The Weather Has Broken

With this dose of sunshine comes my first post on the DCup Blog (uh, don't Google that). The first weekend in March, 2010 was an angler's delight, replete with warm weather, great stream conditions and freshly stocked areas for Delayed Harvest Artificial Lures Only (DHALO).

After a great staff meeting planning our June 5 world record attempt (know any canoers or kayakers? How about 1,105 to break the Guinness world record?), I was fishing the mysterious Peters Creek by 2:00 PM Friday afternoon. Big thanks to Chris Raslonski for turning me on to this fly fishing oasis tucked amidst sewage treatment plants and AMD sites. What it lacks in aesthetics it makes up in fish and flowing water.

A black conehead bugger proved to be the prime fish finder. After exploring some likely water with no luck in the first half hour, I found a honey hole with two 13" rainbows...very lively and healthy. Then another about the same size beneath a tree bole.

Chris finally broke free from work around 3PM and we found a few more rainbows in another spot. Then it was that final pass thru before heading home at dusk. I waded upstream to a fast section with a nice 4-foot dip in the middle and found a lovely brown about 14". Perfect capper for a Friday in early March.

But that was just the start to a great weekend. Waking up a bit late after touring the wilds of the Penn Avenue Arts District with Lee Morris, Scott Kramer and Deb (Unblurred event), I planned to peruse some new DHALO water on Pine Creek and Deer Creek. If time allowed, I might even shoot up to Bull Crik.

After driving around a bit, I did locate the lower boundary of Pine Creek area. Saw a couple of guys down there, so decided to drive to the upper boundary...only to find four cars there as well. Heck, might as well buzz over to Deer Creek.

Alas, cars everywhere on Deer as well. So I parked at the least crowded spot and walked upstream. No sign of life until bridge where guys were whacking them on white sucker spawn. Walked upstream with a local fellow who helps stock the creek. We hit a big pool, but the fish were wary. I hooked one on a Price, but lost it. Walked upstream another half mile to a rocky bank, where I hooked a fat rainbow and lost it quickly. Saw a pile of anglers at the main pool upstream, so walked and fished my way back down to the bridge without a take. A fellow had camped out with Rapalas, spoons, and a bucket of Gulp rubberized minnows and he was smacking them. He finally cleared out and I got a few on #18 green copper Johns. Also pulled in a white sucker on one of Rob's #18 super shrimp.

By this time, it was 5:30 PM, but I figured there may be enough light to fish Pine on my way home. Pulled into the parking close to 6pm, when another fellow was coming out. "Any luck?," I asked. "It must still be too cold...had a few follow my stuff, but no luck," came the reply. As a well attired older fellow with bifocals on his hat brim, he looked like he'd been around the block a few times. "Oh well, I'm going to milk this last bit of daylight."

After donning an extra layer (fishing all day in a fleece lined flannel shirt) and grabbing my headlamp, I plodded through the foot of remaining snow. Following footprints to the water, I headed upstream in search of a hot spot to ply for a little while. Ended up sliding my way down to the creek at a promising log.

Water was 3-4 feet deep with modest current. I'd put on white sucker spawn for greater visibility and plus that was the hot fly on Deer Creek. My first couple of casts seemed to be getting hung up on the bottom, so I shortened up. After moving downstream a few feet, realized there was no way I was hitting bottom, as it was 4 feet deep and movin. Next dunk of the float, I sunk the hook into a chunky rainbow that jumped a couple of times...Wahoo! Signs of life. My next three casts also produced running, jumping rainbows and a brown, all going 12-13 inches. Life was grand, but then it got better.

After missing a couple of hits, I cast upstream for a longer drift, and Bam! I was into the fish of the day. My reel screemed as it ran downstream. I turned it a couple times, but it was not to be convinced. I begrudgingly left the spot and waded a couple hundred feet downstream before this gorgeous holdover succumbed to the vintage Walton Powell 5-weight. At 17", the fish weighed 2-3 lb., with the most scarlet gill plates and rainbow sides I've ever seen. A spectacular fish which seemed to have been enjoying its existence in Pine Creek for some time.

I did catch one more, but it was now too dark to see the float. A flurry of action like that can keep a guy going for some time!

No fishing the next day, but Robyn and I hit the Krispy Kreme on the way to Cabin Fever, where Dale, Cyndi and Rob were holding down the fort for Wilderness Voyageurs. Watched Scott Loughner tie some Closer crawdads and picked up some tips. Also had a good talk with Harold Harsh of Spring Creek Outfitters about the MD fishing. Michael was the one who suggested getting an MD license, while chatting at the DCup Banquet, and it's sounding better all the time.

BTW, I purchased a new top guide for my newly shorted 3-weight...any suggestions out there for a somewhat stiff 6'6" rod?

Cheers, Sean