johnstevens5462
Member
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2014
- Messages
- 85
After such a pleasant day Saturday I decided to head out to the Cumberland Valley limestone streams. I initially drove to The Letort Spring Run at Bonney Brook but noted several cars so I adjusted my plans and continued westward to Green Spring Creek, where I had nice success several weeks ago. Rather than fish between the two bridges, I decided to begin at the mouth where Green Spring Creek empties into the Conodoguinet Creek.
Tossing a large olive matuka streamer immediately brought results in the form of a fifteen inch brown trout. Casting upstream into Green Spring Creek and allowing the streamer to be swept into the Conodoguinet Creek proved to be precisely the ticket and I brought several trout to hand with the largest measuring just under nineteen inches. Most were browns with a few brook trout mixed in.
I then moved upstream to the section off of Route 641 just west of Bulls Head Road where the church resides and began several hundred yards upstream using a dead drifted olive matuka. I managed only one strike but oh, what a violent strike it was. In one continuous motion this monster proceeded to inhale my fly and when he felt the pressure from the hook turned and started making his run downstream. I had no choice except to palm the reel and really pull back or this guy would have gone all the way to the Conodoguinet Creek. It became a battle of strength - my tackle against his will to fight - and as sometimes happens with large fish in small waters with lots of obstructions, the fish wins, as my 2x tippet snapped at the knot. I did not get a good look at him but based on how he took off (more like a rocket ship than a steady freight train) I would guess it was a large rainbow. Either one, it was quite the take and I will be sure to get him next time. If anyone fishes Green Spring Creek and catches a large trout with a size 2 olive matuka streamer stuck in his mouth, that would be my fly.
I then considered stopping at Big Spring Creek but instead made my way east to The Letort Spring Run.
Given my success at the mouth of Green Spring Creek and the Conodoguinet I wondered if The Letort Spring Run could be as productive. I stopped at several locations below the Army barracks and as I always seem to do, managed to end up fishing in a different location than originally planned. I happened to find one section that was in the middle of a nice emergence of BWO in sufficient numbers to attract the attention of the resident browns. I knew that based on the surface activity that today would be the day I would get my first Letort Spring Run brown on a dry and I wanted to make sure it would be special. For this reason I removed my dad's old Paul Young Perfectionist grass rod from its wooden case, along with his Hardy Perfect reel and JP Thebault DT5 silk line.
After observing the rising trout one trout stood out as the largest. Not a behemoth but one that looked around one foot long. To the end of my twelve foot 6x knotted leader I tied on a size 18 BWO dry and watched his rhythmic rises and when I knew the timing was right, I made a nice thirty-five foot cast down and across with the leader and fly gently unfolding and landing about three feet above the rising trout. In anticipation I watched, reminding myself to relax and not anticipate the take and in the process rip the fly from his mouth should my offering be accepted. The fly rode high on the surface and I watched as I saw the trout rise to my offering and then the fly quickly disappeared in a tiny whirlpool. I gently set the hook and within a minute brought my first Letort Spring Run brown caught on a dry to hand. The beauty measured just under twelve inches and was a wonderful first trout on a dry.
For the next hour trout continued to rise in this small section and I managed several more browns but all were no larger than ten inches.
I finally decided to call it a weekend and begin my journey back home.
The problem with PA is there are so too many great streams that it makes selecting one very difficult.
Tossing a large olive matuka streamer immediately brought results in the form of a fifteen inch brown trout. Casting upstream into Green Spring Creek and allowing the streamer to be swept into the Conodoguinet Creek proved to be precisely the ticket and I brought several trout to hand with the largest measuring just under nineteen inches. Most were browns with a few brook trout mixed in.
I then moved upstream to the section off of Route 641 just west of Bulls Head Road where the church resides and began several hundred yards upstream using a dead drifted olive matuka. I managed only one strike but oh, what a violent strike it was. In one continuous motion this monster proceeded to inhale my fly and when he felt the pressure from the hook turned and started making his run downstream. I had no choice except to palm the reel and really pull back or this guy would have gone all the way to the Conodoguinet Creek. It became a battle of strength - my tackle against his will to fight - and as sometimes happens with large fish in small waters with lots of obstructions, the fish wins, as my 2x tippet snapped at the knot. I did not get a good look at him but based on how he took off (more like a rocket ship than a steady freight train) I would guess it was a large rainbow. Either one, it was quite the take and I will be sure to get him next time. If anyone fishes Green Spring Creek and catches a large trout with a size 2 olive matuka streamer stuck in his mouth, that would be my fly.
I then considered stopping at Big Spring Creek but instead made my way east to The Letort Spring Run.
Given my success at the mouth of Green Spring Creek and the Conodoguinet I wondered if The Letort Spring Run could be as productive. I stopped at several locations below the Army barracks and as I always seem to do, managed to end up fishing in a different location than originally planned. I happened to find one section that was in the middle of a nice emergence of BWO in sufficient numbers to attract the attention of the resident browns. I knew that based on the surface activity that today would be the day I would get my first Letort Spring Run brown on a dry and I wanted to make sure it would be special. For this reason I removed my dad's old Paul Young Perfectionist grass rod from its wooden case, along with his Hardy Perfect reel and JP Thebault DT5 silk line.
After observing the rising trout one trout stood out as the largest. Not a behemoth but one that looked around one foot long. To the end of my twelve foot 6x knotted leader I tied on a size 18 BWO dry and watched his rhythmic rises and when I knew the timing was right, I made a nice thirty-five foot cast down and across with the leader and fly gently unfolding and landing about three feet above the rising trout. In anticipation I watched, reminding myself to relax and not anticipate the take and in the process rip the fly from his mouth should my offering be accepted. The fly rode high on the surface and I watched as I saw the trout rise to my offering and then the fly quickly disappeared in a tiny whirlpool. I gently set the hook and within a minute brought my first Letort Spring Run brown caught on a dry to hand. The beauty measured just under twelve inches and was a wonderful first trout on a dry.
For the next hour trout continued to rise in this small section and I managed several more browns but all were no larger than ten inches.
I finally decided to call it a weekend and begin my journey back home.
The problem with PA is there are so too many great streams that it makes selecting one very difficult.
