Mikey D Fishing Report, 30 May: Full Spectrum Operations!

A gorgeous Saturday in Potter County meant another day on the water.  Mary and I headed to the southern part of the county to fish Little Kettle Creek.  The Trout Whisperer and I had fished it a few days earlier with pretty good results.  Normally the longer you go in the spring, the lower the water levels on these small streams.  But with rain passing through the day before, I figured a dose of water would keep the stream fishable.  And we were not disappointed.  We got on the water around 10:00 am.  Temps were in the low 60s under partly cloudy skies and a bit of a breeze.  Mary had not been fishing in quite awhile, so she took some practice casts at the first fishy looking hole.  And within 3 casts she had landed her first native Brookie of the year.

We headed downstream a bit and fished back up to the truck.  Saw a few Sulphurs and Drakes, but not a lot of bug activity.  The fish didn't seem to care.  We fished dries all morning; Drakes, Suphurs, Adams Humpys.  Just about every fly produced strikes.  The only problem, at least for me, was everything after the strike.  When I wasn't missing fish I was losing fish.  Mary, on the other hand, doubled up on her count with a 4-incher before lunch.

We were going to fish upstream from the truck after lunch, but the sight of another angler nixed that idea.  So we opted for Plan B and headed a few miles south to fish Kettle Creek.  There's a fairly extensive fly-fishing only C&R section.  It's big water, although very wadeable this time of year.  Yet, even with the number of vehicles parked in the pull outs, there was plenty of room to spread out, and I figured since it was catch and release, there'd at least be an opportunity to stick a few fish, and hopefully get the skunk off.

We pulled into a large parking area right next to a bridge spanning the creek.  A few trucks in the lot, but pretty light for a Saturday.  Mary and I rigged up and headed a short way upstream.  We came across decent numbers of fish.  Unfortunately, changing water did nothing to cure the malady.  Miss, miss, throw the fly, miss, throw the fly....  Had I known the disease was contagious, I would have kept more distance from Mary.  But she contracted the infection, and we both flailed away; you could hear the trout laughing.

We headed back to the truck, a couple of cold IPAs took a little sting out of the afternoon.  Then it was decision time.  Fish, or go home.  There was a nice stretch of water at the bottom of the parking lot.  The bank was steep enough and the water deep enough to keep anglers from directly entering the water.  It also looked really fishy.  So I figured one more try.

I was right about the fishy part.  The stretch held a lot of fish, and judging from a couple of the looks my flies got, some decent sized fish.  But, once again, the bad mojo continued.  If I wasn't missing the take, the fish were throwing the fly.  The ominous prospect of fly fishing remediation from the Trout Whisperer was in the back of my mind when I tied on the last fly of the day, a size 10 March Brown.  A few casts later and a fish actually took the fly, I correctly set the hook, the trout didn't throw the fly, and I got a decent Rainbow in the net!

Meanwhile, about 300 miles to the south in the salty water.... Mikey D Fishing was finally able to launch and complete an initial "shakedown" cruise.  Accompanied by Capt. Salt Life, we completed our checklist to make sure that all systems are working 4.0.  Usually, Captain Felker and I are well into the striper season at this point.  Covid, followed by a virtual fishing moratorium in Maryland which preceded a complete tear down and rebuild of the Mikey D Fishing dock all conspired to delay our first underway period.

It made everything better to hear the sweet sound of the 150 HP Mercury and feel of the Ultra Elite slicing through the Chesapeake; however, Capt. Salt Life and  I also wanted to feel a tug on the end of the line.  Given my son's proclivity towards activity, we decided to jig at the eastern end of the bay bridge.  It was a beautiful Saturday morning.  Temps quickly rose to the mid 70s.  Several boats appeared to be set up just north of the bay bridge span near the area known as the "sewer pipe".  Most likely they were chumming and chunking.  It served as a reminder that we are hopefully just a couple of weeks away from live-lining spot for keepers.  Speaking of keepers, this year we are allowed one fish per angler per day 19" or greater.

We worked bridge pilings at the start of the incoming tide in 6 - 13' of water.  Most boats don't work there that often.  We have found that early in the morning and just before dusk, the shallows can be very productive.  I maneuvered us between pilings, adjusting to tide and an opposing breeze.  Capt. Salt Life's went to jigging using purple BKDs. We were rewarded with two stripers that were not big enough for the box but were big enough to get the winter skunk off the boat.  I believe it is a sign of bigger and better fish to come.  Mikey D Fishing looks forward to hosting our clients this season.  Welcome Aboard!



Tight Lines (Fresh and Salt)

Mikey D Fishing

Potter County Fishing Report, 24-27 May: A Turning Point?

Conditions over the last few months have certainly made the fishing difficult.  It was beginning to look like spring was never going to arrive.  Add to that government-mandated travel and recreational restrictions, and it's a wonder that we could wet a line at all.

About a week or so ago things started looking up.  Mother Nature got things started by looking at the calendar and realizing that She had forgotten to throw the season change switch.  All of a sudden the weather warmed and the trees got into full spring mode.

Time to put the streamers aside and look for the boxes of dry flies and terrestrials.  On Sunday, Mary and I spent the afternoon just hanging out at the Pavilion Hole, sipping some vino, and watching the stream flow by.

Of course, with the warmer temps came the anticipation that bugs might come off the water and entice a trout to rise.  So the gear was nearby, ready to take advantage of the first dry fly action of the year on the West Branch.

The West Branch is not known for prolific hatches.  But the mayflies do come off at times.  And this evening we saw the first; a few March Browns and Sulphurs.  A little while later we saw a few splashy rises, so I grabbed the rod, tied on a Parachute March Brown, and after a few casts had my first trout on a dry from the West Branch this year.

On Monday I had a hankering for smoked trout, so decided to do a little meat hunting.  I hit the stocked stretch of Lyman Run.  By the time I got on the water around 10:00 am, the air temps were in the 70s and forecast to climb into the 80s. (Maybe Mother Nature had thrown the switch all the way to summer).  I managed one 12 inch Rainbow on a Wooly Bugger right off the bat, and into the creel he went.  Unfortunately, my assumption that a quick fish would result in a limit proved faulty, as I spent the rest of the morning fishing and not catching.  I gave up on Lyman Run, but still needed a few more fish for the smoker.  There were a couple of decent holes on the East Branch of Fishing Creek, so I made my way up to one of them, which we've called "The Lazy Boy Hole," because of the abandoned lounger sitting in the pull off.  The hole not only gets a heavy stocking early in the season, but is one of the few spots on the creek which holds decent water when the stream starts getting low.  Sure enough, I could see three fish swimming around in the hole.  But whether it was the heat or my anxiety about putting more fish in the creel, for awhile all of my attempts went for naught.  I had hookups, but nothing to the net.  Running out of options, I tied on a orange and chartreuse egg pattern, and managed to land a Rainbow.  I was thinking that three fish would make a decent smoked trout dinner.  But the heat drained the rest of my enthusiasm, and I left the hole with my two fish.  While the smoker is still unused for the year, we did make the most of the two trout the next morning on the grill.

Wednesday, Bob "Trout Whisperer" Volkmar and I lit out to explore some sections of Kettle Creek.  Kettle is one of the iconic trout waters in Pennsylvania, particularly this time of year when the hatches begin.  In the morning we decided to fish Little Kettle Creek, a small trib of its larger namesake.  While the temps were again to be in the upper 70s, cloud cover kept them down a bit.

You'd have a hard time finding a more beautiful PA freestoner.  It had all the classic characteristics of great trout water; riffles and runs, undercut banks, woody debris.  And while it's classified as stocked trout water, there was an abundance of native and wild fish.  There were quite a few bugs coming off the water; March Browns, Sulphurs, and even the first Green Drakes.  We fished attractors, such as Humpys and Stimulators, and took (or missed, or lost) Brookies in every spot that looked fishy.

I attributed the good mojo to my environmental good deed for the day.  Hearing what sounded like a rock rolling down a steep bank, I looked and noticed that the rock was actually a Box Turtle, on its back and having a difficult time righting itself.

For reasons outside the scope of this blog, I felt his pain, and offered a bit if a help righting the reptile and sending him on his way to the stream.

The it was back to catching....

After a quick lunch we drove a few miles down and fished Kettle proper at Ole Bull State Park.  I had brought along the Tenkara rod that Mary had given me for my birthday.  For those not acquainted (like me), Tenkara is a 19th century Japanese fly fishing method, comprised of a long (10-15 ft) rod, and no reel.  The modern Tenkara rods are collapsible, which makes them attractive for the hiking crowd.  Instead of the reel, a short (9 feet or so) section of line is attached to the tip of the rod, followed by about 4 feet of 4X tippet, and then the fly.  I suppose there's something to the story of its origins, although I can remember as a kid catching pan fish in Florida with a long bamboo pole with a section of mono tied to the tip.

Fishing this rig is essentially high-sticking a fly in close proximity to the angler.  Casting technique is a bit different than the conventional rod and reel.  The idea is to keep the line off the water.  It doesn't take long to master the casting, although it is a bit tiring.  What I have yet to figure out is the hook up.  So, while the Trout Whisperer continued to pound the Brookies, I spent the rest of the day missing fish.  Hooking a fish is essential to mastering the next step, which is landing a fish with no way to reel in line.  Will probably head up to Rainbow Paradise and report.

All in all a great few days.  With these temps the next few weeks are setting up to be prime time for fishing dries.  Even better news is that the governor of Maryland lifted his restrictions on recreational boating, the Mikey D has had its preseason maintenance, and should be in the water within the week.  A bit late, but it's looking like season is getting into full swing.

Tight Lines,
Mikey D Fishing