With the stocked streams still closed to fishing, warming temps at the beginning of the week offered an opportunity to head out and try the Class A wild trout streams, which are open to year-round fishing. The Trout Whisperer and I took advantage of the unseasonably warmer weather and headed down to fish Hunts Run, a small stream just south of Emporium in Cameron County. We fished the stream last year with no success, but decided to return and fish further upstream. The decision paid off.
Conditions were fantastic. Temps rose into the upper 50s, and the stream was in great shape with good levels and flows.
We started drifting nymphs and egg patterns with no success. It was looking like a repeat of our previous outing. But then the trout gods smiled on us. I was drifting a Rainbow Warrior under a strike indicator, and a small trout came up and ... hit the indicator. A few more casts, a few more takes on the hookless bobber, and my deductive reasoning finally kicked in. It was time to change up. There were no bugs coming off, so I tied on a 16 Parachute Adams, and a few casts later a 4 inch Brown Trout inhaled the fly. My first on a dry fly for the year.
Bob followed up a short while later, throwing a Stimulator in a run that just screamed trout. He was rewarded by the fish of the day; a 5-6 inch native Brookie.
I followed up with another small Brownie, which pretty much sealed the victory for the day.
Weather rolled in the following days, putting the kibosh on decent fishing. With Saturday's Mentored Youth Fishing Day looming, and WBT guests arriving on Thursday, we were keeping our fingers crossed that we'd have some decent weather for the only day you can fish the stocked streams before opening day. So I was extremely pleased to see the cold front moving through, and a return to warmer temps and sunny skies by Saturday.
Our guests for the weekend were long time friends Marcus and Sasha Jones, who brought along son Misha (15) and daughter Nadya (8) to experience a bit of life in God's Country. Friday's plan was to spend some time up at Rainbow Paradise getting the kids familiar with fly fishing. Unfortunately, the front was still moving through. So instead, we went with the Potter County Plan B, and did some fine pistol shooting at Bob "Pistolero" Volkmar's home range. Bob provided expert instruction, and the Jones' got to shoot a variety of calibers, from .22 to a .38 Special to a WWII German Army Walther P38 9mm.
The front blew through Friday night, and Saturday dawned sunny with morning temps in the 40s. Perfect weather for casting to the dozens of hungry trout that we had stocked the week prior. Mary constructed one of her classic bonfires, and by the time our guests moseyed down to the Pavilion hole she had the Lox and Bagels ready, w iththe Mimosas and Bloody Marys ready to pour.
At around 8:00 am, though, it was time to wet some lines. Temps were already climbing through the 50s when the kids started with spincasters throwing "Joe's Fly" (something like a Wooly Bugger with a spinner blade at the top of the lure, a killer in PA trout streams). We did not have to wait long until Nadya scored the first trout of the day, a 12 inch Rainbow. Misha followed up with his own Rainbow, and then it was game on.
Put a lot of trout in a small stream and you have the makings of catching instead of just fishing. And that's what we did. The beauty of Mentored Youth Fishing Day is that the adults get to fish as well. Over the course of the morning we netted well over a dozen fish, a few going around 15 inches, and a good number on the fly rod.
It was a great day to spend time with great friends and introduce some "city slickers" to what makes Potter County so special. The weather is supposed to take a dive into colder temps for the next few days. But Opening Day on Saturday is looking pretty decent. Time to tie on the Wooly Buggers, Mopp Flies, or "Meggs," and get on the stream with the horde. The season begins!
Tight Lines,
Mikey D Fishing
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