wgmiller
Well-known member
I had a few hours to fish on Thanksgiving, so I met up with Sal at the "Catch and Release" area of Lititz Run off Creek Road from about 2:00 on. It was a clear day which ordinarily means that fishing on this stream is tough, but the Lancaster area had received a good dose of rain the day prior. This translated into the creek being high (not blown out) and off-color, although not zero visibility.
These conditions led me to be optimistic upon arriving at the stream as I know how tough this stream usually is. It has kicked my butt for several years and short of landing a 16" brown, haven't had much luck at all. When it's at normal flow, you see the fish and they see you.
Given the stream conditions, it was a "no-brainer" to tie on an olive sculpin and see what could be enticed from the undercuts and holding areas. Given the flow, it was a foregone conclusion the fish would be holding in the slower areas just waiting for a meal to come by.
On my third cast of the day, I swung my sculpin downstream, quartered it to the bank and started to strip it upstream. Before I knew it, a large fish darted from the bank and proceeded to nail the fly with reckless abandon. The fight was rather lackluster and he was in the net in no time. Seeing how well he was hooked gave explanation as to why he didn't go far.
Much to my surprise, it was a beautiful tiger trout, which was a first for me.
My nicest fish on a fly rod to date
We worked upstream to the spring house and got into a few other fish, but the hook sets were short and none were landed. I learned a lot about fishing this stream in the few short hours I was there and it really drove home the point of "conditions, conditions, conditions"! Given the right conditions, being successful on an outing becomes that much easier.
Full, but not blown out
There was some midge activity in the afternoon as the temps warmed into the upper 50's but I didn't see any risers.
All things considered, a great trip for only having a few hours to spend. I even met up with a fellow paflyfisher at the end of my trip (Luke). It's always a pleasure to put a face with a name!
These conditions led me to be optimistic upon arriving at the stream as I know how tough this stream usually is. It has kicked my butt for several years and short of landing a 16" brown, haven't had much luck at all. When it's at normal flow, you see the fish and they see you.
Given the stream conditions, it was a "no-brainer" to tie on an olive sculpin and see what could be enticed from the undercuts and holding areas. Given the flow, it was a foregone conclusion the fish would be holding in the slower areas just waiting for a meal to come by.
On my third cast of the day, I swung my sculpin downstream, quartered it to the bank and started to strip it upstream. Before I knew it, a large fish darted from the bank and proceeded to nail the fly with reckless abandon. The fight was rather lackluster and he was in the net in no time. Seeing how well he was hooked gave explanation as to why he didn't go far.
Much to my surprise, it was a beautiful tiger trout, which was a first for me.
My nicest fish on a fly rod to date
We worked upstream to the spring house and got into a few other fish, but the hook sets were short and none were landed. I learned a lot about fishing this stream in the few short hours I was there and it really drove home the point of "conditions, conditions, conditions"! Given the right conditions, being successful on an outing becomes that much easier.
Full, but not blown out
There was some midge activity in the afternoon as the temps warmed into the upper 50's but I didn't see any risers.
All things considered, a great trip for only having a few hours to spend. I even met up with a fellow paflyfisher at the end of my trip (Luke). It's always a pleasure to put a face with a name!
