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