Slippery Rock Creek FFO, Lawrence Co, 6-17-20
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greenghost
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Actually, muskies are native to SRC. Some for sure are migrants from Lake Arthur. And, if I'm not mistaken, the PFBC was stocking tiger muskie fingerlings for a while in the lower stretches, Not sure if they still are. I'll have to check.
I've seen many muskies over the years. Some surprising HUGE
The wooden dam you mentioned below Armstrong Bridge...Is it the camp that has a railroad tie retaining wall that arcs out into the creek? Looks like they have a pool in that area from satellite images. An old McConnells mill brochure i have shows a dam, but Ive been pretty far down, and wondered where the dam was.
drakeking412
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I really want to fish that white fly hatch this year. How long does it typically last and does it move upstream fast?
dryflyguy
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Matt -
Looks like you're fishing in the dark, which is usually the case with the white fly hatch in my experience.
Do they give any fishing while there is still some daylight?
Wading the Rock after dark, would be dicey for me now.
Looks like you're fishing in the dark, which is usually the case with the white fly hatch in my experience.
Do they give any fishing while there is still some daylight?
Wading the Rock after dark, would be dicey for me now.
Bruno
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You get about an hour of day light. I went the other night and stayed too long and could not find the trail to walk out . It is maybe 60 yards to my car and I was bush wacking the whole way. Got car only to find out the trail was 20 feet to my right. I was all cut up from jaggers. The wading is not very difficult and I honestly dont move much if the hatch is on there are fish everywhere to be caught.
dryflyguy
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So - they're hatching now?
Bruno
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Yep, I have been going to SRC in the evenings once or twice a week and last night was the first evening i saw whiteflies in any significant numbers. The hatch seems to be just getting started. Half or dozen or so bass were willing to take a a fly on top. Saw several carp sipping on top as well. I was on the water at 7:30 and started seeing bugs around 8pm. I was off the water around 9:30. It is a good way to spend the evening.
The moon was also amazing last night.
Go if you can.
tomgamber
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what size are these white flies, typically. Are you better off with a big flat spent one or a dun?
PennKev
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#14, maybe a sparse #12
For smallmouth, my go to has been a small, white panfish popper. Wullfs, Humphys, and other more "imitative" flies work fine too, but juvenile fish, shiners, etc. will attack them and get such flies waterlogged in pretty short order. FWIW, my best fish during this hatch have almost all come on poppers or sliders fished dead drifted or with with very gentle twitches.
Sruflytyer
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I usually get by with a 12 or 14 dry fly. I take thin foam and wrap it like a biot for the body of the fly and use poly for the wings. I never had luck with more imitative ones. Usually wind up using a tiny bluegill popper in all white or glow in the dark. If you get there early before the hatch starts, try swinging some wet flies in size 12-14. Still a lot of trout left in SR if you know where to go. Need rain bad!!!!
dryflyguy
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You guys fishing them in the FF only area?
The waters gotta be very warm now. And be hard on any trout caught
The waters gotta be very warm now. And be hard on any trout caught
Sruflytyer
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Outside of FFO. Not advocating fishing for them, just saying they are in there. Night time temps up here have been in the mid to low 60s and will have them active.
Prospector
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I went to Slippery Rock Creek tonight and there were still quite a few white flies around. I can’t say for certain if any were still hatching but if any hatched it happened after dark when I couldn’t see them. I saw spinners over the riffle when I arrived about 750. The bass were rising very sparingly to start but by 835-845pm the rises were peaking. I caught 3 SMB and lost 1. Using Bruno’s photo in post 26 above. (Photo in the upper right with the spent wing spinners on the water) that’s about what it looked like at 938pm when I was leaving. I fished somewhere upstream of Rose Point. Not sure how the hatch has progressed below that.
JMajor, I was really young when that dam was there so I don’t know for sure. However the driveway to camp was either directly across from the current FFO parking lot entrance (you can sort of see the semblance of a road there). But more likely it’s the driveway that goes over the hill where Heinz Camp Road and Armstrong road meet on the east side of the creek.
JMajor, I was really young when that dam was there so I don’t know for sure. However the driveway to camp was either directly across from the current FFO parking lot entrance (you can sort of see the semblance of a road there). But more likely it’s the driveway that goes over the hill where Heinz Camp Road and Armstrong road meet on the east side of the creek.
dryflyguy
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I fished the stretch by Harris bridge this evening - which is just upstream of the FFO area.
White flies very sparse there. A few were flitting around about 8:30.
But not enough to get anything rising.
I cast a white wulff to likely looking spots. And caught a small bass and several bluegills.
The wooden dam that JMajor is talking about, must be the one at Heinz House camp - which is the upper limit of the FFO area
It can be seen on satellite images
