Time: 8:30AM – 12:30PM
Location: Bridal Path Bridge
Monocacy Creek 07/02/2006 Photo Album
Jeff Shafer called to tell me the Monocacy was clear and fishable, although somewhat high for this time of year. He mentioned that tricos were hatching, and I met him at the bridge on Bridal Path Road a little after 8AM.
Bridal Path Bridge
We began fishing a long smooth pool below the bridge. Numerous trout were rising along both banks along with several in the middle of the stream. I tied on a poly wing trico spinner, but I was not generating any interest. Jeff switched to a parachute dun and began to connect. He offered me a similar fly, and I accepted and managed two browns. The size of the trout was generally eleven to twelve inches. As time went by, the dun no longer produced, so I tied the spinner back on and met with success. I caught one brown on the black bodied spinner and moved above the bridge with Jeff.
Chunky Monocacy Brown
Several fish were rising on the far side of the run below where two channels merged. I caught two browns here, as I persevered with the spinner, as Jeff switched to a beetle. The hatch now thinned significantly, and I was not seeing rises. I switched to a yellow Letort hopper trailing a beadhead hares ear and almost immediately caught a small brown on the beadhead hares ear nymph.
Another Trico Shot
Jeff commenced fishing up the right channel which was smooth, while I chose the left channel, since it provided nice runs and riffles. I worked the dry/dropper combination up the left channel, but success evaded me. I crossed over to the other side, and Jeff was not experiencing luck either, so we headed back to the flat water below the bridge and searched for subtle bank risers. I switched over to one of Jeff’s beetle imitations and cast to an indentation on the far bank, where Jeff spotted a rise. A fish sipped the beetle, and I had a momentary hook up, but alas the fish escaped. The weight of this fish felt greater than others I caught. I spotted a rise directly downstream from me five feet out from a dead tree trunk. I cast the beetle directly downstream and fed out line. When it reached the point of the observed rise, a brown sipped in the beetle, and I coaxed it into my net. Not seeing anymore fish revealing their whereabouts, I walked downstream below the cement dam and switched over to a hopper and beadhead hares ear. In the riffles below the dam, I caught a small brown.
Great Stream Choice
Jeff and I tried to catch a rising trout that was tight to some debris jutting out from the bank, but neither of us could succeed. We began photographing Japanese beetles, as they were thick on many of the bank side weeds near us. Jeff showed me how to use the spot setting on the camera to allow auto focus on super macro photos.
Fish Landed: 8
Cool Antennae