Prospector
Well-known member
Summary of the week
==================
We knew coming into this week the fishing was going to be tough. All forecasts predicted hot and clear. Rainfall plays a huge role in the insect activity. Lack of rain makes for dreadful hatches. We had no choice but put on our game face and make the best of it.
The spinner falls were not great but they saved the day. Each passing day the water volume was noticeably lower.
The Kettle Creek Valley had temps in the 80’s in early to mid March sending legions of Quill Gordon’s and other early riser insects into the wind 2 weeks before Trout Season. The good news from that is that we were able to see some flies that we rarely get to fish. The downside was we were a little off guard on what flies would show. It all worked out in the end.
We added a much needed addition to our crew as “our membership is aging”. We still reminisce about the great people that came before us and built this tradition that encompasses 3 generations. We all have fond memories that will be cherished.
========================
DAILY SUMMARY
==========
May 31
==========
Kettle Creek, Clinton Co
Time Fished: 130pm - 530pm
Weather Conditions: 72 degrees and Sunny
Water Conditions: Mostly Clear, 132 cfs, 56 degrees
Insects: Sulphurs & ISOs were hatching sporadically but in decent numbers. Saw low numbers of Caddis, light colored mayflies and other incidentals.
The action started out slow during the first hour and a half. I fished a dry fly, trying to bring up fish. Gradually fish activity increased and at one point there were several risers in casting distance. The fish cooperated pretty well, so I assume the recent weather events have kept many anglers off of the fish.
I landed 9 browns, 1 rainbow and a fallfish
===================
Kettle Creek, Clinton Co
Time Fished: 545pm - 900pm
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 72 degrees falling to 63 degrees
Water Conditions: Mostly Clear, 132 cfs, 60 degrees
Insects: Dark Caddis, golden stones, mayflies, tons of midges.
I spent most of the night helping my 86 year old father to have a nice evening of fishing. There were not a lot of rising fish in the area he was confined to. He still is a sweet caster but he struggles with balance and seeing his fly. Luckily he can still fish under the right circumstances. He landed a good brown as the fading light made it hard to see. Shortly after, he decided to wrap it up. I helped him to camp and came back to fish.
While I was watching over my dad, I saw a 20 incher and a 17 incher landed. The guys above us quit a short time before and they were happy with their night. I still had some light left so I tied on a dark Caddis and headed upstream.
Several fish were rising and trout at this time of night usually aren’t picky. I worked upstream fairly quickly and picked up 4 browns and a rainbow. The last remnants of light were holding on so I headed downstream and I saw a rise. A brown took it but my fly got mangled and my night was over.
I caught 5 browns and a rainbow
At one point in the night a merganser brought her 4 ducklings downstream past the fisherman.
==========
June 1
==========
Kettle Creek, Potter Co
Fly Fishing Only Section
Time Fished: 930am - 130pm
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 62 degrees increasing to 72 degrees
Water Conditions: Clear,
Insects: No insects until about 1pm. At 1pm the insects started to hatch
We went to the FFO section. There were only 3 cars parked along the entire length. We took a path down to our favorite hole and we never saw another person. The only problem was, there were very few risers. Between 3 of us, we only caught 2 brook and 2 Rainbows. I got a brown & a brook.
==================
Kettle Creek, Clinton Co
Time Fished: 600pm-900pm
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 72 degrees decreasing to 62 degrees
Water Conditions: Clear,
Insects: Dark Caddis, sulphurs, dark Spinners, Yellow Sallie, Rusty Spinner,
Prior to the spinnerfall, there was fairly consistent rising to insects that were hatching. Not in strong numbers but in enough quantity that you could cast to several fish from your position. The egg laying flies were started by the big Dark Caddis. They came in very good numbers. I caught 8 browns and 2 rainbow.
An eagle flew over and circled a few times in the hole we fished. It lit in a tree and surveyed for several miniutes.
==========
June 2
==========
Kettle Creek, Clinton Co
Time Fished: 1100am - 215pm
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 72 degrees
Water Conditions: Clear
Insects: a variety of insects hatching but cumulatively not that many. They ranged from yellow, maroon, green & dark. I never got a good look of any of them.
I worked the riffles and slow water with a dry fly. I had strikes on light, dark, and yellow but the fish seemed generally disinterested. I caught a brown.
==================
Kettle Creek, Clinton Co
Time Fished: 6pm to 9pm
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 72 degrees falling to 64 degrees
Water Conditions: Clear
Insects: sz 20 rusty spinner, ISOs , sz 18 golden stones, larger yellow mayflies, large speckled brown mayfly, Sz 16 yellow mayflies
I stuck by my dad tonight and helped him fish. He caught 5 which is a great night for him. I fished when he rested and I also picked up 5.
==========
June 3
==========
Kettle Creek, Clinton Co
Time Fished: 815am to 9am
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 47 degrees
Water Conditions: Clear
Insects: very few insects
I made 2 streamer passes on creek behind camp. I used a yellow Maribou on the first pass and had 1 strike. I switched to a white and black streamer on the second. There was very little activity.
I caught none.
==================
Kettle Creek, Clinton Co
Time Fished: 1045am to 345pm
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 55 at start and 78 degrees when finished
Water Conditions: Clear
Insects: Caddis seemed to be the only insect.
I initially parked at a location that almost always fishes well. As I walked to the creek I saw that someone was in the location I wanted. So I turned around and drove to another location. No one was there so I made the walk in.
I started out fishing an olive bigger. I fished about a quarter mile with no strikes. I was getting closer to my truck and I thought I might need to find spot #3. At that time I noticed slightly deeper water and some rising activity. It really was not much of a difference in depth but the fish were there. For the next few hours I landed 17 from that spot. Nothing fancy. Just using Caddis and changing the pattern every so often. I used just 3 flies.
I reached a time when all rising had ceased. I remembered there was a similar area upstream that had some reasonable depth. I walked up and the trout were now active. I rotated through the same flies that I used downstream and landed another dozen from this location.
I was lucky to have this area of stream to myself.
I caught 29.
==================
Kettle Creek, Clinton Co
Time Fished: 645pm to 915pm
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 78 degrees when started and 68 degrees when we quit.
Water Conditions: Clear
Insects: Spinners, Caddis, white mayflies, ISO, couple different caddis
I was helping my father most of the evening. The spinner fall was not as heavy as previous days. It seemed like only about 25 trout were caught amongst the dozen guys fishing in our stretch tonight.
I caught 1.
A bear swam the creek about 815pm above all of the fisherman.
==========
June 4
==========
==================
Kettle Creek, Clinton Co
Time Fished: 1030am - 315pm
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 82 degrees
Water Conditions: Clear
Insects: Not many flies at all. There were some insects due to the limited rising going on.
Despite most of the dead insects from last night’s spinnerfall had been cleaned up, I didn’t have a better plan than using those flies. Those flies were Royal Coachman thorax, BWO, and a yellow shuck fly. None lit the world on fire but I had enough strikes to make 3 passes in the riffle without getting bored. I caught 1 on the Coachman, 2 on the shuck fly and 3 on the BWO. Once I tired fishing the riffle, I decided to fish downstream. Unfortunately the water downstream had been really restructured from the spring rains. All of the best holding water was gone. I never saw a trout rise. Time to call it quits.
I caught 6 browns.
==================
Kettle Creek, Clinton Co
Time Fished: 615pm - 915pm
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 82 degrees decreasing to 68 degrees
Water Conditions: Clear
Insects: spinners, yellow sallies, Caddis in small numbers
The spinner fall started very late and it was lighter than it was all week. I’m assuming the bright sunny days have impacted the hatch volume this week. It is very odd for us not to have a rain day or two on our 8 day trip.
I caught 2 rainbows and 3 browns. I also lost 4 during the fight, a higher ratio than normal. I should also note I caught the same rainbow within 15 minutes of each other.
Strange Note:
The last 2 years we seen “burly” house flies that are desperate to seek asylum from the heat outside (over 82 degrees). Every crack that leads to cooler temps inside our camp is where they seek. But before the day ends all of the flies are dead on the window sill inside the camp.
==========
June 5
==========
Kettle Creek, Clinton Co
Time Fished: 1035am - 145pm
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 72 degrees
Water Conditions: Clear
Insects: Caddis, small flies
I returned to the location I fished on Wednesday. There were probably about 70% of risers compared to Wednesday but it was still good action. The difference between today and Wed is that on Wed almost every fish took the fly on the first drift. Today I had a lot of refusals but was still able to have a decent catch total.
I was using flies in the range size 18 to 20. I only hit 2 pools on the creek.
Caught 15 rainbows and 1 brown
==================
Kettle Creek, Clinton Co
Time Fished: 645pm - 922pm
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 71 degrees
Water Conditions: Clear
Insects: the spinner fall was very late, I did see yellow Sallie, some yellow mayflies, a large dark mayfly, some Caddis.
We started out with about 8-10 guys standing around looking at each other because there are no rising trout. No one was casting to a fish. Around sunset the fish began to rise —very very late—. I used a rusty spinner and caught 5 browns and a rainbow.
After dark the trout were pounding but none took my spinner. I think I was casting beyond the fish since it was so dark. It was one of the strangest nights of fishing I have experienced.
==================
We knew coming into this week the fishing was going to be tough. All forecasts predicted hot and clear. Rainfall plays a huge role in the insect activity. Lack of rain makes for dreadful hatches. We had no choice but put on our game face and make the best of it.
The spinner falls were not great but they saved the day. Each passing day the water volume was noticeably lower.
The Kettle Creek Valley had temps in the 80’s in early to mid March sending legions of Quill Gordon’s and other early riser insects into the wind 2 weeks before Trout Season. The good news from that is that we were able to see some flies that we rarely get to fish. The downside was we were a little off guard on what flies would show. It all worked out in the end.
We added a much needed addition to our crew as “our membership is aging”. We still reminisce about the great people that came before us and built this tradition that encompasses 3 generations. We all have fond memories that will be cherished.
========================
DAILY SUMMARY
==========
May 31
==========
Kettle Creek, Clinton Co
Time Fished: 130pm - 530pm
Weather Conditions: 72 degrees and Sunny
Water Conditions: Mostly Clear, 132 cfs, 56 degrees
Insects: Sulphurs & ISOs were hatching sporadically but in decent numbers. Saw low numbers of Caddis, light colored mayflies and other incidentals.
The action started out slow during the first hour and a half. I fished a dry fly, trying to bring up fish. Gradually fish activity increased and at one point there were several risers in casting distance. The fish cooperated pretty well, so I assume the recent weather events have kept many anglers off of the fish.
I landed 9 browns, 1 rainbow and a fallfish
===================
Kettle Creek, Clinton Co
Time Fished: 545pm - 900pm
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 72 degrees falling to 63 degrees
Water Conditions: Mostly Clear, 132 cfs, 60 degrees
Insects: Dark Caddis, golden stones, mayflies, tons of midges.
I spent most of the night helping my 86 year old father to have a nice evening of fishing. There were not a lot of rising fish in the area he was confined to. He still is a sweet caster but he struggles with balance and seeing his fly. Luckily he can still fish under the right circumstances. He landed a good brown as the fading light made it hard to see. Shortly after, he decided to wrap it up. I helped him to camp and came back to fish.
While I was watching over my dad, I saw a 20 incher and a 17 incher landed. The guys above us quit a short time before and they were happy with their night. I still had some light left so I tied on a dark Caddis and headed upstream.
Several fish were rising and trout at this time of night usually aren’t picky. I worked upstream fairly quickly and picked up 4 browns and a rainbow. The last remnants of light were holding on so I headed downstream and I saw a rise. A brown took it but my fly got mangled and my night was over.
I caught 5 browns and a rainbow
At one point in the night a merganser brought her 4 ducklings downstream past the fisherman.
==========
June 1
==========
Kettle Creek, Potter Co
Fly Fishing Only Section
Time Fished: 930am - 130pm
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 62 degrees increasing to 72 degrees
Water Conditions: Clear,
Insects: No insects until about 1pm. At 1pm the insects started to hatch
We went to the FFO section. There were only 3 cars parked along the entire length. We took a path down to our favorite hole and we never saw another person. The only problem was, there were very few risers. Between 3 of us, we only caught 2 brook and 2 Rainbows. I got a brown & a brook.
==================
Kettle Creek, Clinton Co
Time Fished: 600pm-900pm
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 72 degrees decreasing to 62 degrees
Water Conditions: Clear,
Insects: Dark Caddis, sulphurs, dark Spinners, Yellow Sallie, Rusty Spinner,
Prior to the spinnerfall, there was fairly consistent rising to insects that were hatching. Not in strong numbers but in enough quantity that you could cast to several fish from your position. The egg laying flies were started by the big Dark Caddis. They came in very good numbers. I caught 8 browns and 2 rainbow.
An eagle flew over and circled a few times in the hole we fished. It lit in a tree and surveyed for several miniutes.
==========
June 2
==========
Kettle Creek, Clinton Co
Time Fished: 1100am - 215pm
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 72 degrees
Water Conditions: Clear
Insects: a variety of insects hatching but cumulatively not that many. They ranged from yellow, maroon, green & dark. I never got a good look of any of them.
I worked the riffles and slow water with a dry fly. I had strikes on light, dark, and yellow but the fish seemed generally disinterested. I caught a brown.
==================
Kettle Creek, Clinton Co
Time Fished: 6pm to 9pm
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 72 degrees falling to 64 degrees
Water Conditions: Clear
Insects: sz 20 rusty spinner, ISOs , sz 18 golden stones, larger yellow mayflies, large speckled brown mayfly, Sz 16 yellow mayflies
I stuck by my dad tonight and helped him fish. He caught 5 which is a great night for him. I fished when he rested and I also picked up 5.
==========
June 3
==========
Kettle Creek, Clinton Co
Time Fished: 815am to 9am
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 47 degrees
Water Conditions: Clear
Insects: very few insects
I made 2 streamer passes on creek behind camp. I used a yellow Maribou on the first pass and had 1 strike. I switched to a white and black streamer on the second. There was very little activity.
I caught none.
==================
Kettle Creek, Clinton Co
Time Fished: 1045am to 345pm
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 55 at start and 78 degrees when finished
Water Conditions: Clear
Insects: Caddis seemed to be the only insect.
I initially parked at a location that almost always fishes well. As I walked to the creek I saw that someone was in the location I wanted. So I turned around and drove to another location. No one was there so I made the walk in.
I started out fishing an olive bigger. I fished about a quarter mile with no strikes. I was getting closer to my truck and I thought I might need to find spot #3. At that time I noticed slightly deeper water and some rising activity. It really was not much of a difference in depth but the fish were there. For the next few hours I landed 17 from that spot. Nothing fancy. Just using Caddis and changing the pattern every so often. I used just 3 flies.
I reached a time when all rising had ceased. I remembered there was a similar area upstream that had some reasonable depth. I walked up and the trout were now active. I rotated through the same flies that I used downstream and landed another dozen from this location.
I was lucky to have this area of stream to myself.
I caught 29.
==================
Kettle Creek, Clinton Co
Time Fished: 645pm to 915pm
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 78 degrees when started and 68 degrees when we quit.
Water Conditions: Clear
Insects: Spinners, Caddis, white mayflies, ISO, couple different caddis
I was helping my father most of the evening. The spinner fall was not as heavy as previous days. It seemed like only about 25 trout were caught amongst the dozen guys fishing in our stretch tonight.
I caught 1.
A bear swam the creek about 815pm above all of the fisherman.
==========
June 4
==========
==================
Kettle Creek, Clinton Co
Time Fished: 1030am - 315pm
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 82 degrees
Water Conditions: Clear
Insects: Not many flies at all. There were some insects due to the limited rising going on.
Despite most of the dead insects from last night’s spinnerfall had been cleaned up, I didn’t have a better plan than using those flies. Those flies were Royal Coachman thorax, BWO, and a yellow shuck fly. None lit the world on fire but I had enough strikes to make 3 passes in the riffle without getting bored. I caught 1 on the Coachman, 2 on the shuck fly and 3 on the BWO. Once I tired fishing the riffle, I decided to fish downstream. Unfortunately the water downstream had been really restructured from the spring rains. All of the best holding water was gone. I never saw a trout rise. Time to call it quits.
I caught 6 browns.
==================
Kettle Creek, Clinton Co
Time Fished: 615pm - 915pm
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 82 degrees decreasing to 68 degrees
Water Conditions: Clear
Insects: spinners, yellow sallies, Caddis in small numbers
The spinner fall started very late and it was lighter than it was all week. I’m assuming the bright sunny days have impacted the hatch volume this week. It is very odd for us not to have a rain day or two on our 8 day trip.
I caught 2 rainbows and 3 browns. I also lost 4 during the fight, a higher ratio than normal. I should also note I caught the same rainbow within 15 minutes of each other.
Strange Note:
The last 2 years we seen “burly” house flies that are desperate to seek asylum from the heat outside (over 82 degrees). Every crack that leads to cooler temps inside our camp is where they seek. But before the day ends all of the flies are dead on the window sill inside the camp.
==========
June 5
==========
Kettle Creek, Clinton Co
Time Fished: 1035am - 145pm
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 72 degrees
Water Conditions: Clear
Insects: Caddis, small flies
I returned to the location I fished on Wednesday. There were probably about 70% of risers compared to Wednesday but it was still good action. The difference between today and Wed is that on Wed almost every fish took the fly on the first drift. Today I had a lot of refusals but was still able to have a decent catch total.
I was using flies in the range size 18 to 20. I only hit 2 pools on the creek.
Caught 15 rainbows and 1 brown
==================
Kettle Creek, Clinton Co
Time Fished: 645pm - 922pm
Weather Conditions: Sunny, 71 degrees
Water Conditions: Clear
Insects: the spinner fall was very late, I did see yellow Sallie, some yellow mayflies, a large dark mayfly, some Caddis.
We started out with about 8-10 guys standing around looking at each other because there are no rising trout. No one was casting to a fish. Around sunset the fish began to rise —very very late—. I used a rusty spinner and caught 5 browns and a rainbow.
After dark the trout were pounding but none took my spinner. I think I was casting beyond the fish since it was so dark. It was one of the strangest nights of fishing I have experienced.
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