Hay Creek 5-12, Valley Creek 5-13

thedude1534

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Jan 31, 2007
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191
Hay Creek:

Fished from the last bridge before 82-N dead ends, upstream to about where the next closest bridge was (looked like a driveway into a huge streamside house). At the start, got a few bows on pheasant tails, then went to a pool where some fish (not sure if they were bows, wild browns or something else) were rising on little white guys. I got them to take #24 cream midges and #24 griffiths gnats, but could not manage to set the hook for some reason. Went upstream and it was nothing but chub, chub, chub. Did not see any wild browns, but saw what appeared to be a few 6-10" rainbows. I couldn't see very well cause the water was murkey, but it seemed strange to me to have rainbows that far upstream of the stocking area. Are there any other fish around here that have a pink stripe across the middle, because I could definately make that out.

Valley Creek:

Sunday was the most dead I've seen the fish at Valley since it was 15 degrees in February. There were sporatic rises, but they weren't consistant, it was usually a one-and-done sort of thing. In the end, I got one in the net, and one got off. Thankfully, the one in the net made up for the crappy day, it was by far the biggest fish I've caught there. Using the tape measurer on my net, he was 14.25", and by my birthright as an angler to exaggerate everything I catch, I'm calling him 15"!

I talked to a few other anglers at Valley that day, and none of them were having any luck either. One guy said he got a couple on sinking ants, but everyone agreed that there was an odd lack of activity.

In terms of insects, I saw a couple white/cream mayflies, black caddis, and cranefly's. There were also these grey caddis looking flies, they were moth-like as a caddis is, but I didn't know that there was a grey/white caddis. Anyone know what this might have been?
 
dontsome chubs got a pink stripe or pinkish belly? not being a smarty i think some do dont they?
 
Dude,

I caught a lot of small colorful rainbows from 4-8" in length from Hay this spring. Good color and perfect fins. Did the PFBC stock fingerling rainbows in there this past fall? I don't believe they are wild. Also, two weeks ago when I fished I also caught a lot of chubs at Hay.
 
These mystery fish being chubs definitely makes more sense. Thats all I was catching around that portion of the stream.

On the topic of chubs, how do they interact with trout? Do trout stay away from them, or will they eat them? That is, if you see a lot of small ones in a hole, does that mean there will not be trout there, or does it mean that there is a big pig trout in that hole which eats all the little chubs?
 
My experience is if you are catching chubs....the trout aren't there. This mostly pertains to wild trout that are larger in size. Throw out the rules with stockies.

If chubs are a bitin...I move on or decide to catch chubs. I will say there is the expection to every rule.
 
I was under the impression that they stocked that area....

I don't fish it as much as I do the lower end though, so I could be wrong.
 
I agree with LehighRegular on chubs. On thing I would like to add is that in the same run or pool, the two species are usually segregated. The chubs usually hold in the more marginal water, while trout are found in the prime water. If you are catching chubs in the prime lies, move on.

I don’t have the answer to your question about if chubs are detrimental to trout in a stream. I’ve often wondered about that myself. They certainly compete for the same food as trout, yet their fry may provide forage for larger trout. Maybe someone on the board has the answer.
 
trout and chubs have coexisted for eons, so why not now..they may eat a few eggs but have been there along with trout..try a 1" chub imitation sometime... :-D
 
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