Potter County Fishing Report: Nine Mile Run

A short report on an exploratory mission.  Decided to hit Nine Mile Run, a Class A stream that parallels Rte 6 for its entire length.  Driving along 6 it looked like good water, so conditions seemed ripe to give it a try.

I parked at a large pullout upstream of Denton Hill State Park, and walked down a gravel/dirt drive to the water.  The stream is small, no more than 10-15 feet wide, a classic small trout stream.  Air temps were in the 50s, with overcast skies.  Water was low, but a decent amount of fishy-looking places.  The stream was tight in spots, but as long as you're okay with sort casts, you can put the fly where it needs to be.

I began working upstream, and on my third cast picked up a 5-inch Brookie.  Unfortunately, he got off before I could get to the camera, but at least it confirmed the presence of fish.  As I worked my way up, however, the stream got narrower, the banks brushier, and it was apparent that going any further was not going to work.  So I moved downstream, which provided at least some more room for casting.

It also provided more room for catching, as I found a nice run which produced a couple of small but pretty Brookies, all taken on a size 16 Mary-tied Rainbow Warrior.

As I was only out to check out water, I decided to drive down Rte 6 a mile or so and check out Nine Mile Run below Denton Hill State Park.  At the park, Commissioner Run runs into Nine Mile.  I figured there would be more water, and hopefully more holding water.  I was kind of right.  There was considerably more water, and a lot more fishy-looking spots. What I didn't anticipate was that it was almost impossible to get a decent cast.  Forget the movie, this was junk-casting at its worst.  Whatever it took to get the nymph in a spot was the cast to make.  Unfortunately, it also meant near constant catching in overhanging branches.  Even bushwhacking between spots was irritating, as my rod kept getting caught in saplings.  I probably should have switched to a Bugger and drifted it downstream, but even then a hookup would have been difficult.  So, as my frustration level reach "Trout Whisperer" levels, I decided enough was enough and got off the water.

As long as we get decent rain, I think that Nine Mile Run above Denton Hill will be good for fishing at least into the spring.  I also think it'll be good dry fly/terrestrial fishing in a few weeks if the weather cooperates.  The lesson, though, is the enormous amount of wild and native trout streams in this county that rarely see an angler.

Tight Lines,
Mikey D Fishing

Poconos Fishing Report

With the apocalypse apparently approaching, Mary and I decided to light out to the Poconos to visit the "fam" and get a little time in on the stream.  Spent Friday evening with brother Kelly and his girlfriend Lisa in downtown Stroudsburg, enjoying great food, craft brews, and a flight of tasty Old Fashions at Newberry's Yard of Ale.

Saturday morning we met up with Dad and brother Jeff for the traditional fortifying breakfast at the Mt. Bethel diner.  Then we headed up to practice some "social distancing" on the McMichael, a trout stream which runs through Stroudsburg.  As the stocked streams close in March, a few miles up from town is a delayed harvest section, which permits fishing year round.  As an added bonus, the section is a Keystone Select stream, meaning that the state stocks brood (i.e., really big) trout in addition to the normal sized stockies.

We got on the water a little after 11:30.  Conditions were pretty good for mid-March; partly cloudy skies, temps in the high 40s, water cold (probably in the low 40s), a little low but good flows.  As this is one of the few streams that be fished this time of year, there were quite a few anglers on the water, but the special regs section goes for miles, so there was plenty of open water.

Although there were a lot of bugs in the air, predominantly caddises and little black stoneflies, we saw no fish rising, so we focused on nymphing fish-looking runs.

It was a great few hours of fishing, but not for catching, with one exception.  I was fishing a run and thought I saw a rise about 100 feet downstream.  There was a large boulder along the bank, and what looked like a deep (4-plus feet) run alongside it.  So I meandered down to it.  I had a size 14 Rainbow Warrior that Mary had tied a couple of days earlier.  On the first cast the strike indicator went down and I knew it wasn't the bottom.  What I didn't know until about 5 seconds into the fight was the size of the fish I'd stuck, which was confirmed by the bend the trout put in the 3 weight.  The anxiety of knowing that you have a big fish on a light rod makes time go by pretty slowly, but fortunately the trout was kind of lethargic, and after a few runs I was able to put a 20-plus inch Rainbow (well, three quarters of him anyway) into the net.

The only downer for the day was the creep who walked off with a box of Mary-tied flies that she inadvertently left on a bench by the stream.  Not to sound elitist, but there were some sketchy-looking dudes spin-fishing in the general locale.  When Mary realized that she had left her fly box on the bench, by the time she got there the dudes were gone, and so was her fly box.

A small glitch in an otherwise pretty good weekend. And hopefully a harbinger of a great fishing season.

Tight Lines,
Mikey D Fishing

P.S.  Some photos from a "mental health" trip I made to Belize last month. A bit windy for good fly fishing, but did manage a few, including a couple of Bonefish, on my own.