Valley Creek, Chester County, 3/19/2012

[greenlander]

fadeaway263 wrote:
Personally I do not believe what some of the posters on Valley say what they caught. The Prof and I fished on the 19th and he got one and me zip. That is over 60 years combined experience. We met up with a couple of guys who had 10 more years on us and they were skunked. With the stream so low on the 19th and bright sun and gin clear water not even Lefty could catch 9 fish.

You've most certainly been fishing longer than I have.

You're also most likely a better angler.

However, neither of these facts make me a liar.

Plus, I'd like to think that if I was going to post full of crap stream reports, that I could come up with something better than the glory filled tale of all the dinks I caught one day.

 

[sroach]

That Camera does take nice pictures!!

Love the coloring on that first one shot above.

 

[englishprof]

Greenlander,

Exactly what I was thinking. Why the hell would someone lie about 6" and under fish????? I have no doubt that you got them. I had damn near that many hits but only the one hooked and brought in (it was a bit larger). I say good job and I wouldn't put money on who's the better angler!!!!! By the way, the number of years fishing has very little to do with anything when we really only started fishing this Creek two years ago and seriously only a few months ago.

 

[fadeaway263]

Not really focusing so much on Greenlander. More directed on the 20 fish a day guys on Valley. Maybe John Powers post is correct. The fish have gotten dumber in the past 2 years. My apologies to GL if he thought I was accusing him of lying. I'd rather chalk it up as a grumpy old man being frustrated after wading from the pedestrian bridge OTP up to the turnpike and then back down all the way to where Little Valley almost meets Valley and then back to the pedestrian bridge with nothing to show for it but sore feet.

englishprof wrote:
Greenlander,

Exactly what I was thinking. Why the hell would someone lie about 6" and under fish????? I have no doubt that you got them. I had damn near that many hits but only the one hooked and brought in (it was a bit larger). I say good job and I wouldn't put money on who's the better angler!!!!! By the way, the number of years fishing has very little to do with anything when we really only started fishing this Creek two years ago and seriously only a few months ago.

 

[greenlander]

fadeaway263 wrote:
Not really focusing so much on Greenlander. More directed on the 20 fish a day guys on Valley. Maybe John Powers post is correct. The fish have gotten dumber in the past 2 years. My apologies to GL if he thought I was accusing him of lying. I'd rather chalk it up as a grumpy old man being frustrated after wading from the pedestrian bridge OTP up to the turnpike and then back down all the way to where Little Valley almost meets Valley and then back to the pedestrian bridge with nothing to show for it but sore feet.

No sweat whether you were focusing on me or not.

I don't think the fish have gotten dumber, I just think a few guys have certain things about that stream figured out. I can guarantee that if I had fished the same stretch of water I fished the day we were both there (and we fished mostly the same water), but fished it using different methods, that I would have walked away with little or nothing to show for it.

 

[pcray1231]

In the slightly over a year that I've lived here, I think I have 6 trips logged on Valley Creek. My totals, in order, were:

0, 18, 6, 12, 5, and 10.

I'm chalking up the 0 to a learning curve, but probably being a little evasive in doing so. If you line up the days from fewest to most, it also happens to correspond PERFECTLY to the cfs on the gauge that day, from lowest to highest. The secret to Valley is high water, at least for me during fall/winter/spring. I haven't fished the summer yet.

YMMV

Biggest fish: 15"
Average fish: 7-8"

 

[crs5942]

Valley Creek has its moments. My average day is 1-3 fish on Valley Creek. Last year I arived on an April afternoon and fished behind several other fly-fisherman. I managed to land 9 and lost many more between late afternoon and dusk. I expected a poor fishing day but it ended up being my best outing on VC to date. There are definately techniques that can make the difference on Valley Creek; however, sometimes it takes some luck as well as skill. We definately need some rain though. Valley is getting quite low for this time of the year.

 

[Fredrick]

fadeaway263 wrote:
Personally I do not believe what some of the posters on Valley say what they caught. The Prof and I fished on the 19th and he got one and me zip. That is over 60 years combined experience. We met up with a couple of guys who had 10 more years on us and they were skunked. With the stream so low on the 19th and bright sun and gin clear water not even Lefty could catch 9 fish.

Not sure what you guys are doing wrong Fade but if you guys want some lessons let me know 😎

But I have only been fly fishing for five years

 

[fadeaway263]

Fredrick wrote:

fadeaway263 wrote:
Personally I do not believe what some of the posters on Valley say what they caught. The Prof and I fished on the 19th and he got one and me zip. That is over 60 years combined experience. We met up with a couple of guys who had 10 more years on us and they were skunked. With the stream so low on the 19th and bright sun and gin clear water not even Lefty could catch 9 fish.

Not sure what you guys are doing wrong Fade but if you guys want some lessons let me know 😎

But I have only been fly fishing for five years

Fred not so sure if it is a lesson thing yet. I think it is more due to the fact that the Prof and I seem to be focusing more on native fish as opposed to the stockies we have fished for over the years. You just can't throw a #12 wooly bugger at the fish in Valley and expect immediate results like you get when fishing a place like Chester Creek. But then again I do just fine when fishing BHPTs for the natives in the Upper Delaware. I guess I just have to resign myself to fishing teeny tiny midges on Valley and leave the big stuff for the other streams.

 

[pcray1231]

None of my fish listed above were caught on anything below a size 18.

Most of them were on 16 and 18 Hare's Ear nymphs. A few on PT's and a few on olive dries.

I think the biggest difference is not in skill or tactics, but WHEN. I pretty much avoid it when it's low and clear. I know its tough, so why beat your head against a wall? Go somewhere that fishes better in those conditions!

After we get a nice gully washer, that's when my mind turns to VC. It drops quick, so be there before you think you should after a rain, you want it up and stained. The 18 fish day was about 8 hrs past flood stage...

 

[fadeaway263]

Thanks Pcray. I will always take your thoughts and recommendations
into consideration given your results at last years Stocktoberfest measured against the results of the rest of us that fished that day 🙂

 

[greenlander]

pcray1231 wrote:
I think the biggest difference is not in skill or tactics, but WHEN. I pretty much avoid it when it's low and clear. .

I'd yield to you on fishing advice on virtually every other topic I can imagine, but I have to disagree on this one. Is Valley harder when it is low and clear? Sure. Is it a waste of time? Absolutely not. My two best days in recent memory on Valley have come with low and clear water.

I'd agree, however that it isn't all about size.

In my opinion, what it really comes down to is tactics.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

I think, if I understand Pat and how he fishes because it is what I did for years and years, if Valley is low and clear go somewhere with better conditions. The catching will be better for sure.

Real Estate - Location, Location, Location

Fishing/Catching - Location, Location, Location

 

[englishprof]

Who will be the first to tell him they are not "natives".

 

[pete41]

lol
good one EP.

 

[PSUFishMenace]

Agree w/ Pat here and +1 for BHHE's. I fly-fished valley seven times last year. That doesn't make me an expert by any means but it's enough to draw some conclusions. Best day last year was 20 fish, in muddy water. second best was 7, and the rest were 1-4. The 7 fish day was a bit odd because i caught 4 out of the same hole and otherwise I was heading for a 3-4 fish day. Luck played a part there, but the one really good day I had last year matches up with what Pat said about high water.

It seems like some of you guys put up good numbers by going to dry flies in clear water. I have not really tried that except for little foam ants in the warmer months.

 

[greenlander]

I'm the worst dry fly and streamer fisherman in the world. Without nymphs, emergers and wet flies, I'd catch 2 fish per year.

 

[pcray1231]

Sal is essentially correct. I'm not a superb fishermen when it comes to on-stream skill. I have my strengths and weaknesses like anyone else. I very well may have gotten skunked alongside fade on the day and section he fished it. When I fish with others, I'm not one of these guys that always ends up with the most fish. Some people have mojo like that, I don't.

But, my average day on a given stream is very often better than the average day that others report on the same stream. Why? Because I'm cherry picking and dang proud of it! My goal is understanding. The more I understand, the better my chances at choosing the time and locations that will fish best given the conditions. And apparantly I've had some success at that.

Green, so you had some good days when you weren't expecting to? Great! Predictions aren't always right, I get em wrong too. But those highlight gaps in understanding. Figure out WHY the unexpected happened, and you've filled that gap, and perhaps can extrapolate the new understanding to other places and times. Thus increasing your odds of predicting those good days, rather than spending how many poor days to "luck" into one?

 

[greenlander]

pcray1231 wrote:
Green, so you had some good days when you weren't expecting to? Great! Predictions aren't always right, I get em wrong too. But those highlight gaps in understanding. Figure out WHY the unexpected happened, and you've filled that gap, and perhaps can extrapolate the new understanding to other places and times. Thus increasing your odds of predicting those good days, rather than spending how many poor days to "luck" into one?

Agreed and points well taken.

I just wanted to point out that I've fished other streams that I expect to get killed on when the water and sky are clear, but Valley isn't one of them. Like anywhere else, I expect somewhat tougher conditions, but I feel like the effects of low, clear water and sunny skies are felt less so on VC vs. many other streams.

But, then again, I could be totally full of it. Seriously.

 

[pcray1231]

Well, for me, the flow rate is FAR more important on Valley than the average stream. Skies? Not so much. It's just that the fish are spooky, and the nature of VC is a lot of poor water with some amazing pools mixed in. When low and clear, the fish pod up in big schools at the bottom of those pools. And it's mostly nymphing, so to eliminate drag, you gotta get fairly close. Get close, and you're likely to spook at least 1 fish in the pod, which means you spook em all.

Strong flows spread out the fish. Many take up feeding lies in what was previously poor water. So the "pod" effect is gone. Heavier current and murky water gives you cover to get a little closer. Fishing becomes more successful.

Perhaps you have gotten very good at fishing it when it's low and clear, and I haven't. But the one thing I will say is that being able to time a hatch would definitely help in low, clear conditions. I've only seen risers in a handful of predictable pools, mostly frog water, which is tough even with dries. If you could time a hatch that brings em up throughout the stream, including the better pools, the ones with current, then you could fish from a lot further away and perhaps be more successful.

It certainly has enough fish.