PA vs. DE

After four years of college at the University of Delaware, I graduated. Returning home I spent the summer fishing my favorite home waters with my fingers crossed for an interview. It never came. What came was an offer to teach back in Delaware at a relatively brand new school, so I jumped at the chance and I am extremely excited about it. So I moved back down to Delaware and officially have my own little flat back near my old stomping grounds at UD. Im glad to be in the area but the fishing isn't so great. I am missing the home waters. BIG TIME.

I Miss My Dogs Too.

So I moved to Delaware to teach and my brother moved from Baltimore to the Caribbean to teach. Adam remains in Pennsylvania. This River Is Wild is going to get pretty diversified over the next year. As for me, I need to find some alternative forms of fly fishing. I spent the majority of the day google earthing nearby lakes and ponds hoping to find some golden bones but my day long adventure produced nothing. I ended up heading to one of the nicest streams in Delaware: White Clay Creek. It got me thinking about my home water again so here is a comparison of the quarry and environment.

Pennsylvania: Limestone & Freestone Streams full of native and stocked trout.

Appalachia.

Stocked Brown.

The Bugs.

Wild Brown Stimulator (Adam).

Skinny Water Browns.

Aquashicola Rainbow.

Aquashicola Native.

Delaware: Sandy, Muddy, and Somewhat Freestone Streams full of fallfish, small smallmouth, sunfish and the occasional stocked trout who survived the summer.

Small Smallmouth.

Voracious Sunfish.

Freshly Caught Rope Swing That Went Along With The Homeless Women I Almost Stepped On Hopping Over a Fallen Tree.

Delaware Chubs Fight Hard.

And Are Plentiful.

Delaware Deer.

Heading Back Thinking About All The New Water That Lies Ahead & The Fall Stripers, Steelhead, and Browns That Await.

First week back from school...

Once my semester came to a long deserved close I had to explore a few bodies of water on the home front in order to kick off my last ever summer vacation. My first stop was Indian Creek, followed by the Lehigh River bordering the Walnutport Canal.

Got to Love Wild Fish

Beautiful Wild Brown

The River was super high and off colored so I opted for my 8wt. and geared up with a lead-head and a box of streamers.

This Brown slammed my black bugger on the swing, it hit and fought so hard I thought it was a smallmouth. After a few powerful runs I managed to get the fish within a reasonable distance to lip it (still thinking its a nice smallmouth). Once I got a glimpse of it in the turbid water, I promptly located my net on my back and went for the scoop.

Average Smallmouth

Small But Mighty

As a walked down the Canal path I took a few casts and was rewarded as well...

Slab

Crumby Shot

Hello Summer...

8 Shooter.

Adam and I hit up the White Clay creek system this past weekend and caught eight different species. With high water and low visibility we threw streamers for two days but were able to transition to dries and nymphs as the water cleared on the second day. All told we caught browns, rainbows, fall fish, smallmouth, rock bass, pumpkinseed sunfish, suckers, and a snapping turtle. The snapper was sight fished to and attacked an olive woolly bugger twitched along the bottom.

Small Hook Jaw.

White Clay Scenery.

Fall Fish or "CHUB"

Cream Cahill

Black Tipped Rock Bass.

Log Jams = Big Fish

More White Clay Scenery.

Slaying Fish In Clearing Water.

Bow out of a Root Ball.

Possible Native.

Snapping Turtle Coming To Hand.

Blue or Red Quill?

This Bow has a Purple Marabou Comb Over.

Black Woolly Buggers = Success

Smallmouth Fight Hard.

Blue or Red Quill?