Little J/Spruce Creek (George Harvey Section), Huntington Co., 03/25/2010

[3wt7X]

Fishidiot and I took a trip up to the Little J and Spruce Creek yesterday. Upon arrival, we were greated with chili temps in the low 40s and cloudy conditions. The water temperture was in the mid 40s and the hatches were fairly sparse with some midges and olives in both locations. The Little J had a really strong flow, but the color was perfect.

We started by swinging streamers on the Little J, which did not produce any fish. We switched over to nymphs and took several fish above the fly shop on pheasant tails and prince nymphs. As the air temperatures moved into the 50s, the fish activated and we had a pretty good time. We only saw a handful of risers and neither of us fished dry flies.

After lunch, we headed over to the George Harvey section of Spruce Creek, where we found a solid BWO hatch. It was disappointing because the fish were not coming up to the olives but nymph fishing was productive and both of us took some really nice stocked rainbows (thank you local private fishing clubs). Dave took a monster bow, which extended beyond the 25 inch mark, on a cress bug, and I took two in the 20 inch range on a caddis pupa nymph.

Overall, it was an enjoyable day. I really do not get too excited about pellet hogs, but these fish really fought well and had some good coloration. I wish we would have seen some more surface activity, but it was still pretty cold and the conditions were not the best. I will note that Dave found a very nice Orvis Fly fishing rod and reel at the bottom of the Little J. I am sure that he will post some details and maybe we can find the rightful owner.

 

[mute]

wow, freakin nice

 

[Alpabuck]

Should kept some of those eggs!!! Nice fish I could care less where it came from!

 

[Mariner]

Slabs! Nice one.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

And that Rainbow right there is what Troutbert was talking about. That fish is a spring spawner unlike the PFBC strain fish.

 

[Fishidiot]

salvelinusfontinalis wrote:
That fish is a spring spawner unlike the PFBC strain fish.

The big club stocked 'bows that frequently lay up in the Harvey section of Spruce are really confused and goofy fish. The last few years, these fish can frequently be seen going through the spawning motions in the fall. I was surprised to see one of these fish squirt some eggs in late March (maybe their spawning instinct no longer jibes with their egg growth). Not really an issue in my view. While there is a growing population of wild 'bows in Spruce, I seriously doubt they're the progeny of big stocked fish like this one.

 

[jayL]

I wish the harvest rules were made conditional, in the case of the pig rainbows. I hate releasing them on the J as well.

They sure are big, though.

 

[ryguyfi]

My one buddy got into fly fishing because he found a rod streamside while on a hike in Colorado as a trail guide. It was busted and he found out Orvis has a lifetime guarantee. Free Rod! He then swapped out an old snowboard for some waders at a local shop and the rest is history... that jerk didn't even know what a chub was when I took him fishing here 2 years ago! Spoiled on all those natives out there!

Hope you find the owner, if not good luck on that decision of what to do with it.


BTW nice fish there Dave. The head on that thing is just HUGE.

 

[tomgamber]

3wt7X wrote:
I will note that Dave found a very nice Orvis Fly fishing rod and reel at the bottom of the Little J.

Was there a skinny old man attached to it?

 

[Shebop]

ryguyfi wrote:
My one buddy got into fly fishing because he found a rod streamside while on a hike in Colorado as a trail guide. It was busted and he found out Orvis has a lifetime guarantee. Free Rod!

d-bag move. That rod wasn't free. It's bad enough when the people that actually pay for the rods abuse the warranties.

 

[3wt7X]

Tomgamber,
On a morbid note, I did mention that to Dave, and I hope that the owner has not claimed it because he is not a member of PA Fly Fish. We had a little bit of a discussion over how long that it had been in the water. The rod was in good shape and not broken, but the reel was beat up pretty good. I would think that it was not there for long, because with the high water events something would have swept down and crushed that rod, but who knows.

 

[TDB]

Nice report. The Orvis rig had to be my buddy Bam's. We floated the J last weekend and he had it ripped from his boat by a tree and then lost in the high water. I'm sure he can provide the details of what it was and where it occured.

This is unbelievable, both that he lost it and it was found AND that there are guys out there decent enough to make the effort to post on here and get it back to him. Fact is he flipped the boat later in the day and lost his other rod which was a Scott!...

 

[scotto]

Shebop,

I, too, do not agree with the choice of the above mentioned individual to use a warranty to replace a rod he found. I also do not agree with you throwing "d-bag" in your criticism. You could have called the ethics in play in the anecdote into question without such an abrasive attack. This actually takes away from the point and possibly turns a negative light onto yourself.

Which wrong is right?

 

[Fishidiot]

The rod is indeed Bam's. I'll be sending it back to him shortly.

 

[scotto]

That is cool he'll be getting his rig back! I really enjoy the Harvey stretch and it sounds and looks as though you all had an enjoyable day. Really nice fish!

 

[Biggie]

An extra slice of raisin pie for Dave for doing a good deed! Now, lets all go look for the Scott rod.

 

[Shebop]

Just callin' it like I see it. It's an interesting contrast between that and the gentlemen on this thread who went out of their way to return gear to the guy who apparently overestimated his ability on the oars on the little j last weekend

 

[bam]

Just show's what a good group of folks we have on the board. Truthfully, not sure which was worse... the J's kick to the ego or losing a rod. Biggie, good luck with the Scott... I learned my lesson and had it secured, so only a section went missing.

Thanks again Fishidiot!

 

[Squaretail]

Have yet to scratch the J and Spruce off my list. Looks like a good time as usual by you two.
Wonderful job with the rod Dave. I remember writing you're the type of guy that its hard not to like, or something to that effect in a post not too long ago.
You just backed up my claim. 🙂

 

[dryflyguy]

TDB wrote:
Nice report. The Orvis rig had to be my buddy Bam's. We floated the J last weekend and he had it ripped from his boat by a tree and then lost in the high water. I'm sure he can provide the details of what it was and where it occured.

This is unbelievable, both that he lost it and it was found AND that there are guys out there decent enough to make the effort to post on here and get it back to him. Fact is he flipped the boat later in the day and lost his other rod which was a Scott!...

Man - talk about having a bad day!