April fishing in Potter County can be a crap shoot. When good friends Clare and Bery Edmonston visited the West Branch Tavern for the 2024 opening dayof trout season, the weather more favorable for eating and drinking than fishing, and especially catching.
This past weekend they returned to the WBT to give the trouts another go. By early May we finally saw warmer temps, the trees leafing out, and Hummingbirds on the feeders. But even in May weather can be fickle. Two days before their arrival we saw over an inch of rain. The weekend pointed to temps in the 50s to mid-60s, cloudy to partly cloudy skies, and intermittent showers.
Not ideal, but certainly fishable. And the rain came down slow and steady, so when they arrived the streams got what WVa fly-fishing legend and good frend Dave Breitmeier would have described as a "good level bounce."
Mary and I had scouted some potential spots the week before. Saturday we settled on the First Fork of the Sinnemahoning, about 45 minutes from the WBT. We first parked at the picnic section at Sinnemahoning State Park and geared up. But within a half hour it was clear we needed to move. Nothing going on on the water, and too many anglers on the stream. So we drove up a short way, and parked in the lot where Logue Run empties into the stream. Only one truck there; an older gent waiting on his grandson and a buddy who were fishing. We crossed paths with the youths, who said they hadn't caught anything. But I overheard them saying that they saw fish rising.
And they were! Water was up, but a nice greenish color. Air temps in the upper 50s with cloudy skies. Bugs coming off the water, and fish consistently rising to them. We started with Caddis's, and picked up a couple of fish. But then we noticed Sulphurs coming off, so we quickly re-rigged and it was game on.
Everone tagged fish. Stockie Bows and Browns, all around 10-12 inches. And Clare hooked her first trout on a fly rod!
The plan for Sunday was to fish Kettle Creek, hoping that this iconic Pennsylvania freestone stream wouldn't be mobbed. It wasn't, because the water was too high and fast. So I called an audible and we fished Little Kettle, a stocked stream, which also holds good numbers of wild Browns and native Brook Trout. When we first hit the water we got doused with a couple of showers. But eventually the clouds parted and the weather warmed up, and with it came a decent hatch of Sulphurs, Cadddis, and March Browns. Not much in the way of catching. We missed some Brookies, I netted a 12 inch stocked Rainbow. Fish of the day, though, went to Mary, who landed a pretty 6 inch wild Brown on a Caddis.
Of course, the Pavilion Hole on the west branch of Fishing Creek is a good place to get the skunk off, and enjoy the amenities of the WBT.
Bery makes a helluva fire
On Monday the ladies decided to take a field trip to the Kinzua dam. So Bery and I headed to Upper Kettle to search for native Brookies. Cloudy skies and intermittent rain greeted us when we got to the parking area on the lower stretch. To make matters worse, the stream was also up and moving fast.
So, we moved upstream, looking for fishable water. We finally found some about a mile or so further upstream, where Leetonia Road crossed the creek. By now the skies had cleared and temps rose into the high 60s-low 70s. And, as I looked down from the bridge, I saw the welcome sign of a fish rising.
For the next hour and a half we enjoyed consistent action fishing Sulpher dries. Bery worked the run below the bridge and picked up several nice Brookies, including one that went about 6 inches. A nice fish for this stream.
Meanwhile, I spotted some soft water downstream, and hooked 4 fish in rapid order.
No pics of the fish, but you can tell this was a great holding spot.
We finished at a beaver dam a bit further downstream. Despite the mucky bank, we managed a few more trout to the net.
What these fish lack in size they more than make up for in aggressive takes and beautiful colors.
Despite some challenging weather and water, we found fish and hit the trifecta of stocked, wild, and native trout. Gotta love May in God's Country. It almost makes me forget Old Man Winter. .
Almost....
Tight Lines,
Mikey D Fishing
Glad you got your guests into some fish, C.C. Always makes one feel good.
ReplyDelete