Valley Creek 3-20-2009

[JustFish]

Water temp. 50 F
Air temp. 50 F
Water was gin clear and low.

Olives were the order of the day. Size 18-22 were coming off.
Picked up four wild browns all on top with a size 18 BWO and missed a couple. Great day to be out. Nothing like taking wild brownies on top! :-D

 

[willgpark]

Sounds like a great day. Was there a specific time you saw BWO hatch? Can you upload picture of your BWO?

I'm a beginner fly-fisherman and I live close to the valley - I want to try it sometime.

 

[JustFish]

willgpark wrote:
Sounds like a great day. Was there a specific time you saw BWO hatch? Can you upload picture of your BWO?

I'm a beginner fly-fisherman and I live close to the valley - I want to try it sometime.

Anytime in the afternoon right now you'll see bwo's coming off. Valley can be tough so don't get discouraged. Try not to wade. If you put the fish down sit on the bank for awhile. They will come back up.

Here is a good all around pattern. BWO

 

[sunra]

Excellent advice for spooky fish. I often find myself sitting on the banks of valley creek, changing my fly or adjusting my leader. This takes me long enough to allow for a chance at an unsuspecting trout.


For what it is worth, and especially for the novice, that BWO along with many other 'dry' flies are actually sitting with their bodies IN the film. Thus they are potentially either representing emergers, cripples or drowned duns/spinners. They work well below riffles, especially.

 

[Raven456]

An addition, don't be afraid of tying on an Elk Wing Caddis 18 in either tan or black this early in the spring and hit the riffles.

 

[trowpa]

I second that advice with sitting on the bank. I have a similar routine to sunra's - I get into position first, then tie my fly on - and with my fat fingers...i usually give any nervous fish time to go back to feeding.

 

[JustFish]

I usually don't wade. There are a couple holes where it is absolutely impossible not to wade. So if I know I am gonna hit one of those first I wait to rig up when I get into position. I'll also note my biggest fish taken from there have been sub-surface. But it's a blast taken them on top, regardless of size.

Gonna hit up Valley tomorrow and see what she'll give me!

 

[Raven456]

You can fish Valley from the banks but will need wade to get to some of the sweeter spots where the larger fish lie. The largest fish I have ever caught on Valley were over 16" on dry flies and I was wading. Granted, it probably took me almost 30 minutes to get into position , but it was worth it. I don't generally spend that much time positioning myself. I pretty much know where to to go go and can turn 4-8 fish pretty easily on any given trip ( which is usually about 3 times a week.)

 

[JustFish]

Raven456 wrote:
Granted, it probably took me almost 30 minutes to get into position , but it was worth it. I don't generally spend that much time positioning myself.

:-? 🙂

You lost me there. 30 minutes sounds like you spend a lot of time positioning yourself. Which is good. 🙂

As I previously stated above some holes can only be accessed through wading......overall though if you can avoid it it is often better. 🙂

 

[Raven456]

30 to get in, observe, tie up, and let things settle. I agree, don't wade if at all possibe but I'm sure you'll agree that some of the nicer pools have some high banks that leave you 2 options, lie on your side above or try to stealth in through the water.

 

[JustFish]

Raven456, I do agree. Some spots wading is inevitable.

 

[sunra]

Yes, had to wade just a little to catch this one yesterday on a size 24 cream midge larvae. The hook broke at the bend just as I netted this guy. Quick photo and back in the creek. Looks like he got attacked on that gill flap by a ?heron?

 

[mute]

Wowwwwwww, that fish looks incredible

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Minus the gill flap, that is one of the most beautiful browns ive ever seen. Amazing fish and no doubt is a prize from that stream!

 

[sunra]

In my short fly fishing career(wishful thinking, lol), that fish was perhaps my greatest accomplishment yet. I did catch a similarly beautiful brown last spring from the Schoharie near Hunter Mountain in the Catskills, all alone on that stream....

I really appreciate everyone's intput to this site. I feel I have learned a lot from you all.

Thank you!

 

[afishinado]

Nice fish! Good stuff......congrats.

Valley has the prettiest browns in the US!

 

[eroc144]

Sunra - nice fish! What's the Schoharie like? Since I first read Flick's streamside guide a few decades ago I've always wanted to check it out.

I've been fishing VC more frequently this spring as I've been having a hard time getting away from work for day trips to central PA. I was also out last Thurs and caught a few nice ones on BWOs in the in the Lafayette HQ stretch. I also got surprised by a walker and her rottweiler. I was crouched down and focused and didn't hear them until they were almost right on top of me. Nice to know the adrenal glands still work...

EG

 

[sunra]

EG,

I had only one day to fish the Schoharie as I was attending a music festival on Hunter the last weekend of May. My motel was down in Phonecia which sits along the Esopus Creek. I fished the Esopus a few times on last year's visit, and there were many small browns in there. The water was really moving, so I stuck to an are which was relatively shallow.

I then stopped in to the Orvis shop at Hunter Mountain, and was told that the Schoharie had nice fish in there. The two spots recommended to me were "in town" where there were some deep pools(apparently had nice sized fish rising in the evening) and what they called "by the Russian Church" down the road. I checked out the latter. The was to get there is to drive past Hunter, with the nountain on your left. After you pass the road to Phonecia(I forget the highway number) about a mile or so is a distinctively Russian Orthodox looking building. There is parking along the creek on your left.

I found nice riffles and some plunge pools. Fished only about an hour as I was meeting people at the music. Coincidentally I was stopped by some fish and game people who wanted me to take a survey, so I did. When they leftt I hooke into a nice brown which took me down a couple of those plunge pools, and luckily I landed him, about 18 inches or so. What a thrill for me.

Onee of the nicest things fishing both those streams was that it was very quiet. No tubers on the Esopus yet, and on the Schoharie I found myself alone, surrounded by farms, rolling hills and the Catskills. Hope to do it again next month as I am heading up for Mountain Jam, staying in Hunter this time....