Valley Creek - 5/27

Despite getting home late last night from a long day of fishing I woke up this morning rearing to do some more fishing. Considering it was early and I didn't have to get to the office until later in the day I decided to try out a new stream: Valley Creek in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

I've always been hesitant to fish Valley Creek despite being a spring fed limestone creek. In the past, Valley Creek was stocked until the pollutant PCB was discovered in the stream. Immediately the PA Fish & Game Commission stopped stocking and surprisingly the Brown trout population thrived. A healthy population of wild Brown trout now exist in the stream and the stream has maintained restrictions that promote the longevity of Valley Creek's trout population. Fishermen can only use artificial lures and must release the fish after catching.

I decided to get some line wet. I decided to fish from Little Valley Creek up to the damn a couple of hundred yards above the Mill Road bridge. The water is murky and the rocks are covered in algae, which makes it difficult to navigate the stream bed. Several times I tripped over submerged trees or slipped on rocks. As I waded through the stream I kicked up dirt and the water became even muddier. This was highly disappointing until I saw a trout rise about 20 feet in front of me. Uncertain of what the trout were eating (there was no sign of a hatch) I tied on an elk hair caddis size 16 (a fly I've had success with this time of year and one of my go-to flies) and began casting to the rising trout. The brownie was rising underneath a branch that was hanging only 3 inches from the surface. This made casting a challenge. I presented my fly upstream and watched it drift over the trouts feeding lane. There was no action so I tried again, and again, and again. On my fourth cast the trout rose and porpoised over the fly. It appeared to be about 10 inches in length and failed to give my fly the time or day from that moment forward. I continued to fish and began wading further upstream. At the next bend I saw three more fish rising. The casting was going to be difficult. The water was moving at a snails pace and to my right was a branch that looked like the tree of life and behind me was a forrest. I was able to throw about 15 feet of line but I needed to add about 10 more feet so I tried a roll cast. With the slow moving water my roll cast kicked created enough disturbance to put the fish down. On the one hand I was invigorated that trout were rising and on the other hand I was discouraged at how difficult the casting conditions were. No wonder these trout have flourished is all I could think. Fortunately I pushed ahead and saw more trout rising near the bridge at Mill Rd. On my first cast in front of the bridge I hooked a 12 inch brown trout but the fish jumped off my hook as reeled in. It was about 2 feet from me when I lost it and in the sunlight the fish looked beautiful. I was a little disappointed in the trout's fight. It seemed sluggish but then again the weather has been quite warm over the past 2 days.

I moved further upstream and made several casts into the faster moving current on the right side of the bridge. By my fourth cast I had hooked another brownie. This trout put up a much better fight. I figure he was sitting in the shade and in water that was more oxygenated than the previous fish. I landed the trout - a beautiful 10 inch brownie and quickly released him into the stream.

I continued further upstream until I reached the dam. The dam flowed into a deep pool where I saw at least 7 different trout take flies off the surface. I tied on a size 16 cdc puff and cast into the ripples toward the right of the dam. A nice brownie had been furiously feeding in the riffles for a few minutes so I decided to try and get him on my fly. My cast couldn't have been more perfect. The fly slowly fell to the surface and within a split second of hitting the water the brownie attacked the fly and set himself on the hook. This fish put up the best fight of the morning - it was another 10 inch brown trout.

To the left of the dam trout continued to rise and there were two pockets of fast moving water I wanted to hit before heading home. I cast to the pocket closest to me and hooked a nice trout that I unfortunately lost when it wrapped my line around a submerged log. I had to replace my leader and fly but continued to fish. There was another trout slashing the water further away that I was able to cast to. This time I was using an olive size 16 CDC pattern and after several casts was able to hook and land the trout.

All in all it was a very good morning of fishing at a stream I had overlooked for years.

I found out later that there was a 107 fish kill last May. Last year a PECO water main broke that ended up polluting Little Valley Creek and the stretch of Valley Creek just below the tributary. Fortunately I fished above the formerly polluted section. You can check out the article on the fish kill here.

Stony Part 2 - 5/26/10

My last trip to Stony, less than a week ago, was primarily to scout the stream. I was taking two friends fly fishing and wanted to make sure we were going to the right stream at the right time. We left around 5:40 a.m. and arrived at the end of Drakes Creek Rd. at 7:45 a.m. We suited up, assembled our rods and busted out of the trestles for Stony.

Like last time I was using my Tom Maxwell custom made 6'6" Little Tunk, Rob was using my 7' Orvis TLS Power Matrix (4 weight) and Jeff used his 7'6" Cortland (5 weight).

We arrived at the outlet of Stony around 8:30 a.m. I encouraged Jeff, who is an experienced large stream fly fisherman, to hit the pools leading up to the 30' waterfall about 300 yards upstream, while Rob and I descended to the outlet pool. Rob hadn't been fly fishing since since he was 9-years-old so we needed to spend some time working on his cast.

Before we began casting I went over a few important small stream tactics:

1. Stealth is crucial. You can't walk up to a pull and throw your line on the water. You have to stalk the pool. My breathable waders are a good indicator of how you approach a pool of water. I've had these waders for only 3 years and they've been patched up and repaired countless times because I approach the pools like I'm playing crab soccer with a gym full of 9-year-olds. It is best to keep a low profile, find cover behind rocks and trees then fish the pool. If you don't do this the trout will spook and render the pool unfishable.
2. Patience, patience, PATIENCE! You may think you're a pretty patient person but small stream fly fishing will either confirm or deny how you perceive yourself. There's nothing like crawling behind a rock, peering over it to watch small blue winged olives disappear on the rise, then cast and have your fly snag on dead log behind you. I've seen fly fisherman throw rods because of this - I've wanted to myself. It happens to all small stream fly fishers.
3. I think therefore I am ... a good fisherman. This is coupled with patience. You're less likely to lose your cool if think while you fish. For example, you crawl up behind the rock and see you trout rising 14 feet in front of you. You cast to the fish and get snagged in the tree behind you. When you stand up to get the fly you spook the fish and must move on to the next pool. All of that work for nothing. It is best to observe what's around you and identify the most effective way to present the fly to the fish. If you can't backcast, perhaps you can roll-cast - or perhaps you have a small window to side-arm cast the fly to the fish. Now let's say you cast 14-feet in front and catch the trout. By some standards this is a win, but the reality is - you just scared all of the fish from 1 foot to 14 feet in front of you. Imagine if you thought to work your way to the rising trout - how many trout could you have pulled from that pool? Having learned from experience I've pulled upwards of 4-5 trout on a good day from a single pool all because I fished from the tailout to the head of the pool. Think before you cast.
4. Pay attention. I've taken several painful tumbles onto rocks and seen friends disappear into pools of water. The rocks are slippery and the depth of the water can be deceiving.

Rob and I spent a good hour working on his cast and tried to encourage him by pointing out how it was improving. Unfortunately Rob was unsuccessful in catching fish. I only caught 4 since I spent the majority of time with Rob, and Jeff caught about 7-8. We fished for about 9 hours and covered roughly 1 mile of stream. The hatches were not as impressive as they were on Friday May 21st but the caddis hatch was fairly consistent throughout the day. A variety of different caddis flies were hatching so it was safe to put on almost any color (dun, tan, olive, black) for success. The BWO hatch was non-existent. A few appeared when we first arrived but disappeared shortly thereafter.

On our way up Drakes Creek Rd. we encountered a black bear walking on the paved portion of the road.

Stony - 5/21/2010

I love remote small streams with wild trout. One of my favorites is Stony Creek in S.G.L. No. 141 near Unionville, PA. The upper section, above the T519 bridge, happens to be stocked; however, in the lower section there is an abundant population of wild brown and brook trout.

I departed for a morning of fly-fishing around 5:00 a.m. After stopping for coffee and breakfast I arrived in the general vicinity of the stream around 7:00 a.m. I attempted to find the upper access point but was chased away by a rogue blood hound who fearlessly charged my Jeep as I attempted to park by the upper access trail. While most people consider me a "dog person" I wasn't going to risk having my casting arm mauled by someone's "best-friend."

I quickly pulled a k-turn (avoiding the dog that was now circling my car) and headed to Drakes Creek Rd, which I've used for 14 years to access Stony. The last 1/2 mile of Drakes Creek Rd (T481) is a narrow gravel road. In recent years it has been better maintained by PA since it is used on weekends by whitewater rafting companies who send off the "neoprene hatch" into the Lehigh River twice a day.

There are several places to pull-over and access Drakes Creek, which is stocked twice a year. The fishing is extremely difficult since the stream is narrow and in many sections is covered by a thick canopy of rhododendron, mountain laurel, and hemlock. Since I was planning on hiking along the railroad tracks to Stony I parked at the end of the Drakes Creek Rd (This parking area is closed on weekends due to the neoprene hatch).

I quickly threw on my breathable waders and boots and assembled my 6'6" Little Tunk 3wt. fly rod. In my opinion this rod is priceless. It was handmade by Tom Maxwell the original rod building and founder of Thomas & Thomas fly rods. This was the last Little Tunk he made - he passed away while the rod lacquer was still curing.

Around 7:20 a.m. I set off for a 1.25 mile trek along the railroad tracks. I arrived at the mouth of Stony Creek (where it empties into the Lehigh River) at 7:45 a.m. and crawled down the steep and rocky embankment leading down to the outlet pool. I had a feeling it was going to be a good day of fly fishing. There was a thick hatch of Blue Winged Olives and Caddis flies dotting the waters surface. The caddis flies were grey so I tied on a grey size Elk Hair Caddis and cast my line into the tailwater of the pool. Unfortunately I got a false drift and mending my line posed some problems. I tried again, however, this time my caddis hooked a low hanging tree on my backcast. The joys of small stream fly fishing! Fortunately I was able to recover the fly without making too much commotion. On my knees I crept forward a little and presented the fly again. This time my line did not not get swept away in the tailwater current and the fly casually drifted along the seem of two converging currents of water. The fly was sitting pretty when it suddenly disappeared from the surface. I quickly set the the hook and landed the 6" brownie. After snapping a picture on my cell phone (I forgot my camera) I released the trout into the pool and began working my way up the stream.

The hatch continued for a few hours and seemed to taper off around 11 a.m.; however, the caddis flies were coming off sporadically.

The entire morning I fished a few caddis patterns and had relatively good success - landing 4 trout (2 browns and 2 brooks) and had 1 other trout (unidentified) jump the hook. Knowing that I would be back to the stream the following week with a two friends I decided to call it a day and hiked back to my Jeep.

All in all the trout seemed to be very active and were actively feeding on dry flies, my preference. I took my time putting my stuff away and finally began heading back up Drakes Creek Rd. On the way out I saw a Rattlesnake crossing the road. The rattler was large (for the poconos), around 3 1/2 feet and had was about 8-years-old (you can tell by the number of rattles it has). When it reached the side of the road it coiled up underneath rhododendron and began rattling it's tail. While I knew it couldn't hurt me in the Jeep (fortunately I didn't watch Snakes on a Plane) I drove off amazed at the beauty of God's creation; an amazing gorge full of life.