Berks County Report

TULPEHOCKEN CREEK, READING, PA ~ June 14, 2011

Since Chaz is the only one fishing and giving reports lately, it may seem as if this fly-fishing blogger should hand over the reigns to him. The truth is I am in the midst of a move and almost a week away from being the proud owner of a Beagle pup. That said, fly-fishing has to take a backseat temporarily for me personally, but at least Chaz is keeping the blog going with his reports. Actually, I will be venturing into new waters, literally and figuratively speaking, on Thursday. I'll be hitting the Susquehanna River down near Havre-de-Grace, MD for some striper and smallie kayak action with Greg, a good friend and experienced kayaker. So, look for that report in days to come.

Meanwhile, Chaz took the trip up to the Tully on Sunday afternoon. He probably would have done well to save himself the trip, but at least it's something to report!

As he fished near the Paper Mill hole, Chaz had some luck (despite high flows) with a nymph tandem rig, sporting the tried and true pheasant tail/GR Hare's Ear. Chaz went small nymph (size 18 Pheasant Tail)/big nymph (size 14 GR Hare's Ear) to catch this feisty little brown.

Dam releases made things really annoying, with rising water pushing through lots of green junk and putting the water off-color. As I said, lots of travel and travail for just this little guy, but at least one of us is out on the water. Eventually, things got really unfishable and he headed home. Tight lines!

June Pocono & Lehigh/Pohopoco Report

POCONO REPORT~ TOBYHANNA CREEK June 12, 2011

With temps in SE PA hovering at the century mark this past week,

the only hope for some decent fly-fishing lay in a drop in temps and a change in location. With temps in the "chilly" mid-70's, Chaz headed up to the Blakeslee area of the Pocono Mts. to try his luck Friday and early Saturday. His decision paid off. With not much rain and higher temps, the water levels had lowered to good fishable flows and levels. While fishing at mid-day with bright sun shining might not have been the most optimal time to hit the stream, Chaz still had a bit of success with a dry/dropper tandem rig, with a 13" inch brown (pictured above) hitting the gray caddis dry (#16) in the pool pictured above. Later, lower down the same creek, a slightly larger brown hit the #18 Pheasant Tail nymph dropper.

LEHIGH RIVER/POHOPOCO CREEK REPORT June 12, 2011

With levels and flows astronomically high on the Lehigh for the weekend rafters, a good alternative was the Pohopoco Creek at Parryville, at the confluence with the Lehigh. Chaz caught this nice 16" brookie. This time, a nymph tandem rig of a GR Hares Ear and a Copper John were just what the doctor ordered. This brookie went after the size 18 Copper John, just upstream of the Rt. 248 bridge on the Po. Before trekking up there, though, he was able to land a 14" rainbow and soon after, hook and lose a larger rainbow. All went after the Copper John. By now, the Sulphur hatch has made it's apperance on these waterways. Try a yellow flymph, size 16 and 18 to start. Then, switch over to your favorite sulphur dry pattern in 16's and 18's. Be sure to be on the stream after 5 pm. Working from the confluence upstream to the Po, past the bridge is a good plan.

North Central PA Report

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!

Pocono Stream Report

Tobyhanna Creek, Pocono Mountains, PA May 13, 2011



Thanks to a break in some of the highest water levels recorded in recent memory and nice 60 to 70 degree weather, the Toby was finally at great fishing levels. Two of my "correspondents in the field" reported the first successes of the year in a private area of the Toby. Black beadhead Wooley Buggers (size 8) were the ticket earlier in the day.


One of the flyfihermen caught a nice rainbow (see photo below) on the first cast and added four more to the net using this tried and true pattern. Later in the day, caddis were starting to emerge, as well as some cahills. A cream colored mayfly dry in sizes 14 or 16 would cover the Cahill hatch. Emerger patterns and flymphs tied with cream and lemon wood duck feather fibers should be very productive.



As far as the caddis, a tan bodied Elk Hair Caddis in a size 16, or a tan LaFontaine emerging pupa pattern would be my suggestion. A tandem dry/dropper is always a good tactic up in the Pokies. Hare's Ear nymphs and pheasant tails also were successful, according to these two flyfishers.

12 fish caught and relaeased total, at least 4 or so that proverbially "got away."



Potter County, PA and "North Country"


Next week (May 23-27, 2011), two of us will be fishing the remote mountain streams of Potter County, PA. Like the rest of the state, this area has been inundated with rain. The Kettle Creek was (and still is) running a bit high right now. Haven't checked some of the other streams and rivers yet, but there's hope that by the time we arrive around early afternoon Monday, things will have settled down to good levels. Weather reports are looking pretty promising, too. We'll probably be there just short of seeing the Green and Brown Drake hatches, but some March Brown, Grey Fox, Cahills, caddis and the beginning of the sulphur hatch (maybe) will make for some productive hatch-matching and fishing. A full Potter County "Exclusive" will be forthcoming. Till then: Tight Lines!

MAY 2011 STREAM REPORT

Pocono Mountain Streams

The Pocono Mountain streams are abuzz with insect activity,as Hendricksons, March Browns & Caddis are hatching. Mornings & late afternoons are best times for hitting the water.

The Tobyhanna offered up this fine brookie to the right & others last Saturday. Best hits came on Flashback Pheasant tails & GR Hare's Ear nymphs, sizes 12 thru 16. Black Buggers with green pearlescent flashabou or mirror flash in sizes 4 thru 10 are always a productive pattern on the Toby. Caddis larvae & pupae sizes 14-16 in green, tan & olive are a good choice as well.

Try dries later in the day. Caddis, Hendricksons & March Brown dry patterns will fill the bill. Try a tandem dry/nymph rig at the beginning of a hatch, or a dry/emerger combo (dry/pupa pattern for caddis).

Fished a private part of the Swiftwater last week. Got this beautiful tiny brookie to the right. He nailed a size 14 Adams. Don't be afraid to improvise & try some attractor patterns on the less frequented streams, as well as the old tried & true flies.

SE PA Limestoners

Hit Valley Creek in Chester County with an old friend on Monday. First time I'd been there in quite a while. Stream looked to be in fine shape. Fish were rising to caddis, sometimes very enthusiastically, around mid-morning. Saw yellow craneflies, as well as a BWO, here & there. Got a few hits, didn't stick any, though. My friend Mike is a newbie to the fly-fishing madness. Got a few hits himself. Best times to hit are mornings by 8 AM and later afternoons. The Sulphurs will rule the stream come dusk any day now (if they haven't already)-hope to do some early evening fishing there real soon. Remember that in the beginning days of the Sulphur hatch to hit the stream around 4 or 5 PM. As the hatch progresses, they'll make their appearance at dusk (around 8 or 8:30PM). Riffly areas are where you want to be. Size 16's in a pale yellow are the order of the day. After a few weeks, try a size 18 or 20, with an orange-yellow (sometimes with a little olive thrown in) color. This is a smaller species of the sulphur that pretty much will last into the latter half of June. Tight Lines!

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!

"Po-pourri"

Not much to write this week. I made a quick run up to the Po to investigate the area near the dam release. Chaz had been up there over the weekend & intrigued me by what he saw. I rarely fish up in that spot. I think it's been a few years since I bothered. I know there are some real good fish in that deep water, some are actually real big. Chaz was trying to figure out how best to approach that spot in front of the dam release. He even mentioned using a float tube & anchoring himself in front! I have to admit, when he first told me that idea, I wanted to laugh. But, after spending some time up there yesterday, he may be on to something. Hooked up a few, caught a small brownie, saw a brookie with nice color follow my fly almost to my feet, but got spooked at the last minute. Not much to write home about. I should have headed to the Monocacy for some trico action, but the investigation was not a waste of time either.

Lake Erie Tribs Steelhead Report
I've been keeping my eye on some local posts in the Lake Erie area. Like the rest of us here in the Mid-Atlantic region, and certainly PA, we are in dire need of rain. According to Accu-Weather's 15 day forecast, the next time they're calling for rain in that area is Oct. 1st. After that, up until the 7th, although the temps will drop, it's sunny skies. The steelies need rain to begin making their run up into the tribs. Right now, according to the locals, the steelies are holding at the creek mouths near the Lake. The water in the tribs is way too low & clear.
While some of these guys have reported some success, it looks like things will not be picking up until that rain comes.
I am planning to head up in mid-October. I'm praying for rain & that things will be timed just right so that I can hit the tribs when there's water & fish in them. I'll be posting more steelhead reports for the PA Erie tribs in future posts. Tight lines!

Not Too Dam Bad!

Po brownie

Dam nice 'bow!

Did you ever experience "deja vu"? You know, that sneaking suspicion that you've been somewhere before, or met someone before, or had the same experience, but cannot actually recall the actual experience? Ok, ok-maybe Monday wasn't exactly a deja vu deal. Just thought it sounded like a good lead into this blog post. What was the same: Chaz & I were back up fishing in the Poconos, in the same creek, same spot as last week. And yes, those big 'bows were still in the deep plunge pool below the dam breastworks. We had modest success. We changed tactics a bit, and maybe here is where all similarities end. Plus, I actually remember being there last week...and I didn't forget the beer this time on the way up to the cabin...and at least I remembered to call Chaz to pick up creamer for the coffee. So, again, maybe not exactly deja vu. In fact, there was some big differences.

First off, as I alluded to, we changed up tactics. There was more water being let out of the dam this week, too. We used removable sink tips, with some weight added. We went with the caddis larva pattern again in both tan & olive varieties. We were thus able to get down deep. I almost immediately hooked into a real nice 'bow as I demonstrated the proper drift to Chaz. He thought I was showing off, but really, I think I might have just gotten lucky. Plus just as I was bringing this guy to net, he freed himself from the hook. But what a nice fish! And (probably to Chaz's glee), I was not able to pull another one out of that spot the rest of the morning.

Chaz has been working on his nymphing techniques & really got some nice drifts through the runs below the plunge pools & breastworks. I think we are witnessing a true nymph fisherman develop right before our eyes. Yikes! God help us! Anyway, a smaller, narrow pool adjacent to the big concrete one I was fishing is filled with gushing water from the lake through a single opening. I'd been eyeing that place up since last week. It is deep & quite capable of holding some of those big trout. Chaz had been working that spot for some time. He hooked into, but lost, a decent fish. Later, he pulled in a couple of sunnies, and then moved downstream between the concrete bridge abutments that I have mentioned in other posts. He had mentioned that something big had gone after one of the sunnies as he brought it to surface. No doubt, one of those big trout. As Chaz worked the abutment run, I changed over to a minnow streamer pattern & went to work in that narrower dam pool.

I still had the sink-tip & the split-shot on, but I shortened up the leader a bit & converted over to a 2X tippet for the streamer. I switched to a streamer because Chaz got a reaction from something big when he brought in that sunny. Those bruisers might just want some type of bait fish, which the minnow pattern imitates well. A few short tuck casts right up the gut, with quick strips to keep pace with the current turned up nothing. I quartered a tuck cast up into the current seam to get a good drift. I was not imparting any kind of retrieve here, just letting it drift deep down. Before the fly got across from me, a heavy rainbow banged that streamer hard. He put up a nice fight, & before long, a nice, hefty 'bow was in my net, thanks to Chaz, who netted him for me. The spot in which I was standing was a bit precarious: just a ledge jutting out from a retaining wall that separated the narrow pool from the big one. So, maneuverability was almost nil here. After that, we took the rest of the afternoon off, till around 4:30.

The late afternoon/early evening saw us at the junction of the Po & the Lehigh River, near Parryville. Chaz worked the Lehigh in the riffs below where the Po enters the river. I worked a pool & some short runs just upstream in the Po. I saw a few bugs coming off & thought maybe a rusty spinner might work, but first, I went with a cahill-looking pattern dry fly. It was the only thing I had to match the size (#12 or #14) bugs I had seen, even though the color was different. Plus, it really was not a match the hatch situation anyway. It could even match a tan caddis if any were around lately. I threw a few casts up into the current, got a few good drifts, and then, "Bam!" a nice 12" or 13" brown nailed it. It was the last fish either of us caught. As the light started to fade, we called it quits. After all, fly-fishers can be Eagles fans, too & the Birds were playing their arch-enemies: the hated Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football (Hey, I'm from Philly-whaddya expect??). Some baetis, sizes 22/24 were rising in the fading light, as were some tan caddis, sizes 12/14 (go figure!).

Even though we really had to work harder for the fish this week, it wasn't too "dam" bad after all!!

Pocono Report

Chaz & I hit some Pocono streams on Monday. We did well on a private section of the Tobyhanna, which we both fished back in early July (see July 29 post). Chaz hit some pocket water downstream from a dam. After a few creek chubbs & panfish, he was rewarded with a nice rainbow, who couldn't resist a dry-fly gliding through the pockets & swirling currents of this stream. It may very well be his first really nice trout on a dry, but I could be wrong. I knew he must have been fishing pretty hard, because I saw neither hide nor hair of him for several hours. I was hoping that that was a sign that he was busy catching fish! Meanwhile, I was investigating a section where we had done very well last time. It is a run between two old bridge abutments, the remaining ruins of the original dam. The water was a bit lower than it had been, as was expected, but not significantly so. Chaz had fished this section only a week or so before with his dad & said it wasn't as productive as it had been. I wondered if the fish had moved up nearer to the dam, or into the man-made plunge pool below the dam. I tied on a tandem nymph & indicator rig, getting some drifts through the run. A somewhat large creek chubb & some small panfish obliged me, but nothing more. I headed upstream & began fishing the deep concrete plunge pool below the dam, and was I immediately rewarded with a hefty rainbow. "Aha!", I thought. "So they really were in there, after all." I was able to land five nice rainbows, 2 of which were in the 16"-18" range, as well as three in the 13"-14" range. All had nice color & girth to them. A few more may have been bigger still, breaking off my tippet at the fly. So, they have a souvenir from our battle! I needed to change tactics here, though, due to the sheer depth of the pool. First off, the tandem rig & the indicator had to be dispensed with. The first fish (which nailed the tail fly) unfortunately got foul hooked on the dropper fly. Also, the indicator became a hindrance, because it prevented me from reeling in more line to land the fish, although I did actually land it. The tactic was simple: putting more weight on the leader, casting a tuck cast straight up into the current, in or below the white water, or quartering upstream into the seam, followed by a quick mend, & following the leader with the rod tip for the rest of the drift. The key here was getting that fly down deep. I experimented & found that when I did not get it down deep, I almost never got strikes, but when I did, I almost always did. Also, lifting the rod as it finished the drift was key in getting strikes, at times.

A better method would be to use a sinking line in this section, or at least a sink-tip, which I did not have with me at the time. This would have certainly ensured that the fly got down consistently to the bottom & thus, to the trout below. I believe that there were some big brownies down there, too (they were in the creek in July), but I did not catch any. Maybe one of those bruisers that broke off my fly were one of those big guys. Also, the fly of choice was a caddis larva pattern in olive or tan. Those trout slammed that fly with abandon.

Part 2 of the day began too late & ended too early, thanks to Yours Truly. We wanted to hit the Big Bushkill up near Resica Falls. I fished this stream in early May. This area is stocked in the spring & it is open to the public, but only fly-fishing is permitted here. I had some good success here & this was a challenging place to fish, as well. But, the memory is starting to fade in the Chief-man. On the way, I drove up the wrong road, with Chaz following me. I'm glad he's a patient guy, because we had to do some major backtracking before we got back to the correct road. Finally, we arrived at the stream, but the sun was sinking fast. Again, like the Toby, this stream had less water, but that was to be expected. Chaz wanted to use a nymphing/indicator rig, I was going with a rusty spinner dry-fly setup. Lots of boulders here. When you arrive in this spot, you are standing on the top of one of several large, flat boulders. From here, you can make your casts into the current below. Below in the stream, there is a flume, through which some nice, cold oxygenated water flows. Below the flume, the current flows into a wide, calm section of the stream. A large boulder juts up in the middle of the stream. This area is very deep & has tons of submerged rocks & boulders, which prevents wading. This part of the stream almost appears as a mini-lake within the stream. It is almost perfectly round here & the banks are all formed by rock. The only way to fish in this immediate area (besides fishing from the flat boulders above) is to climb down to some smaller rocks & boulders below & try to cast up into the current seam, which meanders its way down, around the big boulder in the middle. It's a bit tricky here, because you cannot wade closer & some trees behind will grab your fly if you are not cautious on your back cast. In the spring, I saw rises all throughout this area, tan caddis being the fly of choice. The stream funnels its way slowly downstream, as the large "pot-belly" shaped lake-within-a-creek gives way to the classic, mountain stream once again. Downstream, some more boulders & pocket water & some small falls.

Although we didn't land any fish, we saw a few splashy rises near an undercut in a boulder that serves as part as the stream bank across from us. That makes sense, because the water eddies around in that spot, delivering food like a revolving smorgasbord. And you have all that oxygenated water from the flume above. If I were a trout, I'd hang out there, too.

Upstream of the flume section, you have plenty of promising, boulder-strewn, classic-mountain pocket water. We ran out of light, and couldn't see the tippet anymore when we tried to tie on a new fly, so we left this spot for another day. I'm thinking that with a bit more rain, and some cooler fall temps, this spot might be worth checking out again in the near future.

The Po Revisited

Click on chart to view

My buddy Charlie (aka, "Chaz") & I were back again in the Mahoning Valley, checking out different places on the Pohopoco Creek on Labor Day. We fished a small section not far from Gilbert, PA, but didn't have too much luck. Another spot a few miles down the road seemed very promising: a good number of decent sized trout lurking in the shadows of one hole convinced us both that finally, we had found the "honey hole." These shadowy figures were put on edge a bit as Chaz did his best to slip into the water & work a drift through the hole. His position was good; he was out of sight under a tree. He had a tandem rig of a deer hair caddis with a small beadhead nymph trailer that he cast slightly upstream, trying to get a good drift. I served as spotter from above at the bridge & tried to get him to get the right presentation, as he had done for me earlier. Suddenly, Chaz noticed a posted sign, & we got out of there.

The next spot was an area near Rt. 209, right off of Pohopoco Road, that rumbles its way down along Rt. 209, on its way towards the Lehigh River. Good nymphing water, the water was at optimal temps (52 degrees), running too high & too fast, due to a dam release from Beltzville Lake. Not quite sure why. For more on this, check out "Fly Fish PA" link & look at Stream report dated September 2. I will definitely check out this spot again. The hole at the junction with the Lehigh looked pretty good, but it was midday-not a good time to wet a line. At least our research was completed.

All in all, a better day fishing than catching.

The "Po Boys" Cometh

"The Po" Little Po rainbow fingerling

My friend Charlie & I were like men on a mission this past Monday, as we hit the Pohopoco (pronounced: "po-ho-PO-co") Creek near the Beltzville Lake. The "Po", as it is affectionately known to many anglers, is a very unique fishery. Flowing out of Pohopoco Mountain in Monroe County, PA, the Po winds its way southwest through the Mahoning Valley, through various hamlets like Kresgeville, Trachsville, etc. near Rt. 209 before flowing into the Beltzville Lake. The Po in this section is a wild trout stream, often rated as a Class A Wild Trout Stream by the PAF&BC & is home to some beautiful wild browns. From what I hear, 12"-14" is a common size, though I've heard larger trout inhabit the Po, as well. My experience fishing this section is quite limited. A popular spot on the Po is below the Beltzville dam, which gushes a good deal of cold water into the stream & maintains it's temps in the 50's all through the summer months, no matter how hot the air temps may be. This stretch is stocked at least twice in-season. This is where Charlie & I began our day. Charlie, despite having seen this stream many times, had never fished it. We arrived around 8AM & had the place to ourselves pretty much all morning! We fished through some light rains that passed through on several occasions during the course of the morning. The Po did not disappoint with plenty of surface activity, though we couldn't see what the fish were rising to. I had fished this section many times & I knew that lots of midges were present on this stream. I suggested to Charlie that a size 22 or 24 Griffith's Gnat might be the fly of choice. I am not often right about much of anything, but thankfully, I was this time. Charlie & I quickly got into these trout. What we caught were tiny fingerling rainbows, brookies, & browns, likely stocked in the spring or sometime during the summer. They were fun, but after a while, we wanted to see if we could hook into something a bit bigger. Having no luck catching anything but these baby trout, we said goodbye to this area & went out on a search for new waters.
I had heard that the area above the lake, that is, where the stream enters the lake, is pretty good water. Charlie & I went out looking for it. Many of the sections we encountered, unfortunately, were posted. We wound up fishing a bridge pool near the Shell gas station on Rt. 209 (which is below where we had fished in the AM). We saw plenty of trout holding in the pool & thankfully, most were normal sized, certainly bigger than the 3"-6" variety we caught earlier. I knew that this mid-day attempt would probably be an exercise in futility, & I was once again on target. We tried nymphs, streamers stripped hard, & even a few dry flies before giving up for an afternoon rest, which never saw us get back out onto the stream again that day.
The Po flows from the dam, down along Rt. 209, before crossing over & down beneath Rt. 248, before meeting the Lehigh River. I have fished the Po at its junction with the Lehigh. I have also fished upstream from there, up past the 248 bridge, close to the village of Parryville, PA. This is a section that I enjoy fishing. I have done particularly well there in the evening during a nice Sulphur hatch a few years ago. This past spring, I caught a few nice browns during a hatch of small Blue Winged Olives. On both occasions & others, the fish were in the 14" range.
But, one of my goals this year was to fish places I have never fished before, hitting some new waters & gaining new experiences. Part of Monday was for Charlie & I a wild goose chase, searching, backtracking, & eventually getting disappointed when we encountered posted land, or water that was not productive. But, despite all of this, I think it was well worth it. Did you ever drive on a road you've never driven before, just to see where it will take you? Part of the fly-fishing learning curve, I guess, isn't always about bettering one's skills with a fly rod, or having success in catching fish. Part of the learning curve is discovering new waters, trying new spots, finding out where one can fish. This involves research & going out looking for different spots. Knowledge of a stream comes from experience & fishing new spots. As the old saying goes, "You live & learn." There are sections of the Po (and other rivers, too) that I have now seen, have found were not posted, & looked to be very "fishy" spots, but I have yet to fish them. Time will tell whether they are good stretches or not, but that's why we go out: it might sound corny to say it's an adventure, but in a certain sense, isn't it? Isn't there a part of our fly-fishing psyche that looks to find new waters, to be on an adventure? We make a mental note of a particular hole, or run, or a section that catches our eye from the road & we tell ourselves that this looks like good water. We are careful about what we say about it & with whom we talk about it. It's like a secret place that we want to go to & discover, even though in reality, it may be a very popular, well fished area. Maybe it's still a good hole, maybe it's not. Others may have been able to tell us, "Don't waste your time on that stretch." But how will we know for sure? The experience of trying the new waters for ourselves is what keeps us going sometimes. If it turns out to be a "honey hole", great. If not, well, at least we know. I am grateful that I have been introduced to by others & have discovered on my own, some new waters this past summer. Sometimes, like the Po, the creek/river is not new, but some parts of it are. Others are completely new & beg for more exploring. It's that unknown element that keeps us coming back.

Trico Time - Lehigh Valley Style

I had the pleasure of fishing the Monocacy Creek up in Bethlehem,
PA with Ed Hart yesterday. Ed is a podiatrist from Bethlehem & knows the Monacacy like the back of his hand-or the back of his foot? I met Ed & his son, also named Ed, out on the Madison River in Montana in June. Not only was Ed from Southeastern PA, but grew up in the Olney section of Philly. He couldn't get over meeting someone else with an Olney connection all the way out in Montana, nor could we. Ed was also nice enough to leave us his park pass to Yellowstone National Park with the hotel concierge before leaving Big Sky Country (lots fly-fishing guys in the same hotel!). Anyway, we planned to get in touch over the summer & get together for some fly-fishing in the Lehigh Valley. Ed's pride & joy is the Monocacy Creek. You could see how excited he was as we approached the stream, happy to show me some of the best spots he knows. I had only fished the Monocacy once before: last spring. I didn't have too much success there, either. This stream is by no means any secret. It is well known & well fished by locals & even non-locals. The Monocacy is a Lehigh Valley limestone stream that maintains its temps around the 50's pretty much year round. It boasts a very healthy & diverse environment for trout. Although the stream is stocked a few times a year, it is able to sustain a viable wild trout population & is designated with a Class A Wild trout distinction by the PAF&BC. A recent biology study conducted by the PAF&BC showed very good results & a nice trout poulation. This will be available in full soon on the PAF&BC website. As for the fishing, we arrived on the stream a little after 6AM. Ed put me in a spot he told me would really come to life during the spinner fall. He assured me that all the water from there upstream past a concrete bridge was some of his favorite water. He fished downstream past another bridge.
I worked my way upstream with some nymphs. It was a cool morning for August, high 50's. The Trikes were probably affected by this & we did not see them doing their mating flight until maybe 8AM or so. Needless to say, the fishing started out a bit slow. I worked my way upstream methodically using a small baetis nymph, getting short drifts, quartering upstream & drifting down, or straight across towards the banks. By 8:30, the Tricos were swarming up in the air pretty good. I changed up my tactics & my leader a bit & tied on a parachute style Trico that Ed had supplied me with earlier. I started to fish a bit upstream when Ed returned. He told me he had no luck down below, but said there were a lot of bugs in the air where I first started. I cast the little parachute trike upstream & was rewarded with a nice little brown, who unhooked himself just as I was about to pick him up & before Ed could get a photo.
We took a break & Ed showed me some good spots upstream, which were presently occupied by some old-timers, who said they hadn't had any luck. We went back down below to where I started the morning & tons of trikes were dancing in the air.
After a little while, Ed bid me farewell & I continued to fish. Already we had begun to see a few rises. It was just after 9AM. Not long after the water began to come alive with rises & with fishermen. The two old-timers had made their way downstream to just above where I was standing. After a real bad hangup, which included some leader rebuilding & tying on yet another trico fly, one of the old guys asked if he could pass by & fish below me. I told him sure & I got back to work. I tried the female pattern with a cream-olive abdomen. Although I had a few hits & near hook ups, I didn't do nearly as well as I did with the smaller black pattern with white poly wings that represents the male trico. Two fish were rising petty consistently about 30 feet upstream. An old guy in a straw hat had tried but failed to coax these feeding fish. After a few casts, I hooked & released one of those nice little brownies. Rises were appearing all over the surface. I tried to hit these different spots where I saw rising fish, even in some shaded spots near the bank in front of me, but no cigar. Those rises upstream kept up, so I put a few more casts in the seam just to the right of where I caught the other one. I got a few good drifts & once again, a tough little brownie nailed the fly. All three fish had beautiful color & markings. When I turned, I saw that the other guys had left. I don't think that they had caught anything. I guess I should consider myself lucky that I had the success I did. Sometimes good things come in small packages!

August Update

So far, August has been mild around here in PA. This is certainly a welcome boon for flyfishers. Cooler air & water temps means less stress on the trout & more comfort for the flyfisher. On Monday, I fished a small private pond with some friends in the mountains of Northeastern PA. Weather was unstable with rain, sometimes heavy, coming & going. Headed out early for the pond. With the mist still obscuring most of the water's surface, I lined up, made some leader adjustments, & tied on a hair bass popper. Hooked & landed 6 largemouths, 2 of which were pretty nice sized fish. Lost a few, one freed himself by pulling my leader under a sunken log. Each struck violently at the popper or diver pattern & fought nicely. Fished till about 9AM. Returned around 10:30 with my friends. Got a spunky little sunny, but nothing more. Very slow. Of course, it was near mid-day-not the greatest time to be out. I tried sink-tips & regular floating line rigs with zonkers, buggers, bow river style zuddlers, floating line with poppers & dahlberg style divers. Nothing doing. But, it was just good to have a fly-rod in my hand for the 1st time in 3 weeks! Last cast around 6:30PM. Got a small largemouth on a popper. At least I ended on a positive note. Next week, I'll explore the Trico hatch somewhere in the Lehigh Valley. Hopefully, the weather will still be cooler as it is now. Tight Lines!!