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.