Summer Pocono and Colorado Fly Fishing - July 2013

The weather is currently beautiful and the stream temperatures are lower (less than 70*). I've been fishing at least once a week for the past few weeks. Here are some highlights.

South Platte River below 11 Mile Canyon, Colorado - My work brought me to Colorado Springs so I researched good streams less than 2 hr drive and it brought me to 11 Mile Canyon. The guys at Angler's Covey Fly Shop also recommended this river. This tailwater river (I would call a stream) is gorgeous. There are huge rock croppings, consistent flows/temperatures, and a variety of trout species. The 1 lane tunnels along the stream road were very unique as well. I wish I would have taken more pictures but I was primarily focused on catching trout. I got to the stream at around 3 pm and drove all the way up to the dam and talked to a guy fishing a good looking spot. He gave me some good information and I noticed some subtle rises near where he was fishing. He moved downstream so I got the waders on and started fishing where I saw the rises. I fished the same 50 yard stretch of stream until pitch dark. My primary goal was to catch a cutthroat since I never have but I caught all browns and rainbows. The size on the bows were 14-17" while the browns were a little smaller. I missed 2 trout that were around the 20" mark. I landed over a dozen trout with most being on dries. Most people informed me that I would have to nymph if I wanted to catch trout but the trout were taking emergers all day and especially the last hour of fishing. At one point, I had 2 nymphs below an emerger which produced results. The most common hatch I saw was caddis so obviously, a tan cdc caddis emerger was the best fly of the day but it was hard to see after sunset so I switch to a 16 light cahill and still caught fish. The strange thing of the day was how many fish hit my fly and I missed. I'd estimate I missed around 30 takes. Why? Sometimes I set the hook too soon and others I think the trout actually missed their mark but for the majority of the times I have no clue why I missed so many as I normally have a good hookup rate %.

Pohopoco Creek - I fished the last 2 hours of daylight on the Po last week. Stream temp was low 60's and the fish were active. I caught over a dozen browns but nothing of size. CDC caddis emerger was the ticket here as well. All fish were caught in "slower riffles". I also caught a couple of fall fish that fought well.

Brodhead Creek - There are still trout in the BHC that survived our hot July. I've fished the creek 2 times in the past week and I have had several hits and a couple of hookups but I can't land them. Again, no clue why I'm missing so many trout but at least I'm getting action. Yesterday there was a small (18) BWO hatch as it was drizzly and overcast. I missed roughly a dozen "fish" in a 1 1/2 hour span (3-430 pm). I know some of the hits were smallmouth bass but I positively id'd some trout as well. I had to keep changing flies to regain the fish interest. It seemed the larger (14-16) Iso and March brown catskill style patters worked best as long as they were drifted properly. Last Sunday, a black slumpbuster also got into some nice fish that I think were bass but I didn't land them. Frustrating! Hopefully this doesn't continue but it could be worse. Misses are better than nothing at all.

Below are some pictures I dumped from my camera.

Pocono Creek near Martz Road - Bartonsville

Pocono Creek - Wayyyy headwaters

11 Mile Canyon Dam - South Platte River, CO

Same

South Platte River

Summer Slowdown Fly Fishing in the Pocono's - June/July 2013

I had been fishing weekly prior to this heat wave. Streams I fished were Brodhead, Pocono, and Pohopoco Creeks.

The Brodhead slowed once the water started getting warm. Fish were active in the morning/evening but now I'm guess the low water and high temps are killing off some of the remaining stockers. I didn't witness any slate drakes the past 2-3 weeks but I'm guessing they are still around. I came across a very small BWO (18-20) a couple weeks ago. They were coming off in a fast riffle right below a Brodhead style plunge pool. I didn't land many fish. I missed a few as well. I haven't caught any bass yet this year on the BHC but based on previous years, I'm guessing there are some nice smallies in there now.

Pocono - I landed some large wild browns in June in the Pocono headwaters in a place I'd wanted to try for years. First cast produced a gorgeous 15 inch wild brown. I caught 3-4 other nice browns all on a wooly bugger. The place I fished sees very little activity as there was no trash or trails next to the stream. I also caught some nice sized brookies that were all over 12". If there is a local stream that would have a tiger trout, it would be this section of the Pocono. Funny thing, I fished the same stretch with the same fly 5 days later and got skunked. I fished longer (duration) and further downstream even but the fish weren't hitting it. If I didn't catch those larger browns/brookies 5 days earlier, I wouldn't even think they got that big in that section of Pocono.

Pohopoco - I fished one evening on the Po headwaters. I caught several fallfish and then a small evening hatch came off before dark. I landed a couple of smaller browns on a light cahill. I noticed this section of the PO has grasshoppers and the tall grass is right over top of the stream bank. It reminds me of what a  Montana stream would look like. I think I could do well fishing a hopper/dropper especially on a windy day. Also, I don't know why the PO headwaters don't get above 70 degrees even in this recent heat wave. Tobyhanna creek is almost 80 degrees while the PO is 64-68 in the heat of the day. Spring influence up above along Rt. 115? Something is going on there. Whatever it is, it helps create a good Class A wild brown trout fishery.

I surveyed the Lehigh headwaters this week in the Gouldsboro area. The stream is very tanic and looks like it should hold brookies. It was so hot and I was paranoid of snakes so I didn't venture too far. I'll wait to fall and take the 3 weight with me. I'll be fishing Colorado streams next week and then to Alaska in the beginning of August so I'll get some colder water fly fishing in soon again!

Upper Lehigh

Upper Lehigh

Upper Lehigh

There were hundreds of these blue and black butterfly looking guys fluttering around

Brodhead super hatch - June 6 2013

Rain and drizzle started today at around 230 pm. My wife knew I had that look in my eye so she let me head out fishing! I can't say enough how good fishing is on overcast rainy days. I saw the birds hovering over the stream as I put the Honda in park.  Fish were actively feeding although I didn't know for sure what they were targeting the whole time I fished. Fortunately, that doesn't generally equal a skunking. I expected BWO's like other rainy days. I noticed small BWO's right away (size 18-20). Small BWO's don't normally come out until the early fall or so I thought. Nonetheless, there were caddis of course and as my time on the stream lengthened, a larger mayfly began to emerge and the fish went nuts. I caught a couple of the mayflies and I'm pretty sure they were slate drakes, roughly size 12. I remember slate drakes being pretty active last year on the Brodhead as well.

I brought 6-7 to hand with the below bow being the largest. I didn't take the time to measure it since it was already stressed. The stream is getting warmer and it took me a while to land it. I caught it on a size 18 bh pheasant tail under an adams parachute size 14. I believe that was the first trout I've caught on a dropper and the big bow actually "surfaced" to take my bhpt as it was only 12 inches below the adams. I hooked into an even bigger brown right before I left at 6 pm. I would estimate it went 20 inches while the bow was high teens. The brown got off as I was getting him close to the  net. I was fishing the opposite bank of the stream so I had to deal with current as I landed him. That combined with my drag not seeming to function smoothly prevented me from getting him to the net. Yes, no blame on me! haha. Today consisted of lots of bugs and I saw lots of fish with some real big ones exposing themselves. I wish I could fish every day because I'll be thinking about it tomorrow when I'm work. Tomorrow's forecast is calling for light rain again! Early quits?

Almost looks like a steelhead

Pocono Creek - May 24 2013

Fished the Pocono Creek yesterday in the early afternoon. It was overcast and drizzly with moderate rain at times (perfect for fly fishing). I chose the PC because we received additional rain throughout the night and I thought some of the larger streams may be to dirty (brown water) to effectively catch fish. The PC was slightly off color and it was runner much faster than when I fished it earlier in the month. On the upside is that these conditions produced more and bigger fish. Stealth played little role in catching as well since the water was slightly off color. I fished a smaller olive WB the whole time I fished the creek. I landed around 5 browns but missed several others (10 +). Not sure why I missed so many as typically fishing with a WB has a good catch percentage. The hook was sharp and the fish were big enough to eat it. Hmmmm... Not sure. One of my misses appeared to be a larger brown possibly in the 15-16" range which is a dandy for a wild brown on the stream the size of PC.

I hit up the Brodhead for an hour or so before I went home. There were birds hovering the whole creek and fish were practically jumping. This could only mean one thing.....BWO's........! Yup sure enough, they were everywhere and the fish were taking them. I caught and missed a few more on the BHC and then finally went home. Once again, you've got to love rainy days in the Pocono's for fly fishing!

Pocono Brown

Wild trout under I-80

20 inch Brown Trout Brodhead Creek, May 23rd, 2013

Today was overcast, humid, and had scattered thunderstorms. I took 2 hours off work early hoping to catch a rainy day hatch. I fished from 3-515 pm. I stopped at McMichael's Creek first but it was blown out with coffee stained water and much debris. I thought the Brodhead may be running clearer since it doesn't have the "dirt banks" like on MCC. The BHC was night and day difference from the MCC. The water was clear and running normal. I didn't notice any hatches and I had luck on big streamers a few weeks earlier so I tied on a #6 hares ear slumpbuster. I had a LARGE fish roll out of the water when the streamer hit the water once and I missed a couple of others. I caught a rainbow and smaller brown with a BH olive wooly bugger with a split shot on top of it to get it down. I tried the slumpbuster again before I left hoping that the "Big One" would strike again but it didn't. I started to see a couple of rises so I figured I'd try a dry for a few casts before I left. I decided on a big march brown as I figured they have been hatching the past week or so and the trout were probably keying in on them when they were out. I spotted a recent riser less than a foot from the opposite bank over 2-3 different currents. My first 2 casts failed with drag but my third cast had a nice drift and the riser sucked the MB in. After I set the hook, I could feel the weight but didn't think it was a biggun until it started taking drag. The "Big One" that rolled my streamer looked bigger than this one but who knows. I was lucky to get my hands on him and take a picture as you can see from the excessively bent hook below. No net again today. If I start taking my net, I won't catch any more big trout.....! I've never caught a 20 inch brown in daylight hours before. This took place about 1-2  hours after a thunderstorm rolled through. Maybe the big browns are more confident to rise during daylight (overcast) hours after a storm. I know I'll keep that in the back of my mind during the next Tstorm.

1st 20 incher of the year

Won't be using this fly again!

West Branch Delaware, May 16-17 2013

I made it up to the WB of the Delaware River in northeast Wayne County, PA. It was a beautiful drive from the Pocono's with all county roads after I got off I-380 North/Route 6. The flows have been low on the WB for a few weeks so I knew wading would be doable but I didn't realize that I could cross the river at almost any section I fished. There were few deep holes that would go past my chest waders. I fished mostly the state game lands on the PA side and below Balls Eddy boat ramp. Thursday brought a lot of bugs in the morning and a crazy evening hatch. There were caddis throughout the day and fish were rising to them but the wind was blowing hard which made it difficult to apply a good cast/presentation. The water was gin clear, the skies were blue bird, but the fish were still actively feeding in the middle of the day but most rises were in slow water which allows these educated fish all the time in the world to inspect your fly. Not good for me! I didn't experience any of the famed "super hatches" but caddis filled the sky after 4 pm and the spinner fall in the evening was insane. 3-4 different types of spinners were floating spent in the current. What were the trout keying on? Who knows! A rusty spinner pretty much covered most of the spinners that were floating down the river.

I landed 3 browns. One on a yellow partridge wet, one on a sulphur emerger, and one on a pale evening dun. I was amazed by how many trout I visually saw on the river. Once I would stop and read the water for 5 minutes or less, I'd start to see subtle rises. There were some splashy rises for emergers but most were sipping spinners.

I stayed at the Capra Inn Motel in Hancock for $50/night (after taxes)! They really cater to fisherman as they have a place to clean/hang your waders, free ice, boat shuttle, etc...The rooms are of a typical motel but they were clean and served its purpose. There were other anglers fishing the WB on Thursday and Friday morning but it was not crowded. I moved upstream from the upper state game lands parking lot and had a 1/2 mile on both sides of me to myself.  Not bad for this famous river! I imagine the weekends are more crowded.

Conclusion: Next time I'll try to fish it on a cloudy or drizzly day with less wind but I was impressed by the river and everything that I'd read was true. It's a genuine dry fly river and it has quantity and quality and it took me less than 2 hours to drive there.

WB of PA state game lands

All packed up with extra rod and camelbak

1st brown

Sunset before the bugs came out

Last and biggest brown

Stopped at Lehigh River headwaters on my way home.

Brodhead Creek Fatties - May 11, 2013

I finally took the time to spend an evening on the BHC tonight. I fished from 745-845 pm. There was a small amount of spinners falling and some small sulphur looking duns coming off at dusk. Caddis were out in good numbers as well. I noticed some splashy rises that I'm guessing were from emergers. I threw a green wooly bugger most of the night and landed the below fatties. The brown measured at 19 inches. I'm not sure if they stocked these pigs or if they've been gorging on something. Nonetheless, they're eating well!