Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Localities


Pennsylania's finest...

It was a wet Spring filled with prolonged days of rain and ending with many nightly thunderstorms. Appropriately, a lot of my fishing was done with heavier rods, sinking lines, and a wide variety of articulated streamers. On most weekends, I found myself driving home to where I was born and raised. Over the years, several friends have been catching some amazing trout in waters I never ventured to nor explored in my high school days. From afar, I was curious and a little jealous. Being local, they were able to time everything right. With streamer fishing, timing can be everything. For a weekend warrior living a few hours away, I was never able to take advantage. This year, I finally did. Although I was able to catch some big trout and a few other species, I will be haunted by several big browns that got away. These fish viciously t-boned my flies before cartwheeling through the air and tossing the hook back at my face. Moments like those won't be forgotten and will surely keep me coming back for more...

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Three Year Anniversary


A little slice of heaven...

Time was of the essence as I left work to travel several hours into the heart of Pennsylvania. Reports suggested uncommon mayfly activity for this time of year and I was eager to arrive in time to catch the evening "hatch". This time of year, the march browns were out in full force but hendricksons, quill gordons, bwo's, and blue quills were still making an appearance. Reports also suggested that the first sulphurs were beginning to emerge producing a symphony of evening mayfly activity. With the car loaded down with camping and fishing gear, I decided to cram in one last item: a mountain bike. A secret weapon of sorts, I planned on riding my bike to a far flung hole and returning via headlamp. I arrived a little later than expected, unloaded my bike, threw on my waders, and rode down the gravel road and onto the trail. I didn't go as far as planned, but managed to find an opening at a productive hole. March browns littered the air but so did a lot of the other aforementioned mayflies. I settled on a size 12 mahogany spinner to produce a silhouette in the low light. With limited backcast room, I fished downstream at a tailout and managed four fish before dark. The ride back was pleasant. The cool Spring air chilled my face and the smell of old growth forest, campfires, and roasting meat put a huge smile on my face. I eagerly looked forward to Katie's arrival as well as a few friends the next day. A three year anniversary was at hand...

Tuesday, May 9, 2017

A Musky Session


On the home stretch...

The trials and tribulations of pursuing esox continued over the course of much of 2017. Our natural stubbornness with the pursuit brought Adam and I once again to our home river, which has produced scant results over the last four years. In that time frame, chance encounters with legitimate river monsters have made us unwilling to fish elsewhere. Joining us for this particular float was our friend Marko, all the way from Hamburg, Germany. A true esox aficionado, Marko's pursuit focuses on the pike filled waterways across the pond, but when he dreams at night, it is of the untamed and the out of reach. When Marko comes stateside, we typically take him out to play our game of meat bingo. He wants a musky on fly and for some reason enlists us, and our chosen waterway, to fulfill his dream. If and when it does go down, it will be well earned and probably quite large. 

The plans were too idealistic from the start and as musky fishing tends to do, it gave the three of us a healthy dose of reality. Adam and I arrived at the boat launch in the dark and launched with the sun peaking over the horizon. Marko would be meeting up with us downriver at the next launch where we would continue for nine miles. After a half hour of back eddy bombs and figure eights, a cold front came through and produced a flash storm. Heavy rain and upstream wind left Adam and I stuck in the river and unable to reach Marko. Soaked and quite cold in the May air, Marko met us at the exact location Adam and I put in a few hours earlier.

Amateurs...

Thankfully, the weather cleared and we were able to continue our float. The first action came off a log jam, where Marko's fly got slammed after one strip. After a quick inspection, the fly and leader revealed some damage, a sure fire sign of an esox encounter. Off the oars for the first time, I put on a Chocklett Mega Game Changer and moved a mid-forties fish with a two handed strip. I got have a follow in the first turn of the eight before the big female lost interest and slid away into the depths. In marginal water, Marko put on some big clousers and played with some smallmouth bass. Towards the end of the day, he was able to move a small ski in a deep eddy. The fish appeared out of nowhere and Marko stopped his fly cold. With the hackle dancing in the water, the ski gave it a curious look, before disappearing for good.

Three sightings, one half follow in the eight, and a few smallies equals a typical musky session on our end. 


Thursday, May 4, 2017

Training Wheels


A stunner...

After our inaugural float with the Stealthcraft Hooligan XL, we witnessed the potential of our home river from a radically different point of view. No longer were we tempted to drive an additional few hours to fish the Upper Delaware. In fact, we ended up fishing the Upper D zero times this Spring despite it being the main reason for obtaining the three person raft. The Lehigh proved too tempting to pass up and usually had no other people on it to compete for runs, pools, and rising fish. Our first float produced two stunning wild brown trout, one on a nymph and the other on a Quill Gordon comparadun. On this float, we broke out the streamer rods and Ryan drummed one up from the deep. The fish, whether a holdover or a wild brown, was absolutely stunning and was another reminder of the potential that the Lehigh holds...