wgmiller
Well-known member
I fished the C & R area today for the first time from about 14:00-16:00. The weather was absolutely gorgeous which was a change from the season's first frost this morning. Clear sun and temps in the low 60's made for some great fishing weather.
I parked near the Hess Farm and walked over to the area around the bridge leading back to the farm. The water flow appeared to be good and I didn't have a thermometer with me to check the temp. I could see water demarcation line on the rocks and the current water level was a bit lower relative to that mark (by a few inches). Perhaps this was a mark from earlier in the year or over the summer.
There was one other individual fishing this area and we chatted for a bit before he took off. A local, he stated that he had fished this area "probably a couple hundred times". He told me that midges were a sure bet, but unfortunately I didn't have any with me.
For the most part, I stuck around the concrete bridge and harassed the fish there. Being a noob to fly fishing, I saw that's where most of the fish were, so I figured I'd hone my casting skills there. Casting is pretty easy although I did manage to hook a few leaves on some backcasts. This was a nice break from the tight confines of Donegal Creek and I'm looking forward to going back. My 9' 5wt rod did the trick, but I do think my hopeful future acquisition of a 7'6" 3wt will work out much better.
In the pool by the bridge there were a number of nice sized fish. I spotted one very colorful rainbow who toyed with me for a while. I tossed on a fluorescent orange egg pattern and he nailed it. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to 'seal the deal' and he slipped away. Very pretty red stripe running down the side of him and all. I'd have to guess in the 18" size range.
There were also several very large carp in that pool and I'm thankful they didn't take my offering. They just kind of cruised around checking things out and didn't have much of an interest in anything I was tossing. Maybe I needed a donut on the hook...
Besides the big rainbow, there were several decent sized browns swimming around as well. They all just swam by my offerings as well.
I was tossing San Juan worms, a wooly bugger, butter worm, and egg pattern. There were some rising fish, but I couldn't make out what they were hitting on. I need to get some pellet imitations and see how they work because as mentioned by Sal, these fish are looking to be fed! They hold in place and just wait for the splash of the pellets. But they will take other offerings as evidenced by the egg pattern. I haven't come across a rainbow yet that doesn't like an egg pattern!
This is a nice little stream and a great place to fish. The banks are well-manicured to the point where I can take my five-year old daughter with me and she can watch. I need to learn how to deal with the grass on the bottom and practice my guerilla tactics!
I parked near the Hess Farm and walked over to the area around the bridge leading back to the farm. The water flow appeared to be good and I didn't have a thermometer with me to check the temp. I could see water demarcation line on the rocks and the current water level was a bit lower relative to that mark (by a few inches). Perhaps this was a mark from earlier in the year or over the summer.
There was one other individual fishing this area and we chatted for a bit before he took off. A local, he stated that he had fished this area "probably a couple hundred times". He told me that midges were a sure bet, but unfortunately I didn't have any with me.
For the most part, I stuck around the concrete bridge and harassed the fish there. Being a noob to fly fishing, I saw that's where most of the fish were, so I figured I'd hone my casting skills there. Casting is pretty easy although I did manage to hook a few leaves on some backcasts. This was a nice break from the tight confines of Donegal Creek and I'm looking forward to going back. My 9' 5wt rod did the trick, but I do think my hopeful future acquisition of a 7'6" 3wt will work out much better.
In the pool by the bridge there were a number of nice sized fish. I spotted one very colorful rainbow who toyed with me for a while. I tossed on a fluorescent orange egg pattern and he nailed it. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to 'seal the deal' and he slipped away. Very pretty red stripe running down the side of him and all. I'd have to guess in the 18" size range.
There were also several very large carp in that pool and I'm thankful they didn't take my offering. They just kind of cruised around checking things out and didn't have much of an interest in anything I was tossing. Maybe I needed a donut on the hook...
Besides the big rainbow, there were several decent sized browns swimming around as well. They all just swam by my offerings as well.
I was tossing San Juan worms, a wooly bugger, butter worm, and egg pattern. There were some rising fish, but I couldn't make out what they were hitting on. I need to get some pellet imitations and see how they work because as mentioned by Sal, these fish are looking to be fed! They hold in place and just wait for the splash of the pellets. But they will take other offerings as evidenced by the egg pattern. I haven't come across a rainbow yet that doesn't like an egg pattern!
This is a nice little stream and a great place to fish. The banks are well-manicured to the point where I can take my five-year old daughter with me and she can watch. I need to learn how to deal with the grass on the bottom and practice my guerilla tactics!
