June 15, 2016 – Decisions, Decisions – Pocono Trout Three Ways

Still chasing trout while the water temps remain healthy.  Love pocket water!

I took a legit vacation day yesterday in order to venture a little farther from home.  I spent Tuesday night weighing far too many options: Should I hit a wilderness stream with my 3 wt and a dry dropper, stalk a creek where trout from the Big D seek thermal refuge, try a new creek I have been meaning to try on the western edge of the Poconos, give an old favorite a good 6 hours with the fly rod, or should it be the spinning rod?  Or maybe I should hit the sod banks or the beach at the shore instead!?  Decisions, decisions… I ended up packing 4 rods in the ‘Ru, along with my sling pack, my lumbar pouch full of plugs, two different nets, two sets of wading boots, and a lot of water.  I got up at 3:20 AM and made a game day decision to fly fish a wild trout spot in the Poconos that was also near another stretch that got a fingerling stocking every couple years AND was near a little brook trout trickle or two, just in case.  It happens to be one of my favorite spots, so I guess I wanted fish, and maybe a good walk, more than exploration or a change of gears.  My indecision means it’s coming, though, even if Thursday rain is drawing me back to trout again!

Ended with one of each, plus bows, for the trout trifecta.

It was a bit chilly when I suited up in the morning, but with long sleeves and a buff, I was comfortable once I started walking.  I moved a bunch of deer and even an unknown visitor in a stand of knotweed as I took my first steps into the creek.  With the lack of rain and snow this year, the creek, usually a swift one, has been a bit more tame and manageable.  I took full advantage and started by wading out toward a couple nice riffle/runs along the far bank.  The water was cold (only 59 when I took a reading much later in the day) but I was content standing mid-river rolling a big jigged stone and a midge dropper in the seams.  As the sign states, there are wild browns and a small number of wild brookies in this stretch, but they don’t mention the bruiser rainbows that move up from the ATW below and the private areas above.  Well, after my indicator took a dive in a fast riffle, one of those little piggies took a leap on the end of my line.  I brought him to the net and held him up for a picture.  He was even bigger than the 16 incher I actually measured out later in the day.  What a great way to start the morning!

A thick visitor in the wild trout waters.  He thinks he's wild, which is good enough for me.

I wasn’t getting enough love on the stonefly, and with no rising fish, I wanted to cover some ground on my way to a favorite hole/eddy/huge-mid-current-boulder trifecta, so I tied on a conehead muddler and went to work.  Swinging the fly only got a half-hearted bump or two, but when I started snap-jigging and putting a lot of action on the streamer with the rod, things turned on.  I managed 5 more fish this way, including the elusive wild brook trout.  All the feeders in the area hold populations, so I am not surprised they are in here, although it is probably a seasonal thing.  I watched this gemmie and another small trout chase the muddler through the roiling current before he finally connected.  Fun stuff, I tell you, fun stuff.

Brook trout on the streamer!

I also landed another pretty rainbow below my favorite hole before finding a perfect rocky seat, which also made a great platform for the rare “self-fish” below.  I also missed a bunch of fish, so I decided to make another decision that would hopefully improve my hook up rate, especially as the sun got higher and more fish just followed until they caught site of this guy, even in my blue shirt against blue sky.  I took a minute to call home, which is always good luck.  Tami can’t imagine how many fish I have hooked and released with one hand while talking to her while afield and in situ.  I always do better after the call too.  I actually sat on this perfect stone throne and planned my next move while taking in the beautiful day.  Swallows were clicking away at caddis and small mayflies, but the fish wanted meat, it seemed.

The rare self-ish....

I walked back along the road to the parking spot, and got pretty hot pretty quickly.  At the Subaru, after a Cliff bar and a water refill, I made another mid-game decision to wet wade and toss the Rapala down in the ATW section about a mile away.  It felt good to lose the buff and the breathable waders, not to mention the net, and the walk back to the creek was much cooler this time, as a result.  After my feet hit the water, and I felt the shrinkage happen, I took a water temp: 59 degrees.  No wonder the fish were so active.  It was damn near perfect... for them.  It took me a while to get used to that chill, and I bet I pissed 8 times.  However, it was the right call.  On about the third cast, another big rainbow showed himself.  He just engulfed the plug and turned.  After a nice battle I got my hands on a 16 inch bruiser who was a wide body, probably from eating fingerlings for years.

A 16 incher on the plug, a bit smaller than the first bow of the morning too.  Crazy good day!

Convinced that my plan was going to work, I climbed up onto the rails and took my hike downstream.  My phone’s fitness app and my wife would be proud that I was going to exceed my steps/fitness goal for the day.  I started hiking, resisting the urge to drop into the creek too soon.  I had a couple fantastic stretches of pocket water and one deep hole in mind, even if this entire stretch—in high water, a mile long riffle—all looks fishy. 

Fitness target met by 11 AM.

After a good swig of water, a handful of almonds, and a preemptive pee break, I slid down to the creek again, about a mile from the parking spot.  I received almost immediate confirmation that this plan was going to work when a decent rainbow took the plug right at my feet after a long pursuit through the riffles.

Bows liked the plug coming downstream at them.

This must be a year that they do a May stocking of fingerlings, unless the rainbows are having a successful breeding once in a while.  I did see evidence of redds upstream, and browns breed in the fall, so I wondered if these were made by rainbows, like the big ones I landed early in the morning.  At any rate, I caught a 4 inch rainbow that I delicately got back in the water as fast as I could.  At another pocket, I had a couple small fish chase and nip at the plug, and I assumed them were bows until I caught a little wild brown.  Encouragingly, I caught at least 3 year classes of wild browns, and probably 2 or more year classes' worth of rainbows that were stocked as fingerlings.

Had the year classes covered, including one smaller than this.

I kept moving, targeting active fish.  I only caught one rainbow as the plug swung below me, but fishing upstream with long casts was lights out.  Copoly casts a mile and has limited stretch, so I was nailing them right and left.  Bows in the current, browns in the pockets along the banks, all of them feisty.

A year older and feistier.

I had a least 15 more trout since I hung up the fly rod for the morning.  I was having a ball, laughing maniacally to myself like I have heard Kenny do when he thinks no one can hear him.  I lost two plugs in lieu of disrupting the hole or taking a bath in cold water, but I didn’t care because I had at least 5 black and silver CD5s and they were working like they are supposed to work.

A healthy stream-reared (not bred) rainbow.

I promised to be home in the early afternoon and be ready for a trip to the pool with the family by 3 PM, so I quit a little after 12 noon and double-timed my hike back to the parking spot.  After one stop in the Lehigh Valley to look at replacement wading boots—my LL Beans are starting to come apart at the sole, and will soon be replaced at no charge—I made it home in time to change and grab a quick snack.  Poolside with a sandwich and a beer, I started uploading and editing photos between dragging a boy around the pool and skipping a Dude Perfect Nerf around.  Needless to say, I slept well last night.  I have to admit, I was sad I had to come to work today as I listened to the rain fall, but I made a series of good decisions yesterday, so I doubt today could have been much better!  Nymph, streamer, and plug: maybe four ways with the dry thrown in too? Next time, yo, next time...

Another quality brown ate the plug.

A dropped fish on the timer salvaged for an interesting shot???

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