discomidge
Well-known member
After feverishly watching the USGS stream gauge for a week I headed out to backpack on Penns Creek for 4 nights. A buddy joined me for 2 of the nights. It was a blast. I don't know how long I could camp on a stream (my buddy says he could do it indefinitely), but 4 nights wasn't remotely close to enough, even though the wading was tough and my legs are tired.
Thursday 9/30
I hiked in later than I wanted to because I spent too much time that week tying flies and not enough time packing. The gauge was mid 700s mid day and dropping. I've fished it higher and didn't exactly enjoy it, but this was manageable. It was sunny, the water was in the 50s and a fairly cloudy green. Bugs were hatching when I arrived at 1:30 - BWOs, some slates, tiny white baetis, and little yellow crane flies mainly - which I thought was interesting but, assuming the evening would be better, I decided to set up camp and gather wood rather than fish. All the wood was wet and the hatches in the evening weren't better. I did pick up a few small fish on an ISO nymph in really heavy water later that evening and got some more around 5 when some cahills and sulphurs (?) came off. There were small dark-bodied caddis around all day as well, but I generally ignore them. My least favorite bug, at least in the air.
Friday 10/1
I woke up to another sunny day and October caddis on my tent. It was cold and windy, but the wind died down late morning and didn't pick up again for the rest of the trip. I didn't have any luck that morning stripping streamers and had to hike back to the lot to meet by buddy at 1:30, right when things were turning on. We hightailed it in to camp and I managed to catch rising fish in the shadows. My buddy, however, did not. I'm always talking up PA fishing to him (he's from NY) and tried hard to put him on fish, but no joy. Same bugs as the day before with the addition of a good number of October caddis and the ISO nymph was again very popular. Also the same spotty evening hatch. It seemed like fall rules may officially be in effect. But we ate brats and drank beer so it was still an excellent day.
Saturday 10/2
Streamer day! The water had dropped and cleared significantly since Thursday and things were looking good. Covering stretches of water was much easier (not terrifying) that day. Still sunny though. My buddy caught one small fish early in the morning on a streamer while I slept in (beer). I started my day at clay bank, stripping streamers and picking up fish, including the biggest one I would catch this trip. Meanwhile my buddy became irrationally obsessed with a few risers at the bottom of the pool. He never figured out what they were eating and his bad luck continued into the early afternoon. He then hooked and lost 3 or 4 fish in some riffles and was getting demoralized, wishing he had barbed hooks. I pointed him to a few spots and sent him downstream as the afternoon hatch began and went to do camp chores. Freaking wet wood. It's crazy how high the water got in the flood. I caught up with him around mid afternoon by which time he had lost 2 more fish. Things were getting desperate. I gave him a beer and a handful of flies and pointed him at a tree under which I'm convinced there are always rising fish. Finally, he caught a handful of fish, none of them massive, but good enough to keep him from questioning the point of carrying 50lbs of gear into foreign woods. The evening hatch was a little better that day as well, though I didn't see any cahills. And I spooked a snake on the trail that had just caught a baby bass. It took its catch back into the water and appeared determined to not let it get away. Respect.
Sunday 10/3
This was a textbook fishy day from the start, the dreary kind of day that you just know is gonna be good. It rained a little early in the morning and was mostly cloudy all day, though sun broke through mid afternoon. The water was even lower and clearer. The air was warmer. I could finally see the bottom well enough in waist deep water to see all the fish I was spooking as I waded (lots of them!). We went back up to clay bank and I again stripped streamers but this time only caught a big fallfish while my buddy picked up several very nice browns in faster water stripping a little baby trout streamer. The tables had turned and I was happy for him. He had to hit the road by 1, absolutely terrible timing because I had lots of action from 1 to 6pm. First it was the BWOs. Fish were violently rising to my #18 klinkhammer. One 15"er even launched itself well out of the water to take it. I wasn't sure it was hooked until it splashed back down and dove, which seemed to take forever in that moment. Man I wish someone else saw that. I then picked up another bigger fish right behind that one on the same, increasingly gnarled, fly. I was fishing a deep spot in medium fast water that was good to me last fall and fish were stacked up in it. Next it was the #20 white baetis. I headed down to slower water because my legs needed a break - Penns is still really moving at points - and sniped a bunch of risers. Suddenly they didn't want the baetis even though the air was full of them and fish were rising all around me. I looked at the film and discovered that it was full of small black flying ants. After realizing that I somehow stupidly put my back-up fly box in my pack rather than the one with all the ants in it, I booked it back to camp, tied on a small parachute ant, and headed back into the heavier water. Again, the fish were taking my fly with reckless abandon. Just massive, splashy, forceful takes. It was epic. Finally it started raining around 6 and the fish stopped rising, so I went and made a fire in the rain, just to prove to myself that I still could. And because I had nothing else to do, which was just fine.
Monday 10/4
It was pouring when I woke up this morning. I had intended to fish, but instead broke camp in the rain and made it back in time to be only slightly late for work. The stream was coming up though. It killed me to walk away from a rising stream with stocked box of streamers in my bag. I'm headed down to the OBX for some saltwater fishing soon, but will be back on Penns Creek in a couple weeks. Love that place.
Thursday 9/30
I hiked in later than I wanted to because I spent too much time that week tying flies and not enough time packing. The gauge was mid 700s mid day and dropping. I've fished it higher and didn't exactly enjoy it, but this was manageable. It was sunny, the water was in the 50s and a fairly cloudy green. Bugs were hatching when I arrived at 1:30 - BWOs, some slates, tiny white baetis, and little yellow crane flies mainly - which I thought was interesting but, assuming the evening would be better, I decided to set up camp and gather wood rather than fish. All the wood was wet and the hatches in the evening weren't better. I did pick up a few small fish on an ISO nymph in really heavy water later that evening and got some more around 5 when some cahills and sulphurs (?) came off. There were small dark-bodied caddis around all day as well, but I generally ignore them. My least favorite bug, at least in the air.
Friday 10/1
I woke up to another sunny day and October caddis on my tent. It was cold and windy, but the wind died down late morning and didn't pick up again for the rest of the trip. I didn't have any luck that morning stripping streamers and had to hike back to the lot to meet by buddy at 1:30, right when things were turning on. We hightailed it in to camp and I managed to catch rising fish in the shadows. My buddy, however, did not. I'm always talking up PA fishing to him (he's from NY) and tried hard to put him on fish, but no joy. Same bugs as the day before with the addition of a good number of October caddis and the ISO nymph was again very popular. Also the same spotty evening hatch. It seemed like fall rules may officially be in effect. But we ate brats and drank beer so it was still an excellent day.
Saturday 10/2
Streamer day! The water had dropped and cleared significantly since Thursday and things were looking good. Covering stretches of water was much easier (not terrifying) that day. Still sunny though. My buddy caught one small fish early in the morning on a streamer while I slept in (beer). I started my day at clay bank, stripping streamers and picking up fish, including the biggest one I would catch this trip. Meanwhile my buddy became irrationally obsessed with a few risers at the bottom of the pool. He never figured out what they were eating and his bad luck continued into the early afternoon. He then hooked and lost 3 or 4 fish in some riffles and was getting demoralized, wishing he had barbed hooks. I pointed him to a few spots and sent him downstream as the afternoon hatch began and went to do camp chores. Freaking wet wood. It's crazy how high the water got in the flood. I caught up with him around mid afternoon by which time he had lost 2 more fish. Things were getting desperate. I gave him a beer and a handful of flies and pointed him at a tree under which I'm convinced there are always rising fish. Finally, he caught a handful of fish, none of them massive, but good enough to keep him from questioning the point of carrying 50lbs of gear into foreign woods. The evening hatch was a little better that day as well, though I didn't see any cahills. And I spooked a snake on the trail that had just caught a baby bass. It took its catch back into the water and appeared determined to not let it get away. Respect.
Sunday 10/3
This was a textbook fishy day from the start, the dreary kind of day that you just know is gonna be good. It rained a little early in the morning and was mostly cloudy all day, though sun broke through mid afternoon. The water was even lower and clearer. The air was warmer. I could finally see the bottom well enough in waist deep water to see all the fish I was spooking as I waded (lots of them!). We went back up to clay bank and I again stripped streamers but this time only caught a big fallfish while my buddy picked up several very nice browns in faster water stripping a little baby trout streamer. The tables had turned and I was happy for him. He had to hit the road by 1, absolutely terrible timing because I had lots of action from 1 to 6pm. First it was the BWOs. Fish were violently rising to my #18 klinkhammer. One 15"er even launched itself well out of the water to take it. I wasn't sure it was hooked until it splashed back down and dove, which seemed to take forever in that moment. Man I wish someone else saw that. I then picked up another bigger fish right behind that one on the same, increasingly gnarled, fly. I was fishing a deep spot in medium fast water that was good to me last fall and fish were stacked up in it. Next it was the #20 white baetis. I headed down to slower water because my legs needed a break - Penns is still really moving at points - and sniped a bunch of risers. Suddenly they didn't want the baetis even though the air was full of them and fish were rising all around me. I looked at the film and discovered that it was full of small black flying ants. After realizing that I somehow stupidly put my back-up fly box in my pack rather than the one with all the ants in it, I booked it back to camp, tied on a small parachute ant, and headed back into the heavier water. Again, the fish were taking my fly with reckless abandon. Just massive, splashy, forceful takes. It was epic. Finally it started raining around 6 and the fish stopped rising, so I went and made a fire in the rain, just to prove to myself that I still could. And because I had nothing else to do, which was just fine.
Monday 10/4
It was pouring when I woke up this morning. I had intended to fish, but instead broke camp in the rain and made it back in time to be only slightly late for work. The stream was coming up though. It killed me to walk away from a rising stream with stocked box of streamers in my bag. I'm headed down to the OBX for some saltwater fishing soon, but will be back on Penns Creek in a couple weeks. Love that place.
