Opening Day ... Decisions Decisions

What to do when opening day of trout season in the northern Pennsylvania counties and Striper season on the Bay are on the same day?

It's a good problem to have.  This year Capt. DiPaola made the trek to the "High Lonesome" to fish the West Branch of Fishing Creek.  Two weeks ago I had helped stock the stream with the local rod and game club, and then last Tuesday with the state.  Overall I'd say we put in about 3,000 trout over a two mile expanse of the West Branch and Fishing Creek.

Friday evening marked the traditional festivities of watching a Penguins loss while sipping Woodford Reserve Double Oaked.  Fortunately, veteran Potter County fly angler Bob Volkmar was on hand to share some of the firewater.  Saturday morning was a bit foggy (in my head), but outside the conditions were perfect, almost too perfect.  Clear skies and temps in the high 50s greeted us when we walked down to the Picnic Hole (aka "Bearclaw's Hole") to await the opening of the season at 8:00AM.  Fortunately for us, the angling population was crowded along the bridges spanning the Allegheny River, leaving plenty of space (and trout) behind the West Branch Tavern.  We saw probably a half dozen anglers behind the cabin all day, including a guy from Mt. Bethel.  Small world.  Water conditions were near perfect; a bit low but with enough color in the water to keep the fish from being too spooky.

By 11:00 or so we had both caught and released our limit, which included Rainbows, Browns, Brookies, and even a Tiger Trout, a first for me on the West Branch.  All the fish were caught underneath on Wooly Buggers, Mary's egg pattern, and the infamous Chamois Worm, although in the afternoon a decent hatch of Grannom Caddis's were coming off, which surprisingly enticed a couple of risers.

After some Friendly Burgers and Dogfishhead IPAs, we spent an hour or so fishing the main stem of Fishing creek, about a half mile below the cabin, and at a spot where I'd dumped several buckets of trout.  Joe picked up three, including his first Tiger, while I was able to manage a small Brownie.

Joe departed this morning to hit Wykoff Run in his way home.  This afternoon to get a little inspiration I lit out behind the house for an hour or so.  An 8 inch Brookie and 12 inch Rainbow later (caught on a Wooly Bugger Mary had tied) was enough to get me to the computer to get this report out.

The forecast is calling for cold and rain, which will bring the streams up and spread the fish out some more.  A good time to find more tropical climes to fish....

Tight Lines,
Mikey D Fishing

Potter County Pre-Fishing Report: Stockin' and Shed Huntin'

Not even Mother Nature can stop spring.  She can keep the temps in the 20s and 30s when they should be in the 40s.  We can see snow up here into May.  But offer a few days of temps in the high 40s and the Bluebirds start nesting, the buzzards start showing up, and with a little rain the frogs come out of the mud and make their journey across Route 6 to the Allegheny (many do not make the crossing). 

The other part of spring that MN can't stop are the annual rituals of stocking and shed hunting.  About this time of the year the state and local rod and gun clubs load up trucks with millions of hatchery-raised trout to be distributed across thousands of miles of streams.  The state provides the fish and the trucks, while local anglers provide the labor.  On Saturday the Roulette Fish and Game Club held its spring stocking event on the West Branch of Fishing Creek.  About twenty folks showed up to observe, chat about fishing and hunting, and provide a hand in corralling the trout and loading them into the truck.  The hatchery isn't large; one raceway about 80 feet in length and 30 or so feet wide.  But amazingly the club was able to raise about 2,800 trout (minus a few taken by the minks) from fingerlings provided by the state hatchery in Oswayo.  By the time Saturday rolled around the Brown, Rainbow, Brook and Golden Trout were between 8 and 10 inches, with a few in the 12-inch class.

The weather was perfect for the event.  Temps in the 30s when folks arrived at the hatchery at 9:00, but sunny skies which warmed the day into the lower 50s by afternoon.  There's not a lot of science involved in stocking.  Step one is getting the fish into the holding tank in the back of the truck.  The solution is to herd the trout into a corner, then simply start scooping and dumping the fish into paint buckets, which are then dumped into the holding tank.

Once in the truck, it was time to head to the stream.  Again, not much to it.  The truck stops at places along the stream, the bucket brigade that has been following shows up, and then hauls down buckets of fish to the stream. (which, by the way, included 6 buckets of fish in the stream behind the West Branch Tavern, oh yeah)  What's neat about the event is the number of kids, and especially girls, who really enjoyed dumping the trout into the stream.  The other neat thing about the stocking is getting a better sense of the water and great fishing spots, which by the way are where the fish are.

The first stocking finished about 11:00, then it was back to the hatchery to reload the truck.  Most of the little kids by now had ziggied off for a scheduled Easter Egg hunt, leaving the remaining stocking to the adult-kids.  By about 12:30 the second stocking was completed, and The Friendly beckoned!

The other rite of early spring is "shed hunting", which entails walking through the woods looking for buck antlers.  The conversation at the hatchery confirmed that this is serious business, with people rambling around the mountains in search of that huge rack.  The prospect of climbing was not especially appealing, but we do have a bit of woods in the back of the property.  So Mary and I took a walk through the woods, first to check out the areas that she's cleared, but also to enjoy the spring day.  While I wasn't really hunting, while walking along a neighboring field I just happened to spot something white in the brush.  A closer look and, viola, I became a successful shed hunter.

Mother Nature's going to reassert her influence over the next week, with rain, snow, and temps barely into the 40s.  But while she can make outdoor activities tough, she can't stop the opening day of trout season in a couple of weeks.  With a stocking of Fishing Creek by the state scheduled a few days before opening, and with the water in good shape, we should have some decent fishing well into the summer.  And if not, well the West Branch Tavern is a stone's throw away.

Tight Lines,

Mikey D Fishing