Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, 23-27 May: Slow and Steady and Limiting Out

 While early May marks the beginning of Striper season, we're normally not in a rush to get the boat in the water.  First, the weather in early spring can be nasty.  More importantly, most of the fishing is done by trolling, which ranges from tedious to downright boring.

Last week of May presented not only the prospect of decent weather, but also the start of the "chunking" season.  We had a few days to get dialed in before our first major outing on Thursday, so we took our time getting the boat in the water and scouting for fish.

Sunday.  After one unsuccessful attempt to get into crowded Sandy Point State Park, we finally got into the park around 4:30 PM and got underway around 5.  We spent a couple of hours running the boat through its paces, and looking around for fish.  Marked large schools of fish on the eastern side of the bay north of the spans, a spot called the "sewer pipe," because there's an old sewer pipe on the bottom, and fish tend to hang there.  Tried some jigging but got no hits.

Tuesday.  Work got in the way on Monday, but we managed to get out for a couple of hours in the late afternoon.  Winds were out of the east-southeast and up a bit, making the western side of the bay pretty choppy.  So we went to the sewer pipe, figuring on calmer water and fish.  Well, the water was significantly calmer, but the fish were not there.  Went up north to Love Point, nada.  Decided to cross over to the western side, and in the vicinity of the mouth of the Magothy River we started marking fish in 20 feet of water.  Water was still choppy, but we managed to anchor up and give it a shot.  Had a couple of hits and one take that pulled off about 60 feet of line before he got off, but no fish to the net.

Wednesday.  A little calmer, so we decided to head back to the Magothy.  Got underway around 1130, and fought our way north against the fleet of knuckleheads all screaming down to the Severn to get a good spot to watch the Blue Angels show.  We successfully anchored up around 1200 or so, and within about 2 minutes of the first bait going in the water the baitkeeper went off and a few minutes later we had our first keeper of the year in the boat.  Got our second not long after that.  Both fish around 20 inches.   We kept fishing awhile longer, and boated a nice 23 incher (which had to go back, as the limit for recreational fishing is 1 fish/angler).  Soft crabs were the bait of choice.  Not a bad hour and a half on the water.

Thursday.  We were joined by long time "pro bono" client John Hupp and Joe's daughter Rachel.  Weather was perfect.  Winds less than 7 mph, calm water, partly cloudy skies, and only a few boats when we anchored up in the same area around 1230 or so.  Water depth was 20 feet.  Water temp around 74 degrees.  The day turned out to be a personal best for MikeyDFishing.  Limited out within three hours, which included a 33-incher, a 32 incher, and a 23 incher.  We included cut Alewive along with the soft crabs, and both worked well on the bottom rigs.

Chunking season is in full swing, and the fishing should remain solid throughout June.  A moratorium on Striper fishing goes into effect in July, so get out there and put some fish in the box!

Tight lines,

Mikey D Fishing

Potter County Fishing Report: Upper Allegheny River and Little Kettle Creek, 8-11 May

 John and Deb Hupp came up for a visit this past weekend to enjoy the respite offered at the WBT, but also some fishing.  Was hoping to hit Little Kettle.   But it was the first week of spring gobbler, and the Trout Whisperer reported a good number of anglers on the stream.  So on Saturday we lit out for the DHALO section of the upper Allegheny.

Got to the DHALO section around 1100.  We had the entire section to ourselves.  Water was in great condition; good flows and clarity.  Weather was less than ideal; intermittent rain showers, at one time small hail, and temps in the upper 40s.  But everyone caught fish.  Wooly Buggers, "Feggs," and Mopp Flies were the fare for the day.  Fish were 10-12 inch stocked Rainbows....

 

With one exception.  Deb fought what turned out to be a nice Brownie that took a "Fegg."  Things got a bit dicey as the fish neared my net.  It turned and went behind Mary, who was standing next to me.  I took the rod for a moment, thinking I'd untangle the fish and hand the rod back to Deb.  Unfortunately, the fish had other ideas, and shot like a rocket towards the fast water.  It was at that time that my focus went completely to the fish and away from my net, which I proceeded to drop, and before I could react was heading downstream.  The conundrum: break off the fish and chase the net, or land the fish and worry about the net later?  I might have broken off a stockie Rainbow.  But a big Brown ... say sayonara to the net.

I managed to get the Brown close enough to confirm that it was a good 18 inches.  But as I was leaning over to pick it up it broke off and took off.  Fortunately, the creek gods were smiling on us, as Deb located the net a bit downstream, and I was able to recover it.

On Tuesday the Trout Whisperer and I headed out to fish Little Kettle.  A stocked stream, it also holds wild Browns and native Brookies.  Not much to report.  On Sunday we had over an inch of rain and snow.  Even by Tuesday the water was still up and fast.  Saw a few mayflies but nothing resembling a hatch.  So we fished streamers, and I managed an 8-inch native Brookie in the only decent fishable stretch of the stream.

Temps are slowly starting to resemble spring, and the streams have plenty of water.   Hopefully we start seeing bugs coming off the water by the weekend.

Tight Lines,

Mikey D Fishing

Potter County Fishing Report, 19 April: Proof of Concept

 With Monday highs forecast to rise into the 60s under partly cloudy skies, and with colder weather in the forecast for Wednesday, it seemed a good opportunity to hit Fishing "Crik" for a few hours.  I also wanted to try out using a tippet ring to connect additional tippet to my leader.

Nothing special about tippet rings; they've been around for awhile.  Essentially nothing more than a tiny steel washers, they're used to extend the life of your leader.  Normally, after a few fly changes you whittle down the leader's tippet section, which starts out at around the last 18 inches of the leader.  That requires adding a section of tippet (or changing the leader, which gets kind of expensive), which whittles down even more leader from the tag ends of the surgeon's knot.

A lot of context to say that adding a small (1mm) steel washer to a new leader does away with all of the above.  You're simply adding tippet to the washer, so theoretically you could use the same leader all season long.

So I purchased some tippet rings, and decided to give them a try.  

Pro guide tip:  When attaching the tippet ring to your leader, be sure to thread the ring over a surface that enables you to find the ring when you invariably drop it.  

After about three attempts, I was able to tie the the 4X leader onto the ring, tied another section of 4X tippet onto the ring, and we were in business.

So off to the stream I went.  I decided to hit some spots on Fishing Creek that I had not visited in awhile.  Angler traffic had dropped significantly since opening day.  Water levels were a bit low, but I found enough decent spots that should have held fish.  Casting had to be tight to avoid the brush and trees, but I managed to net three 12-inch Rainbows over the course of an hour or so, drifting black Wooly Buggers into undercut banks, and under the sunken log below, which resulted in my first trout of the day.

The tippet ring held, even in the process of losing two Wooly Buggers entangles in overhanging trees.

I headed back to the WBT to finish up on home waters.  Tried the Pavilion Hole with no luck.  Went down to the lower hole (still need a name for it ... lower hole just doesn't cut it), and had 5 hookups on the Wooly Bugger.  Only landed one; I was fishing from the bank, and didn't have the rod tip high enough to keep the fish hooked.  No matter.  I gave the hole a rest and sat on the bench thinking about what to do next.  By 2:00 or so the fish gods answered.  A "hatchapalooza" broke out; caddis's, small gray mayflies (BWOs), and even what looked like March Browns.  And fish were rising.  Since the majority of bugs were caddis's, I tied on the closest imitation I had.  Nada.  So on to plan b; a dry/ dropper rig.  A Humpy to maybe get some interest, and a size 16 bead head Pheasant Tail about 18 inches underneath.  The Humpy got not love, but three fish ate the nymph.

Six fish from Fishing Creek; had to work for them but not a bad tally.  And I'm a convert on the tippet ring.

Oh ... and conditions today:

Tight Lines,

Mikey D Fishing

Potter County Fishing Report: Wormin'

 66 degrees, sunny skies.  Simple works....

 

Tight Lines,

Mikey D Fishing

Opening Day Fishing Report, 03 April: Nature Wins

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission stocked about 750 trout in various sections of Fishing Creek.  The Roulette Rod and Gun Club stocked another 2,800, and limited placement to the west branch and main stem of the stream.  With a trout/mile count matching some wester rivers, you'd assume that a great opening day for trout season would be a forgone conclusion.  That is until Nature stepped in.

It certainly looked like Saturday was going to another great day of catching.  Only seven days earlier we enjoyed temps in the upper 50s and low 60s, but even better virtually non-stop trout catching during the Mentored Youth Fishing Day.  But then the spring weather went south and Old Man Winter reappeared, dropping temps into the 20s and 30s, and covering the landscape with snow.

While the snow was not forecast to last to the weekend, the cold temps certainly were.  Capt. DiPaola arrived Friday morning to sunny skies and temps in the upper 20s.  Far from ideal for trout fishing.  But you can't change the weather, so we headed to Mosch's Tavern for a quick bite, then on to the DHALO section of the upper Allegheny to knock the rust off before Saturday.

The special regs section allows for fishing year round, and requires C&R until June 15 when the river warms to the point that trout have a hard time surviving and anglers can take 3 fish/day.  The state recently stocked the section, so I knew the trout were there.  It was just a matter of finding them.  We got on the water about 12:30 or so.  The skies were sunny, but temps had only climbed to the mid-30s, and would stay that way for the rest of the day.  The ice constantly building up in the guides of our fly rods was ample evidence that it was going to be a tough afternoon.  But tough it out we did.  It took awhile, and we threw a lot of junk flies, but we managed to find fish, and each brought a couple of Rainbows to the net.

For some reason, Pennsylvania decided to open trout season about two weeks earlier than normal.  The early opening certainly didn't help the fishing conditions.  Although we enjoyed sunny skies, we did not enjoy the 20-degree temperature that greeted us as we got to the Pavilion Hole around 7:30 .  A couple of Perdomos at least took our minds off of the wait.  But then it was finally 8:00 AM, the official beginning of the season, and our lines went in the water.

I'd like to say that this opening day was one for the books.  Instead, it turned into a lot of fishing, and very little catching.  I picked up the Rainbow that the Trout Whisperer had caught the week before in the lower stretch, while Joe picked up a nice Rainbow in a beaver-dammed section downstream. That was it!  A week prior we couldn't stop catching fish.  Seven days later not only did we not catch fish, we didn't even see many fish.  Reports from the handful of anglers we saw on the property were the same.  And I didn't see one carrying a stringer.

The only reason I can come to is that Nature stepped in to demonstrate that, what man provideth, She can take away.  While water conditions were excellent, the stream was a bit low.  The recent melt and some rain should have kept water levels up.  Perhaps the trees had awakened and started sucking ground water that would have otherwise been trickling into the stream.  But then where were the fish?  Maybe the extremely cold temps had them hunkered down on the bottom and not eating.  But if so, with the water as low and clear as it was, we should have seen them.  The only answer I can come up with is that the fish had either moved, or been removed.  I suspect the latter.  The previous Saturday we watched as a mink roamed around the bank opposite the Pavilion Hole.  A little research and it turns out the varmints are "water wolves," and prodigious eaters of trout.  They take advantage of early season extreme cold water to enjoy an all-you-can eat buffet on the slow-moving fish, which given the low water offered few avenues of escape.  Trapping would keep the rodents in check.  But then the sport has virtually disappeared from the area, a consequence of both poor markets for fur, and I guess dwindling enthusiasm amongst local youth.  (To add insult, beavers came through the property a couple of weeks ago and chewed through dozens of saplings on the property)

I went out briefly Sunday morning to give it another shot.  Nothing.  Nada.  Not even a bump.  Didn't see the mink either.  My conclusion is that she/he and the fish are officially gone.  And I saw only one other angler on the stretch behind the WBT; when the fish go so do the anglers.  Doesn't mean that fishing is over.  Other sections of Fishing creek are more than likely holding trout.  Many of the other stocked streams in the county are close by.  The wild trout streams should fish well for the next month or so.  And, as temps increase in the Allegheny, trout will find their way up to the cooler waters of Fishing Creek.  Until then, however, you're going to have to "work" for your trout on Fishing Crick.

Tight Lines,

Mikey D Fishing

North Central PA Fishing Report, 22-27 March: The Week in Review

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