Muddy Creek, York County, 09/15/2013

[Maurice]

Hit Muddy in the afternoon yesterday hoping for some trout action and to see how the summer treated the stocked trout. I was not disappointed. I began at the Woodbine bridge pool when I saw a fish rise. I didn't catch any there but spotted a half dozen trout scattered throughout the flats sipping midges and sporadically smashing something.

I then moved up to the lower fly area and saw a few at the Bridgeton hole doing the same but didn't fish for them. Made it into the water about 3pm and started above the hemlocks and fished up through Burdens Falls. I picked up half a dozen on a WMD (orange ant) the fish were scattered all through the area I fished and were porpoising mostly to midges or aphids. There was a small whit mayfly #20 coming off too and a #14 white spinner I suppose a cahill in the air as well as a handful of caddis. When I ran into another angler up the crik I turned around and though I.d go back to the hemlocks and thats when I got a call that dinner was ready. Being a half hour from home I decided to just fish some more. Wow, what a great decision. I hammered them all through the hemlocks on the WMD.

I caught about ten carryover browns and a handful of small wild fish. All had nice color and I noticed that most of the carryovers had the beginnings of an eyespot behind the eyes. Something I've contended doesn't happen or rather happen often. I have pics but havn't taken them off the phone yet.

Saw two other anglers and a total of six different cars in the lower lot between coming and going. It should be a good fall on Muddy.

 

[laszlo]

Is that very large tree that fell across the stream still there?

 

[Maurice]

no it was cut up. only the stump hangs out over the bank now.

 

[McSneek]

Burdens Falls? Glad to hear there a re some fish available this fall.

 

[Maurice]

Burden falls is the rocky outcrop that crossws the entire creek downstream of the big rock hole...the habitat between the crog waters...which btw held rising trout. Henry Burden owns the land where the falls are. Not really falls so much as a series of chutes.

There are plenty of fish and it gets another boost by the state in october...rainbows if history is any indicator.

 

[Tups]

Mo: Good news, thanks for sharing. Would really like to attend your Pine Run tour on the 28th, but I will be in a little league dugout all day. Are there any browns left over for fall stocking? See you in November.

 

[wgmiller]

Can you embed some pictures so we can share your trip with you???

 

[Maurice]

Geo, dont make me give you the hand...

 

[fadeaway263]

Maurice when you are talking about "the big rock hole" are you talking about those big boulders on the left side of the creek [if you are looking downstream] where the creek narrows quite a bit?

 

[McSneek]

fadeaway263 wrote:
Maurice when you are talking about "the big rock hole" are you talking about those big boulders on the left side of the creek [if you are looking downstream] where the creek narrows quite a bit?

I think that is it Fade. The "big rock" is far and away the biggest rock in the FFO stretch. Right up against the bank. Deepest hole in the stretch. Would be on your right side against the old rr track as you walk upstream from the lower end of the FFO. Above the long stretch of frog water and before a set of riffles and big bend in the crick.

 

[Maurice]

McSneek wrote:

fadeaway263 wrote:
Maurice when you are talking about "the big rock hole" are you talking about those big boulders on the left side of the creek [if you are looking downstream] where the creek narrows quite a bit?

I think that is it Fade. The "big rock" is far and away the biggest rock in the FFO stretch. Right up against the bank. Deepest hole in the stretch. Would be on your right side against the old rr track as you walk upstream from the lower end of the FFO. Above the long stretch of frog water and before a set of riffles and big bend in the crick.

And this is the next landmark prior to the "gradient change".

From the bottom up you have:

-The Wire
-The Island
-The Hemlocks (upper and lower)
-The Outhouse Hole
-Mary Swans Trib (on river right at bottom of landing strip)
-The landing strip (frog water)
-Burden Falls
-Rainbow Rock (on river left) Thats a new one I named.
-more frog water
-Rock garden
-Pickels Rock. (not really a rock so much as a ledge Jan stands on to fish downstream in workboots.)
-Graveyard
-The Big Rock Hole
-The ledge (sticks out from the tracks side halfway across the creek)
-The Big Bend
-The Gradient change
-The Beaver Rock
-The Oyster Rocks (3)
-The Seep Hole
-The Oval Pool
-Toms Run
-The Indian hole
-Landing Strip #2 (newly formed)
-Keebler Elf hole
-Rock Gardens (steps)
-Upper Wire hole

So if you have trouble catching fish at Muddy try fishing one of these spots, this is where they hold year round. Wait is this spot burning?
:-D

 

[englishprof]

Big time spot burning, but thanks. Could you post a map? Seriously, I really like that stream and it can't be spot burned. May head out there Friday or Saturday. Hope the trout like black ants. Maurice, did you fish them on top or wet?

 

[Maurice]

I fished them on top but sometimes they were sinking by default.

The water is low and the fish are weary. So its a sight and stalk game. Pushing a wake shut things down for me more than once.

 

[wgmiller]

Maurice wrote:
From the bottom up you have:

-The Wire
-The Island
-The Hemlocks (upper and lower)
-The Outhouse Hole
-Mary Swans Trib (on river right at bottom of landing strip)
-The landing strip (frog water)
-Burden Falls
-Rainbow Rock (on river left) Thats a new one I named.
-more frog water
-Rock garden
-Pickels Rock. (not really a rock so much as a ledge Jan stands on to fish downstream in workboots.)
-Graveyard
-The Big Rock Hole
-The ledge (sticks out from the tracks side halfway across the creek)
-The Big Bend
-The Gradient change
-The Beaver Rock
-The Oyster Rocks (3)
-The Seep Hole
-The Oval Pool
-Toms Run
-The Indian hole
-Landing Strip #2 (newly formed)
-Keebler Elf hole
-Rock Gardens (steps)
-Upper Wire hole

So if you have trouble catching fish at Muddy try fishing one of these spots, this is where they hold year round. Wait is this spot burning?
:-D

Holy crap!!! There are more holes and pools than the Salmon River, NY!!! :-D

 

[albud1962]

I wonder where the "Odd Ball" hole is?

 

[fadeaway263]

Now on Valley all we we have is "The Fox Hole " right down from the "Gap" :hammer:

 

[fadeaway263]

Seriously though thanks Maurice. I've been after the Prof for months to fish Muddy. I didn't think anything other than dynamite was going to get him off Valley. Your post couldn't have been more timely especially since they are stocking Muddy in a few weeks.

 

[PaulG]

Love those ORANGE ANTS !

PaulG

 

[albud1962]

Paul you must have magical ants. I tried orange this year and only so so results.

 

[dc410]

I've been wanting to fish the FFO area of Muddy for a few years and just never got the chance to do it. I was in the area late Wednesday afternoon (10/2) and slipped in for about an hour. The only stretch that I previously had fished on Muddy was down below Woodbine. I parked at the small parking area along Piney Hill Road and started fishing right below the parking area. I only covered about 100 yards of stream in the short time I was there. I saw an area where it appeared that a few fish were rising so I slowly worked my way upstream to within casting distance of them. I put on a dry/dropper rig and dropped a cast in the vacinity of the risers. I connected with a scrappy brown on the first cast. I caught a half dozen browns (all 10-11' long) in less than an hour, all caught on the dropper fly. I also lost a much heavier fish (didn't really get a good look at it) and lost a small wild brownie (maybe 6 or 7 incher). There seemed to be lots of fish and they all looked very healthy and were great fighters. I was very impresssed for my first visit to the FFO stretch. I don't know what took me so long to finally check this out but I will definitely be back because I know there is a lot of water to explore on this stream.