Two weeks ago Mary had some friends spending the weekend at the West Branch Tavern, a sign from the trout gods to find some fishable water. So I booked a room at the Feathered Hook Fly Shop and B&B, and lit out for Coburn to fish Penns Creek.
Penns is one of the iconic trout streams in the east. It's also water that can can reward an angler one day, then humble him the next. Arriving at the fly shop on Thursday with enough daylight to fish, I stowed my gear, grabbed some egg patterns from the shop, and hit the stream. The weather was not ideal but fishable; overcast with temps in the mid-30s, but no wind, some spitting snow from time to time. But the water was low and in great shape as I parked at the cement bridge about a half mile downstream from the fly shop.
I waded upstream a bit to a spot that always seems to hold fish.
And for the next 45 minutes the trout gods smiled on me. The action was literally nonstop, as the trout, mostly browns, acted as if they hadn't eaten in days. Had I been a bit more adept with the rod, I would have landed at least 10 fish. But I did manage two decent browns and a rainbow, so called it a day and headed to the Elk Creek Cafe for some victory brews and dinners.
As I said, Penns can take an angler from hero to zero in an instant. And that proved to be the case the next day. Conditions were almost identical, perhaps a few degrees warmer. Went to the same place with the same water conditions and the same rig ... and ... nada. The trout had to be there, where else would they have gone? But they certainly weren't interested in the egg, or any other fly that I tried that day.
Oh well, the up side was that warmer climes awaited. The following Thursday Mary and I boarded a Delta jet with Captain DiPaola, and Mark Ponicsan and Dani "Frac" Fracalossi. Destination was San Pedro Island in Belize. We were met there by fellow tailgaters John and Deb Hupp and Dr. "Jim Beam" Hupp and his bride Meerie. The objective was to watch the Army-Navy game without freezing our asses off. But a secondary mission was to wet a line for Bonefish.
We stayed at the Mahogany Bay Resort, a Hilton property at the southern end of the island. While we spent most of the 5 days just enjoying temps 50 degrees warmer than my time in Coburn, and the local food and beverages, we all got an opportunity to get out on the flats for a few hours. John struck first blood on his guided trip with by landing a nice Jack on a spinning rod, following up with his first Bone, and even a hookup on a permit.
Mary and I ventured out the next day with the same guide. We fished in water about a foot or so deep. Saw a lot of small sharks looking for the same prey that we were hoping to tie into. The guide had us on fish most of the morning, but it took me awhile to finally be able to spot them. Despite not having used the 8 weight for a long while, I managed three Bonefish during the trip; one I actually saw, and the other two blind casting to the guide's directions.
Don't be fooled by the size of these fish. On the flats there is plenty of room to run, and these fish are designed to move like torpedoes. You know these aren't trout when a 15 inch fish takes your 8 weight reel to the backing!
Captain DiPaola booked the morning on our last day in Belize, and despite some morning storms which delayed his departure, he got some shots on Bones, and even a decent shot at a Permit. Joe was also the only one among us who managed to convince some of the juvenile Tarpon that were hanging in the canals on the resort to eat a fly.
All in all a great trip, with a pasting of Army to boot. On Wednesday morning blowing snow and temps in the 20s greeted us in Potter County. Oh well ... in a few days we turn the corner and start getting more sunlight, with opening day a "mere" 112 days after that. Only 112 days, plenty of time to ponder the mystery of the trouts.
Tight Lines,
Mikey D Fishing
