The sun was bright and unobstructed on the blue bird day, no clouds to speak of meant a stealthy approach was going to be key.  As I made my way up the stream I realized that the amount of fish I may catch could be a low number, man these fish were being picky.  I guess that’s what makes fly fishing so much damn fun.  Pattern after pattern, I was unable to find that real producer of the day.  I continued on my way picking up a fish on this fly, a fish on that fly, and working really hard to get them to take my offerings.  Confused I kept trying various patterns til I stumbled onto the “hot” fly of the day, the Caddis!

     So, I had thought about trying a caddis emerger/pupa at the beginning of the day, but for some reason strayed away from it.  Well let me tell you, better late than not at all!  I absolutely started to pick fish up left and right with this fly!  It was a size #16 cream caddis emerger trailing behind a size #18 beadhead pheasant tail and I was having a blast. 

     It always leaves me baffled how some days these fish will give you good times to well placed and presented flies and other days they want something special.  Today it was a caddis that stole the show.  I was catching some really nice fish when I arrived to a nice turbulent run that was sure to hold some trout.  After a few cast I hooked my biggest fish of the day, a nice 22″ rainbow with beautiful colors showing off  his broad sides.  This fish managed to escape me before I could steal a photo, but I took a mental image! 

     I continued to fish and came upon a great looking section of stream.  I approached it with caution since the sun was now high and bright and it paid off.  Wow, what a great little riffle I came across.  I caught upwards of a dozen fish in this one riffle alone and several nice browns cooperated perfectly.  This one specific brown was about 17″ and had some shoulders to him that made for a great fight on my 5 weight.  After releasing this bruiser I opted to try a few more drifts and call it a day.

     Today was a learning experience for me, as is everyday with the fly rod, but today the fish were very choosy in their feeding habits.  I did catch fish on about 5 different flies today, but the caddis saved the day.  If I wouldn’t have stumbled onto the caddis it still would’ve been a good day, but it made it a great day that will be stuck upstairs for awhile. 

     Basically what I learned today is that no matter what you think, the trout are usually thinking the opposite.  Most days on the water are always a plus, but when it all clicks, that’s what makes it magical.  Those of you that are hardcore fly fisherman know what I’m talking about, those that don’t, just trust me!!!

     And as for now and always, ” Tight Lines”

     Rusty Foreman

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     Well I started my day of fishing about 10:00 am.  I figured it wouldn’t hurt to let the temps rise a little bit to get the trout active.  The water temperature was about 42 and the trout would probably be willing to give me a good time.  Now, given the time of year, I had to fish slow and not get to quick on the hook sets.  I decided to tie on a size 18 caddis larva with a few split shot and I was ready.  The trout were hitting softly and were just a little sluggish, but I was up for the challenge.  I was really fishing the water thoroughly with a few takes.  Finally one of the subtle takes rewarded me with a beautiful trout that gave a valiant fight.  I moved on, picking up a few more trout as I was heading up stream.  This was turning out to be a pretty good day, and I was enjoying it.

     Like I said, I was fishing a larva below the surface and picking up some fish, the other four fisherman I seen were all fishing dries.  Needless to say, I didn’t see any of them land a fish.  I did talk to one fellow and we had a conversation on how difficult the stream was fishing.  I shared some information about my rig and he was soon to change his set up.  I carried on and found some really nice water that I had all to myself, that’s one good thing about Winter fly fishing. 

     I started thinking about changing my set up to maybe a pheasant tail or hare’s ear, but thought why mess with what’s working.  A few more effortless cast and a nice drift and bang.  I raised the rod, the line got tight and the fight was on.  I could see this trout easily, it was thrashing about showing off his beautiful colors.  When I did get my hands on him I was really excited about the colors of this fish.  This brown trout had the colors of gold from head to tail and was about 14 inches.  Not the biggest fish, but one of the prettiest I’ve caught in a while.  After releasing the brown I fished a little longer and called it a day.

     It just goes to show you that winter fishing is a great way to get your fly fishing fix.  The fish have to eat, so why not fool them with a caddis larva.  I had a great day on the water and will hopefully have many more before springs among us.  Remember, in the winter, take your time with these fish.  They may not be as chipper as we like, but they will still bring you joy if you slow it down.  Subtle takes are just as rewarding when you bring the fish to the net, at least I think so!!!

     And as for now and always “Tight Lines”

     Rusty

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     I’ve been going to Potter county fly fishing for about 10 years now.  In this period of time my buddy Philip and myself had a lot of great trips.  The fishing is usually spectacular, but sometimes you hit that weekend that things just don’t click.  When one of these weekends hit, you can either fish til your arm falls off with little success or sit around your campfire telling stories about the great weekends in the past. 

     My last trip to our northern county was a great time.  Philip couldn’t make this trip, he was swamped at work, but my buddy John and I loaded his camper and set out for a weekend of trout, beer and of course “good times.”  We arrived at our destination ready to set up camp and hit the stream.  Our anticipation of the catch had us excited and ready.  After the camper was set up we headed out on our first evening.  Not much fishing was done that first evening, but some slight exploring showed us that we were gonna have some company on the stream the following morning.

     Now, back at the camp, we found some supper to cook on the fire and a few cans of that golden nectar.  The next several hours went by with many stories of past trips and just being in the wilderness by a warm fire, cold beer in hand.  John and myself were soon going to bed so that the trout wouldn’t have a chance the next morning.  Boy were we wrong.

     The morning proved to be super tough fishing with crowds of people in all the easily accessible areas.  We hiked up the stream a good piece and found some open water, but soon realized why it was open water.  Not a lot of activity in the catching department, although John did catch 2 really nice brookies.  A little more exploring and fishing and we called it a morning.  We arrived back at camp and had a much needed lunch and some more of Johns fresh ground coffee.  I’m telling you what, I’ve had some good coffee before, but my god was this coffee good.  Couldn’t wait til the next morning to have some more.

     That evening was pretty much the same as the morning, but our expectations were still high.  The next morning we went over the mountain to a camp owned by John’s relatives.  We hung around camp for a while shooting the breeze before we hit the water.  This was some really nice water we were fishing, with some unusually low numbers of fish brought to the net.  We tried everything, fished deep, fished on top, and fished hard with just a couple trout to show for it.  Decided to call it a day and head back to camp for a few coldies and some supper.  Log after log the night grew late telling stories and having a few beers.  Off to bed, had to try again in the morning.  You didn’t think a few slow days would make us quit did you?

     The next couple days passed with the same results.  We fished hard and only caught a handful of trout in our 4 day outing.  That doesn’t mean we didn’t have a blast.  This was a great trip, just goes to show you that fisherman don’t have to catch a bunch of fish to have a good time, although it helps.  We had a great 4 days, couldn’t have asked for much more.

     Trout- beautiful fish that call Pennsylvania home and have been fooling anglers for years.

     Beer- the drink most outdoorsman and women, enjoy by the fire after a tough day in the wilderness.

     Good Times- See text above and pictures below!!!

     And as for now and always, Tight Lines!

     Rusty

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     My fishing companion and myself live for fly fishing.  Fly fishing for trout is a normal with the two us, but when the steelhead run, we seem to get a little more excited at the idea of landing monster trout in big numbers.  We have tried several different areas and went on several different journeys with mixed results.  This year we thought if we could hike farther then normal, which is usually a good jont anyway, we could find a little more solitude.  Nothing left to do now, but go fishing!

     This fall we decided on an area in New York that we had never fished before, but were willing to try something different.  Normally we go to Northwestern Pennsylvania for these steelhead, along with thousands of others.  Knowing that the river we were going to fish was a demanding hike into good fishable water, we went prepared and ready for anything. 

     Upon arrival into New York, the skies were beautiful and the breeze subtle, great fly fishing conditions, so we hoped.  Armed with nothing but our 9 foot 6 weight rods and some beef jerky and Gatorade to keep us going, we started our journey into what we soon realized was greatness.  After the 2 mile hike was over, we started fishing, and it was hard to concentrate.  The unbelievable valley was a sight that I won’t soon forget.  The 250 foot canyon walls and the color of the fall leaves made a unforgettable vista.

     The fishing stared out a little slow.  We fished some very nice water with no results and were starting to get a little worried.  I kept thinking that I drove to New York to get skunked, but was very optimistic that some steel would reach the net.  We kept fishing and moving up river until we found a great area that had several steelhead jumping the falls and shooting upstream.  This was pretty amazing to watch.  These fish are just so powerful and make it all look so easy.  The one thing that wasn’t easy was the hooking of fish, but that was gonna soon change.

     The river we fished was super cluody with about 15 inches of visibility, which meant slow presentation was gonna be a big factor in the fish finding the fly.  It was now about noon and no fish had rewarded us yet, but as soon as the clock hit 12:00, the magic started to happen.  The first fish that I hooked was and absolute monster that proceeded to break me off after a 10 minute battle.  Wow, these fish are strong.  I think these fish fought twice as hard as the steelhead in Erie, which we’ve caught several times.  Not long after I lost that first fish, Philip hooked into an acrobatic slab of steel that was just amazingly strong and colorful.  When I finally netted it for him we were so excited and ready for more.  This first fish was probably 24 inches and about 8 pounds. Simply amazing fish.

     The fishing started 2 get better and better as the day went on.  We hooked several others that out witted our fighting abilities until a huge female steelhead took my egg pattern and the fight was on.  I just couldn’t believe the power these fish had and the strong water current gave them the upper hand.  This fish was ripping line of my reel so fast, which was music to my ears.  The battle went on for what seem like forever until I finally became the victor and was rewarded a huge fish.  Philip had trouble netting the fish because it wouldn’t fit in our inadequate net.  He landed it for me with his hands and we admired this LOG for a bit before releasing her back into the depths of the river.  She was the biggest steelhead I ever landed, it was 33 inches and 16 pounds, what a fish.

     Well I was still excited about the last fish I had caught when Philip hooked another nice fish.  It’s hard to talk about all these fish in depth because they are all big fish and we hooked so many of them.  I would say on average these fish were 8 to 10 pound and we landed about 15 of them.  If I had to guess I would say you land about one out of every five you hook, at least using 6 weight outfits.  That’s one thing we need to rethink next time, heavier fishing outfit would have been nice.  Using a 6 weight did make it more interesting though.

     This was such an amazing trip, the weather was perfect, the fish were cooperative and the people were non existant.  I know that I paid for the long hikes we took, the next couple days, but it was sure worth it.  This is one of the best trips Philip and I ever had, and I think we owe it all to Sunshine, Solitude, and Steelhead.

     “And as for now and always, Tight Lines”

     Rusty

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She runs through a gorge and drops in elevation a fair amount over her 10 mile course from the outflow to the confluence of another great river in the area. Huge bolders and deep fast pools are what this river is all about. On our last trip to this river, Rusty stumbled on a “hot” fly pattern that produced a lot of fish for us. We hit the river armed with this fly en mass. We walked about 1.5 miles down river from the car and got in at one of the big holes that produced good fish on our last trip. Right off the bat Rusty landed a 19″ beauty of a bow.

We thought this was an indicator to the day to come, but it didn’t really work out that way. We landed a few more fish each over the next few hours of fishing and I think we each had some nice fish on, but it wasn’t the numbers from the last trip. We left pondering the situation and what exactly had caused the change in the fish’s behavior.

Thus the great fishing game continues. There are so many variables in flyfishing. Everything from weather, stream flow, water clarity, water temperature, time of year, the amount of sunlight during the day, insect activity and possibly even moon phase, play an important role in our days on the river and our success. Dealing with these factors only helps to enhance the challenge of the sport, and make it all the more desirable to attempt to master. It’s what makes flyfishing so great, and why so many pursue it as a sport.

We definitely both felt that we’d rather fish the river with a little more flow than it had yesterday. Just when we thought we had figured out a few of it’s secrets, this river showed us that it is a force to be reckoned with , and that it isn’t done throwing us curve balls. Whether it was the 1 day drop in water flow the day before, or that there were quite a few more people on the river yesterday than usual, or that the air temperature had dropped slightly over the last days, the fact of the matter is that the river didn’t produce as good as it has in the past.

I think we can only hope to come to terms with the reasons, and not necessarily master them. We can take the factors into consideration, and formulate reasonable decisions around them, but we can never fully understand them or overcome them. The largely unknown nature of trout is what makes them one of the most difficult fish to take on the fly, and why we pursue them at such length.

Philip Light

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