Potter County Fishing Report: Nine Mile Run

A short report on an exploratory mission.  Decided to hit Nine Mile Run, a Class A stream that parallels Rte 6 for its entire length.  Driving along 6 it looked like good water, so conditions seemed ripe to give it a try.

I parked at a large pullout upstream of Denton Hill State Park, and walked down a gravel/dirt drive to the water.  The stream is small, no more than 10-15 feet wide, a classic small trout stream.  Air temps were in the 50s, with overcast skies.  Water was low, but a decent amount of fishy-looking places.  The stream was tight in spots, but as long as you're okay with sort casts, you can put the fly where it needs to be.

I began working upstream, and on my third cast picked up a 5-inch Brookie.  Unfortunately, he got off before I could get to the camera, but at least it confirmed the presence of fish.  As I worked my way up, however, the stream got narrower, the banks brushier, and it was apparent that going any further was not going to work.  So I moved downstream, which provided at least some more room for casting.

It also provided more room for catching, as I found a nice run which produced a couple of small but pretty Brookies, all taken on a size 16 Mary-tied Rainbow Warrior.

As I was only out to check out water, I decided to drive down Rte 6 a mile or so and check out Nine Mile Run below Denton Hill State Park.  At the park, Commissioner Run runs into Nine Mile.  I figured there would be more water, and hopefully more holding water.  I was kind of right.  There was considerably more water, and a lot more fishy-looking spots. What I didn't anticipate was that it was almost impossible to get a decent cast.  Forget the movie, this was junk-casting at its worst.  Whatever it took to get the nymph in a spot was the cast to make.  Unfortunately, it also meant near constant catching in overhanging branches.  Even bushwhacking between spots was irritating, as my rod kept getting caught in saplings.  I probably should have switched to a Bugger and drifted it downstream, but even then a hookup would have been difficult.  So, as my frustration level reach "Trout Whisperer" levels, I decided enough was enough and got off the water.

As long as we get decent rain, I think that Nine Mile Run above Denton Hill will be good for fishing at least into the spring.  I also think it'll be good dry fly/terrestrial fishing in a few weeks if the weather cooperates.  The lesson, though, is the enormous amount of wild and native trout streams in this county that rarely see an angler.

Tight Lines,
Mikey D Fishing

Poconos Fishing Report

With the apocalypse apparently approaching, Mary and I decided to light out to the Poconos to visit the "fam" and get a little time in on the stream.  Spent Friday evening with brother Kelly and his girlfriend Lisa in downtown Stroudsburg, enjoying great food, craft brews, and a flight of tasty Old Fashions at Newberry's Yard of Ale.

Saturday morning we met up with Dad and brother Jeff for the traditional fortifying breakfast at the Mt. Bethel diner.  Then we headed up to practice some "social distancing" on the McMichael, a trout stream which runs through Stroudsburg.  As the stocked streams close in March, a few miles up from town is a delayed harvest section, which permits fishing year round.  As an added bonus, the section is a Keystone Select stream, meaning that the state stocks brood (i.e., really big) trout in addition to the normal sized stockies.

We got on the water a little after 11:30.  Conditions were pretty good for mid-March; partly cloudy skies, temps in the high 40s, water cold (probably in the low 40s), a little low but good flows.  As this is one of the few streams that be fished this time of year, there were quite a few anglers on the water, but the special regs section goes for miles, so there was plenty of open water.

Although there were a lot of bugs in the air, predominantly caddises and little black stoneflies, we saw no fish rising, so we focused on nymphing fish-looking runs.

It was a great few hours of fishing, but not for catching, with one exception.  I was fishing a run and thought I saw a rise about 100 feet downstream.  There was a large boulder along the bank, and what looked like a deep (4-plus feet) run alongside it.  So I meandered down to it.  I had a size 14 Rainbow Warrior that Mary had tied a couple of days earlier.  On the first cast the strike indicator went down and I knew it wasn't the bottom.  What I didn't know until about 5 seconds into the fight was the size of the fish I'd stuck, which was confirmed by the bend the trout put in the 3 weight.  The anxiety of knowing that you have a big fish on a light rod makes time go by pretty slowly, but fortunately the trout was kind of lethargic, and after a few runs I was able to put a 20-plus inch Rainbow (well, three quarters of him anyway) into the net.

The only downer for the day was the creep who walked off with a box of Mary-tied flies that she inadvertently left on a bench by the stream.  Not to sound elitist, but there were some sketchy-looking dudes spin-fishing in the general locale.  When Mary realized that she had left her fly box on the bench, by the time she got there the dudes were gone, and so was her fly box.

A small glitch in an otherwise pretty good weekend. And hopefully a harbinger of a great fishing season.

Tight Lines,
Mikey D Fishing

P.S.  Some photos from a "mental health" trip I made to Belize last month. A bit windy for good fly fishing, but did manage a few, including a couple of Bonefish, on my own.

West Branch Tavern Fishing Report: On the Board!

Air temps in the upper 50s.  Water a bit high but good green color.

Got one (Fegg), lost one, missed two....

Tight Lines,
Mikey D Fishing

West Branch Tavern Fishing Report: A Lesson From The "Trout Whisperer"

So far Old Man Winter has spared us from below-freezing temps, so it only makes sense to hit the water while the weather lasts.

This afternoon Bob "Trout Whisperer" Volkmar and Blue stopped by the WBT to wet a line for an hour.  Temps were in the low 40s, with cloudy skies and a slight breeze, and water temps in the low 40s.  Water levels and flows were about as good as it gets.  We started at the Pavilion Hole, where I'd stuck a Brownie on Christmas day.  After about 30 minutes of nuthin', Bob moved down to a small hole just downstream.  The hole just screams fish.  But for some reason we haven't been successful, at least until today.

Bob had a tandem rig of a Mopp Fly and a Rainbow Warrior dropper.  As I was flailing away at the Pavilion Hole with my Fegg, Bob called out that indeed the hole held a fish, and brought a nice 8-10 inch Brownie to hand.

After a few more casts it was evident that the Brownie was king of the hole, so we moved downstream to the Meadow Hole.  I had lost a fish there on Christmas Day, and staying consistent, I lost the same fish on a rather weak set.

We next moved down to the Beaver Dam hole, but the water was kind of low, and we spooked a Muskrat, which no doubt ended fishing.  With a few minutes left, we moved upstream from the pavilion to a spot that also looks fishy, but really hasn't produced.  But once again, the Trout Whisperer did his magic, and stuck another 10 inch Brownie.

Nice to see that the trout are around and willing to eat.  Only a matter of time before the temps drop below freezing, but until then any day we can hit the water puts us closer to April.

Tight Lines,

Mikey D Fishing

West Branch Tavern Fishing Report

Pretty good present....

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a limited out 2020 to all from Mikey D Fishing

Northern Hemisphere Fishing Report: From Browns to Bones

Two weeks ago Mary had some friends spending the weekend at the West Branch Tavern, a sign from the trout gods to find some fishable water.  So I booked a room at the Feathered Hook Fly Shop and B&B, and lit out for Coburn to fish Penns Creek.

Penns is one of the iconic trout streams in the east.  It's also water that can can reward an angler one day, then humble him the next.  Arriving at the fly shop on Thursday with enough daylight to fish, I stowed my gear, grabbed some egg patterns from the shop, and hit the stream.  The weather was not ideal but fishable; overcast with temps in the mid-30s, but no wind, some spitting snow from time to time.  But the water was low and in great shape as I parked at the cement bridge about a half mile downstream from the fly shop.

I waded upstream a bit to a spot that always seems to hold fish.

And for the next 45 minutes the trout gods smiled on me.  The action was literally nonstop, as the trout, mostly browns, acted as if they hadn't eaten in days.  Had I been a bit more adept with the rod, I would have landed at least 10 fish.  But I did manage two decent browns and a rainbow, so called it a day and headed to the Elk Creek Cafe for some victory brews and dinners.

As I said, Penns can take an angler from hero to zero in an instant.  And that proved to be the case the next day.  Conditions were almost identical, perhaps a few degrees warmer.  Went to the same place with the same water conditions and the same rig ...  and ... nada.  The trout had to be there, where else would they have gone?  But they certainly weren't interested in the egg, or any other fly that I tried that day.

Oh well, the up side was that warmer climes awaited.  The following Thursday Mary and I boarded a Delta jet with Captain DiPaola, and Mark Ponicsan and Dani "Frac" Fracalossi.  Destination was San Pedro Island in Belize.  We were met there by fellow tailgaters John and Deb Hupp and Dr. "Jim Beam" Hupp and his bride Meerie.  The objective was to watch the Army-Navy game without freezing our asses off.  But a secondary mission was to wet a line for Bonefish.

We stayed at the Mahogany Bay Resort, a Hilton property at the southern end of the island.  While we spent most of the 5 days just enjoying temps 50 degrees warmer than my time in Coburn, and the local food and beverages, we all got an opportunity to get out on the flats for a few hours.  John struck first blood on his guided trip with by landing a nice Jack on a spinning rod, following up with his first Bone, and even a hookup on a permit.

Mary and I ventured out the next day with the same guide.  We fished in water about a foot or so deep.  Saw a lot of small sharks looking for the same prey that we were hoping to tie into.  The guide had us on fish most of the morning, but it took me awhile to finally be able to spot them.  Despite not having used the 8 weight for a long while, I managed three Bonefish during the trip; one I actually saw, and the other two blind casting to the guide's directions.

Don't be fooled by the size of these fish.  On the flats there is plenty of room to run, and these fish are designed to move like torpedoes.  You know these aren't trout when a 15 inch fish takes your 8 weight reel to the backing!

Captain DiPaola booked the morning on our last day in Belize, and despite some morning storms which delayed his departure, he got some shots on Bones, and even a decent shot at a Permit.  Joe was also the only one among us who managed to convince some of the juvenile Tarpon that were hanging in the canals on the resort to eat a fly.

All in all a great trip, with a pasting of Army to boot.  On Wednesday morning blowing snow and temps in the 20s greeted us in Potter County.  Oh well ... in a few days we turn the corner and start getting more sunlight, with opening day a "mere" 112 days after that.  Only 112 days, plenty of time to ponder the mystery of the trouts.

Tight Lines,
Mikey D Fishing

Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report: From the Bay to the Breeches

While tidal flows are certainly important to know when saltwater fishing, water temperature, especially in the fall, is critical to bay striper fishing.  As the water cools into the low 60s and upper 50s, the fish begin gorging themselves on the schools of bait fish that are getting ready to head south toward warmer waters.  But get below 58 degrees, which seems like the magic number, and the fish seem to start turning off.  From there it's only a matter of days until they also head to warmer mid Atlantic waters.

We were literally at that point on Veterans Day, with "clents" Brian Wagner and Joe Baylog.  Brian was the high bidder for an outing on the Mikey D auctioned during the TU Northeast Regional rendezvous last June, and brought along his chapter president to see if we might put a few in the box.

Since we were marking a lot of fish in Whitehall Bay, it didn't seem to make sense to leave fish to find fish.  And, on the upside, the weather was as good as it gets for fall.  Temps climbed up into the low-60s, with sunny skies and light winds.  The down side was the good weather had been preceded by a cold snap that dropped water temps down into the low to mid 50s.  Consequently, the fishing was definitely challenging.  We had several hookups, but not as many as we would have liked.  We did avoid the skunk, boating a 10-12 inch Flounder that took a Gotcha jig (a first for the boat), and one keeper Striper that went 19 inches.  Yet, despite tough conditions, we were fortunate that we had a great pair of anglers to spend a day on the boat.  It was certainly a pleasure fishing with Brian and Joe, and we promised them another opportunity in the spring. But the day was certainly a sign that it was time to pull the Mikey D and start looking ahead to spring.

Three days later we shifted from the salt to the fresh.  Our long-standing Navy football tailgate crew got together at the Allenberry Resort in Boiling Springs, PA, to enjoy a weekend and watch the Navy-Notre Dame game.  The resort is a little less than two hours from Annapolis, and sits right on the Yellow Breeches, one of the iconic trout streams in PA.  While some of our crew hiked the AT, and others chilled out, several of us tried our luck on the Breeches.  Weather was not bad; sunny skies the whole weekend, temps in the 50s on Friday, and low 40s on Saturday.  Water was very low, and the fish were spooky.  Which probably accounted for the lack of numbers.  Mary and I got skunked on Friday.  Saturday, though, took a different turn.  While Mary decided to hike, I, along with John Hupp, former White House colleague Mark Ponicsan, and Capt. DiPaola, made our way up the Breeches to fish "the run," a 200 yard or so creek that flows from Childrens' Lake into the Breeches.  The section normally hold a good number of trout, some real lunkers.  But these fish are also pretty savvy, as the stream is no more than 10-20 feet wide, shallow in most parts, is gin-clear, and easy to access.

As numbers go, it was an okay day.  I picked up two 12-inch Rainbows on a Rainbow Warrior, and tossed off a small wild fish as I was stripping it in.  But Joe enjoyed honors of the catch of day and the week.  We noticed a big fish just below the bridge that crosses the run.  It was so big, that its back was sticking out of the water at times.  It also had seemed to have something wrong with its mouth.  We left to head back to the resort, and Joe remained to work the fish.  It wasn't much later that he netted the 20-21 inch Brownie, caught on a tandem rig "dynamic nymphing." (high sticking for all you old timers).  Even in the thin water the fish was a challenge getting it to the net.  He even did the trout a favor, and re-positioned its jaw, which had been dislocated.

The afternoon was spent watching Navy get its clock cleaned, enjoying the company of great friends,  great food and adult beverages, followed by cigars and brown liquor at the fire pits.  If you're looking for first-class accommodations within a stones throw of great trout fishing, the Allenberry needs to be on your list.  As for the Mikey D, while the bay reports have unfortunately come to a close for a few months, the cold weather doesn't seem to give the trout lockjaw.

Tight lines,
Mikey D Fishing