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
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