Dunbar Creek FFO, Fayette County 10-16-2016

[724flyfishing]

10/16/2016

Time: Fished from 10:30 am to 2 pm.

Weather: 68 and overcast with some sun sporadically poking through.

Water Conditions: Very low. Crystal clear. I didn't check the temp but it was plenty cold.

The water was very low but I enjoy the challenge of fishing small runs and pocket water so it was fishable for me. I decided this Dunbar trip I was going to focus on fishing the long sections in between the jack dams. They either did a good job spreading the fish out or (like I always assumed) they spread out on their own. They put some really nice sized fish in for Dunbar standards. I ended up losing count of brookies, probably a dozen at least, and two little brown trout. I always wish they would put more brownies in there but it is what it is.

All fish were caught on small (sz 18) midges and nymphs under a indicator on 6x. Not much in hatches or rises but I saw a lot of fish actively rolling and nymphing.

As far as litter, I saw one oil jug, and one McDonald's bag. Some new no littering signs were posted too. Definitely a overall improvement on that front.

I saw one other vehicle parked at a jack dam and some cars parked way at the end but they must of been hiking or fishing above the FFO. Otherwise I had the place to myself. All in all it was a really nice, enjoyable trip.

Dunbar

 

[MathFish]

Hey I was out there today too. It was really a nice day to be at Dunbar. I was out there from 7:15 to 11:45 with a friend of mine who wants to learn how to fly fish so, I was doing more instruction than fishing... I got 3 big brookies and he got one - but his was a rainbow! It was a freshly stocked fish... It caught me off guard to see a rainbow there. But they did put some sizeable fish in there in the recent stocking and they were spread out nicely. It's just a shame how low that creek is. This winter could be very tough on any trout that might holdover...

I saw the McDonald's bag but I pick up trash on my way out - so you must have picked it up on your way in, beacause it was gone when I left. I picked up some Pepsi cans, a 2 liter Pepsi bottle and a beer can that were tucked under over hanging rocks on the bank of the creek. I also saw the MASSIVE piles of trash that were reported in another thread... It's really a shame that people feel ok doing that!

 

[724flyfishing]

Damn. I thought the place was looking cleaner than normal too. I guess you can hope for the best and be optimistic but the littering is never going to stop there.

It is so low there. It's past the point of needing a good rain. It needs like a month of rain to be where it was at last winter.

 

[fayettenamese]

724- That last picture in your photobucket is my favorite spot on the creek. The long hole about 40 yards below there kept me busy all summer. There were a few monsters that spent the entire summer there and each let me bring them out of the water at different times. I also saw 3 bears cross the creek right about the boulder you photographed.

I usually notice increased otter sign in Dunbar this time of year. Hopefully the fall stocking was enough to provide some food to last them throughout the winter.

 

[chuckyblack09]

I was there a few days after the stocking and was surprised by the size of the fish they put in there and the amount. As far as the fish spreading, they did do a good job at that, but I think the fish have helped a lot with that. When I was there there were a lot of fish swimming and jumping up riffles for spawning. I saw some fish making redds and saw a bunch of redds. I'm guessing some of the fish do reproduce successfully because I always catch parr throughout the summer there and I take it this is where they come from. Although there are wild brookies higher up on the stream.

 

[fayettenamese]

There are a lot of natives in Dunbar and its tribs, and there would be even more if they discontinued stocking. I don't think the stocked fish contribute to the "parr" that you catch.

 

[724flyfishing]

I don't think all the natives or parr are from stocked fish either. Those are wild, native, naturally reproducing fish. Maybe a small amount come from the stocked fish but I think if they were really successfully reproducing, you would be catching wild brown trout there. I wouldn't be surprised if there are some somewhere in the watershed but I've never heard of anyone catching any.

 

[Acristickid]

Imagine at the time of the stocking there was not much water in the stream and most of the fish went in the jackdam holes.