Merry Fishmas!!

Checked out Spring Creek on Sunday and it was as good as it looked, nice BWO hatch in the normal spots from 12 to 3:30 PM not great yet but a dry fly tug at this time of year is just special. We had a mature Bald Eagle circle around us about 50' above, weird to see the shadow just pass over us a few times, the fish did not like it very much! I know that a few spots on Penn's have had midges going on BUT be very careful if you go below Coburn on the creek road, it's just ice covered because the sun really never hits it well in the winter. The section of Route 45W from Hairy John's area to almost the town of Woodward was also not nice Sunday morning because of the wet frozen surface not getting any sun on it from the snow that fell last week, just drive slow or take Rout 80 BUT not if there is any snow squalls in the forecast!
  I still have been tying more flies this winter than ever, now working on a new supply of black beetles with imitation peacock dubbing and rubber legs, of course foam is the name of the game- you need a bunch of them because of what the brown trout teeth do to them. Don't be afraid to tie them in #12 & 14's bigger means a better plop which means more fish, also tie some up on longer shanked hooks because you see a lot of wood beetles in the early spring higher water, use some weight for these guys and no peacock for the body.
   Still waiting for the total results of the redd count on Spring Creek! I wish the Fish Comm. would stop with their crowing about how good the stream is, if not from a chemical spill years ago they would have continued their put and take management style on it. Now with Spring Creek TU's improvements and FFF no kill of course the population is 4000+ per mile, same could be said for Penn's if they really tried to manage it better. The only real improvement  the should make is get rid the three dams on Spring Creek that the Fish Comm. has- kind of an embarrassment for them?
  Merry Christmas and if you can go fish!!

Some Hook Thoughts

Doing quite a bit of tying in the last few weeks because of the length of the evenings and have been using both FireHole Sticks and Fulling Mill hooks and have come to really like both of them but I re ally think Fulling Mills is just a bit better. Some of the FireHole Stick models say they a 2x heavy but when you compare them to Fulling Mill they look kind of weak, yes Fire Sticks are a bit cheaper but if you loose fish to hooks that bend out at what cost were they then. In no way will I ever give up on Tiemco or Orvis by Diach- big eye straight eye hooks, these hooks serve a real purpose. The only problem with Tiemco is they have become relatively hard to find and they are not cheap, oh those cheap hooks you can find on line suck. A few years ago I got some on them on line and tied up as bunch of Trico's and only fished them during a good Trico spinner fall on Bald Eagle- every one of them bent out, they went into the trash can as soon as I got home! Please remember that our tippet material has gotten much better and we must consider what hook we are using and where we are using them, some hooks will withstand a Penn's brown long run but the same hook will not stand up to a Missouri rainbow's epic take and run. Another problem is the amount of hooks that are coming in from Europe, how can one keep up with all of them? I have used a few of them and find the short shank 60 degree jig hook to be a good choice for that style of flies. A good test might be to see how well a hook can stand a pull on 5x while you have the hook embedded in a piece of wood, if you can't bend it with moderate pressure then consider it a keeper.
   As a side note FireHole also sells beads for your flies but they are of very poor quality given the finish on them, I have not bothered to preorder any of their new slotted tungsten beads either. Beads are another big problem, it is really hard to get a good supply of them, every where you go they either only sell the small packs that are expensive or are always out of the size you want or the guys that sell them by the 100 are always sold out!!++##  Anyone have ideas where to get a good supply so your not always looking for a supply?

Results of redd count

The annual redd count on Spring Creek was held last Sunday under snow & ice conditions but it got a lot better by noon, still cold and a bit windy. Spring was at normal levels and the rain that we had the night before really never made a difference. I checked some of the more popular spots on Saturday and found a lot of active spawning going on, the Pines was full as was Paradise!
  Last year we didn't do well because of the high water but this year it was perfect. Over the course of two days I did the entire section from Rock Road parking lot down stream to the Benner Spring bridge (the blue one), really called Shilo Road bridge. I counted 137 redds not all of them had fish on them but there were a few really big females on some of them along with a few very active males just milling around. I called Ray my partner and told him not to try and come over the 322 mountains because of the snow and ice conditions in the higher elevations, that's why I did it in two days. It is hard to do it all in one day by yourself because of having to park your car and do the entire section then turn around and walk back to the car! Some of the conditions on the hatchery high bank are really hard to walk on but you need to get good elevation in order to see!
  I'll post the results as soon as they come it.

Time to find out how many

Sunday is the time to find out just how many trout are spawning in Spring Creek this year, we should get to see quite a few pairs and a bunch of wild smaller males around the many red's in our section. We check the stream from Rock Road parking lot downstream to the bridge below Benner Spring hatchery. We can just about tell where we will find most of them by now since we have been counting every year since 2015! Some years we find only empty redd's but sometimes we find pairs on them, can never tell when? Remember never step on a redd because of all the eggs in them, even if only a few become adults that's just fine, wild trout are just like jewels.
  When the spawn is over the trout will go on a feeding spree to build up reserves that they lost during all the actively. You can target them with streamers, leeches or white or very light orange egg patterns, just remember to use barbless hooks. Speaking about hooks and tying materials, why is there such a shortage of smaller counter sunk beads! Seems as if every time you need some everyone is out! Have been tying to buy them by the 100 packs and that is not an easy task, I love the mm. size designation and not the dam 5/64 crap, anyone know where there is a good source- not rip lips- they are always sold out!!!
  This is a great time to catch up on YouTube videos and get you list done for the Winters fly tying needs, you always seem to see or need new stuff- Get Tying

Join the swingers

Yes get hooked up with the swingers, and while your at it enjoy the nice fall weather. The water may be low but you can find some decent water to swing some trout spey or larger wet flies or even better some leech patterns. Simple tackle and not much movement needed on your part, hell not much wading needed either! A sink tip will work with a 7 1/2' leader tapered down to about 4x with only one fly, cast quarting downstream a give a good mend to slow the fly down till it gets down to where it needs to be and just guide it thru the water then at the end of the drift give the line some soft tugs to get the fly to move a bit, this gives the illusion of it trying to escape. Do the same again as you move downstream but remember to slow your fly down to the same speed as the flow, if your drift is too fast your fly will ride to high in the water. If your using a weighted leech make sure you give it a bit of action during the drift. Any one of these patterns or methods will result in some good fish without much effort, slow it down.
  One really great pattern is a large soft hackle using pheasant hackle and after shaft hackle tied on a #10 2x long hook with a bit of .20 lead near the thorax.
   Be careful there are some redds showing up on Spring and a small amount on Penn's.

Redd check Nov 24, 2019

It's that time of year again, the Spring Creek Chapter of TU to hold their annual redd check on Spring Creek, you can sign up by going to their web site and asking to be included. We have a great time both before and after counting. For the past four years Ray Sheetz and I have counted the stream from Rock Road bridge downstream to the Benner Spring bridge and have found our numbers to be in the very good range except for one year we think most of the trout spawned earlier than our count. It is just wonderful to see the amount of natural spawning that occurs here, while we have not seen to many really big females lately they are there! Join us if you want of just show up and walk along with us, bring waders and very warm cloths!
  Break out the BIG black streamers this week! Do not think Penn's does not have a ton of fish enjoying the spawn, they do it's just a bit harder to find them because of the bigger water, just look for good gravel bars!

Let it rain

Yes we do need a bunch of it, the leaves are falling and if it rains well it will produce the flush we need to rid the riffles of leaves, mix in some needed colder weather and the male browns will begin to get bitchy! It's streamer season along with some caddis and blue winged olive hatches mixed in but as the water gets colder the top feeding will not be a prime concern during the spawn.
  Streamers are the name of the game, you can swing them or strip them either method works well, just do it. Remember dark days mean dark patterns and light days mean lighter patterns. Colors that work well are black/brown, olive/brown & orange/black or brown, lighter is white, yellow or some lighter shade of brown/tan. Throw in some purple or red just to get them excited. Do not forget leeches on a swing or stripped back in a jigging motion, Arizona Mega Semi-seal is a very good material for the body, weight the head to get that motion of the head drop and then strip & drop the retrieve.
   We should start to see some redds very soon, so becareful where you step! On a side note if your in Houserville any time check out the stream improvement above the bridge that goes to Trout Road, it is a very nice addition for Spring Creek. If we could only get the Fish & Boat Commission to get rid of their stupid dam at Rock Road we would have a good solid run of bigger females going upstream to spawn. Great news they are planning on an improvement project on the golf course where Slab Cabin runs thru it- good news!!

Don not leave the house without these

Do not even think about going on a trout stream without some flying ants with you. This time of year it's time for the ant population to expand and have a good old swarm, the ants need to expand their home and need to find another location to set up shop, that results in a ton of flying ants that get blown or just fall into our streams and our trout just love them. Usually this can occur on a sunny day that follows some short of crap weather but if we do not get that wet day then it might just occur any time. If you have ever been in one of these feeding frenzies and do not have a good winged ant pattern with you, it will be nothing but pure agony- fish up everywhere and none will touch what you have. A good spent winged pattern with off color wings of zelon or any other crinkle yarn will do, black, brown, sizes #16 - #22 will cover the spectrum. You also need to have a few #14-16 red brown abdomen with a black thorax along for good measure. A simple pattern of abdomen- wisps of the correct hackle color, then spent wing covered with thorax color of fur. Fur is the choice here because of the spent wing but you can even dub the wings back to a 45 degree angle and have them look fine. You will find some of the best fish of the season up and eating like little pigs!
  Penn's, Elk, Pine, Fishing Creek, Spring Creek and Bald Eagle all have them, so your choices are endless but concentrate on the wooded section not the meadow type sections.
  Now is a good time to also just walk and look for the bigger fish and spot where they are, then if it rains a bit go back and target them with a BIG streamer fished downstream.

Dam it!

Off to State College to dog sit again Friday, Saturday and Sunday! Friday was just wonderful, no one in sight at Bald Eagle and the fish were up, OK get ready and check your gear- dam it! I attached the GoPro to my wading stick and off I went, well of course I had to piss as soon as I got to the stream edge, OK take everything off and pee then put it back on, check the GoPro- LOW BATTERY-Noooo!
  Fish were up and taking off the top, a mix of Trico's and Tan Caddis but they were very picky, the first fish was a very healthy 19" fat brown that jumped like crazy and ran all over the place- no 2 wt today. After the big brown the fish were smaller in the 9" -14" range and all browns today. I did see a really big brown chasing minnows on the other side near the junk that lines the bank- minnows flying everywhere and me with no streamer and no way to cast one anyway on a 3 wt.! I moved over and saw a few fish feeding above the area and did catch one of the minnows and they are really silver with a big eye and a lighter olive back, note to self you need to tie some of these- Daniel Berman style!
  No smaller rainbows were had and after checking with the Fly Fisherman's Paradise fly shop they said that the Fish Comm. has not stocked the rainbows in Bald Eagle yet, they stock them there because the are not allowed to stock Spring Creek but know they will take off and swim upstream!
  After all the fish stopped rising I took off the above Bellefonte and found a ton of fish up taking tan caddis, just worked my upstream and had a wonderful time, a #16 bubble back tan caddis did the trick. A morning that was well spent with a lot of fish and NO people except for the stupid ass kayaks that took out at the Milesburg bridge but left their half filled water bottles float downstream.
  What a difference Saturday was, no fish up on Bald Eagle but there were people all over the place, most every spot had at least one car in it! Found an area on Spring and waited for the Trico's to fall, and waited some more- just a few and not many fish up, all were little guys. I have seen the Trico hatch diminish in the last 5 years on Spring and have no reason for it because the water quality is still very good, maybe it's just a cycle. Had to move again to way up Rock Road and fish beetles in the forest- good choice! As soon as you plopped the beetle in you would see a wake coming or a very quite take and your on! Sunday was worse - people everywhere and they were rude as hell- OK go home and make sure you fish during the week. The only place that is crowded during the week is Paradise in the morning because the local guys meet there to fish and bust each others ass, they have a great time and do catch some fish.
  I check my two smaller Nikon cameras and guess what low battery on both of them- next time check this shit before I go!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trico's & Caddis

OK got to Bald Eagle and of course had to pee as soon as I go to the stream bank, wow rising fish. Look there is one of course I was too fast but he would still come up and look at it but not take, dam wish I had another rod with me rigged with a small PT and a New Zeland strike ind. or a buddy along with another rigged rod. All in all I landed 4 really great trout from 16 to 18", two browns that jumped out of the water and ran great, two rainbows ( 1 with marks in her mouth) the other one under a tree just sipping. Had two other really good fish on that I could not hold (using a Scott 8'8" light #2), they ran straight to the other side under junk- not their first rodeo. Had other fish come up and just either refuse my fly or not complete the eating process- you know how that is- how did I miss that! One of the really good browns was in water that's about 7" deep and just picking Trico's off as they came down. I saw a lot of other fish taking small lt. tan caddis off the top or just under the surface! Sure makes we want to try and carry another loaded rod with me because a "2" weight can only do so much. Yes I could use another heavier rod but that Scott 2 is just a dream to catch large fish on. a caddis with a suspended emerger would have really came in handy, a bubble back adult with a nice organzia tan caddis emerger!! Did try an ant but ZERO, no one even looked at it. Bald Eagle is nice because you can get your self even with the trout and watch what they do as your offering comes to them maybe that's why I miss some, just can't hold myself back.
  All in all a really good day. The boys at Paradise said they had a good Trico spinner fall in the project, they are there every day!
  I think Penn's is still just might be a bit too warm yet.

A few ideas for nymphs

As I stated I have been reading the old English classics about nymph fishing and more and more coming to believe that real fur or fur with some new material is the answer to the bodies of your tied flies. I have long been a champion of rabbit fur for stonefly bodies and hare's ear for the bodies on some clinger style ties. As you read the old authors you get a sense that all they used were a few types of furs, of course they did not have the wide variety of materials that we have but neither did we 40 years ago! I use rabbit, some muskrat, beaver and of course Aust. opossum, all natural or dyed. Take a look under some of the stream rocks and you'll see most of the insects are a dirty tannish darker brown or olive and maybe a few very dark olive or black (Iso.) color. I use either wood duck or partridge for tails and legs. My sizes for this time of year tend to be smaller #16 thru #20 and not weighted. Give them a try and see if you agree, fur is best for most of our needs. Yes I do use a lot of newer materials and have good use for them in certain areas but natural materials just seem to tie and work better.

Go Now

Guys and gals- if you can go fishing. Upper Penn's and Spring or Bald Eagle have just a ton of small hoppers in the tall grass along the banks, not big yet maybe a size #12, dark yellow green is the color. I have not seen a year that the populations have been this high, beetles have been OK- not great but ok, according to Steve S. @ Fisherman's Paradise seek out wild grape vines and look for a good beetle population, if you find them go ahead and fish them!
  The water temps have gone down a bit due to the cooler nights but during the day the sun is very hot, but at least try it.
  For fun I have been reading the old English authors about fishing the chalk streams, a bit hard to read due to the old style of writing but they have some good insights about fishing nymphs.
  Oh also do not forget ants- wet or dry seem to be the ticket during any time of day.

A wonderful time of the year

OK Penn's is just way too hot to fish for trout but smallmouth are good to go, anywhere below Glen Iron will work well- streamers of poppers will get them going! I have about every size popper one could want and find that if you cast across and near the bank and let it sit before giving it a pop your on with any size bass that is in the area.
  This time of year it's Trico's for me, you will see pods of fish rising to them or just one lonely really good fish to try for- I like a downstream float if I can possibly get that to work if not upstream is fine if your tippet is long enough. I us a #22- 24 straight big eye hook with "2" long splayed tails of clear material and a dark olive mole fur body with a down wing made of macramé clear (white) yarn that is not thick- your fly needs to be in the film not on top! If it's low humidity the spinner fall with be en mass and the bugs from upstream will feed our targets but if it's high humidity the fall will be over time and not large numbers at any given time- they get picky in this hatch.
  After the fall and the rises stop it's time to go find some good beetle and ant water- either plop a #12 black foam beetle or float a size #16-18 black of red ant under some over hangs- then get ready! Both takes can be really soft and almost not seen- pay attention.
  Both of the above can result in some really great fish for this time of year- if you go and have a great day- go home a write it down because those days are getting harder to remember or even have because there are just too dam many of us out there.
  Oh for my Trico tippet I have been using TroutHunter 6.5x and have had no problem getting them to eat unless your drift has drag!

He Won

My long time fishing friend died of Pancreatic cancer and his wife is dealing with the after effects- 100+ fly rods, 130+ fly reels and over 22,000 flies. In the past couple of years Paul became withdrawn and hesitant to fish locally because of over crowding, he preferred salt water and the Missouri River along with 1000 yard shooting. I have never fished with anyone who could cast as well as he could and was totally willing to help in any way he could. He would never become involved in any local or national organization other than the NRA, hell he never voted in any election, never wanting to crowd his mental focus on fishing. He also was a OCD guy who would clean his line after every day he fished. I tied 1000's of flies for him and we were always looking for another angle to fool the fish. We fished for the past 40 years in some of the very worst conditions you could imagine but always managed to have a great time. When we fished we would take turns casting and either hooking or screwing up a fish then letting the other guy take over but the only time in recent history did we fish apart was the 17 year locust fall on Bald Eagle- there were just too many really big carp to catch! I think that you might have one true fishing companion in your life and if you do remember the time spent. Never did we have this shit of someone going around the corner then telling the other one how well he has done but never when your together. I miss the coaching and kidding it makes for a far more enjoyable experience. It's fun sometimes to just enjoy the environment  but if you can share it, sure makes if better.
  He will be missed. Remember the saying "He who dies with the most win's" well he won

Hot hot

Penn's is getting to the point of being safe to fish during this time of year, temp's are getting close to 70 and that is just to high for us to stress the trout, try going lower below Glen Iron on down for smallmouth bass. Give the Susquehanna River a try for bass but the river is still a bit on the high side so be careful. If you want to get really nasty get a small boat with a trolling motor and launch at the Mouth of Penn's Creek/Middle Creek & Susquehanna Rive and go upstream to the Route 15 bridge and fly fish for muskies- so really big guys live here!!!
  Trico time is coming this next week and Spring & Bald Eagle have them, heck Fisherman's Paradise on Spring has a really great spinner fall and you can enjoy them from shore never getting your feet wet! Early morning on clear days with low humidity are the best, it forces them to egg lay fast before they dry out and the enmass falls really bring the trout up. Also now is the time to fish #16-18 lt. tan caddis, ants both black and brown (red) wet or dry and of course a #12 BLACK beetle plopped near the banks in shallow water- hold on!
  It's time to get creative with our time early and late are the key now but make sure you keep an eye on the water temps, lets not kill any fish by over stressing them. It's Art's Fest week in State College so it will be full of guys in the morning and evening so find a secret spot!

A hint about the new black nickel hooks

As I have said during this two year high water event tying flies has replaced fishing for a lot of us and during that time I have been trying new hooks from some different sources. I really like the new Fulling Mill hooks and find them to be really good quality as are some of the newer Tiemco jig type hooks BUT with the new black nickel finish comes a problem- thread turning! I have been using 6/0 Herd Howards prewaxed thread for most of my tying like (like 60 years) and have found it to be one of the best ever made but with the newer hooks I now find that I have to use Zap-A-Gap on the thread base just to make sure it is secure before adding any materials to the fly. I also have seen the same with some of the stronger power threads that I use when I'm tying big streamers or intruder style flies. I do think that it makes for a better lasting fly but who cares, hell I have too many now so if you loose a few or they come apart no big deal but for my own satisfaction I have begun to use the Zap on my flies. The only problem that I have found with using it is the dam bottle is hard to open after you have used it for a while, it builds up as you wipe the excess liquid off the brush- the stuff is hard to clean and if your not careful you'll glue yourself! Another problem is the fact it's not that easy to find in craft stores, they sell off brands and not real Zap-A-Gap, plus if you put too much on it takes a while to dry. Almost all new tying videos feature it at some point in the tying process, so if you have not used it give it a try, make sure you get the brush applicator for ease of use. I also have used it when I'm adding wing material to my intruders just to keep thread bulk to a min.
  Go ahead and keep tying, this moisture has got to stop at some point?

It's Olive time

OK the stupid Green Drake is over and so are the hoards of idiots running all over the place, time to get down to business. Fished Spring over the weekend and it was OK not bad but not great, all deep scuds! I took fish were I saw guys standing the day before? Not much surface going on, it was all later evening Sulphur duns and spinners BUT take a number or find a spot no one else liked! The fish there are nice and fat  from the higher than normal rain fall. If you go remember to take two flies, #1. a size 16 tan/gray scud with a mono rib, #2 a size 16 lt. tan caddis either an emerger or a dry, you will do well. Think raspberry time as tan caddis time.
   Penn's is going crazy now with the Cornuta (now called Drunella) emergers and of course spinners. As I was leaving driving down the Weikert Road you could see just millions of spinners over the road and you can imagine just how many of these guys hatch, we never see a great enmass hatch of them, it must be all nite. The fish are keying in of the spinners just at about 7:00 PM which is about right but you will see many fish up in the pools before that, use an emerger either an olive or a light cahill type will work. Saw no ISO's last nite, but on a good cloudy day you'll see them. The olives are solid size 15 and the ISO's are a size 10 or a 12 3x long. Be aware that  the most heavely fished areas the trout have become very slick and have learned to open their mouth and shake if they refuse your offering at that last second. Same MO as other years, olives beat their wings at the riffles and as they go down the pool expel their eggs and then float without motion- fish mid pool to tail out. Most fish last nite came to a size 16 tied short darker olive floating nymph or a 14 cahill color floating nymph tied with a loop wing of grey poly and split legs, just get it to float well or time the trout with your offering. None of this is easy, it just takes a while to spot the good targets ( find the ones that push a good amount of water) and wait till they get in some kind of rhythm, if not you'll screw them up before you have any chance.
  One good piece of advice is to find water that has not gotten the piss pounded out of it, take a walk but remember not all pools will have good population of olives, you need a good long riffle leading into it or a pool that has a good amount of under water vegetation in it. Take a walk and just watch an observe before you commit to a pool for the nite.
   Get you ants and beetles ready but some years are better than others for beetles, I remember a few years ago the conditions were perfect for them but the trout said a loud NO, could not figure that one out.

Call Noah

Gees just when the levels were getting manageable this shit started again, I had 1.9" of rain Sunday and most all the Central PA. area had about the same! If this keeps up like last year our trout will be huge when we can get to the water, they feed very well in high water. Even if you decide to toss some really heavy streamers it will be very hard to get them down deep enough. How about trying some of our smaller streams around, Weikert Run, Laurel Run or maybe White Deer may be good choices if you just need to wet a line, just remember to downsize your rod length. The same nymphs and streamers will work well on them but maybe a bit smaller, the choice for dries is pretty simple- think Adams.
  I have more flies than any one person can ever think to use in their life time, now I'm going back and looking at all my boxes and giving them the once over to see if I can improve any of them. I did find that my selection of caddis emergers was a bit thin given the sheer length of time we see our tan caddis emerge. The organza ribbon caddis emeger tied like Davie McPhail is just a killer pattern and fishing it suspended off a Blue Ribbon tan Iris dry is just killer about the time our local raspberries are rip to pick!
  Another option is to find a good pond and practice casting with a long leader and some weighted wet flies for Sunfish, they just god wild for them or us some bait. I take my granddaughter to the pond at Tussey Mt. Ski area and we just have a ball catching Sunfish but we use wax worms and Eagle Claw Circle Bait hooks, these work well for younger people because the fish hook themselves- only make sure you have good hemostats because they do hook and hold well. Sometimes when we are there the larger bass begin to get active and try to eat the fish she has on her line while she is reeling them in this makes for total chaos. Give this type of fishing a try, it will help calm the itch you have!

Everything will pop at once!

If you look at what is happening on Penn's, Fishing Creek and Spring it appears that all the major May hatches will pop at about the same time due in part because of the water temp. We will have Grey Fox, March Brown's, Tan Caddis and Sulphur's all at once- boy it will be tough to tell what they are eating. For my money I'll take the Grey Fox (fished off the banks mid pool to tail out) and the tan caddis (Blue Ribbon's Iris Caddis pattern is the best every). The tan caddis is a long a wonderful hatch lasting till Trico time and beyond, emergers in the AM and adults most of the day.
  Sulphur's on Penn's and Spring can be just wonderful but it presents a hard puzzle to solve as to what stage the trout are eating on any given day, just slow down and watch before you blast that cast. After that sprinkle in some Crane Flies and a lot of spinners and no wonder all the fish look like little pigs when you land them in May. Beware the Drake fever might be higher than normal this year due to more water under special reg's (this tends to bring more people to an area), I for one hate that hatch because of the nuts it brings and what it does to the fish when guys rip them and then let them go, we see more dead fish after that hatch than any other time of the year.
  I just finished an order for intruder trout flies and can attest to the fact that OPST trailer hooks have to be the sharpest hooks on the market, drove one in my thumb and had to push it out the other side and pinch the barb down before backing it out, the hooks can either be up or down and when up they get in your way till you put a hair clip over it!
  I see the next "7" days are to be cloudy with showers- any more perfect on could not want- just go!

Grannom's?

Looks as if this years Grannom hatch will be a brown water (high water) event due to the 1" plus rain we had last Friday, Penn's is still running close to 2000 cfs! When will we break this shitty weather pattern with all the moisture coming up from the South and not from the West as usual. I know it's good for our water table but really can we just wade a bit with out the fear of getting washed down stream.
  Look for Grey Fox, March Brown and yes Sulphurs soon but don't forget the Grannom spent adults in the early afternoon IF the water goes down.

A Perfect Day was a BUST

Thursday seemed to be the perfect day, cloudy and cool in the morning BUT turned out to be sunny, windy and a bit colder- a total bust except for the 4 trout that rose all afternoon just off the far bank just up from Johnson's cabin!!! Yes Little Black Stones, Quill Gordon's, Hendrickson's and some caddis were out but we had no players. Was nice to catch up with some old and new friends.
   The Grannom is a good week away based on the number of caddis covering the rocks near shore, when it's time for them to emerge the rocks will be covered and you know it is time. We just have to wait till it gets a bit warmer and a good cloudy day?

Check the flowers

Hey it's that time of the year when the forsythia are blooming (not in your back yard but in the mountain stream side) and that means Grannom's in the morning till noon then Hendrickson's emerging till about 3-4 PM then Grannom egg laying and then Hendickson spinner falls! A wonderful time of the year, this is about 4-5 days away. My favorite stream for this is Big Fishing Creek between Tylersville and Lamar in the narrows section.
  Hey what the hell's up with all the No Trespassing signs on Penn's now? Check it out just above AFREO cabin!!

Crowds!!

Yes there will be even bigger crowds on Johnson's this year due to the bridge replacement at Cherry Run, in order to get to the parking lot you'll need to use the mountain roads from Route 45! That is a long trek and not the best to drive at any speed. That means that more than a few guys will park on the road past Doc's place and of course fish Blue Rock and Johnson's, hell it was full last week. Two people were nymphing the lower fringes of the riffle and they did very well but were in water to their waist, they did better than Piffy! Dredging the bottom payed off for them. Two other guys just seemed to wander up and down with no clear direction, I just waited till something rose and went after it. Took a few really good fish before the wind came up and blew us off, the nymphers were still at it! Olives and some Quill Gordon's were coming off (not every years has a good hatch of QG's) some little black stones were also around, all my fish were on a emerger. This week look for Hendrickson's and yes little black caddis just before the Grannom! It just might be a good time to target another section of the stream till the bridge is finished, sometime in June!!

They are on now!

The Olives are on Spring Creek coming off in waves after about 12:00 noon but again you'll have to look for them, do not assume that they will come off where you are, be mobile! It does help if you have seen them in an area before but not a guarantee they will be there, I would avoid any areas below Bellefonte because of the volume of water the spring and Logan Branch bring in. Look for a good riffle coming into a long deep pool to find the best area, a small #18-20 pheasant tail nymph fished deep and left to hang in the current at the end of a drift will work well before the main hatch. When the action starts nothing works better than a emerger or a small soft hackle dead drifted into the pod of rising fish. No need to fish spinners at this time, have never encountered them during this event. Do not leave if the fish stop rising just sit tight and wait, Olives come in waves, most of the action will be over by 5:00 or a bit later.
  If you head over to Fishing Creek, be aware that the water is still up but if you want to fish use a small Chimera pupa, #16-18 bright green thorax with a black or dark brown head and get it down. I have tied a few of these with Loon UV resin on the Datum Glo Brite Floss of flour. orange for the thorax. If you get your fly down to the bottom you'll find a ton of these attached to your hook when you inspect it at this time of year, the trout love them. Any other time I would fish a flour. green thorax pattern. The Chimera is also a wonderful pattern for Penn's.
  If your on the way to Penn's nothing works better than a #12-14 golden stone fly tumbled along the bottom. But a traditional Hare's Ear tied short on a standard length hook works really well. I tie them short meaning I don't tie them to the bend because if you look at a lot of the clinger type nymphs they are all a bit short in length, do by all means use Partridge for legs on them or if your a hunter good quality wood duck works well, legs and tails are very important for this pattern. Be careful if you wade, the water on both Penn's and Fishing Creek is cold and swift.
  A word about Patagonia, I have complained to them for the last couple of years about where they get their models from, all their sleeves are longer than normal, heck I have some new base lawyers that seem to fit people who have orangutan length! They have told me that in 2019 changes will be made so normal people can find clothing that fits them and not something you have to constantly push up to be comfortable. A solid buy can be fount at Dick's, a Patagonia Better Sweater is on sale now but get their fast before your size is gone, normal pricing is $99.00 now down to below $70.00, they are the warmest piece of clothing that you can take along fishing with out adding bulk to your body, check them out.

Oh well a couple of days is OK

Got in a couple of good days of Olive fishing but as of today 3/22/19 that will be over for a while, the entire middle and eastern part of PA just got hammered with yet more heavy rain! Will we ever return to a normal year, well only time will tell, in a normal year the moisture shuts off around the end of May and we go thru summer dry. We all have cabin fever this year due to either cold and ice or just too much rain and run off. I for one have no desire to fish heavy nymphs and fight the current or walk and find water to fish close to shore, even Big Fishing Creek is just too wild at this time again, even if you have the chance of catching a really big brown there, it is just very hard to do.
  The best thing about this year is that no one should ever need to tie flies during the season, heavens knows I have more than enough for a lifetime but you always seem to want to tie something different or improve a pattern that you have. I have been tying a lot of the new Peridon nymph patterns and have tried them when the olives have been on but still think a Pheasant tail is still the very best pattern to have in your box, yes the new style does get down fast and stays on the bottom and does catch fish but not any better than a PT.
  It's too bad the fly exchange that used to be held in The Union County Sportsman's Club is no more it gave a lot of guys a good shot in the arm to exchange ideas on fly tying and new patterns and just plain BS between good guys!
  In any event go outside and do an NON rain dance and see if it helps!!

March 2019

As the Spring comes into view, it is looking OK not great but just fine, not too much rain/snow and stream levels are going down, except on warm days the level will bump up due to melt. If your going try to find a stable day that does not have those big spikes of warmer temps because the inflow of cold water will put a damper on the trout. Yes Olives and Midges are happening but you have to look at many spots to find the feeding fish, these hatches are not universal T/O the streams. Just got word the even Big Fishing Creek has some rising fish but you'll have to look for them. An Olive emerger in a size #18-20 is doing the trick and a black midge size #22-24 is the thing to use ( I also use a dark grey pattern), don't forget the Grif's midge!
  I was in TCO fly shop in State College and picked up a new fly box, Tacky Hydrophobic SD Waterprooof Fly Box and about shit when I felt how much it weights- not for me! At my age I'm trying to eliminate weight not add to it. If you get your flies wet of put wet ones in your box just lay them open when you return from the stream to air dry and in a short time all will be fine- check out the Tacky and I think you might agree.
 

Saw One

Over the weekend I was in State College and of course fished Friday & Saturday but not Sunday in 40 mph winds. On Friday afternoon I found a small pod of fish rising in a slow riffle, took 3 of them but they were all small ( 5" - 8"), all browns, I got out of the water and looked down steam in the wide flat below and saw them, large fish pushing a good amount of water when they took the olives- wow dam how can I get to them? There is no way to get close to them, very deep and a steep bank and no way to get to them. Can't get below them the steep bank covered in snow and the wading up stream is extremely deep, I can do it if the water is in late summer levels! Yes they were on olives and eating them well but it is a watch and see exercise. One of the hardest things to do at this time is find a parking space, even the parking areas are not clear, the large one at "The Rock" was fine but aside from Paradise no parking was to be found. On both days the fish took olives well but you again would have to find them and not assume they would be where you wanted to fish. Paradise was a good bet for small nymphs but no rising fish were seen. I checked below Bellefonte but with the spring dumping a ton of water into Spring and chance to fish below town was out!
   Let's just hope and keep an good eye on the stream levels and make sure that Axeman is about 110 cfs or below to get a good fish. But go if you can, be watchful the spin and bait guys are out in full force! 

Maybe now?

It's Feb 19th and dam it might be time to hit the water to find some good Olive activity this weekend but first we need to get thru yet another snow/rain event! Given that the weekend is to be in the mid forties and cloudy it is looking very good. Also on the menu will be little black stoneflies but they are best fished as a small black pheasant tail under a indicator or perhaps a small olive emerger. Midges are also ever present at this time of year and the two best patterns are; Griffit's Gnat or a spent winged (no tail needed) #24/26 black or dark grey body and clear wing works best, be careful because the fish can switch from Olives to Midges and back again so be ready. Do not disparage if it seems as if the rising activity has stopped just wait and it will resume again shortly, for some reason the Olives seem to come in waves.
   A quick up date on the Intruder swing flies, everything is going well after getting all the materials needed plus understanding that the makeup of the flies is not bulk but layered to look like bulk but with a ton of under water motion. I will try and get a few pictures of them to post this weekend. I'll be on Spring Creek this entire weekend and tying all night while dog sitting in State College!

Into Swinging!

No not that kind, no wife swapping! I mean the West Coast steelhead/trout new streamer type fly swinging. I have always heard a lot about the West Coast guys coming to the Missouri River and using this technique and flies with great success but really never gave it much thought until a year ago. I loved to streamer fish but hated the idea of so many missed strikes and the big problem of getting the fly to the correct depth while at the same time moving to different and varied locations in the stream. I began to YouTube the subject and was surprised to see just how complex the flies were then but in the last year the "intruder" style flies have become much easier to understand and tie. Make no mistake getting everything to tie these guys is a bitch, shanks, trailer hooks, good materials like Artic Fox and trailer tube material, OK got it all BUT wait now you need a method to hold the shanks (either straight or Waddington) of course my Dyna King can't hold the straight shanks- OK get a new add on and now I'm all set. Why do I like these guys, well they are fun to tie (except for getting stuck by the trailer hook while tying) plus the fact you can vary the weight just by using different hour glass eyes (brass or lead), materials are pretty simple and they are just dam fun to do. OPST has a good variety of flies to look at and materials to buy, but if you want to see more just look up "Aqua Flies" they have a great selection of flies to look at plus YouTube "Intruder flies" and wow there they are a ton to watch they tie.
  I use mostly Artic Fox, marabou, ice chenille, mallard dyed and a ton of dyed rabbit strips, that's about it.
  Fishing these flies is a very easy and slow process, cast quarter down stream and hold the line in your rod holding hand and follow it thru the entire drift till the end and at this point give your rod a few gentle pull backs, this helps to stimulate a fish that has followed your fly into taking. You can vary the speed but just adjusting your entry into the water or mending downstream to slow the drift. With this style your not going to get many if any short strikes. Your wading will be minimal and this gives you a good chance to get some of the bigger fish that seem to hide in the mid pool or close to the far bank, if you use a longer rod you can use a two handed snap tee cast or for that matter you can do it with a single handed rod also, so your casting never gets to be a pain nor do you have to watch what is behind you. Given the slow method you will be surprised at how hard the takes will be and the different size fish that you'll get. Give them a try and you might become interested in swinging!

A long overdue answer to some, The Secret Fly

Quite a few years ago on the eve of the TU annual picnic I went early because of the March Brown, Grey Fox and Sulphur hatch and the Grey Fox emergers were everywhere, catching them was easy, just get a good float over them and they ate it. It did not take long before I had guys watching and of course trying to coach me about how to do things so after a few more I decided to hang it up of course one of the older guys came running up and wanted to see what I was using and I said no! Well of course after that I was branded a shit head and the secret fly guy, well screw you! If you think about it after over 40 years of testing and having many days of not trying to catch trout but just looking and sampling the water for different forms of emergers I think I have earned the right to decide who gets to see what I'm using and who dos not. The fellow who wanted to see the fly could care less about how much work goes into a new pattern or a new type of fly, all he wanted was instant gratification (take up golf), and he would have given it to everyone he would have seen. I have no problem helping people but when it comes to just giving something that has taken that long to refine I draw the line. Some people just want the end result and could care about the journey, well go some where else to get it. From that time on I got my ass busted and heard snide remarks about the "Secret Fly", well guess what we all have them. If I had it to do over again I would do the same thing to this guy, oh I have given the concept to other people who can keep their mouth shut and not shout it out on the mountain top. If you work on something that long and it works for you keep it and if you want pass it on ok but be careful who you tell. I love to share concepts and some patterns but those that work so very well for me I keep close to my chest. Call it stupid but if you know who I'm talking about I am sure you would agree, just a pattern junkie was he.
  Well it Jan 24th and we are to get another 1+" of rain, just when it was getting to good levels on the waters we get this! Jesus I have more flies than I'll every need now but keep tying.

2018 A Year of Water Overload

Happy New Year to all, here's hoping that 2019 will not be a repeat of last years oversupply of water BUT the same weather pattern is upon us in December and now in January! Every time the water would go down to fishable levels it rained yet again, heck Penn's is still up and Spring is over 250 cfs at Axeman, I have never seen this before. We took a trip to State College last Sunday and saw first hand all the standing water in fields and how hard and strong the springs feeding into Spring Creek are, no wonder it's up so much. I would like to see this moisture in snow form and not rain, our snow pack tends to melt slower than rain falls. This weekend 1/5/2019 we are to get from 1/2 to 3/4" of rain again. I really do not want to have to put that much shot on my leader to get the nymphs down to the trout's level, that is just not fun. It is still a bit early to see any real BWO activity yet but if the water levels go down we can expect good hatches over the winter. There was no late fall midge fishing to be had on Penn's this year but my guess is our fish are fat and really happy now. If you do try fishing remember most of our trout will be in the inside corners of bends and in the dark bottoms of the deeper holes, no skinny water fishing now.
  I tried to post the results of the Spring Creek red count but just can not get it to load, we saw a 40-50% drop off in numbers of spawning beds this years and a 30% decline from 2015 to now, not a good sign but to early to define a pattern. Some of the lower numbers this year are a result of multiple pairs using the same area for their redd's, we saw a great number of them that were very long and appeared to have multiple depressions in them but we and others could not assign higher counts to them.
   Now is the time to take all your fly lines off your reels and clean them, use Ivory Snow or another mild detergent to wash them with a soft towel then dry them, after that apply a good quality line additive, use a name brand and not ArmorAll. Rio makes a great line cleaner cloth but I still like to wash mine after I use it and will use their products or a SA product to apply to my lines. I also take each and every one of my fly rods out and look them over for damage then wash them with the same mild detergent- not a glass cleaner, never clean your cork grips with steel wool, if you want them to look better just wash them. It's not a bad time to take everything out of your vest and clean it- they stink after a year plus you'll be surprised at what you will find in them, if your like me I found I carried way to many split shot- no wonder the dam thing is so heavy.
  Maybe this winter you might want to find a club or organization that is giving fly tying lessons and sit in and help with it, just do something to pass the time till the water goes down. Hell got to the movies on the Old Fart days when it's only $5.00 to get in!