upper tully 2/26/08

[salvelinusfontinalis]

hey guys,

after various offerings of a good and long time friend to come visit his fly fishing private water on the tully i decided to give it a go.
the weather was cold in the morning and the fish were not very active. he did manage 1 15 inch bow on a glo bug and i managed a very nice 17 inch fat bow on a olive flash bugger. we worked our way up stream to the upper FFO section and i landed 2 nice wild rainbows....one was in the 13-14 inch range. i was in shock to see wild fish on the tully...
he stated there is a better section for wild fish that he has permission to fish. so we decided to try it out. this section of the tully is small but very rewarding. i caught 3 wild browns and one was approaching 15 inches. also i caught 2 wild bows up there. he got a few wild browns and bows himself.
this section is small and on pvt....unposted land. but i reccomend getting premission to fish it. there is another ffo club up there who "claim" to b a commercial fish hatchery. fishing on there property can get u in serious trouble as the sign suggests. a 300 dollar fine and loss of lisence.but just down from them is where we were. it was a pleasent suprise to see wild browns in the tully. i wonder how far down they reach. anyways we did see fish rising to a black and gray mayfly...aboyut size 16 with red eyes. thats a good size mayfly for this time of year :-D

 

[MattBoyer]

Apparently the hatchery feeds around 3:00 in the afternoon, if it's the one I'm thinking of. Were you in a cattle field across from a driving range? If so I was there the other week and they were rising all over. I was looking frantically to see what they were taking. Finally under the bridge I saw what they were rising to. It was the afternoon pellet hatch from the hatchery. I hate that place. I honestly think that creek hates me too. It's got to be one of the only creeks that I consistently do poorly on, but it's fun to see some of the escapees and beat up on the carp.

Boyer

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

not sure where you were at matt. the 2 sections i fished are both above riley road above the fish hatchery. if fact if u fish at riley road and go upstream to the sign that says experimental waters no fishing...that is the FFO club i got to fish. the other section i was at is above myerstown.

 

[MattBoyer]

I'm not sure of the road name, but it's where limestone springs hatchery runs into the Tully. I'd never really fished it before last spring, so that's the only place I've fished. Hopefully this spring Jay and I will be able to get out on the lower Tully, but the hatchery spot's only 20 minutes from home, so I tend to swing by there when I have an hour or two.

Boyer

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

matt,
ah yes that is riley road...just downstream from the FFO club i fished. funny thing about that area on the day in question there was 2 baiters fishing at the bridge. the one had 2 huge rainbows on a stringer. he said to me....." 2 nice bows eh?" my friend replied...." ya they were." he then proceeded to his truck and placed the 2 fish in the truck. then came back down and continued fishing. my buddy warned him that he better not have over his limit in his vehicle. he quickly left. :lol:
i dont m ean to be a "snob" or anything like the sort but these are the reasons i cant understand the meat killers "ethics".
anyways i got curious last night and looked in some of my books and was able to conclude that the mayfly i saw was the mahogany dun. they generally hatch in the fall from what the book said....but with our freaky weather patterns...im sure the aquatic life is just as confused as we are :-D

 

[fly_flinger]

Is that hatchery where all the fish got out last year? I thought it was in myerstown.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

yes but it is actually just below myerstown. the other "commerical fish hatchery" (which is actually a FFO club water is just above myerstown.

 

[fly_flinger]

Got ya. Thanks.

 

[timmyt]

When you say "Upper" Tully do you mean the Tully above the lake? Above Blue Marsh Lake?

Reason I ask is because I have basically cut my fly fishing teeth the last 3-4 years fishing the lower tully (below blue marsh) and never knew anything about the upper section. Not looking for specific spots or anything like that, just general locations

Thanks!

 

[jayL]

Yes, he means above.

I've never fished up there, but consider myself well versed on the "lower" section, as it is my "home water" even though I moved out of the area.

 

[MattBoyer]

jayL wrote:
Yes, he means above.

I've never fished up there, but consider myself well versed on the "lower" section, as it is my "home water" even though I moved out of the area.

Speaking of which...........

Boyer

 

[jayL]

Wanna try this again? Check your PMs boyer.

 

[timmyt]

I used to consider it my home water also Jay but I was pretty disappointed in it last year. I don't think its been the same since they quit stocking fingerlings. I don't plan to spend near as much time as I have up there the past few years, I used to head up there about once a week.

Seems like the water quality is going downhill as well, that and the PFBC didn't do to much to help with the flows or lackthereof most of the time. Its a shame, cause like I said I learned to fly fish up there so it will always be a special place to me, but it ain't what it used to be unfortunately 🙁