Skunked!

[Chaz]

I’ve been out only a total of four days, which is a low number for me. I’m skunked so far, I usually have 100 fish or more by now. I’m going to camp for 5 days and fully expect to end the skunk.
Thankfully the water is up, the hatches should be good. It’s not like me to be skunked this long but my fishing has slowed down as I slowly age. I’m here and don’t plan on quitting soon. I’ll let you know how fishing is.

 

[dudemanspecial]

It's been a weird spring for me so far. I have had a few unproductive days when I anticipated conditions to dictate a good day was coming, and I had a couple banger days when I thought conditions would make for bad fishing. Stood in the middle of a good grannom hatch with 2 other board members and 2 of us caught nothing while the other guy picked up 2, maybe 3. Threw the kitchen sink at them and couldn't buy a fish.

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear Chaz,

It's good to hear that you are out and about. Have fun at camp.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[rustbeltwilds]

I hear ya on the aging thing...my knees are shot from years of working on concrete. Also wading rocky streams my whole life but lord willing if i live long enough and it gets too tough i wanna be like this guy in the photo..that dude is awesome

 

[ROVERT]

It's been a weird spring for me so far. I have had a few unproductive days when I anticipated conditions to dictate a good day was coming, and I had a couple banger days when I thought conditions would make for bad fishing. Stood in the middle of a good grannom hatch with 2 other board members and 2 of us caught nothing while the other guy picked up 2, maybe 3. Threw the kitchen sink at them and couldn't buy a fish.

I'll second that. I've had to fish a lot of clear days so far, many of them unseasonably cold. A few were much better than I expected them to be.

I was excited to finally get to fish in some rain on Saturday. It was my slowest day since March. There were decent numbers of Sulphurs and March Browns but no heads to be found. I finally picked up a couple swinging wets just before I had to leave. The conditions were identical to one of my most memorable days on the water. The fishing was not.

Sunday offered redemption but I still had to hunt harder than expected for an overcast day in May.

 

[derkoberko]

I am for sure in this boat too. Been some super rough outings this year.

 

[AndyP]

I’ve been out only a total of four days, which is a low number for me. I’m skunked so far, I usually have 100 fish or more by now. I’m going to camp for 5 days and fully expect to end the skunk.
Thankfully the water is up, the hatches should be good. It’s not like me to be skunked this long but my fishing has slowed down as I slowly age. I’m here and don’t plan on quitting soon. I’ll let you know how fishing is.

Good luck and I hope you have a great 5 days in camp !

 

[5footfenwick]

Great to see a Chaz post. Good luck!

 

[dryflyguy]

Definitely been an odd spring for sure,
The early spring hatches were very sporadic and unpredictable.
I did have a few good trips out then. But also some bad ones too.

Things have picked up for me the last few weeks though
As the weather has seemed to finally settle into a more normal pattern

 

[Jay_H]

I have been to one of my local tailwaters around 3-4 times this spring and have gotten the skunk each time. This creek can be hit or miss but I’ve never quite seen it like this.

There has not been a dam release in a while and the creek is the lowest I’ve ever seen it, but fish aren’t even lying in the more reliable spots.

Just an odd spring in general - very windy, wild swings in temperature, and low water on this creek.

 

[rustbeltwilds]

Ya prob fished behind jun t

 

[sarce]

With the lack of rain in my area I've basically ignored browns so far this year. Brook trout have been on fire though. As part of a personal project I've been taking very detailed records of my brook trout catches so I know currently I've caught about 100 this year. Compared to a whopping 4 - count em, 4! - browns.

 

[hendeylathe]

That's why it's called fishin' and not called catchin'.

 

[wildtrout2]

As part of a personal project I've been taking very detailed records of my brook trout catches so I know currently I've caught about 100 this year.

How many streams have been part of your project so far? What is your biggest?

 

[sarce]

How many streams have been part of your project so far? What is your biggest?

Counting unnamed tributaries, I think 8 streams. Biggest landed was 10". Out of 30 I caught that day it was the only one over 6" - the in between size is almost absent this year due to a terrible spawn a few years ago.

Edited to add: I only started the detailed tracking this year.

 

[wildtrout2]

That's a real nice native.

 

[Mike]

Counting unnamed tributaries, I think 8 streams. Biggest landed was 10". Out of 30 I caught that day it was the only one over 6" - the in between size is almost absent this year due to a terrible spawn a few years ago.

Edited to add: I only started the detailed tracking this year.

If that were in Pa, I’m sure a 9” length limit would correct that length distribution 🤣, with absolutely no thought given to habitat or flow and other abiotic conditions that dictate spawning success.

 

[sarce]

That's a real nice native.

It actually might be my best on those streams, although it's still close to other nice ones I've caught.

 

[TimMurphy]

If that were in Pa, I’m sure a 9” length limit would correct that length distribution 🤣, with absolutely no thought given to habitat or flow and other abiotic conditions that dictate spawning success.

Dear Mike,

Those problems are nothing that 1,000,000 board feet of LWD won't cure!

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[sarce]

If that were in Pa, I’m sure a 9” length limit would correct that length distribution 🤣, with absolutely no thought given to habitat or flow and other abiotic conditions that dictate spawning success.

MD. These specific streams are small and have never been known to grow large brookies, I'm sure many of the "runs" in PA are similar. When they hit lower elevations where I'd expect bigger fish they instantly become a hostile environment. Occasionally I hear of an 11-12" but it's rare. Entire area is C&R for brook trout.