 from 2016 to 2017, I hope this trend does not continue but I think we need to go back to are old date to do our survey even if it hurts us in the cold, just more hot coffee and chili to keep us warm in the process.
Boalesburg downstream to just above the quarry, 13 active redds BUT in 2016 this section had 171 active redds!
Route 26 bridge downstream to Puddintown bridge, 67 active redds and in 2016 this section had 30 redds BUT - NZ mudsnails were found in this section! Be careful and allow your wading gear to dry well between fishing sessions or have two pair in the ready to rest one and allow the snail fry to die in the air and absence of moisture.
The bridge on Rockview property down stream to the bridge above the PFC pistol range had 181 active redds and in 2016 it had 184 redds, a good solid number each year.
The Rout 550 bridge downstream to the Distillary bridge had 39 active redds and in 2016 it had 119 redds, some of this area is very hard to see but still the numbers are down.
Overall the number have fallen in the past years,
2015 had 1945 redds
2016 had 1597 redds
2017 had 1236 redds
A drop of 348 from 2016 to 2017 and a drop of 361 from 2016 to 2017, I hope this trend does not continue but I think we need to go back to are old date to do our survey even if it hurts us in the cold, just more hot coffee and chili to keep us warm in the process.
Monday, November 13, 2017
2017 Spring Creek Redd Count
It was another cold one at the start but warmed up to 43 by 11:00 AM, we stated at the blue bridge at "The Rock" on Rock Road and worked our way down stream to the bridge at Benner Spring's Hatchery, water conditions were better that 2016 with more water and good color. We did not see any redds till about 30-80 yards down stream because of the slow deep nature of this section just below the Fish Comm. concrete dam, we started to see redds as soon as we got to the sections that had 6" to 12" of water and moderate to fast flows, the key is having small gravel for them to work with. this year for some reason most of the redds were on the hatchery side of the stream, we would go good distances without seeing any on the "new path side", When we got to certain areas we would find multiple redds but found only "1" that had a female on it, not sure if our section was post sawn or just getting started- BUT we saw no trout around the redds except that "1". Our total count was "107", a bit more than 2016 and less that 2015 but again there were long sections that were devoid of any redds and the years before we had them in these sections but to be fair the water was up! When we returned to the Spring Creek Park to turn in our results we found that ours was one of the highest numbers reported that day and some teams found "0" redds, a sure sign that the survey was too early in some of the sections, it is true that not all trout are active spawning at the same time but they at least are in the same time frame, I would look for a flurry of activity this week or the next and some of the guys plan on going out again to conduct a resurvey. I did check in on the one really big bed just off Rock Road and it had a few small males darting around the redd but no big female.
As soon as I get the final results I will post them for you but know Spring Creek is doing well. There is a new parking area just above the "Rock" parking area just up the road to the airport and a really good walking path down along the stream to the Benner Springs bridge but be aware it is a steep last few 100 yards walking back to your car!
As soon as I get the final results I will post them for you but know Spring Creek is doing well. There is a new parking area just above the "Rock" parking area just up the road to the airport and a really good walking path down along the stream to the Benner Springs bridge but be aware it is a steep last few 100 yards walking back to your car!
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Redd Count this Sunday
Our annual Spring Creek redd count is this Sunday starting at 9 AM an lasting as long as it takes for the teams to finish walking and counting redds both active and non active sites. I have always been amazed at some of the sizes of fish we have seen both on the redds (females) and some of the males seen alongside the redds. I remember one site that has if there is water has always had one very large female and male active on it and a bunch of small males just darting around the edges, what a site to see, it is alongside the road not more that 20 yards from it! I will You Tube some of the sites in order for folks to see them and if we are lucky maybe even some of the really big guys. I will check Penns on my home in the afternoon. Hey the chili is good and hot as is the coffee, 9 AM at Spring Creek Park in Houserville, within site of the PSU stadium. We can use the help but this is a very good chance to get a good look at the stream and see just how many Brown trout there are.
Monday, October 30, 2017
The flush is here but a bit early
OK I know we needed a bit of moisture but gees, I measured 3.2" in my back yard rain gauge this morning and Penns is running 4600 cfs at the recording station in Penns Creek. We all know that our brown and brook trout need a flush to remove leaves and debries that have collected on or near good spawning gravel but not quite this much. The weather is to turn colder and that will bring down the water temps to a more desirable level to get the fish going. Our annual trout red survey on Spring Creek is Nove 12 and in past years this has been a good time to observe them and get a good count on the number of redds but it also gives us an idea if they are still on the redds or if they are over when we are there. Last year we saw a lot of empty redds but a good number of them, we are very careful to not spook them and try to stay out of the water as much as we can. In Penns it is pretty hard to get a good count of the number of redds but if you take a walk below Coburn and really get up on high ground you'll be able to spot a few and get a sense of just how big some of these guys are. Big Fishing Creek is another ideal stream to spot spawning fish BUT these guys are really spooky! I have seen some really big fish here, some that are New Zealand size. As with any of these guys please don't fish for them because we need every one of their offspring to grow up and become and adult for us to enjoy. Years ago we did fish for some of them and found that normally you can catch the males that hang around the edges of the redds but not the main pair, you will be amazed at how big some of the females are.
As a side note it is a great time if you can to remove some debris or stone that might be blocking streams like Cherry Run or Panther Run in order for the fish to ascend them to spawn.
As a side note it is a great time if you can to remove some debris or stone that might be blocking streams like Cherry Run or Panther Run in order for the fish to ascend them to spawn.
Friday, October 13, 2017
Water is up a little
OK was out on Thursday and did see a small increase in the flow on Penns but "0" on Fishing Creek! Wanted to see if the olives would make an appearance but decided to fish a tandem nymph rig. My set up was a large Oct. caddis pupa (orange body with a black & purple collar and a rather large black tung. bead with a size #18 bead head PT about 8" above (just in case the olives were moving), did ok but not the best- all smaller fish. Went back to the car and took out the 7 weight switch rod and set it up with a large black tandem streamer, fished this for about 45 min's and got a few follows but no takes, I downsized to a smaller bright single hook streamer and began to take some fish, they took hard and no short strikes like before, no idea why other than they seem not to be in the prespawn mood yet. The section of Penns just below Coburn has plenty of wood in the stream and I found them to be near or tight against it. The entire day I only saw but a few rises and no Oct. caddis fluttering around like you normally see in late fall but to be fair the weather was not great, caddis like sun and olives love crap- but no olives either. I used a varation of a steelhead spey single streamer fly tied on a 25 mm. shank with plenty of flash (gold and copper), the main hook is a Gama. hook and they are really sharp.
Just got word on some really neat hooks priced a $10.00 per a box of 50 from; www.fiireholeoutdoors.com they are called "Firesticks" some really neat types and really sharp and barbless, give them a try. Tried a few and wow "sharp"
We just might be in the midst of a weather change and may get some rain at regular intervals, if so I would expect to see some real good prespawn activity in the browns in the next few weeks. Spring Creek TU has their annual redd counting event on Nov 12, meeting at Spring Creek Park in Houserville between 9 and 10:00 AM hot food and coffee will be available to warm you up before and after the event, we can always use help!
Just got word on some really neat hooks priced a $10.00 per a box of 50 from; www.fiireholeoutdoors.com they are called "Firesticks" some really neat types and really sharp and barbless, give them a try. Tried a few and wow "sharp"
We just might be in the midst of a weather change and may get some rain at regular intervals, if so I would expect to see some real good prespawn activity in the browns in the next few weeks. Spring Creek TU has their annual redd counting event on Nov 12, meeting at Spring Creek Park in Houserville between 9 and 10:00 AM hot food and coffee will be available to warm you up before and after the event, we can always use help!
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
A Must Read
If you get "The Drake" via mail or by the internet you might have already read this short article by Monte Burke titled Junior's Water, if not go to www.drakemag.com and read it. I tend not to be political here and in real life not really radical in my views, except for the environmental issues. This outlines the total hypocrisy of our new president and the views of his son, I do give Jr. some credit, he fishes in public water and stays in his own cabin and not private clubs. Make no mistake our environmental protections are under attack but the result will not be any more business or jobs, and in the end Donald will say "hey I gave you everything you wanted and you failed, all the while our rivers and streams will be filled with crap like they were years ago, thank heavens we have lived in the time frame we have, maybe not the best but at least we have had good water and good land management to be proud of. Makes me want George Bush back again, at least he made sense.
Now I love the PA Boat and Fish Commission's latest temper tantrum, if you don't give us a raise in license fees we will close hatcheries and decrease stocking, this is just an attempt to make the neck snappers call their local rep's and complain that they will have no trout to catch, why not make some really tough decisions to shrink the offices and not the people who do the work. Maybe selling the hatcheries and buying the trout from them would lower the costs by a huge number. They would pay for fish and not the employees health and retirement costs. I heard this from Sherwin and that boy makes perfect sense when it comes to money. Our State Fish and Game departments care about keeping their jobs and not that much about the resource, hell maybe they will sell a special permit to catch carp or shoot sparrows.
In any rate just go fishing and listen to the birds, who cares if you catch anything just enjoy being out doors, it may all be gone before you know it, If you doubt me just look around and count the number of dead or dying trees and the absence of honeybees, just saying!
Now I love the PA Boat and Fish Commission's latest temper tantrum, if you don't give us a raise in license fees we will close hatcheries and decrease stocking, this is just an attempt to make the neck snappers call their local rep's and complain that they will have no trout to catch, why not make some really tough decisions to shrink the offices and not the people who do the work. Maybe selling the hatcheries and buying the trout from them would lower the costs by a huge number. They would pay for fish and not the employees health and retirement costs. I heard this from Sherwin and that boy makes perfect sense when it comes to money. Our State Fish and Game departments care about keeping their jobs and not that much about the resource, hell maybe they will sell a special permit to catch carp or shoot sparrows.
In any rate just go fishing and listen to the birds, who cares if you catch anything just enjoy being out doors, it may all be gone before you know it, If you doubt me just look around and count the number of dead or dying trees and the absence of honeybees, just saying!
Monday, October 2, 2017
Check it out
I was at the Dam below Sunbury just above the PA Fish Comm's boat launch taking my lab for a walk and low and behold I found "carp" digging in the bottom looking for food! The dam is undergoing a full bag replacement on the Sunbury side and they have it removed and have a wall build above it and the #2 bag is also inflated so there is no water coming down the East side near the bank, very slack water is there and if the wind is not blowing you can see the carp just looking for food, a good target for a nymph or a crayfish pattern, go now and check it out before the water gets too cold for them to fool around.
We went back Saturday to pick up some drift wood and found them again but the wind was really blowing and there were a lot of guys with spinning tackle trying to catch bass and walleyes, so I just looked at the carp and did not want to attract attention to them. Best time would be thru the week so the pressure is less.
A good carp pattern that looks like a crayfish with dumbbell eyes is just the ticket BUT remember there are snags here so take it a little bit light with your tippet in order to break it off if your stuck on the bottom.
We went back Saturday to pick up some drift wood and found them again but the wind was really blowing and there were a lot of guys with spinning tackle trying to catch bass and walleyes, so I just looked at the carp and did not want to attract attention to them. Best time would be thru the week so the pressure is less.
A good carp pattern that looks like a crayfish with dumbbell eyes is just the ticket BUT remember there are snags here so take it a little bit light with your tippet in order to break it off if your stuck on the bottom.
Monday, September 25, 2017
Do Not Fish
Just checked the USGS site this morning and Penns is running at 71 cfs at the recording station in Penns Creek! That my friends is just to dam low to do anything but maybe go look, even Spring Creek above Bellefonte is very low, we need a good amount of rain and we need it now. The heat the last few days has been bad and it will not let up till Thursday of this week and we are to get very little rain with the cold front that is on the way. It is even too hot to tie flies at this time. I have looked at the river below the dam in Sunbury and they are doing repairs to both end bags this fall, it is easy to wade out and fish bur you need to do it very early or really late in the evening ( but it is hard to wade back in the dark), the single worse thing about it this year has been that the cormorants are still there and they play havoc with the bait fish and the small fry of our game fish but it is time for the annual walleye night fishing to start and they do eat flies very well, think streamers. I have also seen rising fish at the Marina on the island between Sunbury and Northumberland, just go to the rail that separates the walking path and the river and look, not sure how the conservation officers will react to you wading around, I guess ok if you don't try and go down the concrete wall? Have seen rising fish near the shore on the Isle of Que in Selinsgrove. Penns near New Berlin and Selinsgrove is also a good choice if smallmouth are your game, throw in some big chubs and it would be fun. Hey a nice diversion is- go to Middleburg and fish for the resident carp in the town pond near the potato chip factory BUT watch the ducks and most of all the eagles!! Tie a bread fly and throw some real bread in and hold on but do not let the ducks take it, saw Vince Maranio hook a duck on a Trico years ago and it was funny but would not be funny if it were your rig.
There are options for all of us but we really need to let our trout alone now, this weather and low water conditions really puts a severe stress on them and they are just to valuable to hurt.
There are options for all of us but we really need to let our trout alone now, this weather and low water conditions really puts a severe stress on them and they are just to valuable to hurt.
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
I should have known
Wanted to fish on Tuesday after a TU board meeting Monday night. I picked Big Fishing Creek because I just could not make up my mind where on Spring to fish, I know a tough problem to have. I drove up the canyon from the Federal Hatchery in Larmar and was surprised to see how low the water was, stopped above SIG Center at the big pull off on the right opposite the big rock slide on the left side of the road and just walked up and down looking after I chased a Great Blue Heron out and moved the ducks away, things began to happen one then two then three and on and on. Walked to the car to get ready and low and behold something landed on me- a #16 Black Flying Ant!!! Got dressed and walked to the bottom of the pool on the road and began to fish upstream, picking one after another till I got to the area near the parking lot, these guys are larger and demand a really good approach, 6.5X Trout Hunter tippet really helped but it did not overcome hitting them on the head. Seems as thought some of the larger guys were moving around to eat the ants, did manage to take a few of them 12-14" colored up and just in great shape. Got to the top of the pool and then zero rising, up the bank and in the car, stopped at the next pull off near the turn and guess what ZERO as was the pool below the top bridge, OK take your stuff off and check Penns below Coburn! Stopped at Burkholder's for a snack and coffee and drove down the creek road from Coburn, saw a ton of small spinners over one riffle, stopped at Stan's bridge and below it on the road side the fish were lined up and eating, could not find any good fish there so I drove to bridge, walked out on the bridge and found trout up everywhere and guess what was on the bridge- #16 Black Flying Ants. I got dressed and walked up stream to get in the water and the next few hours were just magic, when you fish here you need to stay in the water and near the road side because of the nuts that have posted their cabin's land, there are plenty of good trout in this section but they are not easy, fished to the head of the riffle and was pleased with the results, all browns in really great shape. When you run into an flying ant spinner fall the fish seem to really love to eat them and will travel to take one but they will not tolerate bad casting and poor floats. I do not really like to fish upstream but in both streams it is a necessary evil.
If you want to tie these guys, a hint is to make the wings not at a 90 degree angle, make if a 45 degree angle and use a medium gray wing material (zelon works well) Blue Ribbon has a great selection of it. When you want to have spinner wings at a rear facing angle you need to tie it in at 90 degrees and really tighten the tying thread building up a small dam ahead of the wings, as you put on the fur or synthetic material make sure you build it up in the front of the wing thereby pushing it back at an angle, (hint) use the same method to make spent caddis wings. Make sure you use head cement on the wind tie in point, I tie a bunch up then glue them all at once, I never have an open bottle of glue of even my hypotipped glue bottle anywhere near when I am tying.
If you want to tie these guys, a hint is to make the wings not at a 90 degree angle, make if a 45 degree angle and use a medium gray wing material (zelon works well) Blue Ribbon has a great selection of it. When you want to have spinner wings at a rear facing angle you need to tie it in at 90 degrees and really tighten the tying thread building up a small dam ahead of the wings, as you put on the fur or synthetic material make sure you build it up in the front of the wing thereby pushing it back at an angle, (hint) use the same method to make spent caddis wings. Make sure you use head cement on the wind tie in point, I tie a bunch up then glue them all at once, I never have an open bottle of glue of even my hypotipped glue bottle anywhere near when I am tying.
Monday, September 11, 2017
You have to wonder
For quite a while now I have been questioning the value of national and now international conservation organizations, FFF just became IFF. It seems as if TU has it's hands out every week either by letter or e mail and it gets old fast. IFF used to be a nice conservation group that had really nice gatherings and at them you could exchange ideas and flies or fishing techniques but they have gone off on a disturbing trend, now every body has to certified as an expert, what does that tell new members who just might want some information and a group to belong to, maybe get some help, you need to be an expert-not! I loved their news letters and magazines because they were filled with good information about flies and techniques but to get the magazine you have to pay extra! I am just not sure I need to belong to them any more, what do I get for my money- a nice window sticker.
Now to TU, if there were no local chapters this would also be a waste of money, at least your local chapter if it is active offers a meeting and gatherings to help you move forward in fly fishing. The national and state councils are rife with politics and infighting, not what you need to help our natural resources. I remember a few years ago when National would not take a stand on angler access in Montana, that told me a lot about their politics, let's not piss some very rich person off and just forget about it. They took a stand on global warming but not access to streams, not really logical. I wonder what they think about the outright war going on in Utah over stream access or are they just going to stand around and put their head in the sand? Have you ever seen how may people TU employs, well it a good number and no wonder their total focus is raising money. I know that some of the local chapters really do good things for their area, look at Spring Creek Chapter- they take great care of the entire Spring Creek water shed. In the end I must confess TU is worth the money if you have a strong local chapter that is active and you ignore the snail mail and the e mails.
The very best conservation organization that I belong to is The Henry's Fork Foundation, this group is focused on one of the best rivers in the West. In the Fork's hay day the fishing was just wonderful but then it crashed, local framers and ranches dewatered in during the summer and over the winter there was little water coming from the reservoir. All that changed because a group of people knew it could be better and they slowly and gentlemanly worked with local groups and formed a great plan to keep the gates open during the winter to assure that junival trout had the necessary water flow for them to over winter. The also worked with all the local water conservation groups on the river to work out a plan to keep enough flow in the river to keep the rainbows healthy and happy. They work to keep the fences up to keep cattle out of the river, open or provide fish passage to spawning rainbow in the tributaries. If you every fish there or want to this is a really fine group to belong to, I know it is not local but they do great work and deserve all of our financial help.
I feel the tug to hunting big fish-streamers!!
Now to TU, if there were no local chapters this would also be a waste of money, at least your local chapter if it is active offers a meeting and gatherings to help you move forward in fly fishing. The national and state councils are rife with politics and infighting, not what you need to help our natural resources. I remember a few years ago when National would not take a stand on angler access in Montana, that told me a lot about their politics, let's not piss some very rich person off and just forget about it. They took a stand on global warming but not access to streams, not really logical. I wonder what they think about the outright war going on in Utah over stream access or are they just going to stand around and put their head in the sand? Have you ever seen how may people TU employs, well it a good number and no wonder their total focus is raising money. I know that some of the local chapters really do good things for their area, look at Spring Creek Chapter- they take great care of the entire Spring Creek water shed. In the end I must confess TU is worth the money if you have a strong local chapter that is active and you ignore the snail mail and the e mails.
The very best conservation organization that I belong to is The Henry's Fork Foundation, this group is focused on one of the best rivers in the West. In the Fork's hay day the fishing was just wonderful but then it crashed, local framers and ranches dewatered in during the summer and over the winter there was little water coming from the reservoir. All that changed because a group of people knew it could be better and they slowly and gentlemanly worked with local groups and formed a great plan to keep the gates open during the winter to assure that junival trout had the necessary water flow for them to over winter. The also worked with all the local water conservation groups on the river to work out a plan to keep enough flow in the river to keep the rainbows healthy and happy. They work to keep the fences up to keep cattle out of the river, open or provide fish passage to spawning rainbow in the tributaries. If you every fish there or want to this is a really fine group to belong to, I know it is not local but they do great work and deserve all of our financial help.
I feel the tug to hunting big fish-streamers!!
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Glad I had them!!
Well I was at Penns on Wednesday and boy was I glad that I had my small box of ants in the back pack that I carry for extra cloths! When I first arrived the fish were taking some Iso. emergers and duns but stopped for a time. As I stood on the bank and the wind blew I could see a lot of fish up and taking something off the top. Out I waded to have a look and guess what- flying ants- #16/18 all black! Even all the chubs were up and feeding so it became a challenge to pick out the trout to cast to. I made quite a few wrong decisions and found myself landing more than a few quite large chubs, oh well they do pull. It was like a typical olive hatch in that the ants would come in spurts which was nice because it gave me time to wade to another section and get in range to cast to what I believed were trout. By 4 PM all was over and the stream became silent and nothing was rising, time for dinner on a rock and just take in the entire experience, low and behold a immature bald eagle flew up stream all the while a wood pecker blasted a tree downstream, makes you happy to be alive.
Had an experience at the cabin as I was getting ready Doc came down and we talked about Mike M and others that we know, some thing just made him open his SUV up and he found his dog on the floor gasping for air, he had been in the car for over an hour with all the windows up and in direct sun, got him on the ground and I said get some water on him from the hose, Doc began to spray Cinco with the cool water, slowly he began to respond but not after some tense moments. A good lesson for us all to remember, check to see if everyone has gotten out of your car before you leave it.
We are going to have a good cold front come thru today and turn things much colder then have some rain Sunday maybe a good week ahead to get into some prespawn browns on a few new streamers. Oh buy the way check out "Tie TV"on line to see Daniel Berman tie s new streamer using "ripple ice fibers" he takes some fibers out of the bag and tears them in half then rolls it in his hand and places it over the eye of the hook and moves it to the tie in point thereby making a really nice body that is light and appears full, a very new technique, these guys from Europe have some really good ideas. Check out the eyes he is using also. Tie TV can be found on You Tube, check it out.
Had an experience at the cabin as I was getting ready Doc came down and we talked about Mike M and others that we know, some thing just made him open his SUV up and he found his dog on the floor gasping for air, he had been in the car for over an hour with all the windows up and in direct sun, got him on the ground and I said get some water on him from the hose, Doc began to spray Cinco with the cool water, slowly he began to respond but not after some tense moments. A good lesson for us all to remember, check to see if everyone has gotten out of your car before you leave it.
We are going to have a good cold front come thru today and turn things much colder then have some rain Sunday maybe a good week ahead to get into some prespawn browns on a few new streamers. Oh buy the way check out "Tie TV"on line to see Daniel Berman tie s new streamer using "ripple ice fibers" he takes some fibers out of the bag and tears them in half then rolls it in his hand and places it over the eye of the hook and moves it to the tie in point thereby making a really nice body that is light and appears full, a very new technique, these guys from Europe have some really good ideas. Check out the eyes he is using also. Tie TV can be found on You Tube, check it out.
Thursday, August 24, 2017
Ants & more ants
Ant alert, now is the time when we see ant swarms around, most likely times tend to be a cloudy rainy day followed by a nice sunny day. Ant swarms are the result of overpopulation in a colony, the winged little or large ants need to find a new location for another colony and can not tell if it is water or land! Believe me trout know what an ant is and will eat the little guys with reckless abandon, your pattern need not be great just the size has to be right on. Two little fur balls (the rear ball just a bit larger and longer than the front) there needs to be a well defined space, a bit of hackle ( 1 turn) and a sparse down wing of poly or organza. BUT the size and color has to be perfect, the trout will give you the finger over and over if it is not spot on. We have seen the following sizes and colors;
#16 thru #22 Black
#16 thru #22 Red (a good dark cinnamon)
#14 thru #18 Red butt (light cinnamon) with a Black front (this one is a must)
#14 thru #16 Black rear & front (tie these with a bit more of a body) this is the large wood ants
Not a big deal to tie them but if the ant fall happens and your box is at home, have a good time watching because they are a bitch to even get a few to make a mistake. Now is the time to watch for them, mostly in the afternoon and early evenings. A good key is if you see some swarms around your home you know it is a good time to go. Oh by the way do not feel this is little guy size fishing because it is not, all trout LOVE ants and eat them very well- just go.
#16 thru #22 Black
#16 thru #22 Red (a good dark cinnamon)
#14 thru #18 Red butt (light cinnamon) with a Black front (this one is a must)
#14 thru #16 Black rear & front (tie these with a bit more of a body) this is the large wood ants
Not a big deal to tie them but if the ant fall happens and your box is at home, have a good time watching because they are a bitch to even get a few to make a mistake. Now is the time to watch for them, mostly in the afternoon and early evenings. A good key is if you see some swarms around your home you know it is a good time to go. Oh by the way do not feel this is little guy size fishing because it is not, all trout LOVE ants and eat them very well- just go.
Monday, August 21, 2017
Time to take a look at Penns
It is about the time we should be looking at Penns, cooler nights and some rain will keep her temp's cooler than the last few years. Fish either Iso. nymphs or if you see a good amount of spinners in the air an Iso' spinner will do the trick, they are big #12 -14 dark red brown bodied that float flush in the surface film. I have seen spinners falls in August and early Sept. in the late afternoon/evening time frame. The best way to fish Iso's is a nymph, a very dark brown or black slim bodied fly with a white stripe on the back will do the trick, the newer jig hooks and a tungsten bead will get it down and prevent it from getting hooked on the bottom at least a little! Iso. nymphs can swim so a little tight line nymphing will work even if you have a bit of drag on it. Fish these guys in the riffles and even at the very top of the run before the water breaks into choppy water but keep a low profile.
Another option is ants and beetles fished in shallow water early or late in the day, present an ant softly and a beetle not soft at all- plop it! Years ago we collected a bunch of hoppers and crickets and tossed them in at Johnson's pool to observe just how the trout ate them, hoppers would be inspected and most time taken downstream but crickets were just eaten when inspected, this is not for the faint of heart, the fish are slow and determined but slow!
Do not forget about the #16-18 tan caddis at this time of year, an Iris caddis imitation will do the trick on emergers as will a good soft hackle wet (simple body and hackle) but I love to cast a CDC loop winged adult imitation at the trout but tie a load of them because the CDC gets soaked fast. Yes I know you can use dry fly beads but it just does not bring them back well enough- tie a lot of them up.
It will be soon time for the browns to start to feel their oats, prespawn time is streamer time. I have been watching the European guys and their new tying materials and techniques for hints of how to tie more effective patterns, one thing for sure they do not use a ton of material on their flies but they have the apperaence of a full bodied fly, check out "Tie TV" on You Tube, some of the patterns taka long time to tie because of the instructions and the guys can be a little hard to understand but the video is just great. Another good one on You Tube is "Hackles & Wings" and Michael Jensen- give the a look and you might get hooked on them.
Another option is ants and beetles fished in shallow water early or late in the day, present an ant softly and a beetle not soft at all- plop it! Years ago we collected a bunch of hoppers and crickets and tossed them in at Johnson's pool to observe just how the trout ate them, hoppers would be inspected and most time taken downstream but crickets were just eaten when inspected, this is not for the faint of heart, the fish are slow and determined but slow!
Do not forget about the #16-18 tan caddis at this time of year, an Iris caddis imitation will do the trick on emergers as will a good soft hackle wet (simple body and hackle) but I love to cast a CDC loop winged adult imitation at the trout but tie a load of them because the CDC gets soaked fast. Yes I know you can use dry fly beads but it just does not bring them back well enough- tie a lot of them up.
It will be soon time for the browns to start to feel their oats, prespawn time is streamer time. I have been watching the European guys and their new tying materials and techniques for hints of how to tie more effective patterns, one thing for sure they do not use a ton of material on their flies but they have the apperaence of a full bodied fly, check out "Tie TV" on You Tube, some of the patterns taka long time to tie because of the instructions and the guys can be a little hard to understand but the video is just great. Another good one on You Tube is "Hackles & Wings" and Michael Jensen- give the a look and you might get hooked on them.
Friday, August 18, 2017
Below the dam "0"
Have been taking drives down to below the Fibradam in Sunbury to check the top water activity since the water has returned to normal August levels and have found a big "0" for top feeding fish. Have seen a few very small fish close to shore and maybe a catfish or two cruising around on top but no small mouth bass up and feeding, where are they? I have also not seen any white flies near the shore up to 8:30 PM. I am sure if you picked a good cloudy day and began to throw some streamers around on full sinking lines you could expect to pick up some fish but I really like the top water feeding that we saw years ago. It is a good
distance to wade out to the large island but that is the best way to fish it, casting back towards the Sunbury side or the Shamokin Dam side BUT be careful the water gets deep if you venture off the West side of it.
Go any enjoy a quiet time on the water, maybe try some poppers on top?
distance to wade out to the large island but that is the best way to fish it, casting back towards the Sunbury side or the Shamokin Dam side BUT be careful the water gets deep if you venture off the West side of it.
Go any enjoy a quiet time on the water, maybe try some poppers on top?
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
Trico time on Spring Creek
As the fish on Bald Eagle become more and more aware of the fly guys floating fake imitations and the trout getting stung from them they get really picky. Took a couple of browns below the Milesburg bridge on Friday but they were really tough to deal with, so ok let's go see where we can find some. Drove up Spring Creek looking for rising fish, well I found them. Just above where Logan Branch comes into Spring there is a very small park on the Bellefonte side of Spring, they were stacked up and rising well, took the rod out of the car and put my chest pack back on and waded in, took one at the tail out on the first cast, they were just rising everywhere on both banks, either caught them or missed them. the fish on the park side are always the good ones and they are in about 10" of water with not much current- tough but fun to try to get them to eat, no hitting them on the head here. Fished all the way up to where the creek takes a turn to the right in the thick cover, some really nice 14" fish but most of them were 6" to 10" guys but the rise rhythm was just to good to pass up, really nice head and tail rises something to remember. I have not fished this one section in a few years and may not for another few years, it has been hit or miss but when it is on it is really good as is the area just below this big pool, it can be a great pool for beetles! Just a wonderful day on the water, can't wait to do it again this Friday but at another location.
Thursday, August 3, 2017
Found them
Well I found the "White flies" that have been non existence the past few years ago, I was leaving dog training class two weeks ago at the Marina and on my way out noticed a ton of them on the bank of the North Branch of the river, none of them were out farther than 20 yards from shore. BUT the river was running bank full and "brown" from our recent rains. On my way home there were NOT any on the sides of the bridges, not like years ago. OK fast forward to this week, water level down and clearing, as I was leaving stopped to look at the rivers edge and guess what "Zero" white flies, same location, same time frame- where the hell do they go? Could not even think of fishing below the dam because the water is still too high to wade, and with the large rocks I would have a hell of a time fishing from shore. I may just go down and have a look tonight to see if there are any showing, so far another year with more questions than answers.
Monday, July 31, 2017
Did it
Well went fishing maybe a little later than I wanted to but with a new knee things take a bit more time. Arrived at Bald Eagle to a load of rising trout and a good Trico spinner fall going on. Got dressed and in the process of putting my waders on (hard to really bend for them to get in the legs) I noticed that I put my size #10 Simms felt sole leather wading shoes in the tub- they were not "WET", what a hell of a time to get them on, must have looked like a 85 years old walking down the street! When I got to the stream bank, oh boy it is very steep and it must have looked bad as I went down it but got down and into the water- all is good. Fishing rising everywhere, picked a few good ones out and everything was good except on the first few I was just to fast setting the hook. Most of the fish in Bald Eagle now are browns and not the same rainbows that were there other years and that is fine because the browns are much larger. All in all I took over 14 fish and had no problem wading around the ledges but that darn bank was staring me in the face, slow and steady did the trick. Back at the car still had a heck of a time to get the wading shoes off, note to self pack the size 11's next time.
Got some lunch and wanted to fish a heavily wooded section of Spring Creek but when I got to the parking spot I noticed that Steve S. from Flyfishers Paradise was there, oh well maybe next time.
As a side note I did tie up 24 new Trico spinners that have larger dark olive bodies and have to say did not notice any refusals from the fish, maybe all those years of #24-26 thin bodied spinners was just in my head. I have to say the fish in Bald Eagle at this time of year can be really picky and you need to have a good pattern and most importantly a good drift or they will not look at it. My experience the other year with shitty store bought spinners has opened my eyes, the fish do not mind the pattern as long as it is close but the drift has to be perfect.
Went to Penns to fish tan caddis a few days after and had no problem with size "11 wading shoes! They was a very good Paralep. spinner fall going on when I got there and the tan caddis did start to come off as usual, nice colored and very fist browns at the junction pool with Penns and Elk Creek. Then "3" new fly fishers just came walking and fishing downstream with no idea of what they were doing, oh well I just gave them the time of day and decided to quit and go home. All in all not bad for the first couple of time wading after total knee replacement.
Got some lunch and wanted to fish a heavily wooded section of Spring Creek but when I got to the parking spot I noticed that Steve S. from Flyfishers Paradise was there, oh well maybe next time.
As a side note I did tie up 24 new Trico spinners that have larger dark olive bodies and have to say did not notice any refusals from the fish, maybe all those years of #24-26 thin bodied spinners was just in my head. I have to say the fish in Bald Eagle at this time of year can be really picky and you need to have a good pattern and most importantly a good drift or they will not look at it. My experience the other year with shitty store bought spinners has opened my eyes, the fish do not mind the pattern as long as it is close but the drift has to be perfect.
Went to Penns to fish tan caddis a few days after and had no problem with size "11 wading shoes! They was a very good Paralep. spinner fall going on when I got there and the tan caddis did start to come off as usual, nice colored and very fist browns at the junction pool with Penns and Elk Creek. Then "3" new fly fishers just came walking and fishing downstream with no idea of what they were doing, oh well I just gave them the time of day and decided to quit and go home. All in all not bad for the first couple of time wading after total knee replacement.
Wednesday, July 12, 2017
We lost another good guy
I was informed of the passing of Mike Marcinek, he passed away at his Weikert cabin, this bring a close to a very large figure in our area. Mike's voice was very distinctive and carried long distances, you could tell he was around even if you did not see him. Very active in Scouts, teaching young children and TU, he would give of himself for anyone who needed a hand or wanted to learn. I remember him 40 years ago going with us on the Loyalsock and him climbing down a very steep bank, it was fun to watch till he give me hell for picking a spot like that to fish but we all caught fish that night!
Perhaps the best way to remember him is to think of the following, "Ginger Quill", I could hear him say that every night in May just before dark- put it on they are on that.
He was a gentle giant in every way except of the football field, there he was a very good lineman.
Gone but not forgotten.
Perhaps the best way to remember him is to think of the following, "Ginger Quill", I could hear him say that every night in May just before dark- put it on they are on that.
He was a gentle giant in every way except of the football field, there he was a very good lineman.
Gone but not forgotten.
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Well we got water!
We received rain at the just the right times this year, our streams have been running on the above normal side most of the season except Penns which has avoided most of the really hard rain but still it is better shape than normal. Our best bets now are Spring, Bald Eagle and Big Fishing Creek, the Trico's will be starting any day now, normal date to watch is July 15th but I have hear a few reports of minor activity already. I just love to fish Trico spinners in the morning then have lunch and pick a good shady section of stream to fish ants and beetles in the afternoon. Steve from Flyfishers Paradise swears by a black wet ant but I have only had limited success on them, I still give them a try. My favorite is fishing a #12 black foam beetle that I plop near the shores or in the area just below the riffles, if you find good overhanging bush or trees that is the magic spot. It is always surprising how large a trout and how fast they will come to take a beetle. My beetles are easy just black hackle palmared up the hook and trimmed top and bottom then a foam back gets pulled over the clipped hackle- no legs only the clipped hackle extending out the sides. I have seen the patterns with rubber lags and peacock bodies but I want to tie these fast because the browns will tear the foam up with their teeth and you can go thru a bunch of them either damaged or lost to the overhangs!
Now is the time to also fish Iso. nymphs in the heads of riffles- yes the very head of them, you would be surprised to see how big some of the fish are that hold in this water at this time of year. Remember Iso. nymphs do swim very well and the fish tend to take them hard- maybe a heaver tippet would be in order.
My target date to fish is July 10th and I will be looking for a small Trico spinner fall to get me back in the saddle. Oh do not for get the #16 tan caddis that emerges mid morning and all tru out the day on all our streams, fish wets, Iris caddis emergers and CDC adults but make sure you tie a ton of CDC flies because they are very hard to dry off and get them to float again.
Enjoy
Now is the time to also fish Iso. nymphs in the heads of riffles- yes the very head of them, you would be surprised to see how big some of the fish are that hold in this water at this time of year. Remember Iso. nymphs do swim very well and the fish tend to take them hard- maybe a heaver tippet would be in order.
My target date to fish is July 10th and I will be looking for a small Trico spinner fall to get me back in the saddle. Oh do not for get the #16 tan caddis that emerges mid morning and all tru out the day on all our streams, fish wets, Iris caddis emergers and CDC adults but make sure you tie a ton of CDC flies because they are very hard to dry off and get them to float again.
Enjoy
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Normal Year Now?
No it is not a normal year so far, all my predictions of low water have not come true, it has rained at just the right times and Penns has escaped the effects that Center and Clinton Counties have suffered, about time we get a break. The Drake is over and hopefully the crowds have gone for another year, one can only imagine what the Tunnel Road downstream from Coburn must have been like at the height of the hatch? I still have not gotten out yet, a full 10 days before my knee replacement sugury I cut the side of my right thumb off while using a new mandolin slicer, when your right handed you take for granted all the things that you do with your thumb, hell I could not even tie a fly on, even at this date I had to improvise spinning dubbing on some new Iso. bead head jig nymphs, if you fish Penns or Big Fishing Creek these are a very important food source from here on in the season. I used #14, 60 degree heavy wire jig hooks with a 3 mm. black tung. bead and 10 wraps of .010 lead wire, yes they need to get down fast and stay there. The jig hook makes a for a better nymph that tends to ride hook up so your not getting hung up as much but it sinks fast where the Iso. nymphs are. Try them out just make sure they are either black or very dark red brown, with a bit of peacock.
My best guess when I will be fishing again is July 10, still can not drive yet and PT is going very well three days a week but no where near trying to wade any stream. Please go catch one for me!
My best guess when I will be fishing again is July 10, still can not drive yet and PT is going very well three days a week but no where near trying to wade any stream. Please go catch one for me!
Monday, May 8, 2017
Too Much of a Good Thing
Well we must sound like our farmer friends, they never have the perfect conditions and it seems this year neither do we! Yes I was bitching about not enough water and what can happen just after June 15th most years and it might happen again this year but in the mean time we are dealing with very high water conditions, in fact Penns hit 4000 + cfs last week and that is not conducive to good fishing. All we can do is wait till it goes down, with cool cloudy days the water level will not go down that fast, we need bright sunny and windy days to help the water evaporate as will the leaves on the trees help to bring the levels down. All the while our insects are hatching away and the trout are eating them and we are standing on the shore with our sticks in hand.
If you are a fly tyer and mix your own dubbing or for that matter make dubbing from yarn I saw a great You Tube video this weekend, cut your lengths of yarn or fur into a 1 gallon plastic or glass jar and put the lid on then punch a hole in it, insert a can of compressed air (the kind to clean a computer key board off) or take it somewhere that has a compressed air hose and stick it in the hole and blast away- after a few seconds you have perfectly blended or made dubbing! Saw another video that showed how to make Senyo lazer dubbing with wool yarn and "Angelina" fibers using "2" pet grooming brushes, neat and really easy but if you buy a skein of wool yarn you will have enough for life, better find a buddy or two to share it with!
Time to clean your rods and reels or tie some more flies, remember the Drakes will come and if the water is high it makes no matter because you can always find fish feeding on the them somewhere. Also remember that just after Drake time it is "Olive" time both the #16 and #20-22 guys. The 16 guys are really the old "Cornuta" now named "Drunella" you can find the in the morning and thru the day emerging but the highlight is the intense spinner fall in early evening BUT remember these guys beat their wings to eject the egg mass therefor stay away from the riffles and concentrate your efforts mid to tails out of the pools. This spinner fall does not happen on every section of Penns and you will need to find them to expect good fishing. I use a Tiemco 101 #16 but tie the body a bit short, using nothing but black or very dark olive turkey quill for the body and the same color around the spent wings- keep the wings sparse- these guys float very low in the surface and your targets know this and will reject you very quickly. Good luck and catch a few for me as I will be in rehab getting full use of my new knee.
If you are a fly tyer and mix your own dubbing or for that matter make dubbing from yarn I saw a great You Tube video this weekend, cut your lengths of yarn or fur into a 1 gallon plastic or glass jar and put the lid on then punch a hole in it, insert a can of compressed air (the kind to clean a computer key board off) or take it somewhere that has a compressed air hose and stick it in the hole and blast away- after a few seconds you have perfectly blended or made dubbing! Saw another video that showed how to make Senyo lazer dubbing with wool yarn and "Angelina" fibers using "2" pet grooming brushes, neat and really easy but if you buy a skein of wool yarn you will have enough for life, better find a buddy or two to share it with!
Time to clean your rods and reels or tie some more flies, remember the Drakes will come and if the water is high it makes no matter because you can always find fish feeding on the them somewhere. Also remember that just after Drake time it is "Olive" time both the #16 and #20-22 guys. The 16 guys are really the old "Cornuta" now named "Drunella" you can find the in the morning and thru the day emerging but the highlight is the intense spinner fall in early evening BUT remember these guys beat their wings to eject the egg mass therefor stay away from the riffles and concentrate your efforts mid to tails out of the pools. This spinner fall does not happen on every section of Penns and you will need to find them to expect good fishing. I use a Tiemco 101 #16 but tie the body a bit short, using nothing but black or very dark olive turkey quill for the body and the same color around the spent wings- keep the wings sparse- these guys float very low in the surface and your targets know this and will reject you very quickly. Good luck and catch a few for me as I will be in rehab getting full use of my new knee.
Monday, May 1, 2017
It Is Busting At The Seams
Oh my everything seems to be happening all at once, Grey Fox, March Brown, Crane Flies, Tan Caddis, Sulphurs and the stupid green thing. Talk about a complex hatch and stage of emergence and spinner falls to sort out and key in on what that fish you are looking to catch is feeding on? Again the best option is to stop casting and look at the fish the rise form will give you a clue as will putting your nose to the waters surface, but beware sometimes insects seem to prefer a part of the stream you may not be able to see. We found this years ago when we would see spinners on one side that had a good current flow and the other bank had minimal insects floating on the surface or emerging. Good rule of thumb fish Grey Fox and or March Brown emergers or wets during the morning and afternoon if the sun is not bright, followed by Crane flies (or fish a Walt's Worm all day) then Grey Fox spinners or Sulphur emergers, duns and maybe spinners depending where you are on the stream lower will have the hatches more advanced while higher upstream you might only see one or two species emerging at a time now, the cold and cloudy conditions will tend to slow them down and keep them on the water longer. Oh thrown a few splashy caddis rise forms to mess with your heads, use a LaFontain caddis emerger or a new bead head organzia caddis emerger but hold on to your hat the takes are hard and break offs are normal- Go Now!
Thursday, April 27, 2017
Show Time in May
Things are looking really good this year abet for lower than normal water but the hatches are going well and the fish eating. Same order as other years, still some Little Black Caddis, few Red Quill Spinners but the show revolves around March Browns and Grey Fox thru the day if the weather is cloudy and dreary, some show if the sun is out but not like the dark days. I love this time of year a Grey Fox or a March Brown emerger fished to rising fish will take them, look for the best fish to post up mid pool and to the sides of the pool- tail out hold a lot of fish provided there is cover to hid them, they tend to come out and eat well because of the safety of the nearby cover. Also at this time we begin to see Tan Caddis make their annual appearance (one of the longest hatches we have) a #14-16 Tan Iris or a CDC Bubble Back Caddis will work well. The Iris is a Blue Ribbon pattern that has worked well for years and is a very good one for flat water, the CDC Bubble Back Caddis is a Davey McFale pattern not the Bubble Back pattern by Rene Harrop (his is really a great pattern for slower water and not super active fish. Our hatches will at any time include our lovely Sulphurs both the larger and the smaller ones but do not be fooled when they start as the fish key in of Grey Fox spinners at the same time they begin to emerge, a complex problem best solved by just watching and not shot gun casting to every fish you see- pick one out a watch before you cast. By all means it is very important to go slow and take in what has been offered to you, close your eyes and listen to the birds and the sound of the water, total relaxing. Do not forget the crane flies at this time of year, they tend to vary in size from a #14 down to a #18 mostly cream or tan, a sparse spent winged pattern with a turn of grizzly will do the trick.
We have all seen the explosive rises to caddis mid pool and if you want to try for them just put on a wet fly that imitates and emerging caddis and do the Lisering lift- but hold on the take can be very strong.
I carry a pack along and leave it on the shore just in cast the no see um's get really bad or I need a different pattern that what I have in my vest. The Buzz Off or the new Exoffico product worn as a primary layer or on the outside works well to keep the biting insects away, keeps it's power up to 20 washings then it's done the job and needs to be retired.
I will fish for a few more weeks then will take 8 weeks off to recover from a knee implant, can no longer stand the pain and hope the Trico's will provide a boost for my recovery.
We have all seen the explosive rises to caddis mid pool and if you want to try for them just put on a wet fly that imitates and emerging caddis and do the Lisering lift- but hold on the take can be very strong.
I carry a pack along and leave it on the shore just in cast the no see um's get really bad or I need a different pattern that what I have in my vest. The Buzz Off or the new Exoffico product worn as a primary layer or on the outside works well to keep the biting insects away, keeps it's power up to 20 washings then it's done the job and needs to be retired.
I will fish for a few more weeks then will take 8 weeks off to recover from a knee implant, can no longer stand the pain and hope the Trico's will provide a boost for my recovery.
Monday, April 17, 2017
Little Black Caddis
Well it is going on now, the little black caddis "Chimera", then a good amount of Grannom's followed by a nice emergence of Hendrickson's, with maybe a few Blue Quills thrown in for good measure. The fish in Big Fishing Creek key in on caddis in the mornings then just about lunch they take a break and rest up till the Hendrickson's start about 1-2:00 PM depending on the type of day we have, they take their time and eat slowly, a slight twitch will get them to eat just a little faster! If the hatches have been good thru the day look for a flurry a egg laying caddis and Hendrickson spinners in the evening. Just in case, have a few spent winged caddis in your box. a poly winged caddis tied with swept back 45 degree angle wings and dubbed over works well if they are on them, this does not happen every year or for that matter every day but make sure that is what they are eating. it can be frustrating to think then are on Red Quills when in fact they are eating spent caddis, just sit there and watch before you cast away. At some times you might encounter a small hatch of Blue Quills, they are 18-20 here and the rise form are slight and not aggressive, if they rise is splashy look for caddis and when you cast hit them on the head or just when it floats near the fish give it a slight twitch!
Go if you can the water levels are falling and the temps are still cold enough not to accelerate the hatches, enjoy.
Go if you can the water levels are falling and the temps are still cold enough not to accelerate the hatches, enjoy.
Thursday, April 6, 2017
When thus shit ends all will be fine
OK so I am bitching about the rain because it seems we get too much at one time and not enough the other times. The North Branch of the Susquehanna River is reaching flood stage from Hallstead downstream and the West Branch is still making nice. Penns has been up then coming down and now up and coming up as I write this. This will come to pass and we can get back to fishing this early Spring season, oh it is really not that early.
I would expect to see the Grannom's starting their annual migration to the shore any time, this usually consides with the blooming of the forsythia bush's, remember the bloom may not happen the same time as your back yard, it's still cold in the mountains. I just love this hatch on Fishing Creek because it is one of the first good hatches of the Spring, yes we have midges and olives but somehow this can get your blood going, also because the Hendrickson's usually follow in the afternoon. So just wait till this liquid falls and runs off then go fishing. I'm looking for a window of Tuesday or Wendsday of next week.
I would expect to see the Grannom's starting their annual migration to the shore any time, this usually consides with the blooming of the forsythia bush's, remember the bloom may not happen the same time as your back yard, it's still cold in the mountains. I just love this hatch on Fishing Creek because it is one of the first good hatches of the Spring, yes we have midges and olives but somehow this can get your blood going, also because the Hendrickson's usually follow in the afternoon. So just wait till this liquid falls and runs off then go fishing. I'm looking for a window of Tuesday or Wendsday of next week.
Thursday, March 30, 2017
A very good day
Wed. was a very good day on Fishing Creek, cold and windy was the norm which made it hard some times to follow your leader/stream junction effectively but hey that is life. Took a lot of fish but most of them on the smaller size on a #16 tung. bead pheasant tail and a B or a BB shot. I have in the past been guilty of not really paying attention to the amount of lead (yes I use lead and like it) I have used and have not been at time down where I need to be, I guess just lazy or looking for the top water action. Saw a few other fellows out but did not bump into anyone else, I chose the right place to fish to avoid anyone else. The sun came out in the afternoon but I only saw a few midges and a couple of small stoneflies about, no olives but did not expect to see them in the sun. I did not see any signs of the annual Grannom migration yet but if the water warms up a bit we should see them in the next few weeks. Grannom emergence in the morning then Hendrickson's in the afternoon followed by Grannom egg laying later with maybe a few Red Quill spinners to end the day!
Yes the water was high but not blown out and typical wading conditions, slippery and cold! This will be very busy in the next few weeks till the official opening day then the pressure tapers off, you will have to drive up or down the canyon and take the first available parking spot of if you don't it might be gone.
Yes the water was high but not blown out and typical wading conditions, slippery and cold! This will be very busy in the next few weeks till the official opening day then the pressure tapers off, you will have to drive up or down the canyon and take the first available parking spot of if you don't it might be gone.
Friday, March 24, 2017
It all metled
Gees our hope for a slow melt and a steady water supply went out the window, it is all gone up here on the hill! Hopefully the rain that we see in the forecast will recharge the water table better than the snow has, we need a good supply for the critical time that in the past years we have not had, the May/early June period is most important to our resource. Let us hope for the best. I have had reports of really good #20/22 black midge surface fishing over the last week on Spring Creek, my gut tells me that some of the same conditions will exist on Big Fishing Creek but it may take some time to find the correct spot, drive up the creek and stop and look for a good while till you see the rise forms. When the fish are taking midges you will need to determine what stage they are eating, subsurface suspended pupa, surface emergers or adults, we do not typically see the large mating balls that they see in the West, they use "buzz balls" for this, we see maybe a pare mating. Any good midge pattern will work well if it is the correct size and it floats right. This is not a perfect pattern fishing adventure, get the color and shape correct BUT make sure it floats like a natural "NO DRAG" at all. If your fishing subsurface a little slight drag may be what is needed for them to strike but most times everything it dead drift.
If your going to Penns be very careful with any attempt to wade, cold and high water in a toxic mix, you do not last long if you fall in or get swept off your feet, if you make it out it is a long and cold walk to your car or truck in wet cloths. Streamers that get down to the bottom or large weighted nymphs will work but slow and easy is the name of the game.
Be careful if you go.
Watched a cool Youtube video of some young fellow nymph fishing Big Fishing Creek in early March, wow he did a great job with the browns there, looks as if he took most of his fish on a different looking hare's ear, look very dark with a robust trail on it. He did tie on a streamer and dangled it in a log jam and had a really extra large brown come out a munch it, I know exactly where the log jam is and it would be a bitch to land this guy. I was told about this fish a few years ago when a buddy of mine saw it, maybe I need to go and check it out. We have in the past seen a few New Zealand fish in this stream during the spawn season but they are just so dam tuned into their environment that it is hard to get them to eat most of the time, maybe I need to try some mice late in the evening this summer?
If your going to Penns be very careful with any attempt to wade, cold and high water in a toxic mix, you do not last long if you fall in or get swept off your feet, if you make it out it is a long and cold walk to your car or truck in wet cloths. Streamers that get down to the bottom or large weighted nymphs will work but slow and easy is the name of the game.
Be careful if you go.
Watched a cool Youtube video of some young fellow nymph fishing Big Fishing Creek in early March, wow he did a great job with the browns there, looks as if he took most of his fish on a different looking hare's ear, look very dark with a robust trail on it. He did tie on a streamer and dangled it in a log jam and had a really extra large brown come out a munch it, I know exactly where the log jam is and it would be a bitch to land this guy. I was told about this fish a few years ago when a buddy of mine saw it, maybe I need to go and check it out. We have in the past seen a few New Zealand fish in this stream during the spawn season but they are just so dam tuned into their environment that it is hard to get them to eat most of the time, maybe I need to try some mice late in the evening this summer?
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Just what we needed
Wow did we get hit with the white stuff, just what we needed at a critical time. The long range forecast looks as if this will stick around for a while and not melt away fast causing a high water event then back to low water conditions. I see maybe next weekend might be a slight warm up but I think we will be safe in the mountains where the sun and higher temps do not typically warm up as fast. Let's hope this melts slowly and brings a good amount of moisture to the water table and not run off.
As I said this is the perfect time of the year to tie flies or get your gear out and inspect everything, I clean all my fly rods of junk from the past season using ivory snow and water. I clean every fly line that I have with the same ivory snow & water solution then wiping them dry before putting a line treatment on them and letting it sit for a few hours then wiping it off to a slick finish. You could also use a Rio fly line cleaner that comes in a small wet towel packet, cost .99 each and well worth it but make sure you clean it both ways because if you only clean in one direction you miss quite a bit, clean it going out of the reel and going back in, most time you do not need to put a line treatment on if if your using fairly new lines. This is also a great time to think about changing leader butts and adding new tippets, I for one am guilty on not doing this every years, I just add new tippet- not a good idea. This is also a good time to replenish your tippet selection, especially if you store you gear in a hot car for extended periods or leave it in the sun for long periods of time, I have seen how people just throw their gear in a car and for get it. I also clean my vest out completely and decide if I need the contents this year, I noticed that I was carry a second big bag of shot , no wonder the dam vest was heavy, you find crap that as you look at it now you wonder why you kept it in there?
As I said this is the perfect time of the year to tie flies or get your gear out and inspect everything, I clean all my fly rods of junk from the past season using ivory snow and water. I clean every fly line that I have with the same ivory snow & water solution then wiping them dry before putting a line treatment on them and letting it sit for a few hours then wiping it off to a slick finish. You could also use a Rio fly line cleaner that comes in a small wet towel packet, cost .99 each and well worth it but make sure you clean it both ways because if you only clean in one direction you miss quite a bit, clean it going out of the reel and going back in, most time you do not need to put a line treatment on if if your using fairly new lines. This is also a great time to think about changing leader butts and adding new tippets, I for one am guilty on not doing this every years, I just add new tippet- not a good idea. This is also a good time to replenish your tippet selection, especially if you store you gear in a hot car for extended periods or leave it in the sun for long periods of time, I have seen how people just throw their gear in a car and for get it. I also clean my vest out completely and decide if I need the contents this year, I noticed that I was carry a second big bag of shot , no wonder the dam vest was heavy, you find crap that as you look at it now you wonder why you kept it in there?
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
A bit late
Seeing some really good signs and actual hatching of "little black stoneflies" both on Penns and of course on the river, just look at the number of gulls sitting on the river eating their fill of them. Was at Penns last week and nothing happened till way late in the day but did see some strong rises to both fluttering stones and a few very large crane flies also skittering across the surface. The water level is good for us anglers but not good for the long range outlook, we need more water in the drainage in order for us to have a solid Spring and then our transition to Summer. I am betting that we will have the same conditions as we have been getting the last few years a below average Spring with maybe a few high water episodes then a below average moisture Summer that has an adverse effect on our trout population. Would be nice to see some solid snow as a ground cover and a gradual warm up so we can keep some of the water for later use but hey we have no control over it- so go fishing when the water is good and hope for the best later.
On a side note the small nymph fishing has been very good if you use enough weight to get them down to the trout's level, it took "2" BB shots to get it done last week.
On a side note the small nymph fishing has been very good if you use enough weight to get them down to the trout's level, it took "2" BB shots to get it done last week.
Monday, February 13, 2017
It's that time of year again
Just got an e mail from You Tube telling me that Season 8 of Fly vs. Jerks is now on with the first episode last Friday and every Friday it will come on again. Just Google "Fly vs. Jerks" and you'll see season 8's first showing, watch it. I know that fishing for pike is not something that we have access to but we sure have Musky around here and some of the flies and equipment that they use surely could be used here for them. I am amazed at the amount of technology these guys use to find fish and get to where they are going, new this year is the fact they can fish anywhere in Europe? I think that the amount of new fly gear they are using is just awesome as is the choice of flies and the material they use to tie them. It took me a while to get the wiggle tails they were using last year but I got them and tied up a shit load of new streamer patterns for trout, the also have a sister channel call " Fly TV" that features pike and trout streamers and the methods they use to tie them, a good source to see all the new techniques people are using. They use pretty common materials when they tie, their use of buktails is extensive and the methods of how they achieve bulk is amazing, check out "reverse tie".
The roller coaster weather is playing shit with our Winter fishing, it is coming down to if you see a good day you better just go then don't wait or the weather will take a turn for the worse. Have not seen a good amount of Olives yet but I am sure any day they will make an appearance. Think before you go, make sure there is not a lot of snow melt coming into the stream because that will put them off for a bit till the water stabilizes.
The roller coaster weather is playing shit with our Winter fishing, it is coming down to if you see a good day you better just go then don't wait or the weather will take a turn for the worse. Have not seen a good amount of Olives yet but I am sure any day they will make an appearance. Think before you go, make sure there is not a lot of snow melt coming into the stream because that will put them off for a bit till the water stabilizes.
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
We won a battle but not the war
Late last week Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) reversed a plan to sell off millions of acres of Federal land in the West, he released this statement "I am a proud gun owner, hunter and love our public lands", what the hell does than mean. Well you got caught with your hands in the cookie jar and now your saving face with the sportsmen and women who vote, what a bunch of crap. All the while the Governor of UT is pushing for the land transfer from the Federal government to his state, watch out next will be a land transfer with out a sale! These guys will stop at nothing to give our lands to the oil, gas and mining interests and deny us our right to use these cherished public lands. When they come under pressure they revert back to the "I love you sportsman crap", all the while planning their next assault.
Another government crap action is the PA Fish and Boat Commission asking for public comments on stocking of class A water and then quickly moving on to smallmouth bass in the river, wow I guess their mind was made up and the comment was just a typo, same shit from them- let's stock so we can show someone that their licence sale counts, to hell with the resource. They moved to make Bale Eagle class A but still want to stock it then why do you do that, makes no sense. I am not in favor of not stocking it, if not where do the Center Cty residents have to catch and keep fish? If your going to designate a stream class A make it for a good reason and let the natural resource take care of itself, abet make sure the rules are followed.
On the fishing side the midge fishing has been great, last Monday was an epic day with midges skittering everywhere, the trout would not take a dead drift fly but would chase a skittering one, they came a foot to eat it. I have been using Trout Hunter 6x tippet on the Griff's Gnat and have not had any of the old twisting of the leader that I used to have, hard to break old habits of using what I thought I needed "7x", it just gave me fits with leader twist. Get out there and fish!
Another government crap action is the PA Fish and Boat Commission asking for public comments on stocking of class A water and then quickly moving on to smallmouth bass in the river, wow I guess their mind was made up and the comment was just a typo, same shit from them- let's stock so we can show someone that their licence sale counts, to hell with the resource. They moved to make Bale Eagle class A but still want to stock it then why do you do that, makes no sense. I am not in favor of not stocking it, if not where do the Center Cty residents have to catch and keep fish? If your going to designate a stream class A make it for a good reason and let the natural resource take care of itself, abet make sure the rules are followed.
On the fishing side the midge fishing has been great, last Monday was an epic day with midges skittering everywhere, the trout would not take a dead drift fly but would chase a skittering one, they came a foot to eat it. I have been using Trout Hunter 6x tippet on the Griff's Gnat and have not had any of the old twisting of the leader that I used to have, hard to break old habits of using what I thought I needed "7x", it just gave me fits with leader twist. Get out there and fish!
Monday, January 23, 2017
Conditions for good midge fishing
We all know that Winter is the very best time to fish midges on Penns or Spring Creek Creeks and it the water is down Bald Eagle is not bad at all, What conditions are we looking for before a trip, well here are the things we need for a good experience;
1. Normal water conditions for the time of year, no ice melt drop in water temp's, the water should be steady. Even if it is cold the water is stable and not effected by melting snow, cold does not have an adverse effect it's the stable water temp.
2. Sunny days seems to be the best, it tends to get them more active just by a slight water warm up.
3. Breeze days seem to be better because it tends to concentrate the adults on a bank.
4. Pattern seems not to be a big deal it is size and presentation that count, a #20-22 Grif's Gnat or a Buzz Ball will do the trick.
5. A #22 Brassie in black wire will account for a ton of fish either fished as a dropper or fished on a greased leader- just watch for the leader to move.
Just pick a nice sunny winter day and find the rising fish, look for the soft seams near a shore line and start at the bottom and try your luck= hey it is better than sitting in the house.
Have you ever noticed that in Oct/Nov. Penns get much clearer that other times of the year, not algae production makes for better wading and sight fishing, so go.
1. Normal water conditions for the time of year, no ice melt drop in water temp's, the water should be steady. Even if it is cold the water is stable and not effected by melting snow, cold does not have an adverse effect it's the stable water temp.
2. Sunny days seems to be the best, it tends to get them more active just by a slight water warm up.
3. Breeze days seem to be better because it tends to concentrate the adults on a bank.
4. Pattern seems not to be a big deal it is size and presentation that count, a #20-22 Grif's Gnat or a Buzz Ball will do the trick.
5. A #22 Brassie in black wire will account for a ton of fish either fished as a dropper or fished on a greased leader- just watch for the leader to move.
Just pick a nice sunny winter day and find the rising fish, look for the soft seams near a shore line and start at the bottom and try your luck= hey it is better than sitting in the house.
Have you ever noticed that in Oct/Nov. Penns get much clearer that other times of the year, not algae production makes for better wading and sight fishing, so go.
Thursday, January 5, 2017
Better Get To Know Someone
Just read a news release from the Helena MT newspaper that our friends in the US House of Rep's have just changed some rules that will make it easier for them to transfer Federal Lands to State control, of course it was sponsored by a Rep. from Utah. Fellows this will mean they will sell Federal Land to the highest bidder for oil, gas and mineral rights, there by denying you access to the land and the rivers that flow thru them. OK I understand that we need to be energy independent but we are almost there but fell short because of the price of oil and OPEC not wanting the price to stay low, all the while we have been moth balling wells, well if we truly want to have energy independence we must not allow our fate to be decided by those nut jobs in the Middle East and the idiots that think we can sell all our land to people like Exxon. I see the time when there will be closings on rivers and streams that we have had access to fish as we like, I also see our hunting rights closed on these lands unless you know someone in the corporate entity that will get you permission or if you pay for it. Can you imagine having to pay to fish on former Federal Land, what a shit thought, just don't sit around and think this will not happen, the boys from Utah will not let up and you do not have anyone in Washington who gives a shit about our rights to keep and preserve land and water use for all of us- they will sell it all to the highest bidder. Write you Rep's and see the dam double talk they send back to you - all bull shit and no answers especial our two guys, our Senators are just as bad- all BS just waiting for some large corporation to tell them what to do and not giving a shit about us as sportsmen. I bet they come calling on us when they are up for relection
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)