Brand new FFer near Harrisburg... Discouraged!

Day 4

Well I went to the reservoir today to check it out. A pretty interesting little place with lots of locals bobber fishing and hitting their coolers.

There were a few trout jumping around, but they were all in the middle of the lake. With its shallow depth I technically could have waddled 1/3 the way out there, but I decided that maybe sticking near the shore would be a little more prudent.

I got a few bites and at least brought up sunfish, but no trout seemed interested in either my BWO, black ant, or wooly bugger. Though, to be honest, I have no idea what to do with any of those in stagnant water.


By noon I had made my way over to Manada creek, which I was pleased to learn was less than 20 minutes from my house. I'm told there is a special regs section, but I couldn't find the signs. I talked to a local and he led me over to a few bridges further up the stream.

The bridge I spent most of my time at was over top of a very slow and wide pool of water that harbored several visible fish. I wasn't sure quite how to approach this spot.. I knew where the fish were, but the water was barely moving. Should I cast beyond them and slow pull in line until the nymphs are well placed? Well I went to the other side of the bridge and tried to start my nymphing upstream of them and see where it ended up. No dice with that technique. I aimed a few throws pretty well and got a few nibbles (used a strike indicator I found along the creek... I am now a believer!). There was a pretty cool local there who gave me some advice, and then proceeded to catch a watersnake on his spinner. That was a new sight for me. I couldn't get any trout hooked, though, so I moved on to one more bridge.

At the final bridge I was ready to go home, but then I looked in the water and saw a beautiful 20+ inch palomino trout! Well, needless to say I got down there as quietly as I could and tried my luck. The poor thing had already been false hooked and still had a spinner stuck in its side from an earlier fisherman. This fish seemed a bit neurotic.. swimming in the same paths over and over again. But for all I know that's normal behavior for trout. ANYHOW, he did not seem very interested in my nymphs (tan caddis and light scud). I thought I saw him make a few jolts their direction, but I can't be sure if they were for real. I then proceeded to try my entire arsenal of flies, and this fish seemed oblivious to all of them. I have no idea what I should or could have done.


Well, that fish made me half an hour late for dinner. Without prior engagements I would have been there all evening, I have no doubt. What an awesome time it would have been to land a whopper palomino as my very first solo FF trout. But then again, I suppose all fishermen are dreamers!


I heard that Clarks Creek and Stony were stocked within the last two days, so I should probably head back there tomorrow. Do you think it would be silly to instead stop at Manada and see if the golden is still in the same spot? I really have no idea!
 
Nymphing slow water is a tough endeavor. Try finding some riffles to fish. You may not be able to see fish (they have a hard time seeing you as well) but they are there. Nymphing is a lot more enjoyable fishing faster water. The takes are more aggressive and its easier to hook fish.
 
I'm not sure exactly where you were on the Manada but the largest of the three bridges in the area is pretty high over the water on Rt 443. I presume that is where you saw the fish?
There is a longish walking path to reach the water there??
If that is the correct location you can walk downstream from there for several hundred yards and find nice pocket water well suited for nymph fishing.
 
I'll second Surveyor's suggestion to hit some water with a bit more current. If you do hit that lake again, try casting out basic nymphs or streamers and slowly stripping them in. A little bit of movement will help get the fish's attention - most prey species in lakes and ponds are capable of swimming, even many of the nymphs, so fish are accustomed to looking for movement. If you see bluegills or sunfish, use very small nymphs (> #16) as they tend to just nip bigger stuff.

Sounds like a fun fishing trip. If you've seen the thread in the General Forum discussing why palominos are "whackjobs," you shouldn't be surprised that he didn't bite.
Keep having fun.
 
And the DHALO section is really good and stocked up well. I couldn't tell ya how to get there but my buddy goes there everyday just about. Ill have him post sum thing up if your familiar with the area or he could give ya directions from where ever your coming from. And he'd probably even meet ya and help give ya some tips.
 
Yea bud if you wanna meet up some day out at Manada i can help ya out. I usually do pretty well there in the DHALO section. I was out yesterday for only about an hour, an managed just one nice rainbow. If i would have had more time i would have caught a few more. You can pm me if you like and maybe we cant set up a time and day to meet out there.
 
Goro,

I think I'm pretty much at the same point in the learning curve as you...This is my first season with the flyrod, although I'm an experienced light tackle spin angler. I live in Lebanon County, so I'm not too far from you and I'm familiar with most of the streams you're fishing. To me it really sounds like you're doing pretty well!

For what it's worth I am yet to catch a trout as well. I've hooked three, but haven't been able to get any to hand yet...poor line management before the strike leading to too much slack seems to be the culprit. Like you I've had some success with sunnies in a local impoundment. I wouldn't discount the practice that provides and the confidence it builds though...it's always just fun to catch something...and sunnies can be a good bit of fun.

I wouldn't get too discouraged about your outings on Manada and the Quittie. Manada is pressured hard...even with my spin gear only a couple of fish per trip is the norm. I've fished it once so far with the fly rod and didn't get any action. I've fished the Quitte for 4 years with spinners and still haven't caught a trout...not kidding. It's the toughest stream in the area in my opinion...I just can't figure it out. Even the Fallfish in there are selective with what they'll take. I fished it tonight and hooked a Brown on a white bugger but he got off due to my aforementioned poor line management. I was thrilled just to get a strike on that stream. It was a nice Brown though...14-16" probably and it would have been a challenge on my 4 wt to get him from downstream and across the current over to me...maybe next time!

Something worth considering...the smaller tributaries (Quittie and Manada included) to the Swatara Creek usually have a good bit of panfish in their last couple hundred yards down to their mouths. They'll hit streamers, nymphs, dries...pretty much whatever you throw at them, so you can really dial in your techniques a little bit on moving water. Once the weather gets a little warmer I'll probably be wet wading them more often than I'm trout fishing.

Hope you get your first trout soon!
 
Day 5: Trout on!

Today I actually finally reeled in some trout!

I started the day at Stony Creek in Dauphin. The very slow moving water by the dam was not getting me anywhere. I tried most of the flies in my arsenal, but no luck even getting a bite. Fish were active, but I didn't have what pleased them. I then moved upstream about half a mile in some very nice wading water.

Since I did not have a thingamabobber, I crafted my own by biting off some foam fly-holder and tying that onto my line. It actually worked pretty well! I tied on a copper john and a tan caddis and did some loooong drifting. A few bites were happening! Then I finally had a true fish on the line! I reeled it in, though flustered at first, to see it was a beautiful dark trout. However.. I still don't have a net, so as I reeled it to my legs, the fish managed to wriggle free. Still, I'm going to count that as 75% of a catch - a nice 10 incher!


That was so encouraging that I went up and down and up and down the stream, but never got more than a nibble or two in the next hour.

I hopped over to Clark's creek for a few hours to check out some stretches I have not been on yet. Using a very poorly floating ant and a caddis nymph I was able to get scores of bites. Problem was that only one 8-inch trout bit before coming off, and the rest were all fries (frys?). So, in a sense, my first FF fish in years was a 4-inch brown trout. HEY, that's still something! I must have caught 3 or 4 different kinds of small fish before calling it a day there (2 brown, one rainbow, and one sucker I think).



And because the thought was killing me, I decided to check Manada before heading to work tonight. YUP, that whopper golden is still under there, just as schitzy as ever! The bridge is the Kiwanis bridge. I know its futile to try and make him eat, but I did burn an hour trying again.




So now that I've caught some trout (about 12 inches of trout total, haha), I can take a day or two break to rest up. Actually I'm just waiting for my flies to arrive in the mail. I am completely out of non-terrestrial dry flies, mayfly nymphs, and most everything else. It's no wonder that I struggle to get good bites.
 
Wow, Swattie, I missed your reply there before I posted. You must be good luck!


It's kind of eerie how similar our status is right now. I grew up at the Hbg Hunters and Anglers Assn, across from a private pond. I pulled bass and sunfish up for years, though never went for trout.

I can see that line management is also going to be a big concern for me. The fish that I hooked today was probably 20-30 yards away from me. At that distance the line has so much slack that fish are really only going to hook themselves if I get lucky. However, if I try to keep a straight line, the nymphs begin waterskating, which is definitely not good fishing. I'm really not sure what it should properly look like right now, so it's pretty important that I take up a few of the very nice offers from people wanting to show me the ropes.
 
Gorosaurus wrote:
Day 5: Trout on!

Today I actually finally reeled in some trout!
Click to expand...


Oh yeah! The sweet taste of success. :)
 
Congrats Goro! Sounds like you were able to put it all together and had a pretty good day. I don't think they usually put fingerlings in Clarks so those little Browns were probably wild...pretty cool.

Were your hits on the Caddis or the CJ?

 
Just an aside for both Goro and Swattie. Marquette Lake should be cash money right about now for a good place to practice your catchin'.

Boyer
 
Goro,

"as I reeled it to my legs, the fish managed to wriggle free. Still, I'm going to count that as 75% of a catch - a nice 10 incher!"

To the knees (within touching distance) should be considered a 100% catch and anytime you can release a fish without having to net or pick it up out of the water, all the better.
 
SWEET. That makes my first trout a nice 10+ inch brown!



What sorts of flies would you recommend for lake fishing, Mr. Boyer?

And Swattie, I'm pretty sure they were wild. Very bright red spots on some. The big trout I think hit my caddis (I don't know because he came off before I could see), and most of the fingerlings were hitting the ant.

Although I did see some pretty good sized mayfly nymphs in Stony, my copper john didn't seem to be what they wanted.
 
Congrats,
Bet those rough days earlier dont feel so bad now :-D

John

P.S. I'll email you that stuff this weekend, haven't been home too much with this nice weather.
 
Alright, any apparent trout drought is now over!


Today I reeled in a beaaaautiful 12-inch brown trout in the FF section of Clark's Creek. I decided to go ahead and head down there before work tonight, which gave me about an hour and a half on the stream.

I tried to work a march brown with dark caddis nymph for most of the evening, getting a few bites here and there, but nothing very strong. As the sun began to set (after 8pm), I noticed a massive increase in both fish rising and blood suckers all over me.

With that in mind, I kept my march brown on, but also hooked up a green midge and began casting toward a clearly filled area. It was pretty soon too dark to continue to tie or cast any longer, so I made just a few more swings. Before I knew it there was a jump right on my march brown!


This time I got the fish reeled in and I held him in place while I reached for my camera. Wouldn't you know it.. he squirmed right out of my hand and off the hook in the same maneuver! So I don't have any photographic evidence, but I can certainly say that my confidence is growing and growing!


With that, I believe this topic is now a mis-nomer! Thank the Lord!

Thank you very much to those who have helped me so far, and an additional thanks in advance to those who might continue to help me improve!
 
I wish my progress was that fast when I was learning. All I caught for a year were creek chubs. Nicely done goro!
 
Dont have time to read through this whole entire forum, but why dont you look around for a guide? i started fly fishing 3 years ago by myself, and finally decided to go with a guide. He can show you tips tricks, entomology(study of bugs), and what you were obviously doing wrong. If you can coax up the money, try to find a local guide.-Kev
 
Wooo! Pulled in a bunch today! Many, many others were near catches.

Can you guys help me identify these fish?


Trout1.jpg

http://www.lockntoad.com/BB/Trout1.jpg
I think this is a rainbow.. do the spots mean it is wild?

Trout2.jpg

http://www.lockntoad.com/BB/Trout2.jpg
A beautiful brookie, right?!

Trout3.jpg

http://www.lockntoad.com/BB/Trout3.jpg
I thought this might be a rainbow.. but some of those spots and lack of color make me confused. Does that makes this a tiger trout, or am I just lost?


I ended up keeping the two non-wild ones to show and prepare for my family back home. Overall, I am jazzed!
 
The top one is a brown, possibly wild, definitely a holdover at least. The brookies are brookies and the last one is a brown.

Boyer
 
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