Rain, Rain, Don't go away?

SE PA, North-central PA & Pocono Report

A good bit of much needed rain has fallen over much of Pennsylvania over the last few days & weather reports call for additional showers over the coming weekend. Many of the rivers & streams throughout PA are at low levels not often seen for early & mid-spring. My Uncle, on a recent trip to the cabin in Potter County, PA spoke to a local fly-shop owner in Lycoming County. He reaffirmed that the Pine Creek was the lowest it's been at that point (April) in years & the need fora good soaking. Thankfully, though we may be missing the sunshine, that soaking has begun. I was going to hit the Tobyhanna near Blakeslee, PA up in the Poconos, but the levels were up & I next Monday might be better. That particular stream, for example, was pumping out 411 cfs at last check (see USGS PA Streamflow link for current streamflow info), which is a pretty heavy flow. The Tully up in reading was showing 292 cfs, which is also a bit high, although still fishable. Who knows how off color it might be. For comparison, Valley creek in Chester County was showing 127 cfs, which is raging for that little stream. So, not great fishing conditions right at this moment, but hopefully all of this rain & the rain that is still to come this weekend will pay dividends in the days & weeks ahead. Tight Lines!

Back in Action!

It's been a long hiatus, but I've finally hit the streams again. Aside from some salt-water action in the Florida Keys in February, it's the 1st official return for me to fly-fishing, at least on the trout streams. Good to be back in action. Tight lines!

Monacacy Creek, Bethlehem, PA

LEHIGH VALLEY & BERKS COUNTY REPORTS

Fished Monocacy Creek in Bethlehem for a short while on Tuesday, the 21st. Water was still low, despite some rain, but was definitely off-color. Fish were rising to midges and yellow crane-flies. Moved a fish to a caddis deer hair dry; no response though to the baetis dropper, nor the tan caddis larva which I switched to. Only fished about 45 minutes. Saw my buddy Dr. Ed Hart. He didn't have much luck either with his soft hackles. As is the case throughout all of PA, WE NEED RAIN!!!

Wednesday saw me up on the Tully out near Reading. I chose the infamous "Road to Nowhere Hole" (underneath the Van Reed Rd. overpass). The water was on the high side. It was running 350+cfs (probably around 380 - 400 cfs was more like it). Fished downstream of the bridge & worked my way up. No dice. Nothing coming up top, stuck with nymphs, still nothing. Skies opened up, heavy shower ensued, but never made it back out on the stream. I'll be heading up there again soon, though.

VALLEY CREEK UPDATE

Hit Valley yesterday (Monday the 27th). Hot day for April, especially with the low water conditions we've been having lately. Arrived at the stream after nine, probably too late, but it was worth while. Talked to a homeowner whose property borders the stream & asked permission to walk through her back yard to the stream. Apparently, the request is more common than I thought. She said they usually tell the fishermen to follow a winding path that leads down to the stream. Very accommodating. I've wanted to fish the stream from that side for a while now. I drifted a deer-hair caddis dry, # 16, down in a nice run. A few rises just where it began to smooth out. Got a hit, but missed'em, second time I had him, but lost him. Brilliant me missed a guide on the rod when lining up & killed my line control. Felt like a decent one, too. Oh, well work the kinks out, I guess. Tried coaxing a few more downstream in a bend pool. I needed to keep out of sight. Good number of fish, typical 6-9 " variety. Tossed them the caddis. No takers. Too spooked by line & shadow of line. Better to hit that spot in low light. I'll rest this spot & hit another next time. May hit the Poconos next week, weather permitting.

Best of '08

It's certainly been a while since the last post. Although I haven't hit the stream since November, as any true fly-fisher will tell you, we're never really done fishing, even if technically, we're not fishing. In that time, I have read about, talked about, & thought a lot about fly-fishing. I have bought materials for tying, I've browsed equipment in catalogues & in stores, whether in a fly-shop or another outdoors store that happens to have a fly-fishing department. I have looked into possible trips for the upcoming new year 2009, as well as show a new stream to a friend, even if we didn't actually fish, we were fishing it in our minds, or at least talking about where we would fish if we were actually fishing. I have asked & answered questions regarding our sport. I have looked at new fly patterns that I would like experiment with from magazines or web-sites, and I have planned my winter tying regimen. I have checked out different techniques to tie even well known & proven patterns better and/or more efficiently. I have thought, too, back on the memories of a great year of fly-fishing, many of which have been recorded in this blog.

2008 was, for me, a turning point year in my fly-fishing experience. I believe I've become a better fly-fisherman this year for many reasons. I wanted to try "new" stuff this year, while getting back to some old stuff as well, for example, getting back to my graphite rods after a year or two of fishing bamboo exclusively. I see the value in being able to fish both types of rod. This is the year that I went to such places as Bozeman, Montana, Yellowstone Park in Wyoming, and Lake Erie in my native Pennsylvania. Speaking of PA, I fished in lots of new places, even new parts of creeks I had already fished. I even picked up a few new fishing buddies along the way & renewed friendships with "older" buddies (that means you Bob, although I know age is just a number!). One of the new things certainly has been this blog, where at least I had a forum to communicate my fly-fishing thoughts, experiences, ruminations & ideas. Below are some of my top ten highlights of 2008 in pictures. Hope you enjoy this Top Ten List for 2008 & here's hoping '09 will be yet another incredible fly-fishing odyssey for all. Tight lines & Happy New Year!

#10. The Bushkill

A helpful guide in Dunklebergers (in Stroudsburg ) turned me on to this section of the famed Pocono stream back in May. Fall was not as promising, but I'll be heading back up here in the spring for some good evening hatch action.

#9 Lake Erie Tribs Fall Steelheading

This trip was my first to Erie & it's environs. This was really something new, even though I came home without a fish. But, meeting up with some other steelheaders & getting to know a whole new part of the fly-fishing game & a new part of PA made this still worthwhile. I'll be back!

#8 The Po
The Pohopoco, or the "Po" as we affectionately call it, is quite a fishery. Many of the known areas of the Po are stocked pre-season. It maintains very cool temps throughout the summer (especially below the Beltzville Dam), which is why it's a good choice for summer trout fishing. Above the Beltzville lake Dam, there are some areas that are near class A trout water & supports wild browns. Chaz & I went on some wild goose chases looking for new spots to fish on the Po. That in itself was alot of fun.

#7 Grannom Time on the Little J Timing is certainly everything for the Grannom Caddis hatch in Central PA. I Learned this the hard way by arriving really at the tail end of the hatch. As Alan Bright from the Spruce Creek Fly Shop told me, "This hatch is really only a 5 day hatch. Everyone says it's 2 weeks, but that's just not true." He told me that April 17th is a good rule of thumb: if you get there & no Grannoms are out, chances are they'll be there very soon. If there are Grannoms, it's in full swing. Or, you may get there on the day the hatch starts. In spite of my tardiness, I was able to hit some of the other creeks, like Spring Creek, & get some R& R in Centre County. Also, I discovered some new spots on the Little J & was rewarded with a nice brownie or two.

#6 Flyrodding for Bass in the Poconos

Trout have been & still are my favorite choice of fish to pursue with a fly rod. But, hitting a private lake in the Poconos in mid-July for largemouths, panfish & pickerel was a hell of a lot of fun. It was a truly fun time. Plus, it got me into a whole new realm of tying, with poppers, divers, etc. as part of the ever growing repertoire.

# 5 The Honey Hole
Finding new spots to fish was a goal of mine in '08, & will contiue to be next year & beyond. Sometimes, finding a new spot requires new friends. Chaz & I became good fishing buddies this year. I hopefully helped him with his getting acquainted to our sport & he certainly brought a lot to the table with some private fishing spots, which turned out to be phenomenal. Chaz caught his biggest trout, a 23" 'bow (see picture near left) in this private stretch of the Tobyhanna Creek in the Poconos. Now if he could just resist going to the well too many times!

#4 Converting Others From Bait & Spin Tackle into Bona Fide Fly-Fishing Nuts
Chaz, pictured at left, has crossed the line into true fly-fishing insanity. Even those of us who might now think twice about going out in weather less than 50 degrees or in inclement weather, had once been so hard core, too. Fly-nuts like Chaz just remind us that at the heart of whatever so-called wisdom we've attained, or however skilled we may imagine ourselves to be in our beloved sport, we're still stone-cold fly-fishing lunatics to the core. Thanks, Chaz, for helping us remember how nuts about fly-fishing we should be & still are. And Happy New Year.

#3 Fishing The Firehole River in Yellowstone Nat'l Park

What a thrill! Where else could you fish in view of geisers, buffalo, elk & awesome scenery & still cach wild rainbows & brownies? This was truly a great day I'll never forget. Besides the fishing, seeing Old Faithful & enjoying some of the most unique terrain in all the world was a great experience. The fishing wasn't bad, either. Fished a nymph tandem rig for a short spell not too far from the Nez Perce & had a rainbow hit the dropper on one cast & a brown hit the point fly on another. Both were about 11" or 12." Bob sat in the car& read . Wonderful day.

#2 Big Sky Memories

Montana is for the Fly-fisherman what Jerusalem is to Christians & Jews, & Mecca is to Muslims: the center of the world. I spent 3 days float fishing with our trusty guide Toby & my good friend Bob on the Lower Madison & the Missouri Rivers. Thanks to Toby & the entire experience, I came back from Montana a better fly-fisherman. Also, I met Dr. Ed from Bethlehem, PA out on the Lower Madison. Later last summer, we hit the Monocacy for some Trico action & wild browns. A life long memory & hopefully, another trip back were the result of this great trip.

#1 Bob's Big Boy
Some of us spend money on the latest, cutting edge fly-fishing gear, tie or buy the hottest new flies, or we work on technique, research & visit some of the most famous places to fish. Others simply let their line, leader, & fly do their thing without such bother. That would sum up Bob. Bob is laid back-he ought to be-he's 78 & retired ("The Porp"). 5 minutes after putting in on the Lower Madison below Bozeman, Montana, Bob got this pig: a 22" brown. He could have flown home after that & be satisfied after just 5 minutes on the water! Bob's flyline was in the water, just floating along. None of us were even paying attention to Bob's line. Toby glanced over & knowingly realized something was attached to the end of Bob's leader (and it wasn't just his fly!), told Bob to lift up, & BAM! There he was. Bob's amazing catch reminds me to keep it simple stupid!

Watergate or Whitewater??

Phillies Parade down Broad Street, near Porter St., South Philly

A lot has happened in the southeastern part of the state of PA since the last post. That's why I haven't gotten out more posts. In case you haven't heard, the Philadelphia Phillies are the 2008 World Champions of Baseball. This, as you probably know, doesn't happen around here all that often. If I'm not fly-fishing, I might either be at the ball-park, or watching, or listening to the Phightin' Phils, work schedule permitting, of course. So, between celebrating the Phil's win on Oct. 29th & going to the victory Parade on Halloween, I haven't gotten much bloggin' done. (Nor fishing, either!)

Well, to put us in the patriotic spirit of Election Day Eve, I was inspired by the raging flows on the Tobyhanna, below the dam in the previously mentioned undisclosed location of other sites. Wow! That sounds kinda like some political intrigue, no? Not to mention the dam gates lettin' loose at full throttle, into the already high, cold flows below. I thought, "Gee, 'Watergate.' " Then I looked at the pure white flows rushing down the dam into the Toby. Then I thought, "Hmm. 'Whitewater."? Whatever the political scandal name tag, one thing is for sure, I was standing in some deep water. I definitely lost some voters, aka, nice rainbow trout, which I originally managed to sway in my favor, as they nailed some Bow River style wooly bugger streamers & minnow patterns, but later elected to spit the fly. Those @#%& swing voters! Most of it was my fault. I tried to horse them in, rather than patiently work them. Not the best "campaign strategy" on my part! Other than the lone 'bow in the picture, which was a decent fish in its own right, I lost about 4 or 5 more, a landslide of sorts. Chazz was holding his own rally of sorts below, way downstream. He had no luck, but he had an extra day to campaign, so maybe Tuesday, he'd hit the trail early, hoping to get some last minute undecided trout to vote to eat his fly. (Ok, ok!! No more political allusions, alliterations, or puns, I promise!) For Monday, though, the water was not only too high, it was pretty cold. The temps were not horrible, but it was a bit overcast & rain soon followed. Time to get out the neoprene waders. A nice fire & some hearty soup that Chazz made awaited us at the cabin. This most likely will be the last time fishing this stretch until next spring, unless we have some mild winter days. Last week, Mother Nature dumped 13" of snow up in this region of the Poconos. Remnants of the white stuff were present all throughout, including down by the creek. And the cabin isn't really winterized. Probably be hitting some streams closer to home, especially the limestoners, from here on out. Time to order some hooks & get down to some winter fly-tying. Tight lines!

An Erie State of Mind

It's been a few weeks since my last post. The trip to Erie County & a cold I caught while there, plus getting back to business back here at home have kept me from getting the blog fired up again. This post & the next few will be my reflections on my "Erie Experience" of mid-October. I will include some other reports, as well.

Steelheading, I've come to learn, is not just fishing for steelies, but kind of an event, a mindset, even. Like many things, there is certainly a knack to it. Speaking strictly about technique, approach, etc., you need to get the knack down & understand the whole dynamic of presentation, water levels & temps, steelhead behavior, etc. Also, fishing in mid-October means you will definitely have company. Tons of anglers come from all over PA, & neighboring states to hit the tribs. While I did meet people from Reading, PA , York, PA & from Easton, PA & right over the Delaware in Philipsburg, NJ, & a few locals were out, too, overwhelmingly, the Pittsburgh & southwestern, PA Steelheaders were up in full force. I have to say, while crowds of other anglers aren't usually my favorite sight, these guys (& gals) were very friendly, helpful, encouraging, & overall, just good people. One guy, who had been fishing next to me, volunteered to walk the dark trail back through the woods on Elk Creek to the parking lot, when I told him I forgot my flashlight. He walked ahead of me with his headlamp, pointing out rocks, roots, fallen logs & other obstacles, as we talked steelhead & fishing in general. Other guys were encouraging when I told them my luck was pretty non-existent, telling me that it took them a long time to get the gist of this thing we call Steelheading. There were husband & wife teams, long time friends who were making what most likely was an annual event. There were whole families, and there were generations of grandfathers, fathers, & sons who found a way to enjoy their time by coming up for the steelie run. There were all sorts & classes of fishing being done: live bait, power-bait, lures, fly-fishing. Some people had more than one type of fishing outfit to up their chances. There were people who were staying in hotels or motels, like me, others who slept in their cars, & others who I swear slept in their lawn chairs on the wall at Elk Creek, with their radios & lights shining like small beacons in the misty evening. The steelies were there, sometimes taunting & tantalizing by jumping out of the stream with a violent splash. It's as if this whole deal was a game for them, trying to get the angler to cast to them, only to set a trap for the angler, as fly, lure, or baited hook would tangle on a submerged log or rock. Like the salmon run up in Pulaski, NY, or tailgating before a ballgame, steelheading is a whole different way of fishing, some would say, a way of life, although to me that might be a bit extreme! It is not for everybody. It's probably not even the best time to go. November is supposedly better. But, mid-October Steelheading is definitely an Erie thing, an "Erie State of Mind."

Autumn Solitude

I wanted to return to a spot I've only briefly fished twice. This is a picturesque little stretch of the Bushkill near Resica Falls, which is fly-fishing only. The first time I tried this spot, I was successful. It was mid-May & the trout were more than cooperative. About a month or so ago, Chaz & I went up, but we did not have much daylight left & we were forced to give up in the fading light.

This past Monday, I headed up there by myself to give the place another look. The water looked very promising. The surrounding foliage showed off its colorful best, & this fly-fisherman pensively took it all in. I hit the seams along the deep pools & back eddies that came flowing from some plunges & falls. I systematically fished the pocket water & runs moving upstream, but to no avail. If it weren't for a small brownie hitting a nymph on the swing below the plunge pool pictures above, I would have walked away skunked. But, it was one of those days that it was just good to be out. I had time to allow the mountain air, the sound of the rushing water, the fall colors to kind of get me a bit contemplative & thoughtful. I concluded, however, that this stretch was best fished in the spring after it is stocked. In some sense, it was the opposite of what would be coming in the week ahead in Erie. Rather than solitude, I'd be just one of the crowd of anglers trying their luck for a Lake Erie Steelhead on the tribs.

Lake Erie Region Steelhead Report

Sounds like the crowds have hit the Erie tribs. Reports of shoulder to shoulder conditions on Walnut, Elk, et al. are coming out of some local internet board posts. Fish are being caught, but not in any great numbers. The water conditions are very low & clear. Some guys are having success on the shorelines. The fish that are in the streams are very spooky due to the crowds & water conditions. To add to that, the weather report which I've been studying for weeks is a lot like watching the stock market these days: very unpredictable. Whereas a few days ago they were calling for rain for 2 days early next week, now only the possibility of a shower remains. What's more, the temps originally were forecast in the mid-50's to mid-60's. Now, we're talking near 80 degree temps Sunday thru Wednesday! I'll be heading up Sunday afternoon, good temps/conditions or not. Got my reservations for the Green Roof Inn in Girard, PA thru Thursday. Don't know what will come to pass, but it'll be an experience, to be sure!

Erie, PA Weather Report (AccuWeather.com)
Sunday 10/12 Get Details Go Hourly AccuPOP™ Warm with plenty of sunshine High 76 ° F / RF 76 ° F , RF Shade 73 ° F . Low 55 ° F / RF 54 ° F . Max. UV 3 .
Monday 10/13 Get Details Go Hourly AccuPOP™ Very warm with sunshine and some clouds High 77 ° F / RF 73 ° F , RF Shade 72 ° F . Low 58 ° F / RF 53 ° F . Max. UV 3 .
Tuesday 10/14 Get Details Go Hourly Turning cloudy High 68 ° F / RF 65 ° F , RF Shade 65 ° F . Low 55 ° F / RF 52 ° F . Max. UV 3 .
Wednesday 10/15 Get Details Go Hourly Periods of clouds and sunshine

Plan B

I didn't get out on the stream this week. We received some much needed rain here in PA, particularly in the eastern half of the state. From Philly, to Allentown, to the Poconos and on up into Scranton, we got a pretty good soaking. I had planned on hitting the Bushkill in Monroe County, but streamflows early Monday morning at Shoemakers (Monroe, Co.) showed 600+ cfs. I wasn't about to do a 2 hour trek if the creeks were high. So, I opted for "Plan B": make an 1 hr. 20 min. trek to the Cabelas in Hamburg. I was in need of some equipment & materials for the upcoming steelhead trip up in the Lake Erie area. I hope to head to the Bushkill next week, weather permitting, of course.

Lake Erie Region Steelhead Report

Conditions on the Lake Erie tribs haven't changed much. Some of the smaller tribs have nearly dried up, or are at least down to a trickle. On the larger tribs, like Walnut & Elk Creeks, the steelies remain in a holding pattern at the mouths of these creeks, waiting for that much needed rain to come in order for them to start the run. Nothing much happening south of Rt. 5. Lower evening temps have moved some of the steelies into the streams. Some nice fish have been taken at the wall at Walnut & at the access area on Elk. The shorelines of Trout Run & Godfrey Run are also reportedly producing some success. With sunny skies & no precipitation, the best bet is to hit the streams in the half-light of dawn & dusk. Current weather reports are calling for some rain & night temps in the 40's. An extended report is predicting some significant rainfall for the 11th of October. I may take advantage of that by heading up on the 12th & fishing until the 16th. More Steelie reports will be forthcoming. I look forward to posting my first ever Lake Erie steelhead trip in the upcoming weeks. Tight lines!