best days ever

[David]

As I tie flies during the winter, I typically spend as much time thinking about past trips as I do actual tying. I was thinking this morning...what rivers produced my best trips ever? Three rivers stood out, but they were "best trips" for different reasons.

1. Delaware river... I was wade fishing just below a feeder stream in the evening when a spinner fall occured on the feeder. The fish in the Delaware stacked below the feeder stream for an easy meal. I was catching large fish after large fish. What made this special though was the audience of guides with their well outfitted clients upsteam getting skunked. I could here the client, at one point, saying "He's got ANOTHER one". I'm certainly not a professional fisher, but it was nice to be noticed on a famous water like the Delaware.

2. Yough... it was the 4th of July weekend during a drought year. I had to get away from the house (I can't remember what the issues were that fored me out though). I hit the Yough below Ramcat and hit a grey drake hatch that lasted for about an hour, As that dwindled, a yellow drake hatch began and lasted for about 2 hours. The water was low enough that I could wade just about everywhere, so no fish was out of reach. Lot's of heavy fish. After that died off, I was walking upstream and noticed risers in a slow section...I discovered a BWO hatch and fished those risers for another hour and a half. Lot's of big fish, multiple hatches, and mental therapy.

3. A mountain stream by Pine Creek about 20some years ago...I don't even know what stream, but I can still picture it. I had been raised on stockers with salmon eggs. I began fly fishing through self taught trial and error, but I loved it. I didn't know much about wild trout. I was just hiking though the woods and witnessed a fish rise. I went back to get my flyrod. I caught several beautiful wild brookies that day. It was as simple as that...a light went off and opened the door for years of memories.

What streams produced your most memorable trips (exact locations not necessary of course.)

 

[Bruno]

Calf Creek in the Escalante area in Utah. It is a spring creek full of wild brownies in an unbelievable setting. I did not catch many but I landed a few. We were there in May. Plus there is an amazing waterfall on the creek. My first out of State Trout on a fly rod.

An evening spent fishing a trib of Sinnemahoning and catching a ridiculous number of trout. I was on a road trip fishing by myself for a week. I was skunked all day and ended up going to a roadhouse in the late afternoon for some beers. I started talking about fishing to a guy sitting next to me at the bar. Well after about a half hour he asked me if I wanted to go fishing and that he knew a spot. His spot was on his land and a small mountain stream. He showed me the creek and I fished for several hours. We drank beers from the cooler and literally caught dozens of trout. It was a nice night.

A morning on the Loyalhanna way back when. I just started tying flies at the time. I took out the caddis that I had tied in my tying class and put it on the water. Damn if I didn’t catch a trout. It was small, but I was walking around that day like I was Lee Wulf


Salmon River , NY. Big fish in skinny water.

 

[pete41]

Missouri River,Montana- campground between Toston and Townsend.Mid October.Over for three days of spawning run of browns.Got up a little late that morning-still dark but knew I could not make it to my favorite spot before it got light.
Decided to try the inside bend right there at campground.Tent full of out of state fishermen pitched about 35 yards from bank.I quietly slipped into water and started streamer fishing my way down river.
YES-they were up on gravel-caught eight,four over four pounds[trophies-called wall fish in that area] in a little over an hour.Sun came up and the fish slipped into deep water.Good but not great morning as nothing over six.
What made it so much fun was that shortly after I started fishing I could hear the out of staters stirring around,then smell breakfast cooking.Not one bothered to stroll over and look at the river.Fortunately the bank was high enough they couldn't see I was doing exactly what they came to Montana to do-nail them.
A-don't claim you would not have enjoyed putting one over on the visiting firemen-lol
B. -please keep in mind that in Montana fishing the spawners is considered very sporting and the only way fly fishermen can get a shot at the browns which live in deep lakes[Canyon Ferry] the rest of the year.The river is barren of trout at that part otherwise-too hot.

 

[tomgamber]

Right here...


8500 feet and full of 14-18 inch cutts...only need one fly...14 adams..must have caught 50 that day...there are 4 more lakes within and square mile...only takes an hour to walk to this one from th road but its straight UP!

 

[shipnfish2006]

1. Falling Springs sulphurs two springs ago. To this day I don't think I'll ever touch that number again in the hertitage section. In addition to the number of trout I landed, I also brought to net 3 over 17".

2. White River, Vermont 2006. The numbers were decent, but I had been on this stream 2 years earlier and it was amazing how much better I was at fly fishing from 2 year before. It just seemed like I could do no wrong on the one day I got to fish it (It rained the entire rest of the week there).

3. 6/6/06 in the mountains fishing several wild brookie and brown streams I had one of the most memorable fly fishing experiences that I've ever had. I didn't land 1 over 14", but what a blast. I like to think that was the day that changed the way I fish.

 

[dryflyguy]

depends on your definition of "best day"

I learned to flyfish up kettle creek 25 years ago, and I know one honey hole there where I used to catch over 100 fish a day.
Of course, they were all fresh stocked fish, and nothing large.
After I had been flyfishing for awhile, I turned my attention to wild or holdover trout, and started fishing the limestone streams.
I never caught anywhere close to that number of fish in a day there, but have had some 20-30 fish days.
Now, I look for big fish, and would rather catch one large one, instead of a dozen 10 inchers. quality over quantity I guess
That said, a few fishing trips that really stand out in my memory:

I had a day on the Delaware river a few years ago when I caught over 20 fish during the Hendrickson hatch - all nice 16-20 inch fish that really fought hard
Fishing the Bighorn river in the '90's when it was full of big fish that put you in your backing in no time. And it was no big deal to catch 20 -30 a day on dry flies

 

[Wmass]

August/2005: One of my best days ever was one where I only caught about four or five fish total. I was fishing a small river near my parent's house in Massachusetts that flows through some nice state woods. It was a hot day, well above 90 degress, but this river runs really cool most summers and this summer it had plenty of cool water. I started around 10AM and hadn't gotten much more than a few strikes, although I spooked plenty of the wild brookies that live in this stream. I started almost a mile below and worked my way well into the woods hitting every pool and nook in that stream. It was around 4PM when some caddis, sulfurs, and brown mayflies started coming off and I worked my way up to a small pool at the base of a small waterfall. On my first cast I saw my size #16 BWO pattern get slammed by a fish and I landed a nice rainbow. About ten minutes later I landed a nice wild 10" brookie on the same pattern in the same pool. I then worked my way up the falls and caught two more and lost one.

It wasn't the best day of fishing but what made this one special was the way that I was fishing in a nice isolated place that still held wild fish, and I was able to do all this in my own backyard. I still get back to this stream every trip home and it still has its pools and hatches that surprise me. Also, it made a nice break from school and later that night I was able to sit back thinking about that day with a cold beer from the local brewery there.

 

[David]

Wmass...what river? I've fished a number of rivers up there.

 

[schrec]

My best day ever -- actually my best half-hour ever -- happened on one of the most crowded streams during the most crowded hatches. Spring Creek, 1996 late-May during the Sulphur hatch. It was dusk and I was having a hard time finding a place to fish, but I noticed an open area in the tail out of a deep pool below the Paradise. The current swept along a log on the far side cutting a bit of a run. I noticed some fish rising so I got into casting position. I couldn't believe what I was looking at; 7 or 8 fish, BIG, fish just under the surface picking off duns as pretty as you please. I caught 6 fish in half an hour 17 to 22 inches. Every large fish from the pool above must have positioned itself in that short run. When I left because of darkness, some of the fish I had just caught were still feeding!
I'll never forget it.

rising fish always
schrec

 

[jayL]

I have a run on a berks county stream that I almost have to myself during sulphurs.

Time and again, I stand there and smoke a cigar, as the flotilla of yellow sailboats arrives from the riffles above. The trout, mixed with smallmouth, go ballistic. I usually trail a size 22 ant behind until they begin to exclusively key on the mayflies. Those are my clearest and best memories of good fishing days. The weather is always perfectly room temperature, and the breeze is light enough to allow me to get the distance I need with a 4 weight.

I also got mad at my ex-girlfriend one day about two januarys ago and went to the tully. The sun came out and shone bright, and the fish moved hard after midges. I caught somewhere between 20 and 30 fish, some 16+ inches on zebra midges and griffith's gnats.

 

[PennKev]

1. Little J; May 31, 2006 - Best day on any stream ever for myself. Some may scoff, but I'm one of those who know damn well how many fish I actually caught, and I caught 48 that day. The guy I was fishing with had at least 30. Both of us each got a couple over 16" and the balance were in the 12"-14" range with very few dinks. It was just non stop action. Around 10:00 AM we started hooking fish and didn't stop until we packed up and left in the afternoon.

2. Neshannock Creek; October 11, 2003 - 38 all on dry flies. I got to the stream late around 11:00 AM and found no other fisherman in sight. I quickly noticed what looked like every trout in the stream sipping something off the surface. Tied on an ant and had strikes on nearly every cast for the next hour and a half. I would frequently cast and two or three fish would inspect the fly before one would take. Even, more amazing was that this was prior to the fall stocking!

3. Spring Creek any time there are tricos coming off. The hatch is like clockwork and it's almost a sure thing the trout will rise to them. (Everyday for three months! LOL) Ditto for white flies and smallmouth on Slippery Rock Creek except that only lasts a couple weeks.

Kev

 

[JackM]

You have to spend a day catching 48 trout to realize that claims of 100 trout in a day are preposterous. I lose count and the will to count after 4-5.

The "best days" memory I have at present was a sulfur spinnerfall on Spruce Creek and a Green Drake hatch on Fishing Creek (Clinton Co.).

 

[flybop]

The first trout I ever caught on a fly. That was on Big Hunting creek in Maryland. I was nine then.

The first trout I caught on a fly that I tied. The fly was a Royal Coachman streamer. The fish a stocked rainbow. The stream was the beautiful Chester crick in Delaware county. I actually learned more about reading the water and fish on Chester crick than anywhere else. I had just turned ten and got some shiny new tying materials for my birthday.

 

[mkile]

I have two days that stand out brighter then all the others. Chronologically they happened as follows:

In the early 90's a college buddy moved to Virginia and discovered all the mountain streams that flow in the Appalachian trail. The best one we found was the Mourmons Creek. This creek was a great brooke trout stream. We accessed it from the mountain top down and had a great day of catching fish. It was beautiful. We saw a few black bears cross in front of us and a day never to forget.

Second was on my honeymoon. My wife was nice enough to agree to go to Yellowstone for our honeymoon. We stayed in a nice B&B and hiked in the park everyday. She got to take a lot of photos and i got to fish some of the rivers of the park. The week was great but the best day came on the Slough River (forgive the spelling). We hiked up into a nice area in the morning while listening to the coyotes and then i caught an awesome cutthroat. The was an awesome day.

Its not always about the fish or numbers of fish. the day as a whole makes an impression on me.

 

[albatross]

There were two days that really hooked me on fly fishing in July 1977. I was 14 years old and our family was vacationing in Yellowstone Park.

1) I had an afternoon on a backwater of the Yellowstone river a little ways down from the lake. You could see the string of rises when a big Cutthroat would cruise through. You'd have to anticipate the path of the fish and lead him with your cast. I caught two big Cuts in the 18-21 inch range that afternoon on drys.

2) A couple days later my dad and I hiked into Pelican Creek (a trib of Yellowstone Lake with a spawing run of Cutthroats). We caught 14-18 inch fish at will on dry flys, even with poor presentation. I remember my dad had a spinning outfit and wasn't catching anything. I gave him my flyrod to try (he had never cast a flyrod) and on his first cast, the fly came down in the middle of about 3 loops of flyline. A fish came up and nailed the fly anyway.

Sadly, the spawning run of Cuts has been totaly wiped out by Whirling disease on Pelican Creek. There are still nice Cuts in the Yellowstone River but not in the numbers there used to be.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Best days,hmm,catching and releasing nine browns from 22 to 30 inches in length, in a feeder stream to Lake Ontario and a week later catching a 5 lb. brown in New Zealand.Netting a 24 inch rainbow for a friend,caught on a dryfly with a 4wt. rod.Or a 30 inch brown on an egg patter I made.At age 70 there are more but I just don't remember them all. I'm sure there will be more good lord willin.

 

[Wmass]

David wrote:
Wmass...what river? I've fished a number of rivers up there.

Its called the Quinapoxet River and it flows into Wachusett Reservoir. It gets alot of action in the spring from bait fisherman but then it typically dies down and will only get fly fisherman the rest of the year. Its a great river and there are also about three other good rivers in a short drive from here. The Quinapoxet and the Stillwater also both have landlocked salmon in the fall that run up from the reservoir.


One thing with this stream that I can't stand is that they have no enforcement of fishing regulations. They seriously have to stop letting bait fisherman fish this river because they poach brookies like crazy and its killing it. There is no reason to keep a 6" brookie.

 

[JackM]

Wmass wrote:

There is no reason to keep a 6" brookie.

True, but there apparently is a reason to keep a handful of them. I am not addressing legality, only whether there is a reason to do so. Perhaps you meant to say that there "is no good reason...."

 

[dryflyguy]

Jack:

I'm not one to exagerate my fishing, - and anyone who has fished that section of kettle creek would know that it's possible to catch 100 in a day there - it's like fishing in a hatchery.
You're right that it would be hard to keep track of that many fish.
The only reason I know what I caught, is because I fished there the whole day - morning till dark. I caught over 30 my lunch time, took a break, went back down all afternoon with same results, break for dinner, then fish the evening til dark. I should also add that I was quite new to flyfishing then, and still had that catch as many as I can mentality. I've never done anything like that lately

 

[Wmass]

JackM wrote:

Wmass wrote:

There is no reason to keep a 6" brookie.

True, but there apparently is a reason to keep a handful of them. I am not addressing legality, only whether there is a reason to do so. Perhaps you meant to say that there "is no good reason...."

Yes, no good reason. I understand that someone may keep fish to eat, fine keep the stockies or keep a larger fish. But I would also like to explain to the person keeping those 6" brookies that those fish are probably 2-3 years old and are going to mate soon. Those are the fish that keep populations going and in small freestone streams there are not huge populations, so keeping your limit of fish in brookies can have real consequences on wild populations. I just don't think many people actually "think" about what they are doing when keeping fish.