I fished the Chesterbrook section of Valley Creek this afternoon. The creek was very low and clear. Not much bug activity but I managed to catch 7 browns in the 5 to 8 inch range on black ants drifted down the faster riffles. Has anyone else noticed a big decrease in bug activity on Valley this year?
Valley Creek, Chester County 9/16/2014
- Thread starter Nympho
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Longbow
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I haven't noticed much activity but one evening they were all over the top but I couldn't see Amy bugs. Tried everything then finally
Landed a nice 12" brown on a caddis. All my valley fish except a couple have been on caddis in 18 size range in last few weeks.
Landed a nice 12" brown on a caddis. All my valley fish except a couple have been on caddis in 18 size range in last few weeks.
govtmule
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There's not a lot of bugs/hatches on Valley except midges. You can always find risers to midges anytime of the year there. If you see risers and cant see what they are taking then its a good bet they are taking midges. Never go to valley without them. Also that doesnt mean you cant blind cast caddis, terrestrials...etc....b/c that also works
lestrout
Well-known member
jared - prepare to be frustrated, if you are new and trying to learn at Valley
jared, Valley can be very frustrating to learn on because of how spooky the fish are and many of the good spots have tight casting areas but I believe if you can figure out how to fish Valley Creek you can catch trout anywhere. Put your time in figuring it out,learn how to roll cast and you will be ready to fish any trout stream.
I try to fish Valley twice a week so if you want to meet up sometime I can give you some pointers.
I try to fish Valley twice a week so if you want to meet up sometime I can give you some pointers.
Cloudlife_flyguy
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- Oct 8, 2014
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Made it out to Valley today after class today...round 11am. The water was up and off color thanks to some much needed rain. Brought 4 fish to hand with the largest being a husky 10" brown. Caught them all on an olive wolly bugger size 12. Must have missed on twice as many fish. All and all a great day weather wise blue bird skies and aggressive browns winds weren't a problem but it was a little gusty. Fished from the covered bridge to the pumping station
Longbow
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Had a great morning on Valley myself. Lots of active fish. caught a few real small guys on an autumn caddis trailed my an ant. Switched to the olive wooly bugger and things picked up significantly. lost some decent fish and landed some as well. best was this one that was just shy of 11". Great morning for the glass 3 wt.
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pcray1231
Well-known member
It's been a little while (since Spring) for me on Valley. So I am not up on the latest trends.
There are BWO's in the spring (March), and the fish get on them. Usually the same streams have decent fall hatches too, but not sure on Valley. There are virtually always a few midging fish in a few select holes. Same holes every time. These are typically flat water pools and are best avoided. I only go to dries on Valley when a more major hatch, like BWO's, get them coming up in a little faster water.
In my experiences, the fish on Valley are fairly spooky, which is compounded by the fact that it's a slow, shallow, flat, and clear stream. Stealth is indeed the key. In low conditions, my fish usually come in bunches. i.e. 8 times out of 10 I spook the hole before catching anything! But the other 2 times I might pull 3 or 4 from that pod.
They are not overly selective. If you can present something without spooking them they'll take. Exact matches and perfect presentations are not necessary. I generally do ok with standard stuff like a bead head hare's ear.
The biggest piece of advice is that it comes up, and falls, unbelievably fast after a rain. The "easiest" time to fish it is typically
There are BWO's in the spring (March), and the fish get on them. Usually the same streams have decent fall hatches too, but not sure on Valley. There are virtually always a few midging fish in a few select holes. Same holes every time. These are typically flat water pools and are best avoided. I only go to dries on Valley when a more major hatch, like BWO's, get them coming up in a little faster water.
In my experiences, the fish on Valley are fairly spooky, which is compounded by the fact that it's a slow, shallow, flat, and clear stream. Stealth is indeed the key. In low conditions, my fish usually come in bunches. i.e. 8 times out of 10 I spook the hole before catching anything! But the other 2 times I might pull 3 or 4 from that pod.
They are not overly selective. If you can present something without spooking them they'll take. Exact matches and perfect presentations are not necessary. I generally do ok with standard stuff like a bead head hare's ear.
The biggest piece of advice is that it comes up, and falls, unbelievably fast after a rain. The "easiest" time to fish it is typically
mellowluke
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- Jan 3, 2014
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- 63
Thinking of fishing the VC tomorrow morning -- any recent reports?
Cloudlife_flyguy
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- Oct 8, 2014
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Made it out to valley today for the first time in a few months. Beautiful day with a nice overcast start. started fishing around 10 starting from the dam and fished up through to where little valley dumps in. Air temps were in the low 40's the wind was light. Didnt get a water temp. Saw several fish still on their spawning beds and it looks like someone put some of their pet koi in the still water above the dam. It wasn't till the sun started poking through the clouds that I saw any sign of insect life and by 1 there was a decent midge and b.w.o hatch going on. Some of the larger olives I've ever seen in December. Only managed to bring one trout to my hand on a b.w.o nymph dropped off a rainbow warrior but with all the trash I picked up I'm sure the karma points will kick in one of these times
I fished Valley today for a couple hours and only caught 1 small trout and saw almost no bug or fish activity. I did see 3 dead trout laying on the bottom of the creek which was a little worrisome because I have never seen 1 dead fish on Valley let alone 3 in a couple hours.
