Pocono Fly Fishing: 5-20-11 (Exploring by foot and on the Mt. Bike)

Rain. Rain. Rain. Go Away! Last week was gorgeous while this week was awful. It has rained every day this week and today was no different. I just read in the paper that so far this spring is the 4th wettest spring we've had since recordings were taken. We've had over 20 inches of rain this spring thus far in the Pocono's! The local streams are high, murky, and screaming like a little girl.

I helped the PFC stock the BHC yesterday in the rain. It's always useful to see where they stock the fish and see the sizes of the trout. There were some massive Browns that were released. Yesterday they couldn't float stock the whole BHC, due to high water, so they concentrated on "certain" areas for stocking.

I had all day to fish these fresh "stockies" today but I decided to explore and get some exercise rather than fight the current and more than likely end up getting skunked. I rode both sides of the Levee Loop Trail between Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg. I give props to these local municipalities, Monroe County Open Space, etc on establishing these much used trails. They have provided a lot of easy access to a once hard to reach stream. I hadn’t explored these sections since the major flooding we had last year. Just like the rest of the BHC, these sections have changed a lot as well. There are some nice areas "off the beaten path" that I saw today that will more than likely hold fish. I tend to fish the same spots time and time again because I know I can catch fish there so I'm trying to expand my fishing grounds. This will also be useful if I decide to fish on a weekend when the angling pressure is higher.

It started to rain again at around noon today so I took a car ride to explore some new sections of the McMichael's Creek. I normally fish around the Stroudsburg (Glenbrook) area but I've always wanted to explore the McMichael's near Sciota. While exploring, I stopped at the Old Mill in Sciota and took a nice hike in the rain. This area of the McMichael's is heavily posted with private property but there are some open fishing spots.