Time: 8:00AM – 11:00AM; 12:00PM – 1:00PM; 5:00PM – 8:30PM

Location: Swinging bridge, Bingaman Lane, Glen Iron

Penns Creek 05/31/2018 Photo Album

Thursday began as an overcast day and remained that way throughout, as temperatures reached the upper sixties and low seventies. These conditions seemed ideal to two eager fishermen such as Jeff and me. Flows were another key variable, and the creek was now down to 500 CFS with reasonable clarity. Everything seemed to point to ideal conditions for a solid day on Penns Creek.

We departed from the Schafer cabins and ate a quick breakfast while in transit, before we arrived at the swinging bridge area along Penns Creek. Jeff introduced me to this stretch on Wednesday morning, after we departed from Jolly Grove. In a bit of a surprise we never witnessed any significant green drake dun emergence or surface feeding to the large mayflies despite our early arrival and overcast skies. I began fishing above the swinging bridge with a grey fox and focused my efforts on a small side channel, but the fish ignored my drifts. I began to experiment with different flies and cycled through a female green drake dun and a green drake spinner. I hypothesized that the trout were aware of the large mayflies recently present in strong numbers, but the fish harbored different thoughts, and no significant green drake hatching activity materialized.

Merging Currents

When I reached a beautiful arced pool, I converted to a dry/dropper configuration with a yellow fat Albert, hares ear nymph and a prince leadwing coachman. Early on during this phase of my Thursday fishing I lost the prince leadwing coachman and replaced it with another version that Jeff tied and provided during my last visit to Penns Creek. The replacement coachman immediately attracted attention, as I landed two suckers and a tiny trout. I persisted and tossed the trio of flies to the top of a run and allowed the fat Albert to drift along a seam. The unimpeded float did not last long, before the fat Albert dipped, and I raised my arm to set the hook in a sixteen inch brown trout. What a surprise and thrill!

Under Control

Several Fish Rose Along the Debris

My confidence in the coachman soared, and I approached a very alluring run along the left bank. A pair of fish revealed their presence, so I tossed the three fly combination to a small eddy. The Albert immediately paused, and I set the hook and felt temporary contact with a moving object. Unfortunately the fish escaped, and I paused to assess my next move. As I scanned the run and eddy, I was amazed to notice that the rising fish resumed their steady feeding activity. I rested the area some more, while I switched to a single dry fly approach, and then I cast the usual array of Penns Creek imitations, but none pleased the occupants of the run and eddy. Jeff joined me, and he tossed another assortment their way, but we eventually walked away after an hour of futile casting. We were chastened by the wily Penns Creek trout in this location.

While we dwelled on our recent rebuke from Pennsylvania trout, we retreated to the minivan and once again drove to the Sportsman’s Club, where we ate our lunches. After lunch we traveled downstream to Bingaman Lane, where we fished from 12:00PM until 1:00PM, but the long pool and water upstream were unproductive. Another move was in order, and this time we journeyed to Glen Iron. We spotted some isonychia duns during the morning above the swinging bridge, and Jeff theorized that they would be more prolific farther downstream.

Sweet Spot

We spent the remainder of our day in the Glen Iron area, after we ate our dinners. Just before returning to the van for dinner and in a location above the bridge, I landed a thirteen inch brown trout that smacked the parachute isonychia. This bit of success transpired while Jeff chatted with a passing motorist named Bill Webber.

Isonychia Fan

After dinner I returned to the dry/dropper method and worked some nice runs above the bridge, but my determined efforts were thwarted. Next we hiked up the road a bit to a point where the creek forked, and I spent most of the evening above the split. I threw mostly a parachute isonychia and iso comparadun, and I experienced two brief hook ups along with one fish that leaped and shed the hook. Quite a few fish rose regularly in the wide riffle section above the split in the creek, and I was frustrated by my inability to bring one to my net.

Wild Iris

We chose to remain in Glen Iron to avoid the hordes that undoubtedly chased the green drake spinner fall in the No Kill area, and we encountered some moderate isonychia activity. We had the place to ourselves and cast to rising fish on a pleasant evening in central Pennsylvania. No complaints from this Colorado based fly fisherman.

Fish Landed: 2

Time: 8:00AM – 10:00AM; 11:00AM – 1:00PM; 6:30PM – 10:00PM

Location: Jolly Grove, Swinging Bridge, Long Pool

Penns Creek 05/30/2018 Photo Album

Chasing green drakes as the hatch migrates up Pennsylvania waterways is a time-honored tradition, and Jeff and I joined the search with renewed intensity. We stopped to view the creek at Glen Iron on Tuesday, and several fishermen were casting to rising fish at 9AM. In a casual conversation with one of the anglers, we learned that the green drake hatch ended at 9:00, when the sun burned off the fog and haze. On Tuesday evening we visited the popular No Kill section, and little evidence of the presence of green drakes was present. From our initial exploration we concluded that the epicenter of the hatch and spinner fall was somewhere in between these to points.

We woke up at 6AM on Wednesday morning and after a quick breakfast of tea and a muffin, we departed Millheim and drove to Penns Creek. We approached from the east and made our initial stop at Jolly Grove. A small parking lot was located near the intersection of the paved road and dirt lane, and a sign announced that public fishing was available by walk in only. I climbed into my waders and assembled my Sage four weight, and Jeff and I hiked a decent ways to place some distance beyond the fishermen that occupied the first two attractive pools. Lodging in Aaronsburg enabled an early start, and we capitalized with our rods prepared to cast by 8AM. We hoped to catch the morning green drake dun emergence before the sun once again burned off the cloud cover.

Green Drake Dun Eater

I observed for a few minutes, and my optimism soared, as I spotted several rises along some seams between large submerged boulders. I began with a male green drake dun with an extended foam body, and I was fortunate to land two brown trout in the twelve inch range. The early success, however, was followed by a period of adversity as several fish turned away at the last instant and refused my offering. Many of the duns floating on the surface were quite large, and the females outsize males, so I converted to a larger extended body foam imitation. This exchange paid dividends, when I landed a slightly larger thirteen inch brown, but then several refusals dampened my optimism once again.

Random Spots

As was the case on Tuesday the sun broke through at 9AM, and suddenly the surface of the stream was devoid of mayfly filet mignon, consequently the trout ceased their surface feeding. Jeff and I decided to halt our efforts at Jolly Grove and moved on to another location farther upstream.

So Prehistoric

Our second fishing location on Wednesday was near a swinging bridge. We descended a steep bank to the creek and began fishing upstream. By now the sun was blazing, and the air temperature escalated into the eighties, and the humidity seemed fairly heavy to this Colorado fisherman. Before I began my quest for Penns Creek trout, I inspected some tree branches that dangled over the water, and my gaze stalled on a strand of spider webbing. At least twenty-five green drake spinners were trapped in the dense web, and Jeff and I concluded that we were in close proximity to the sought after epicenter of the spinner fall.

Perfect

Lots of Spider Food

I prospected some very attractive pools and runs in a small side channel along the left side with a green drake dun, but the trout were not fooled. I decided to convert to my trusted dry/dropper technique, and I featured a yellow fat Albert, beadhead hares ear, and a prince nymph. These flies were also ignored by the local residents, and I decided to experiment with a yellow Pat’s rubber legs.

Decent Size. Very Wide.

Imagine my surprise, when I began to lift the flies at the tail of a short pool, and the Pat’s rubber legs was attacked by a hungry fish. As I began to fight the nymph eater, I caught a brief glimpse of my foe, and it displayed a very wide body. I was beginning to think I hooked a rare bluegill in Penns Creek, but then I applied  pressure and brought the hooked fish to the surface and realized I was tangling with another bass. Unlike the small battler on Tuesday, this smallmouth was around twelve inches long, but it carried quite a bit of weight on its short frame.

The fishing in this area of Penns Creek was quite slow despite some very nice structure, and I attributed the lack of action to the heat and time of day. We once again retreated to the minivan, and Jeff decided to drive to the Union County Sportsman’s Club to take advantage of the WiFi to check the weather. We also utilized the break to  down our lunches.

In the late afternoon we returned to the segment of the stream that occupied us on Tuesday morning. It was between Jolly Grove and the swinging bridge, and we surmised that we were near the center of the green drake emergence. I hiked down the gravel lane, until I was below the cluster of cabins in the area. My line contained the yellow fat Albert, hares ear nymph, and a large stonefly with a peacock dubbed body. I found myself behind a cabin, where two beach chairs were mounted on a stump next to a sign that read “BYOB Beach”. I fished the edge of the fast water in this area thoroughly with no sign of fish, and then I swapped the stonefly for a slender prince nymph.

I moved upstream to a spot where a tree extended horizontally over the stream for fifteen feet, and in this area I landed a thirteen inch brown trout followed by a seventeen inch version of the same trout species. Both fish attacked the slender prince wet fly, and needless to say, I was thrilled with this dose of nymphing success on the ever challenging Penns Creek.

Pleased With This Specimen

Jeff and I designated our rendezvous time to be 6:30, and we met at the bottom end of Long Pool at the appointed moment. We carefully staked out our claim to the prototypical long relatively slow moving pool, and I found a log and consumed my dinner which looked amazingly similar to lunch. By 7:30 fish began to rise sporadically, and this activity continued until 8:30. I began casting to fish that were within my range with a grey fox parachute and comparadun, but the fish were having none of them.

Nice Pool Ahead

I pondered the situation and gathered the facts. A fair number of fish were rising, but I saw no evidence of sailboat-like wings on the surface. Perhaps some form of sparse spinner fall was responsible for the occasional sip? A March brown spinner duped an eighteen inch brown trout on Tuesday evening. Could the same fly work its magic on Wednesday evening? I tied one to my line and after ten casts, a thirteen inch brown elevated and chomped the spinner. Once in awhile my logic leads to success.

Display

By 9PM darkness descended on the creek, and the green drake spinners swarmed up and down the waterway. They performed their mating dance and began to fall on to the surface. The sound of slurps became louder and more frequent, and my heart rate accelerated, as I anticipated a fat Penns Creek brown trout on the end of my line. Alas I was only able to manage two temporary connections and a splashy refusal, before my casts became futile attempts to blind fish to the sound of rising fish. I attempted to estimate where my fly was, and if I heard a slurp near the assumed position, I executed a steady set. During the one hour after darkness I hooked an enviable quantity of water.

Although I failed to land a trout during the intense spinner fall, it was an amazing scene etched in my memory banks. Huge spinners buzzed up and down the creek and bounced off my rod and banged into my face. Rarely does one experience a dense hatch or spinner fall of an insect with a body that extends for one inch. Nature creates some incredible moments.

Fish Landed: 6

Time: 9:30AM – 9:30PM

Location: Penns Creek and Elk Creek

Penns Creek 05/29/2018 Photo Album

I flew from Charlotte, NC to Philadelphia, Pa on Monday, May 28, Memorial Day. Jane returned to Denver, while I continued on the second leg of the eastern swing with three days of fly fishing in central Pennsylvania and a weekend attending my 45th reunion at Bucknell University. I anxiously followed the weather in Pennsylvania, and I was encouraged to see that the flows on Penns Creek diminished to the 600 CFS range. This level of water remained high, but my fishing companion, Jeff, assured me it was manageable. The weather projections forecast the potential for heavy rain on Thursday, but I remained fairly certain that at least two days of decent fishing were in my future.

I rented a car and drove from the Philadelphia airport to Whitehall, Pa., where I met my friend Jeff. We loaded the minivan on Monday night and scheduled an early departure for Tuesday. Jeff wanted to be on the water early before the sun burned off the clouds to produce challenging fishing conditions. I set my alarm for 4:30AM Eastern time, and I actually woke up a few minutes before the alarm sounded. I pulled on my clothes and grabbed my bag, and we were on our way before 5AM. As dawn emerged, heavy clouds filled the sky, and dense patches of fog shrouded the hills and valleys along our route. We were pleased to see this level of cloud cover, and optimism crept into our thoughts.

Chasing Green Drakes

We stopped for a quick breakfast in Mifflinburg at the Old Turnpike, and we arrived at a parking space at the end of a gravel road near Penns Creek by 9AM. We were anxious to inspect the water, so we quickly climbed into our waders, and I assembled my Sage four weight. We hiked down a gravel road at a quick pace, and I finally stepped into the water at 9:30. By now the clouds burned off, and the sun began to elevate the temperature. The flows were in the 600 CFS range, and the olive tinged water provided decent clarity. Steady food on the surface would certainly catch the attention of the local stream residents.

Light Coloration

Jeff directed me to the right braid around a small island at the end of the lane, and as we observed, two fish made their presence known. I tied on a male green drake dun, that Jeff graciously loaned to me, and flicked a short cast to the spot where the lower fish rose minutes earlier. On the fourth cast a mouth appeared, and I set the hook and temporarily connected with my first fish of the day. I moved on to the location of the second rise observed, and a ten inch brown accosted the green drake and enabled me to guide my first Penns Creek trout of the day into my net. It was only a feisty ten inch fish, but I was nonetheless pleased to enjoy green drake success.

Placid Penns Creek

Just above the point of the island a stone wall bordered the creek, and I tossed some casts to within a foot of the solid structure. The ploy paid dividends, when a smallmouth bass blasted the green drake. The warmwater species was no longer than eight inches, but it resisted admirably against the inevitable destination of my net. A bit farther upstream an eleven inch brown trout crushed the green drake dun imitation, and I was thrilled to experience early success, as the sun blazed and the temperature soared.

At 11:30 I exited the stream and circled to the lower end of the entry road below a long narrow island. I patiently surveyed the area, but rising fish were absent in the riffles of moderate depth. The structure of the stream in the area suggested that a dry/dropper approach might yield positive results, so I converted to a fat Albert, beadhead hares ear nymph, and salvation nymph. This trio of flies were mainstays in Colorado. Would they produce similar success in Pennsylvania?

Best of the Day So Far

Initially the answer was no, and I cycled through a march brown nymph and green drake nymph before settling on a 20 incher. I covered half of the attractive water in the right braid, before I approached some nice deep runs below a tree that projected ten feet out and parallel to the surface of the creek. Finally the 20 incher earned its keep, as it enticed a pair of nice twelve inch and thirteen inch chunky browns to my net. Another decent fish bumped the fat Albert and then drifted back for 1.5 feet and aggressively slurped the large yellow foam creation. I played the hungry feeder for a bit, before it escaped and somehow broke off the two bottom flies.

Dry/Dropper Catch

At 1:30 Jeff and I returned to the car, and we decided to explore some new water. By now the sun was high in the sky, and the air temperature and humidity were soaring, so my expectations for fishing success were minimal. We traveled west and north and checked in to our lodging at the Schafer cabins in Aaronsburg. Since we were in the neighborhood, we drove a bit farther west on route 45 to Millheim, and we stopped to sample Elk Creek. Elk Creek is a small spring creek tributary to Penns Creek, and it flows through the center of the small town of Millheim.

Exploring Elk Creek

We limited our stay to an hour, and I covered .3 mile during this time. The stream displayed the characteristic milky olive spring creek color, but it was flowing high from the heavy rain a week prior. The high volume of water made it more difficult to identify the prime spots, and as expected fish were not rising during the middle of a hot afternoon. I persisted with a dry/dropper arrangement, and my only action was a foul hooked wild brown that resided in a small bank side eddy.

Jeff and I agreed that Elk was an interesting piece of water, but we departed and returned to the No Kill section of Penns Creek, in case activity heated up during the cooler evening hours. We consumed some sandwiches and snacks for dinner and then proceeded to the creek, where we fished until 9:30. We were disappointed to learn that no significant hatch or spinner fall developed, and therefore dry flies were mostly ineffective. We experimented with green drake duns and spinners as well as an assortment of grey foxes and sulfurs, and despite the presence of these aquatic insects, the fish did not respond.

March Brown Spinner Attracted This Brown Trout

During a one hour period I knotted a March brown spinner on my line and prospected some juicy sections in a side channel. This tactic rewarded me with the fish of the day, when an eighteen inch brown trout confidently sipped the spinner. I cast across the main current to a four foot wide band of slower moving water next to the bank, and a downstream drift worked its magic.

Penns Creek Beauty

A five fish day on Penns Creek is quite good based on my experience, and a hefty wild eighteen inch bruiser was icing on the cake. My central Pennsylvania fishing adventure was only beginning, and we were zeroing in on the highly sought after green drake emergence and spinner fall.

Fish Landed: 5