TimRobinsin
Active member
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2009
- Messages
- 1,157
Spent the day yesterday touring the lower half of Penn's with the Editor in Chief. We started the day off at Poe Paddy around 10:30am. Minimal signs of drakes but there were a few caught in the webs between the rail ties on the foot bridge. The tunnel is still closed. No fish rising and the water was running around 500cfs which did not appear to bad.
We left Poe Paddy and headed to Coburn via Swamp pine rd. What a beautiful drive I highly recommend it if you are in the area. There are a few vistas that make you better appreciate the land this fine water carves through.
Upon arrival at Tunnel rd. we saw no bugs and no fish. there were two BIG caddis stuck in a web but nothing else. The place was pretty desolate so we headed to milheim for a burger and fuel.
we left Milheim and headed for Ingleby. There the water looked perfect and there were a few bugs of various species but no drakes. We saw some stones and caddis. the water looked great and at that flow I'm sure the evening was productive, but alas, we were searching for the drakes.
we left Ingleby, stopped at the weather rock to check the forecast and once we determined that we were in for a thunderstorm later we headed to cherry run.
Cherry run showed the first signs of the hatch we were not looking for: the crowd hatch. while it was nowhere near full blown drake madness, the upper lot was full and parking was beginning to occur along the road. We did not go down to the water so I can't say what was happening. We turned 180 degrees and headed for Weikert.
Before continuing on we stopped at The Penns Creek Angler. What a fine shop. I have been in many shops and I can honestly say that Bruce is a cut above the rest. while the shop certainly does not have the flare and "bling" that you find in some bigger name shops, it does shelter the one thing you are hard-pressed to find anywhere else, the truth. Bruce was very enjoyable and genuine, I did not feel like I was wasting his time or that I needed to buy anything to get the low down on the crick. I highly recommend a visit if you are in the area and need assistance finding your way around.
That said, Bruce gave us great direction and we headed down to Glen Iron to witness the aftermath of the nights prior to our arrival. In Glen Iron we found Coffin Flies, all over. The water was pretty chunky and we decided to head to Pardee.
In Pardee, we found em'! Duns were one the water all over. Unfortunately, we were in the path of an angry thermal thunderstorm that would eventually rip through our area in Lancaster. I fished for 20 minutes before realizing waving a graphite stick around was not the most prudent thing to be doing at that moment.
while duns were on the water there were no fish rising and my intent for the day was to swing wets for them since I read that Schwiebert remarked about how fast they swim when they emerge. This proved more effective than I could have imagined and in 20 minutes I missed 2 and landed 1. Swinging green drake wet flies may be a new addiction for me as I cannot think of a more relaxing and fun way to fish. Forget a about dead drift and flotant! Roll cast that sucker out there and hold on because when they hit the fly they are not shy!
We ended the day in Pardee and headed back home with the memories of a day on Penn's and the many faces she will show you from top to bottom.
The drakes are on. lets hope this rain does not raise the water too high as this weekend should be great!
We left Poe Paddy and headed to Coburn via Swamp pine rd. What a beautiful drive I highly recommend it if you are in the area. There are a few vistas that make you better appreciate the land this fine water carves through.
Upon arrival at Tunnel rd. we saw no bugs and no fish. there were two BIG caddis stuck in a web but nothing else. The place was pretty desolate so we headed to milheim for a burger and fuel.
we left Milheim and headed for Ingleby. There the water looked perfect and there were a few bugs of various species but no drakes. We saw some stones and caddis. the water looked great and at that flow I'm sure the evening was productive, but alas, we were searching for the drakes.
we left Ingleby, stopped at the weather rock to check the forecast and once we determined that we were in for a thunderstorm later we headed to cherry run.
Cherry run showed the first signs of the hatch we were not looking for: the crowd hatch. while it was nowhere near full blown drake madness, the upper lot was full and parking was beginning to occur along the road. We did not go down to the water so I can't say what was happening. We turned 180 degrees and headed for Weikert.
Before continuing on we stopped at The Penns Creek Angler. What a fine shop. I have been in many shops and I can honestly say that Bruce is a cut above the rest. while the shop certainly does not have the flare and "bling" that you find in some bigger name shops, it does shelter the one thing you are hard-pressed to find anywhere else, the truth. Bruce was very enjoyable and genuine, I did not feel like I was wasting his time or that I needed to buy anything to get the low down on the crick. I highly recommend a visit if you are in the area and need assistance finding your way around.
That said, Bruce gave us great direction and we headed down to Glen Iron to witness the aftermath of the nights prior to our arrival. In Glen Iron we found Coffin Flies, all over. The water was pretty chunky and we decided to head to Pardee.
In Pardee, we found em'! Duns were one the water all over. Unfortunately, we were in the path of an angry thermal thunderstorm that would eventually rip through our area in Lancaster. I fished for 20 minutes before realizing waving a graphite stick around was not the most prudent thing to be doing at that moment.
while duns were on the water there were no fish rising and my intent for the day was to swing wets for them since I read that Schwiebert remarked about how fast they swim when they emerge. This proved more effective than I could have imagined and in 20 minutes I missed 2 and landed 1. Swinging green drake wet flies may be a new addiction for me as I cannot think of a more relaxing and fun way to fish. Forget a about dead drift and flotant! Roll cast that sucker out there and hold on because when they hit the fly they are not shy!
We ended the day in Pardee and headed back home with the memories of a day on Penn's and the many faces she will show you from top to bottom.
The drakes are on. lets hope this rain does not raise the water too high as this weekend should be great!
