JimKennedy
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2016
- Messages
- 474
After a successful outing to Big Spring Creek two weeks previously, I was able to convince two friends to join me there for an afternoon and evening of fishing on the stream. One of the fellows, by the way, had convinced me to return to Big Spring after I'd stayed away for at least 20 years.
All in all, it was a rather successful outing. We all caught fish. All were small. But then again, it's not every day when you catch wild brook trout and wild rainbow trout.
It was a bit windy, and there were few anglers out and about. We actually had the full upper section -- the ditch -- to ourselves. I fished relatively large bead heads under a cork beetle that served as more of a float than anything else (though I did miss two surprise hits on the beetle). A no. 14 bead head rubber band grub brought a lot of interest, several hits and one fish. My trusty selection of honey bugs, no.10 with bead heads in pink or "shrimp," as Paul Berger used to call it, brought two fish to the bank and also several hits that I missed.
Hits, by the way, were very light. In several cases, I saw the fly (about 24 inches below the beetle) being taken, even as I noticed that the beetle (bobber) didn't so much as giggle. The bobber technique was more useful in the broken water in the lower sections of the creek.
Marabou streamers, cress bugs and a few other limestoner standbys also saw action and interested the fish.
As an aside, I got a 10-foot rod for a 6 weight for Christmas specifically for fishing in the south-central Pennsylvania limestone creeks. I'd been using a 9-foot for a 5 weight, but it was still hard to keep up with the line mending required to be ready for those light strikes. That extra foot is almost like having a magic wand. Also, the rod has enough whip to it that you get a decent fight out of our standard sized trout, which is to say 10 inchers.
All in all, it was a rather successful outing. We all caught fish. All were small. But then again, it's not every day when you catch wild brook trout and wild rainbow trout.
It was a bit windy, and there were few anglers out and about. We actually had the full upper section -- the ditch -- to ourselves. I fished relatively large bead heads under a cork beetle that served as more of a float than anything else (though I did miss two surprise hits on the beetle). A no. 14 bead head rubber band grub brought a lot of interest, several hits and one fish. My trusty selection of honey bugs, no.10 with bead heads in pink or "shrimp," as Paul Berger used to call it, brought two fish to the bank and also several hits that I missed.
Hits, by the way, were very light. In several cases, I saw the fly (about 24 inches below the beetle) being taken, even as I noticed that the beetle (bobber) didn't so much as giggle. The bobber technique was more useful in the broken water in the lower sections of the creek.
Marabou streamers, cress bugs and a few other limestoner standbys also saw action and interested the fish.
As an aside, I got a 10-foot rod for a 6 weight for Christmas specifically for fishing in the south-central Pennsylvania limestone creeks. I'd been using a 9-foot for a 5 weight, but it was still hard to keep up with the line mending required to be ready for those light strikes. That extra foot is almost like having a magic wand. Also, the rod has enough whip to it that you get a decent fight out of our standard sized trout, which is to say 10 inchers.
