Kettle Creek, Potter Co & Clinton Co, 5-30-20 to 6-6-20 (incl Tribs & nearby streams)

Your reports are always incredible!

We were up there this past weekend and saw similar results. Between my son and I we caught over 75 in 2 evenings, 99% on drys. It was a blast! It was crowded, but when we walked a ways or moved to a less famous spot we were pretty much alone.
 
Prospector, I think i will carry a boy scout cooking kit, butter, salt, pepper, garlic powder in my vest, in case I run into you. A nice brook trout for you, a nice brook trout for me.

A friend sent me a very nice knife. a special knife, held back, loaded with memories. It would be fitting to use this knife, upon meet, one more memory can't hurt!

Maxima12
 
maxima12 wrote:
Prospector, I think i will carry a boy scout cooking kit, butter, salt, pepper, garlic powder in my vest, in case I run into you. A nice brook trout for you, a nice brook trout for me.

A friend sent me a very nice knife. a special knife, held back, loaded with memories. It would be fitting to use this knife, upon meet, one more memory can't hurt!

Maxima12
Click to expand...
That’s the problem when someone is already in Potter Co and another person shows up unexpectedly. They’re not too far apart but they don’t know to look for each other. I haven’t eaten a Brook trout in at least 4 years but I do enjoy them.
 
ksherbine wrote:
Your reports are always incredible!

We were up there this past weekend and saw similar results. Between my son and I we caught over 75 in 2 evenings, 99% on drys. It was a blast! It was crowded, but when we walked a ways or moved to a less famous spot we were pretty much alone.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a weekend you won’t ever forget. Nice to share the experience with your boy. I’m sure the debrief at camp after both evenings was full of smiles and recounting some of the 3-4 foot jumps your rainbows nailed.
 
Like to get a chance at Kettle again, when cooler, head over the mountain and hit that stretch around Galeton and work it down to Ansonia way.

Love to bounce around in Old Stomping Grounds, West Pike.

Lost a lot of flies in West Pike. Bend over to unhook the trout and full box floated away. Not once but twice. One box 18 dozen brand new never used. Called them the West Pike Killers.

Some of those favorites, Coachman with slate wings, my own pattern-Bumble Bee, Yellow and Green Adams, Hendrickson's tied with cream, orange, brown, black, maroon bodies.

All size 14, never had to go any smaller. Boy, what a good time.

Used to stay at a camp behind the Sylvania Diner. Couple weeks during the summer.

Maxima12
 
Some say State College is the hub for great flyfishing. Yes, commercialized fly fishing.

That area 30 mile radius of Galeton, i hope is still the true fly fishermans paradise. Always said, "No place i would rather be".

Fly Fishing at best! Alot has been lost that area this year. Cross Forks, snake hunt, bluegrass festival, childrens fishing derby and Galeton fireworks all cancelled! I feel really sorry for all those great people, "Who do it so well". Very, very, well!

Maxima12
 
Prospector thank you for all the details and outstanding reports. This is the kind of information that I find very useful for the stream reports. Please keep the coming.
 
I appreciate everyone’s kind words. I’m glad what I’ve shared may help you as a fly tyer, may allow you to get a better appreciation for the wealth of insects that are in the NCPA watersheds, may provide enough detail in my report to try a new technique to enhance your personal experience, may pique your interest in a stream you’ve never fished and motivate you to go there and try it or just feel the need to travel to NCPA to enjoy all aspects of what it has to offer even if you do it just one time.
 
Anybody have any thoughts on the identity of the 4 spinners that are identified in my photos as

- Mystery Spinner
- Neat Little Spinner
- Smallest Rusty Spinner
- Spinner & Spinner2

In Fauceglia’s book there is a photo of a March Brown male spinner that resembles the Mystery Spinner. Those distinct ghost-like eyes are what sets it apart.

Neat Little Spinner. For those of you that regularly see Tricos, is that a female Trico? It’s early for tricos and I’ve never heard of tricos in Kettle. It did find this Spinner in 2 different stream locations in about a 12 hour period. It was really small and unfortunately I did not measure it for some reason.
 
Absolutely EPIC report! Thank you so much for sharing this.

Prospector wrote:

Ended up with 13 browns, 8 brook, 3 rainbow. This is a big turnaround from 2015 when my catch ratio was 5 brook for every brown. On this day it was 0.6 brook for every brown. A loss of nearly 85% of the brookies.
Click to expand...

This concerns me, and is inline with some other streams I've fished over the last 30 years. In all cases, it's an increase of brown trout and decrease of brook trout.

Sorry to focus on that negative point, but as a brook trout nut, it concerns me greatly.

Great photos and information here all around. Please keep em coming!
 
silverfox wrote:
Absolutely EPIC report! Thank you so much for sharing this.

Prospector wrote:

Ended up with 13 browns, 8 brook, 3 rainbow. This is a big turnaround from 2015 when my catch ratio was 5 brook for every brown. On this day it was 0.6 brook for every brown. A loss of nearly 85% of the brookies.
Click to expand...

This concerns me, and is inline with some other streams I've fished over the last 30 years. In all cases, it's an increase of brown trout and decrease of brook trout.

Sorry to focus on that negative point, but as a brook trout nut, it concerns me greatly.

Great photos and information here all around. Please keep em coming!
Click to expand...


We need to start harvesting the bigger browns in these streams.
 
I support the above message on certain waters.

Look some places are pretty lost and browns aint going anywhere. However, yes some places are not lost.
Kettle is one IMO that should have a kill on brown trout.
Especially large ones.

 
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