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