Pickering Creek,Chester County,4/23/11

[Farley]

Fished Pickering early this am from 6:45-9:45
Air 44 degrees water 47 degrees. The rain varied the whole time from a drizzle to a down pour. Water flow is perfect, down from a week ago but high enough to offer lots of spots for fish to live.

Water clarity excellent-it had not started to muddy from the rains.
Got 7 rainbows, one brown, all much smaler than over the last two months. I wonder if ll the bigger ones have been taken out?
All caught on a size 14 chickaboo tan caddis emerger. I fished it 3-4 feet under a strike indicator with a micro shot about 4" above the fly. All of the fish,except one, were taken on the up stream dead drift. One fish taken when the fly swung. Only small midges coming off beween raindrops-no surface activity.
To wet for pictures.

 

[paparise]

I fished it later in the afternoon around 1pm. It was flowing pretty high and it got pretty muddy. I managed to loose 3 woolly buggers. Not a good day. Two guys just up stream from me spin fishing managed to pull in 4 on, presumably, a rooster tail.

Fished it again on Sunday the 24th with still no fish but much better results. The stream had dropped and cleared dramatically but was still a bit discolored. Saw a few flashing on the bottom so first I tried a BH PT w/ no luck then I switched to a hairs ear w/ a split shot. I know I was on or very close to the bottom and got no strikes. Saw a few rises so I switched to a black stone fly dry. Got a few looks. Then I switched to a Griffith's Gnat and got two strikes. Missed both of them but after Saturday I considered that outing a success.