OF BEARS, BLACK FLIES, HIGH WATERS & TORNADOES May 28, 2011
That pretty much sums up our experience in the North Country Wilds of Potter and Lycoming Counties this past week. Streams & rivers were up thanks to lots of storms the previous week & during our time as well. Tuesday morning began with a visitor seeking breakfast: a black bear, weighing easily in the neighborhood of 250 lbs. He came ambling down the path to our cabin porch, sniffing around the grill (wanting to know why we didn't save him a Bubba Burger the night before). We finally scared him off with a shot of Unk's 30-30 to the ground. That was the highlight of the day: it rained that evening, so no fishing.
Wednesday morning we hit the Cross Fork Creek where it meets Kettle Creek just north of the village of Cross Fork. Water was quite high and moving, though clear. No luck there. That evening, we headed to Kettle just down the road from the hamlet of Oleona (see picture, top) and although it too, was in in similar shape, we had the most "luck", all dinks. Good to see some natural reproduction there. Then again, they may be stocking fingerlings. My guess is that it's a bit of both. One little brownie I caught may have been a hold over from last year's spawning season. A small brown stonefly hatch/oviposit spinners were out in some number as evening drew on. 3 little guys for me, 1 for Chaz. At least we had some action and they were rising sporadically. Late Wednesday/early Thursday saw a nasty T-storm hit the Alleghenies in our area. We decided to try the Little Kettle up in the mountain on the way to Germania (Rauch Road) near the bridge. This area is managed as a Wild Brook Trout Enhancement area. Again, same story: raging and high, though clear. The story here was an incredible amount of black flies. I was covered in them! Not the most enjoyable experience. Same happened at Cross Fork the day before. According to the locals, black flies were released by the state to stave off the caterpillars and moths.
The plan Thursday night was to head down to Slate 
Run, have a nice dinner at the Hotel Manor and maybe wet the line a bit on Pine Creek and Slate Run, at the confluence. We realized the levels were still too high and had a nice supper anyway. We also saw that a storm was brewing. Boy, was it! Quickest and hardest hitting storm I think I've ever seen. The large windows looking out onto the deck and Pine Creek were opaque with water. I really thought something was going to come crashing through there. The power went out, management told all to retreat to the bar area, away from the dining room. When we headed up Slate Run Rd. towards Rt. 44, many trees were down, but we managed to get back to our camp. No trees blocking the road to the cabin, but no power. Unk and I headed out to look for phone service to contact his son, my cousin. Took 27 miles of traipsing down 44, sometimes with one lane accessible due to downed trees, stopping at various establishments and asking folks on the road about power and phone access before we were able to contact my cousin. He planned to bring his son up for the weekend, but Unk wanted to tell him not to bother, since we had no power and didn't know when we'd be back online. Checking the news wire today, I saw that some power had been restored, but as of today, there were many still without it. Although not confirmed, it is believed that a tornado touched down in Slate Run. So, while the fishing was flat out lousy (some have said the worst trout season in years), we had plenty Pennsylvania Wilds excitement!
Run, have a nice dinner at the Hotel Manor and maybe wet the line a bit on Pine Creek and Slate Run, at the confluence. We realized the levels were still too high and had a nice supper anyway. We also saw that a storm was brewing. Boy, was it! Quickest and hardest hitting storm I think I've ever seen. The large windows looking out onto the deck and Pine Creek were opaque with water. I really thought something was going to come crashing through there. The power went out, management told all to retreat to the bar area, away from the dining room. When we headed up Slate Run Rd. towards Rt. 44, many trees were down, but we managed to get back to our camp. No trees blocking the road to the cabin, but no power. Unk and I headed out to look for phone service to contact his son, my cousin. Took 27 miles of traipsing down 44, sometimes with one lane accessible due to downed trees, stopping at various establishments and asking folks on the road about power and phone access before we were able to contact my cousin. He planned to bring his son up for the weekend, but Unk wanted to tell him not to bother, since we had no power and didn't know when we'd be back online. Checking the news wire today, I saw that some power had been restored, but as of today, there were many still without it. Although not confirmed, it is believed that a tornado touched down in Slate Run. So, while the fishing was flat out lousy (some have said the worst trout season in years), we had plenty Pennsylvania Wilds excitement! 
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