New Fly Line from RIO

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

8/18/2013 Trico's still #1

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

August 14,2013 Trico's & Wind!

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

Bald Eagle Trico Fishing 08/07/2013

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

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

Trico's 2013

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

Bass Fishing with Tom Rall

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

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

Fair and Balanced Reporting?

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