Eastern PA Lime Stone Report 7/26/2010

The Eastern PA limestone streams are fishing well and with great hatches of Tricos and the occasional caddis hatching the fish are looking up and feeding during the morning and evening hours creating great opportunities for half day trips with in a reasonable drive for most areas in PA, NJ and NY.  This past week we have had success on the Bushkill Creek near Easton, PA matching the hatch and nymphing in the cool runs of this medium sized spring creek.  It may not have all the looks and charm of the mountains, but the Bushkill is beautiful in its own ways.  It’s wild browns and hold over brook and rainbow trout are brightly colored and fight hard.  And though we may find ourselves walking around buildings or near a road in some areas on these suburban and urban streams, the sound of rushing water and a screaming reel can often take us to a far away place.



Congratulations to Matt Borto for a great morning on the Bushkill stalking rising trout and for his first Rainbow.  This bow did several ariels and put up a great fight on Monday morning.

Colorado Hosted Trip Update

This year’s hosted trip to Western Colorado was a big hit.  We fished several rivers including the Colorado, Eagle, Frying Pan and Yampa Rivers.  Don Baylor also lead us to some of his “secret spots” for high mountain cutthroats and secluded tail water fishing for large wild rainbows.  We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Luarks Cottonwood Cabin and our access to its 2 miles private Colorado River banks.  The accommodations were perfect and Ann’s cooking was superb.  Barry Simmers was our expert guide while floating the Colorado and he obviously new every rock and run in the river.  Whether we were floating with Barry or wading in one of the scenic rivers there was never a dull moment.  Everyone on the trip hooked into large wild fish and came home with memories of long fights with bulldogging brown trout and wild leaping rainbows.  I would like to thank all of those that participated in the trip and Ann and Mike Luark for their incredible hospitality and a memorable stay at their ranch.  I would also like to give special thanks to Barry Simmers of Colorado River Guides and my good friend Don Baylor for sharing there knowledge of the area and putting us on some of the best fishing the region had to offer.  We look forward to next year, same time same great place.

Central PA Report 5/7 - 5/9

This weekend Mike Fogel and Wayne Bruck hit the waters of Spring Creek and the Little J with me for some quality wild trout fishing Central PA style.  We spent Friday morning teaching Wayne how to cast and getting him oriented with his new equipment.  After a quick lesson we hit Spring Creek near the Spring Creek House and landed some nice fish on nymphs. 

The Little J produced a great sulphur hatch and many rising fish during the evening.  Mike did well nymphing before the hatch with size 16 BH Pheasant Tails and Wayne’s casting improved to the point were he caught a couple on dries his first day out.

Saturday night, the 8^th was sulphurs on Spring Creek and we had rising fish from Benner Springs to the 550 Bridge in Bellefonte.  Sulphur Parachutes in a 16 worked well with some picky fish taking a cut wing dun.  It was a great night with eager fish. 

All in all Central PA is fishing great and if the water levels stay reasonable it will fish well until mid June.  During the day nymphing with size 18-16 BHPTs is still the way to go.  Some things never change. 

Early May Pocono Report

Early May has provided us with some good fishing in the Pocono Region.  Kevin and Brian Craig had success on several streams during May 3^rd and 4^th.  Devils Hole was our first stop after a night of rains and the wild browns were fairly active in the morning but seemed to slow down as we moved up stream through the day.  The Brodhead provided good nymphing during the day on Monday with Hare’s Ear Caddis and Pheasant Tails in 16 taking the majority of the fish.  In the evening the Hendrickson Spinners brought fish the surface and Kevin landed this nice Brown.

The next day took us to the Bushkill in Easton were we landed several fish and a variety of species.  Stocked brooks and bows were abundant and the occasional wild brown also fell victim to size 18 BH Pheasant Tails.  That afternoon we went chasing rainbows on the McMichaels where we caught several nice fish and were broken off by a few really nice bows.  The dry fly fishing on the McMichaels was not fast and furious but Kevin steadily picked at fish with size 16 emerging caddis and rusty spinners.

February Fly Fishing

Yesterday John Swilka and I hit the Little Lehigh for some winter fly fishing action.  It was Johns first time out and we landed a nice rainbow in our 1^st half hour.  Through out the day fish picked up our San Juan worms, eggs and scuds.  John managed to land three fish and had several others on for brief moments.  Overall it was a great day and we had a great time while John was learning the ins and outs of casting and nymph fishing.

Congratulations on your first trout on a fly John.

Pequest River Bow

The Pequest River in Warren County, NJ has got to be the best fishing in region at this point in time. My clients and friends have been catching above average fish for a few weeks now and the action will continue throughout the winter.  Fish from 16 to 20 inches are common and mammoth rainbows up to 26 inches and weighing several pounds have been caught on several occassions now.  Water levels are great and the fish are feeding on egg patterns, sucker spawn, and small bead heads such as zebra midges and pheasant tails.  A picture is worth a thousand words.  Hope to see you all sooner than later with this type of fishing in the fall. 

Mark Wickenhieser and I fished Spring Creek and the Little Juniata for three days early last week and we had an excellent experience.  Spring Creek was seeing high pressure since the sulphurs started hatching in full swing but with some coaxing with the correct patterns and a few secret spots we managed to land quite a few nice fish.  In one area we landed 18 fish in a matter a couple hours and never went more than a 100 yards.  The Little J was on fire in the beginning of the week and the fish were definately on the sulphurs.  In the evening and into the dark each night we had fish feeding on duns and spinners.  Nymphing was an option on the Little J, but the fish seemed to be in to the dries enough that we did nymph much at all.  We had also made a side trip to Spruce on Monday and we found a sporadic sulphur and tan caddis hatch and plenty of action from those fiesty wild browns.  Several fish were over 14 inches which is great in the public stretch of Spruce.  Mark also hooked a “club” sized bow in Spruce that was every bit of 20” and 4 or 5 pounds.  It ran for cover at warp speed and broke Mark off in a hurry.  Don't worry Mark, even old Joe Humphries couldn't have stopped that train.

This past weekend I had the pleasure of guiding Talon Skye and teaching her how to fly fish on Spring Creek.  Friday night we worked on Casting and entomology before we hit the water in front of the Spring Creek House.  As Talon was learning the in's and out's of nymphing she hooked up her first fish but it popped off before we could land it.  Another fish took her sulphur during the hatch, but we missed it.  Saturday we hit the lawn and tuned up

Fishing has been great from New Jersey to Central, PA.  The Pequest has been having a banner year with great numbers of rainbows, browns and brookies actively taking nymphs through out the stream.  Water levels are great for this time of year and with the weekly rains that we have been having the Pequest will fish well into the summer. 

The McMicheal's and Brodhead Creeks in the Stroudsburg area have been in great shape as well.  Hatches of Slate Drakes, Sulphurs, and Blue Winged Olives have been really strong and invertabrate samples show it should continue for a while.  This may be the best water and fishing year in the Poconos that we have seen in years.  In the rain last Friday Don Baylor, Doug Bear and I landed well over a hundred fish during the best Blue Winged Olive hatch I have seen in years.  The perfect day of old friends and great fishing.  Doug and I then hit the Brodhead that night as things cleared and we caught fish on Sulphurs and Slate Drakes and Blue Winged Olive spinners into the dark.

Central, PA continues to fish well with the Green Drakes winding down we are looking forward to Cahills, Slate Drakes, and the Blue Winged Olives.  Water levels are in great shape and the bugs are just amazing this year.  The past month has produced many large and healthy fish for myself, clients, and friends.  Dry fly fishing has been exceptional in all areas this year and small, size 18 pheasant tails and zebra midges have

Elk and Penns Creek are each seeing hatches of size 16-18 Blue Winged Olives which will probably last a couple more days.  These olives are hatching through out the day but are most prolific on cloudy days.  When the hatches are on look for a great spinner fall around 8:00 at night with the spinners being dark olive to almost black.  Hatches of Cahills, Slate Drakes and Sulphurs are continuing to appear on Penns as well and when the olives are slow they tend to make up the majority of what the fish are eating.

Spring Creek is fishing well with small nymphs taking most of the fish during the day.  Small copper beaded pheasant tails are still working well and the killer fly is still the black zebra midge.  We finally had to go down to 6x in the clear water but the fish continued to cooperate.  Look for Spring Creek to continue to be the most consistant stream in Central, PA for day time fishing.

John Lopez-Ona and I hooked into many fish nymphing over the weekend.  The BHPT's accounted for most of our fish on Penns Creek and the BWO eating browns eagerly took size 18's  in the mornings before the hatch.  On Spring Creek the Zebra Midge is still king with the occassional fish taking a BHPT in an 18 or 20.  Dry fly fishing on Penns had its ups and downs but if you hit the olives right it can be outstanding.

All of the Pocono and NJ streams are fishing well.  The rains in June and early July have kept the streams cool and at great levels for summer time fishing.  The evening hatches are starting to thin out a bit but the summer has many things to look forward to.  Tricos are starting to appear on most of the streams and sporadic rises to caddis and terrestrials have also be common in recent mornings.  The trout are still looking up and willing to feed on dries through out the day but nymphing with small 18-22 bead heads is still the best method of fishing. 

In the past week I have experienced some great fishing on the McMicheals and the Brodhead Creeks.  The water is clear and higher than normal for this time of year.  We are seeing May levels and temperatures in July, can't beat it.  Fish have been actively taking size 18 -20 Zebra Midges and Bead Head Pheasant Tails from morning until dark.   In the deeper runs GPS stoneflies in size 10 have also worked well.  I often fish these with a BHPT trailer in a size 18.  Look for hatches of Light Cahills, Slate Drakes, Tricos, and Caddis of various sizes on the Stroudsburg area streams for the next couple of  weeks.  The McMicheals and Brodhead both have been producing some of the nicest fish I have seen in the Poconos in years.  Nice healthy fish that have run from 10-20 inches and they have all faught hard.

Fall Success Continues in the Poconos

The Pocono Streams have all been fishing well this fall.  From Mud Run and the McMichaels to the Brodhead, I have received great reports and experienced some excellent fishing this year.  There are plenty of hold-over and wild trout to be caught and some of the streams in the region also received a fall stocking.  Try fishing small bead heads in sizes 18-20 in the deeper runs and pools.  Remember, the takes may be light and very subtle, so watch the indicator and drift closely for any hesitation or change in direction.  When all else fails hit the standard egg patterns on these streams as well.  There are plenty of fish that will or attempt to spawn in the next few weeks.  Once a fish starts on eggs, it will continue to grab them when it sees them.  Mark Wickenhieser sent over these great pictures today of some Stroudsburg area trout.  Mark is a great friend and client who often helps out with stream reports.  Nice fish Mark!

Fall Fly Fishing

Fishing in the Poconos and NJ has been very good in the past week.  This summer was excellent and it looks like the fall will continue with the same trends in quality fishing.  I have fished the McMichaels, Mud Run, and the Bushkill in Easton over the past few days and had good fishing on all of them.  On sunny days I have seen hatches of caddis that are tan to brown in color (16-18) and Tiny Blue Winged Olives (20-24).  On the occassions I have seen decent insect activity we have been able to coax some fish into rising and taking caddis.  The few times I have seen fish rising consistantly they have been on bwo's and pretty picky.  That being said small pheasant tails in 18-22 have been a good go to choice for standard nymphs along with bead head caddis patterns and often the rising fish will take the nymphs without hesitation.  Egg Patterns have been the fly of choice on most of the waters lately since many of the holdover fish are filled with eggs and trying to spawn.  In many areas, such as the Pequest in NJ, the trout don't spawn successfully so targeting these fish is not detrimental to the streams fish population.  Eggs and sucker spawn will continue to work through out the fall and winter.

We have been very successful in the past two weeks locating and catching a some extremely large fish for the mid atlantic region.  The Pequest has been the source of many of them but the Buskill in Easton and the McMichaels have produced many above average trout.  There is know doubt that the fall in PA and NJ may be an anglers best chance to catch a fish of a lifetime.

Pequest River Hold-Overs

Today, Sept 4th, I stopped by the Pequest River at the hatchery bridge.  Jeff Kurt and I saw hold-over rainbows starting to cut redds and playing the standard courting dance tag games.  As the Spring hold-overs start to head back to their “home“ to spawn they will collect with in a half mile below the hatchery and start to pair up with mates.  This is early for spawning fish but the good news is this activity will last well in to the fall and early winter.  Today started the “fall selection“ of Pequest flies.  Small egg patterns, sucker spawn, san jaun worms, midges, and small bead head nymphs all caught fish.  As pressure mounts from educated anglers and those chasing stocking trucks these fish may become spooky so use some stealth and 5x or 6x flourocarbon to land these bigger fish.  Don't be afraid to fight them aggressively and land them quickly to ensure these big fish get to fight again another day.  Care was taken with these fish and all fish on this web site to keep the fish wet and healthy for a safe release.

South of 80, the Easton area streams are fishing very well.  Martins Creek, the Bushkill and Little Lehigh are seeing hatches of Tricos and other sporadic summer hatches.  The Tricos are just getting started and the best fishing is yet to come.  Fish small Pheasant Tails and Zebra Midges to imitate the nymphs of these size 20-26 mayflies and use 6x tippet for a delicate and drag free presentation.  As the Tricos continue spinner patterns, Male and Female, in sizes 22-26 with be important durning the morning spinner fall.  Long leaders and a precise presentation will be needed to fool fish during this hatch.  Try fishing ants and beetles after the hatch.  Many fish are still looking up after the spinner fall is over.  They often fall prey to terresterials.

On May 17th I hit the South Branch with Pamela Moss and we had a great time.  Pam landed sevral nice brook and rainbow trout during our outing and she even found a couple of those wild browns that can be found in the gorge.  Most fish took size 16 dark sulphur nymphs but we did get some fish to hit a size 18 bead head caddis larva.  Pam also caught a wild brown on an X caddis in the afternoon when the fish started rising sporadically.  The South Branch and other local streams should have good hatches of Sulphurs at this time and anglers should find rising fish in the evenings for the next couple of weeks.

This Summer has provided us with some incredible fishing opportunities with cooler than average water temperatures and good flows.  The trico hatch is on strong on many of the local streams.  My best trico fishing has been on the McMicheals Creek in Stroudsburg but there are also good hatches on the Lehigh Valley Limestoners such as the Bushkill and the Little Lehigh.  If you are fishing the mornings try to hit the stream early and catch the tricos.  If you are fishing the mid-day try to pick off those occassional risers with terrestrials, caddis or stoneflies.  As the evening rolls around fish will start feeding caddis and the sporadic hatches of Cahills and Slate Drakes.  Nymphing has worked well through out the non-hatch and hatch periods a like.

All of the streams are in good condition from NJ to Central, PA.  Call or email for the most up to date info.

Flies that are working:

Bead Head Pheasant Tails 18-22

Zebra Midges(green, black, brown) 18-22

Turps GPS Stone 12

Flash Back Pheasant Tails 18-22

Ants 16-22

Trico 20-26

Slate Drakes 12-14

Cahills 14-16

Caddis (tan,black, gray) 16-20

The Summer fly fishing in the Poconos continues to be the best we have seen in years.  The McMichaels, Brodhead and the Bushkill Creeks have been fishing very well this week.  Tricos are hatching and the morning fishing has been excellent.  Nymphing with small beadheads such as Zebra Midges and Pheasant tails has been productive in the fast water and often produces more and bigger fish than working the tricos on top.  The best surface action has been on the McMichaels in the morning with trout rising in all of the pools for a couple of hours throughout the delayed harvest area. The Brodhead has had rising fish in the morning and the evening with fish taking tricos, slate drakes, caddis, and stoneflies. 

I have also received good reports on the Lehigh River at Francis Walter Dam with aggressively rising fish each evening.  The Lehigh has plenty of cool water and fish this summer and trout can still be found through the entire river system.

Flies:

Tricos 20-26

Slate Drakes 12-14

Cahills 14-16

White Fly 12-14

Terrestrials 12-22

Zebra Midges 18-22

BHPT 18-22

San Juan Worms 12-18

Yesterday I was out prospecting the Pequest and the South Branch for a trip this weekend.  Both sections had great numbers of fish and the Pequest gave up the best insect sample I have seen in years.  I caught dozens of fish during the day and I never fished a hole hard since I was coming back to guide.  Most fish took Dark Sulphur nymphs in a 16 or a size 18 bead head caddis larva.  There were hatches of Tan and black caddis through out the day and fish started to key in on the caddis in the afternoon.  I caught a few fish on caddis pupa as well.  The best trout fishing I have seen in NJ for years.

BT

The rainy summer has continued and the fish are loving it.  I have been on many of the local streams in the past couple of weeks and they all are doing well.  The best fishing has still been with small nymphs and San Juan worms but mornings and evenings have also produced some good dry fly fishing when the conditions are right.

The Brodhead is fishing well in town and in Analomink but as usual, it can be finicky when the trout are not cooperating.  Many mornings and evenings have been good with 10-20 fish being hooked in a trip but the last evening I was out in the upper reaches we only landed 4 fish.  Stick with nymphs in the low light conditions unless you see fish rising.

The Bushkill in Easton has nymphed well for weeks and when the water rises it really turns on. Exceptional numbers of stocked and hold-over rainbows are being caught on a regular basis and the wild browns are making an appearence a few times a day as well.  Small zebra midges, pheasant tails, scuds and san jaun worms are all good choices.  When rising fish are spotted try black caddis, lbwo's, and tricos.  The trico spinner fall in the morning has been good on the Bushkill

NJ streams are doing well with weekly rains keeping most of them at exceptable temperatures.  The Pequest has plenty of trout left in it and is fishing well.  It has produced some of the nicest fish of the season and most of them should make it to fall.  Getting to the bottom of the deep holes has been key to finding many of the larger fish.

</FO  

Eastern, PA Trout Report

This morning I scouted the McMichaels and the Bushkill for a trip this week.  The early morning trico action seems to be coming to an end.  There was the occassional rising trout to micro caddis and the very few tricos that were around but not enough to target numbers of rising trout.  So what do we do about that?  This morning fish fed on San Juan Worms and small pheasant tails on the McMicheals and the Bushkill.  The next couple of weeks will provide us will the occassional hatch of Slate Drakes, Little Blue Winged Olives and Caddis.  Match the hatch dry fly fishing and nymphing with pheasant tails prince nymphs, Slate Drakes, caddis larva and zebra midiges will be the most productive methods of fishing.  The water is higher then normal for this time of year so make sure if you are nymphing you are getting to the bottom. 

All the streams are fishing well and are clear at this point in time.  Water temperatures are running in the mid 60's and the fish are active.  Take advatage of the late summer trout fishing while we have it.  These two beautiful fish were caught this morning on 6x tippet and both took size 16 San Juans.

Poconos Fly Fishing Report

Yesterdays trip to the McMicheals provided good fishing through the course of the day.  Water temperatures were in the high 50's and the trout feed on nymphs and dries all day long.  Al Mushlin caught this beatiful rainbow while nymph fishing with one of my Ben Turpin Custom Rod Cane demo rods.  After he got it in his hands he didn't want to fish with the graphite we brought.  Fish took the standard nymphs I have been using for the past few weeks.  San Jaun Worms have really been the favorite since most of the mayflies have hatched for the season.  When we found fish feeding on the surface they eagerly took ants.  We fished my favorite size 16 black parachute ant and had no problems watching the trout suck down the tasty offering.

During the day I recieved information that the Tricos are still on the Brodhead and the upper end of the Bushkill near Easton.  The hatches are getting later in the morning and the bugs are extremely small.(24-26)  The cool weather will start to slow the hatch down but appearently they are still hatching in some streams in the Poconos.  Look for Slate Drakes, Stenos, and Olives for mayflies and a variety of caddis to provide the morning and evening hatches from hear on out.

Pocono Stream Report

The cool evenings are now back and the water temperatures in the Pocono are perfect for trout fishing no matter what time of day you hit the water.  Water temps in the low 60's equal active trout.  Last week the fish on the McMicheals were taking San Juan Worms and Bead Head Pheasant Tails all morning long and the occassional rising trout would often take a Slate Drake or an ant.  Water levels and temperatures should remain consistant this week and fishing should continue to be excellent. 

Flies that are working:

Slate Drakes 12-14

BWO 18-22

Pheasant Tails 16-22

Zebra Midges Black, Cream, Green 18-22

BH Olive caddis 16-20

San Juan Worm 12-18

Ants 16-20

Lehigh River and Brodhead Creek

We had good dry fly action on both the Lehigh River below Francis Walter Dam and the Brodhead Creek on Tuesday.  Hatches of Slate Drakes, Little Bluewinged Olives, Hebe, and caddis were all spotted.  Fish seemed to prefer the Slate Drakes over anything else even when the other insects out numbered them.  Temperatures are excellent on the Pocono Streams and water levels are very reasonable for this time of year.  The Lehigh was slightly discolored due to the weekends releases but should be clear soon.  The Brodhead and other local streams are gin clear.  All said and done we landed got 4 nice fish on the Lehigh and 4 more on the Brodhead with several that were misses or last minute refusals.  When they refused the dry they often took a nymph later.

Pequest River Update

The fishing in the Pequest was excellent on Wednesday.  We hooked numbers of fish and several that were close to 20 inches.  The micro egg was the hot fly for the day throughout the creek and the fish fed aggresively on them.  Fish a pair of eggs and keep them slow along the bottom for best results.  Although I did not get any pictures of the larger fish I did manage to click a shot of this nice 15” bow.  

Brodhead Report 9.14.09

Today I fished the Brodhead with Mark Wickenhiser and we landed some nice fish.  There were sporadic hatches of Little Blue Winged Olives, Slate Drakes, Pink Ladies, and caddis.  The fish were picky in the mid-day sun, but that is normal on the Brodhead.  We fished from 10:30 to 1:30 and caught two nice rainbows and one wild brown, all on nymphs.  Water temperature was 62 degrees and it was crystal clear.  Long leaders in deep pools was the best technique with the high sun and fish were taking  zebra midges and Slate Drake  GPS nymphs. Fishing on the Brodhead should continue to be good for weeks to come.  The fish are healthy and colorful and feeding well on the fall hatches.  Watch the forcast and look for those cool cloudy days for some good fishing.

Upper Delaware and Clarion River Report

Fishing on the Big Rivers over the weekend had ups and downs like usual.  The Upper Delaware River System was fishing fairly well with hatches of Tricos, Olives, Slate Drakes, Hebes and caddis but the rising fish were sporadic along with the bugs.  Moral of the story, when the bugs were present the fish were feeding, those who can present the fly like a natural will often get a fish to take the fly.  Thursdays trip produced a few nice fish that were well earned and Fridays trip produced more fish eating the fly but less in the boat.  It all comes down to angling experience on the river. 

The Clarion was a clear and running at good levels.  There was no bug activity but fish took streamers and nymphs throughout the day.  This is a new river for me and I found it has lots to offer.  The Clarion is known for its 20” + Browns and we did manage to find a couple on Tuesday float.

For those interested in Clarion or Upper Delaware Floats this fall or next season contact me at ben@benturpin.com The big rivers produce big fish and a float is definately the way to go.

Penns Creek and Spring Creek Sept 19th-20th

Penns Creek was filled with fish willing to eat on Saturday.  From 10:00 in the morning until dark we fished over rising fish and prospected with Slate Drake imitations.  The fishing was the best fall fishing I have had on Penns in many years.  The cool summer conditions left the Penns Creek Browns with lots spunk and a bit of a gut, which made for fun fishing and some ballistic takes on Slate Drake duns and emergers.  We caught so many fish we lost count.

Spring Creek was a bit low. The upper section near the Paradise fished well but the weeds left us looking for something more.  Although there were some Tricos in the air we spent most of the day fishing zebra midges and San Juan Worms to heathy wild trout.  After catching several fish in the Paradise and the state fishing lots along Creek Road we headed below Bellefonte for deeper, faster water.  Greg Scott pounded the fish in this section with midges and San Juan Worms making it look easy by hooking close to 10 fish in one hole.  It was a great day with many fish caught.  The one that got away is still in the creek but I doubt that Greg or I will ever tell where that 28” fish is living.  I want to go back and get its picture in the near future.

Fishing over the past two weeks in Central, PA has been great.  We hit the Drakes dead on this year and Greg Scott and Russ Potts hooked and landed some of the nicest fish I have seen in Penns Creek in years.  Good solid browns and bows actively feed in Weikert last week on Drakes and we suspect it will continiue with Sulphurs, Cahills, and Bluewinged olives for the next couple of weeks.  In the later part of last week I hit Penns Creek near Coburn with the guys from Hacklebarney TU.  We caught several fish but the big draw was the show that the insects put on.  Green Drakes, Coffin flies, Grey Fox and March Brown spinners, Sulphurs, Caddis and Stoneflies all were in the air and on the water.  What diversity!  A great time was had in some of the best hatches and water conditions I have seen in years.

As always a few trips were made to Spring Creek during the week and it produced great numbers of fish, especially in the Paradise.  Since so many anglers have been wading the area above and below the Paradise the fishing has be tougher.  To avoid the aggrevation of the other wading anglers I have been hitting the special regulation areas and doing quite well.  Almost all the fish were taken on nymphs and most on size 18 BHPT's and black and silver zebra midges in 18-20.

The McMicheals Creek in the delayed harvest area is fishing very well.  large numbers of stocked rainbows can be found through out the creek and especially in the deep holes.  We found large numbers of fish rising to black and tan caddis and chasing pupa.  When I kick screened the creek I found large numbers of sulphur nymphs which should be hatching in the next couple of weeks. 

The Brodhead is in the best shape I have seen in years.  Plenty of water and when I sampled the rocks I found more sulphurs and bluewinged olives than I had seen in years.  The diversity of insects was also more impressive than yeats past.  The section effected most by the floods has the best bug population.  For those of you who thought the creek was dead or dying, think again.  If we could only clean up the lower section and get some shade on the stream it would be right back to were it was years ago.  I am opptimistic of an excellent year on the Brodhead.  Good numbers of stocked and holdover fish and good bugs will make for a great year.

BT

I visited Spruce Creek at the George Harvey Section on Monday during a lull in the action at the On the Fly Event at Harpsters.  Fishing was good and I landed several wild browns in the course of an hour and a half.  Most took small bead head hare's ear larva or small pheasant tails.  Tan caddis and Sulphurs were hatching and fish sporadically rose through out the stream.  I am looking forward to a great Central, PA season with good hatches and plenty of water this spring.  For those who haven't heard of On the Fly it is a great fund raiser for the youth programs of Centre County.  Lots of fun and a great cause promoted by some great people.  Check it out and get a team together for next season.

BT

Just had a couple of hours today to get out on the Little Lehigh while in Allentown on business.  The water was up with the recent rain and had a slight tinge to it.  It fished well and size 18 and 20 bead heads on 6x produced 4 nice fish from 12 to 16 inches.  One nice hefty brown and one beautifully colored rainbow about 15.5 inches.  Hatching was sparse mid day but I imagine that it turned on closer to evening hours.  Some very small BWOs were hatching but no fish were rising.  Still a great nymphing stream no matter what is hatching.  Small nymphs and light line = success on this stream.

BT

Sunday evening Ray and I fished the Martins and hit our favorite haunts.  We caught about 2 doz trout, a mix of wild browns and stocky bows, in a matter of a few hours.  Most of the fish took small bead head pheasant tails and what we call Phil's Caddis, and bead head caddis with a hare's ear body.  Ray and I both caught the occasional rising trout on Tan X Caddis as well.  Water conditions were on the low side but fishing was good and the recent rain should bring it up slightly.  Still a top notch stream when the water is there.

BT