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.
No comments:
Post a Comment