Spring Creek, Centre Co., 4/12/2021

[ezpickins]

I fished Spring Creek at the Shiloh road access. Arrived about 6 pm and fished for about an hour before a thorough soaking in the rain. In an intelligent decision I left my hat and rain gear in the car.

Fish were rising very consistently the entire time. But I only landed one. I had a few others on but not landed.

In general it was a very frustrating session. I got my butt kicked. I guess that’s what keeps us coming back.

Dark caddis ( I’m assuming grannom) were abundant but I’m not sure what the fish were eating. Based on the rises I’d say the fish were taking emergers. I didn’t see other bugs in evidence but I wouldn’t rule out that I just couldn’t see something tiny hatching.

The single fish I managed hit a size 14 deer hair caddis with a dark brown body. But no other fish would hit that fly.

I had a size 14 grannom emerger with a black peacock ice dub body and caddis green hot spot dropped below the dry fly that a few fish took but with the water boiling around me the pattern was not very effective

I’m really curious to hear from anybody that had luck on spring creek the last few evenings and what patterns were working. Thanks!

 

[allthingsfishing]

That one fish you did land was a perfect specimen of a brown. Well done.

 

[Flashback]

I fished Spring for a couple hours last week and had decent luck with a #14 & #16 Black Caddis in the faster runs and riffles. Slower water and time to inspect the fly produced more refusals than anything else. Various droppers produced little luck so I eventually just threw the dry.

 

[ezpickins]

Flashback wrote:
I fished Spring for a couple hours last week and had decent luck with a #14 & #16 Black Caddis in the faster runs and riffles. Slower water and time to inspect the fly produced more refusals than anything else. Various droppers produced little luck so I eventually just threw the dry.

Thanks. I’ll have to tie some black caddis.

 

[ezpickins]

Flashback wrote:
I fished Spring for a couple hours last week and had decent luck with a #14 & #16 Black Caddis in the faster runs and riffles. Slower water and time to inspect the fly produced more refusals than anything else. Various droppers produced little luck so I eventually just threw the dry.

Thanks. I’ll have to tie some black caddis.

 

[wbranch]

I fished last Thursday. Fish rose very actively from 8:15 until 10:15. Grannoms. Once the sun came out the bugs and the fish pretty much stopped. I left at 2:30 because it is a long ride home and I didn't want to wait until 5:00 expecting more bugs and it not happen.

I was very surprised at how small the grannoms were compared to grannoms on the Beaverkill. The SC bugs had #18 length wings but #20 length bodies. My #14's & #16's looked quite silly out there.

The hatch was okay but by no means a blizzard hatch like I've seen on the Beaverkill where the bugs come off in waves with quiet intervals about half an hour long.

I've tied a dozen #18 adults and half a dozen each pupa and emergers in #16 TMC 2457. Might go up tomorrow.

 

[ezpickins]

wbranch wrote:
I fished last Thursday. Fish rose very actively from 8:15 until 10:15. Grannoms. Once the sun came out the bugs and the fish pretty much stopped. I left at 2:30 because it is a long ride home and I didn't want to wait until 5:00 expecting more bugs and it not happen.

I was very surprised at how small the grannoms were compared to grannoms on the Beaverkill. The SC bugs had #18 length wings but #20 length bodies. My #14's & #16's looked quite silly out there.

The hatch was okay but by no means a blizzard hatch like I've seen on the Beaverkill where the bugs come off in waves with quiet intervals about half an hour long.

I've tied a dozen #18 adults and half a dozen each pupa and emergers in #16 TMC 2457. Might go up tomorrow.

Yes! My flies were way too big. I’m going to try and get back with smaller, slimmer, more sparsely tied flies than those I had with me.

You’ll have to let us know how it goes with smaller flies if you get back

 

[DGC]

I have never hit grannoms on Spring. Anglers usually talk about them below Bellefonte. But I take it the OP was up around Benner Spring. Good stuff.

 

[wbranch]

I have never hit grannoms on Spring. Anglers usually talk about them below Bellefonte. But I take it the OP was up around Benner Spring. Good stuff.

Not that high, just a bit below the Paradise.

 

[ezpickins]

DGC wrote:
I have never hit grannoms on Spring. Anglers usually talk about them below Bellefonte. But I take it the OP was up around Benner Spring. Good stuff.

I was right at the hatchery area

 

[troutbert]

Grannoms exist in good numbers from Bellefonte to the mouth, and in Bald Eagle Creek.

There are very few Grannoms from Bellefonte upstream.

The small black caddis being discussed aren't Grannoms.

There are several species of small, dark caddis.

Go online and check out Grannom cases. They are very distinctive. No other caddis has cases like that.

Then turn rocks in Spring Creek. Below Bellefonte, rocks in the riffles often have Grannom cases, often numerous on one rock.

Above Bellefonte, I've never seen a Grannom case while turning rocks. An entomologist told me that there are SOME Grannoms up through the canyon but that the numbers are pretty low. I have seen adult Grannoms in the canyon, but the numbers were low.

 

[jifigz]

The angler was a bit ABOVE the paradise. And, if you think they were taking emergers of caddis, I would have tried swinging some Bird of Prey. If you don't have any, tie some up.

 

[wgmiller]

Some days it's simply about quality over quantity. And based off that pic, I'd say it was a "quality" and not "quantity" day. The days you can't seem to catch a fish to save your life are the ones that are often salvaged by a nice fish at the end. And the few days where you walk off the stream with a "skunk" are the ones that humble you and keep you coming back for more!

 

[dc410]

wgmiller wrote:
Some days it's simply about quality over quantity. And based off that pic, I'd say it was a "quality" and not "quantity" day. The days you can't seem to catch a fish to save your life are the ones that are often salvaged by a nice fish at the end. And the few days where you walk off the stream with a "skunk" are the ones that humble you and keep you coming back for more!

+1

 

[nymphingmaniac]

I agree with the black caddis assessment. They precede and overlap with grannoms. I have seen fish ignore the larger grannoms and key in on the smaller black during an emergence, go figure (????).
But yes, grannoms on spring tend to run on sz16 with very few 14s. Reports of sz12 are just false. You can get a fish to take a size 12 fly randomly, though. Sz 16 dominate on the J too.