June fly fishing in and around the Poconos

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.

Brodhead Creek - May 19 2012

I fished the Brodhead this morning from 7-9. I missed 3 and landed 1 brown on a BH yellow stonefly nymph. The water clarity is pretty normal now and flows are just a little above normal. There wasn't much insect activity other than some caddis and midges. I didn't see any trout surface. The water temperature was only mid 50's though due to last night's low temperatures so the trout will probably start surfacing around mid day today. Below is a pic of the numerous shucks on the bank. They are very large in size (10?) so I'm guessing the are yellow stones. Hope to make it out again tonight!

Sulphurs and March Browns on Brodhead Creek

I caught my first Sulphur and March Brown hatches this year. It seems to be a little early from previous years.

May 8 - It rained most of the day but it wasn't a heavy rain. I fished the BHC from 415-530. As soon as I hit the creek, I saw birds hovering over the water so I knew I timed a hatch. I expected BWO's due to the overcast and rainy day but there were large (10-12) March Browns hatching. I matched the hatch with a dry and caught 5 browns.

May 9 - I fished the evening hatch from 7-840. There were sulphurs regularly coming off at 8. There weren't as many rises based on the number of insects out. This was most likely due to the cloudy water from yesterdays day long rain. I landed 2 browns and missed a couple of others. The water level is up but it will probably be clear again by tomorrow.

Match the Hatch - Brodhead Creek

I fished Saturday morning, May 5th on the BHC with “JL”. I got to the creek at 6 am and fished until 10 am. The fish started actively feeding at 7 and then a very large and long BWO hatch began. BWO's were 16's. The trout were taking duns off the water surface regularly until the hatch died down at around 930. I felt fortunate to time this hatch well but it was one of the most frustrating 4 hours of my life. I never landed a single fish and only had about 3 hits. I tried multiple colors, sizes, and stages of BWO's without luck. I've heard that when trout have a large amount of naturals to choose from, they can be very picky. I think that was the case on Sat morning. Fun but very frustrating morning on the creek.

Big browns on Brodhead Creek, Stroudsburg, PA

Fished BHC again this morning. Great action with big browns! Biggest browns were 19 1/2" and 16". Both are shown below. I caught them both on a beadhead yellow stonefly. I landed roughly 8 trout from 9-1130 with 9-1030 being the hottest. Most were browns but I did catch 2 brook trout as well. The PA fish commission website doesn't show that they stock brook trout. There was a decent BWO hatch. They were larger in size than what I've been seeing. They were roughly 16-18's. Successful flies used were bh yellow stonefly, bh hares ear, parachute BWO, and black caddis emerger.

Brodhead Creek, Stroudsburg, PA - May 3 2012

Fished the Brodhead today from 3-6 pm. Did well from 3-430 and then the fish shut down. Landed 6 browns and 1 bow. I used the same fly (black X-caddis) for every trout. I spotted a few mayflies but there weren't enough for me to snag a sample. I caught most of the fish in shallow riffles. Water temp was 60 degrees. There are still tons of fish in the BHC.

Brodhead Creek - Pocono Mountains - 4-20-12

I fished the Brodhead by the ballpark this evening. Dark caddis were coming off in good numbers after 7 pm. I fished until about 8 pm, landed 5 and missed several others. All trout were browns and caught with dries or emergers. Water temperature was mid 60's and flow is obviously very low. Hopefully we get some rain this weekend. There are a ton of fish in the Brodhead right now.