Three B’s on Dry Flies

                                                           Three B’s on Dry Flies

5/19/25 

 Browns, Brookies and Bows account for the three B’s. All caught on top water dries! 

 I could have driven down creek to the big wide sections of Kettle Creek. Being it was Monday there most likely wouldn’t be crowds of fishermen. I’ve fished that section early last week a few times since I came up camping and didn’t care to drive that far and maybe be disappointed with the outcome of too many fishermen and to few risers.

 I could of went and fished the delayed harvest fly fishing section but I guess I was too lazy so I figured I’d just wade down creek from camp today. There are some good sections I have seen good amounts of hatches in the past. I’ve already caught some on dry flies the past week when the water was lower but I was willing to give it a try again. Though the water was still higher than normal it had cleared up nicely and the sections I was looking forward to dry fly fish are wider pools of slower current though wavy in spots.

 I started fishing a Woolly Bugger in my favorite spot down from camp. I had one quick strike but missed him. I swung and drifted the Woolly Bugger quite a ways down creek before I got another strike in wavy fast current. I missed that one also. Down some I came to the long section of water that I could see the big pool of water I was headed for. 

 From where I was to the big pool was wide, wavy and maybe waist high deep at the most highest level. Good riffling water and clear enough that if a hatch started fish would be able to see the hatch easily and maybe rise to the surface. I still decided to cover the area with the Woolly Bugger until I get to the big pool hoping for a hatch of some kind. It was nearing noon but I was the only one around for the time being. Most fishermen that walk down this far are mostly bait fishermen so if there was a hatch I’d still have an advantage. Anyhow, I waded my way out from the bank, in thigh high water, far enough that I could cast along the far bank.

 Along the way there are strategic placements of logs along the far bank for cover for trout. Also there are a few small runs of tiny creek water that enter the main body of water along the way. There’s two bigger runs of water that enter into the main body also. One comes in from the far bank before the big pool and a bigger creek flows into Kettle near the tail out that brings cooler water along the far bank. It’s further casting to this flow of water but I shouldn’t have a problem wading out far enough to cast near the bank. This usually holds a good amount of trout and usually see risers. Just before the big pool, still in the riffling water, I saw my first rise about midstream. I sort of grinned to myself. I figured I’de be here for a while so I lit a cigar and looked around. 

  There has been birds darting back and forth above the wide section of wavy water. It looked like they were grabbing a flying bug in mid air and then fly back to a branch along the creek waiting. They looked like small stunt airplanes. They’d take off in full flight and then all of a sudden turn quickly one way then another. Sometimes rise and dead fall, as if cutting the engine, and rise again flying straight for the bank. I couldn’t see what they saw but there was something up there.

 It was kind of overcast but I had my fold up rain jacket in the back pouch of my vest. It was good to see the green trees that covered and lined the stretch of water that brightened up the morning. It was also nice to get into calm water that I wasn’t fighting the current across my legs trying to keep my balance as I waded. In other words it was easy wading. I had plenty of cigars, no one was around and I had a good feeling I was going to enjoy the morning catching trout like the birds catching flying bugs!

 I continued to fish the bugger until I got to the big pool. Usually just before the wide wavy water flows into the big pool the waves become calmer. I usually am able to pick off a couple trout casting towards the far bank and letting a streamer swing into the area. I picked off two trout on the bugger before I got to the shallow stones aside the pool.   

 When I got to the pool I waded out and started to cast caddis. I tried for the first one I saw but I think the water was running too quickly and wavy he couldn’t see my dry or it wasn’t what he was wanting. Anyhow, I started to cast a big elk hair caddis when I finally saw a rise in the stream of water along the bank from the creek that enters the main pool. I caught a nice brown on the elk hair. 

 After that another one or two rose down a bit. I caught another brown on a deer hair caddis.  

  I couldn’t catch the other on a dry so I tossed out the bugger and he bit. 

 By then it was getting close to 1:00. I wasn’t seeing anymore risers so I waded down creek to fish some riffles that flowed into a nice deep run. I remembered sulfurs start to hatch around 2-2:30 and are heaviest around 3 where a section that they fly around regularly. They reminded me of kids getting out of the stuffy school house and head home, playing along the way together! Not getting any bites I waded out and followed the path up to where I wanted to fish. There were two bait fishermen trying their luck in the wide section in thigh high water where I had fished through. Their pal was on the bank fishing one of the log placement against the bank. I didn’t see them catch anything as I walked by.

 I got to the area I wanted to fish about 2:00. There were already a few sulfurs coming off. A few fish were rising sporadically along the stretch of water. Up in the faster wavy current I casted a March Brown figuring it would be easier to see. Wham! I caught a nice brown that came up for it. 

 I slowly fished my way into the calmer waves with the March Brown but nothing would take it. I did notice more sulfurs coming off and it looked as though trout were keying on the sulfurs. I knotted on a #14 or a #16 orangish color sulfur at times  and you would of thought I was giving out free samples at the local county fair. Trout after trout would grab the sulfurs. I even caught a couple of nice brook trout which was a surprising treat. They all fought heavy in the quick under current. Some I got to the net, some I lost beforehand and some I’d miss completely but it was fun while it lasted on the sulfurs.    

 

I even caught a frisky rainbow that gave me a dance going air born like a rock n’ roll front man jumping and singing on a concert stage. 

 That completed my three B’s. Brown trout, brook trout and bows!

 In time the larger orangish sulfurs died off but there was still a few risers. There were these smaller beige color flies that looked as if they were all wing like a hackle just spun around the shank of a hook. I started casting a small #18 limestone yellowish sulfur that I’d catch a few on, miss a few but noticed I had some lookers and refusers. It wasn’t like only the bigger trout were keying on the bigger sulfurs at the time. I even caught a couple of nice bigger brown trout sipping the smaller dries.   

 This went on till I snagged up behind me on a bank side flowered tree. Looking at the time it was going on to 5:00. I was hungry and there weren’t many risers left. I had fun for the day and headed back to camp. I was leaving Wednesday so I had one more day of fishing before heading home.

 Back at the camper I contemplated trying to figure out, while cooking and eating venison steak cooked on the grille, what the later flies were.  

 They actually looked bigger than the limestone sulfurs I was throwing at them but only a few trout would take the small sulfur. I remember one flew near me and it looked as though it had a segmented body. After thinking about it, this time of the month, when March Browns hatch smaller Gray Fox mayflies also hatch. I had a feeling they were Gray Foxes. I’d find out tomorrow because I had quite a few tied up with me.

 I sat by the campfire thinking about my past days events while smoking a big fat cigar and sipping white wine. So far I’ve been able to get into some dry fly fishing which is why I come up to fish Kettle Creek each year at this time! 

~doubletaper 

 

Factory Throw Outs

                                                            Factory Throw Outs

5/18/25

Let’s face it stocked trout are just like factory made. The state gets small fingerlings, or eggs from spawning trout, like a factory gets raw material. They both build them up for better use. The state throws the grown trout in trout supporting creeks, rivers and lakes. They’re they are for the taking except for some of the special regulation areas posted Catch and Release or wild trout areas which are usually stream bred and not necessarily factory made. Some wild trout streams may get stocked trout that will find its way into wild waters but I think it’s rare.

 Anytime I’m up in Potter county to fish I’ll always stop at Young Woman’s Creek for the day! Being that Kettle Creek was still on the high side, and I fished it the past several days, Sunday was a good day to visit it. The section I fish is state stocked. It’s a delayed harvest area, catch and release all tackle artificial lures or flies only. There’s at least 3 sections of water I fish. The first section I cover the most water down creek a good ways. In past years there’s a good hatch of Hendricksons and caddis. With the higher water and cloudy conditions lately I didn’t expect much surface activity. 

 I started with a Woolly Bugger of course. After nabbing a nice dark rainbow, that looked like he’s been in there for a year or two, under the bridge I lit up my first stogie, a Factory Smoke, and I fished my way slowly down creek.  

 The water was flowing fast with plenty of wavy sections. I added weight to the leader. I’d cast near the far bank and let my bugger drift under the current.  

  If there were fish leaning against the bank this would draw them out as they would follow the swinging bugger till it slowed down creek where they would strike it. This accounted for a half dozen trout on the Woolly Bugger in the first section of water.

 Except for the fist trout I caught under the bridge I could tell the next ones where stocked this year with white bellies and silver sides.   

 

  The second section I drove to there is a deep pool that shallows at the tail out into riffles under tree limbs over the roadside bank. I fish this down stream until it gets too rough of water. This accounted for a few trout including two brook trout.     

 The third section I drove to was a bust. I had a couple of quick one time strikes but no hook ups. I left the creek and figured I’d end the day fishing down creek from the campground on Kettle Creek. Being the water was clearer than the day before, though flowing fast, there might be some mayfly activity or caddis.

 I got to the campground around 3:30. I walked to path to a section I fished often on Kettle Creek. There was already a few sulfurs and caddis flying around above the stained water. Every once in a while a March Brown would flutter upon the water before taking off like a Merganser flapping its wings as its taking flight.

 I knotted on a March Brown Para-dun figuring it would be easier for the fish to see on the dirty water. I made a couple casts beyond the wavy flow just in front of me. If there was a hungry trout there he would only have a few seconds to bite before my dry would be pulled by my fly line, in the wavy current and scoot down creek. Well, after a few casts nothing came up. I saw a rise or two down creek and waded down that way where the water wasn’t as deep and a little calmer. I tossed out the March Brown a few times and a trout came up and slapped at it on the surface with a visible splash. I reared back the rod and had him scurrying about. He was a nice size rainbow that fought with head shakes all the way to the net.  

  After that I would switch from the March Brown to a #14 yellowish Sulfur and a #14 caddis. This accounted for a strike now and then.  

 I started to notice that a lot of the trout I was catching had gashes in their jaw or ripped lips.. Evidently they have been caught before or got free of the hook. 

 Now, I’m all for catch and release, be it fly fishing or conventional gear, but if you’re going to rip the jaws off the trout why not just keep the trout? I had never had done so much damage with a catch on a fly hook. I can only contribute this to treble hooks.

 

 I always wondered when a trout gets caught and than released or escapes a hook set, what do they think? Do they go on a diet for the rest of the day or two? They would have to eat wouldn’t they? Maybe they just wait for a different meal after a while and start feeding again? I mean, if I had a bad meal at the local diner that I’ve eaten at before, I will still go and eat there. I just wouldn’t eat the same entree or whatever made me feel ill.

 I continued to catch a picky fish now and then in the calmer water. Not many but enough to be enjoyable. When they wouldn’t grab the March Brown or the Sulfur I’de toss out the big Elk hair caddis that has done me well recently. This hooked up to my last trout before I finally called it quits.

  It was a long day and I was getting pretty hungry. I headed back to the camper and put my gear away before preparing Sunday dinner.  

~doubletaper 

Just a May Day

Just a May Day

5/17/25

 

 After Thursday night heavy rain, Friday morning the creek started to rise and by noon was muddying up. Not a dark chocolate color but more of a light roast coffee color. Needless to say it was picky fishing by noon Friday and afterwards. The rainy high water must have washed plenty of food down for the fish to feed generously. By Saturday morning it had cleared up some and level dropped some but the creek was still on the high side.

 Because of what I saw Friday I was going to head to a smaller mountain stream that maybe wasn’t as bad on Saturday. When I drove down towards Cross Fork Saturday, in the morning, I was surprised there were no vehicles parked beside the road on a prime fishing spot that I’ve caught many a trout in the Delayed Harvest Area. There have been 2 to 3 vehicles there each day previously so I never stopped to fish. I couldn’t hold back. I pulled in and assembled my 7’ 6” Powell rod. This section of Kettle isn’t very wide but has plenty of backcasting obstacles to contend with. Being that the water was high I figured I wouldn’t be able to wade out very far so a shorter rod, to avoid the brush behind, was my better choice.

 For the past three days I had worn a rain jacket but it had never rained thou it was predicted. By 1:00 it had gotten so sunny and warm I was sweating. This morning I had already switched my fly boxes and gadgets into my fly vest even though there was a chance of rain. It was already quite warm by 8:30 am. I could have put my fold up pocket rain jacket in my back pouch of my vest but I didn’t.

 Down at the creek the water was a bit higher than I expected. Instead of being shin deep where I usually cross it was pretty near knee level. It had cleared up more than yesterday. I knotted on a Woolly Bugger and proceeded to fish down to the section I’v caught many a trout in. Once there I looked the water over.

 Big waves, over hidden boulders, on the far side was a no brainer. Mid creek was rolling waves but with added weight should get my offerings down. Near me, to maybe a couple of yards, the water slow and deep but most likely not holding trout. I might be able to get a trout to follow my bugger into the no wake zone but I’ll have to see. Other than that the section was a straight stretch of water quite a ways before it starts to shallow before a bend. The sun wasn’t over the far side tree cover so visibility wasn’t helping the situation.

 I covered the short stretch of wavy water with the bugger like a lawn pro spraying the area with weed killer. Without a bite I switched to nymph fishing. I’m not a pro by any means though I do catch a trout now and then trying it. To me nymph fishing is like kinda of practice shooting hoops in the driveway against an aging backboard and chipped orange rim with no net. Just something to pass the time till I get called to dinner. It’s not like I’ll get to be on a college basketball squad but like I said it’s something to pass the time until something better feels right.

 I fished the same area dragging bottom without a strike until I snagged up and lost both nymphs and split shot. I nipped off the curly end and went back to what I do best, that’s bugger fishing!

 I figured I’d just fish my way down creek casting the bugger. If I catch something it would be a bonus in the stained water and fast current. Down creek, after the riffles, there was slower water on the far side of the creek. It flowed steady under two leafy trees that overhung the creek about 15 yards from each other. I made a cast just shy of the first tree branch into the slower current and let it drift under the tree branches. 3/4 of the drift, as my fly line was about to pull the bugger in an arc into the faster current, a fish grabbed the bugger like a bandit hauling off with the bank loot. I set the hook and as the 4 weight Powell rod arced toward the take I could tell it wasn’t a lightweight! It pulled line off the spool like it was hurrying to some hide out with the loot. I looked at the Double L. Bean spool as it was spinning around like a wagon wheel on a stagecoach fleeing from bandits. I cranked the drag a bit tighter but didn’t have much of an effect. As fly line slid through my fingers I’de pinch it now and then just to see if I could slow the fish down. Once he got so far down he stopped with vicious head shakes. With those tug and yanks I figured I had a good hook set or it would of come out by now. I think he knew it too. 

 So the battle was on like a cowboy, after roping a steer, trying to get it to come along peacefully. The trout wasn’t in any hurry to give up and battled beneath with heavy yanks and tugs. It took awhile on the 7’6” 4 weight but I finally had him coming my way. Nearer me I let him swim upstream before letting him swim back into my net. What a nice browny! If I did’t catch another trout in this section it was still worth the effort. 

 Well, that was the excitement for the day. I caught a couple more trout down creek on buggers but still no dry fly action. On the way back I started to nymph fish just for the heck of it to try my skills. Believe it or not I hooked up with a trout. When I netted him he grabbed the March Brown stonefly. I guess practice works out sometimes for the best. 

 It started to sprinkle after that catch. When it started to rain a little harder I decided to call it quits and head for the truck. If it doesn’t rain too hard over night the water should clear up nicely. Maybe the sun will come out and I’ll see some hatches.

Till then Sunday will be another adventure!

~doubletaper