I haven't posted any fishing reports in over a month but I've still been fishing plenty. Streams I've been hitting the past month are Brodhead, McMichaels, Devils Hole, and Pohocopo.
Early June - The sulphur hatch was decent this year but I think it ended earlier than normal. The temperatures in most of June were great. I don't think the stream temperatures reached over 70 degrees all month long. I timed some good Slate Drake hatches on the BHC in the early-mid June timeframe. Nothing beats watching a big brown gulp a size 12 Slate Drake dun. Light cahills, small BWO's, and dark caddis were also hot flies on the Pocono creeks. I have nymphed some the past month but only maybe around 10% because the dry fly action has been great this year. I fished DHC and landed several nice wild browns, all on dry flies. I was amazed at how much insect activity was on a small mountain stream like that. I don't think fly selection is all that important on small streams that hold small wild/native trout but anything yellow on DHC was dynamite! I saw more bugs up on that stream than I do on the BHC or MCC. Large stoneflies, midges, small mayflies, etc...I even saw trout rise to the naturals. I thought most small mountain streams did not have a good insect population but I was wrong about this creek. I'm surprised that I've never pulled a trout over 10" from there with all that food around.
Late June - Current. - HEAT HEAT HEAT!!! Local freestone streams like the Tobyhanna, BHC, and MCC have had temperatures well over the 70's EVERY day the past 2 weeks. I'm sure a lot of trout have died as a result. It's suppose to cool off finally tomorrow with temperatures in the low 80's for the next week but it will probably be too little too late. We haven't received any rainfall as well during this hot stretch. I fished the BHC one morning about a week ago and the trico's were out. They began falling at around 730 am. Water temperature at 7 am was 65 degrees and by 9 am it was over 70. I fished the tailwater of the Pohocopo Creek on July 4th. Interesting to say the least as I fished in trout water that was in the 50 degree range while the outside air was in the 90's. The tailwater of the PO receives its water from Beltzville Lake and the depth by the dam is over 100 feet deep so the water stays cool. There were tons of fish in this section on the PO and they were surfacing regularly. Unfortunately for me, they were taking tiny midges (26-28) and I didn't have anything small than a 22 but still a great scouting and fishing experience. I'll no doubt be back there again this summer.
There is so much to do while in the Poconos. The above picture is a great shot as well! I live in New Jersey and I don't know who turned the thermostat on outside, but then need to turn the oven down! My family and I went to the resorts in Poconos and had a blast. We went canoeing,hiking, mountain biking, and we even had time to have fun at the indoor water park to cool down. Never been fly fishing yet, but would be something new and fun to try from the looks of it. Do you go to a specialty store to get your fishing gear or a more general department store like Target and Sport's Authoirty ?
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