Sunshine and Rainbows

                                                          Sunshine and Rainbows

10/05/25 

 It was in the upper 40º range Sunday morning so I wasn’t in a hurry to get out and trout fish. I made myself some coffee and a hearty breakfast of pancakes in the camper before heading out. 

 I got my fishing gear in the truck and headed off to Oil Creek for some trout fishing. The state was supposed to stock the creek on the first of October and I was pretty sure they did.

 In the parking lot I walked down to the water to see the water level. It was sad seeing the creek as low as it was. The once nice knee deep riffles that flowed into a deeper section was now a bunch of rocks strewn about with small streams of water that found its way between the exposed rocks. From a high flying birds eye view it probably looked like a bunch of oversized marbles scattered on a kids play mat. There were two guys fishing a deeper section I presumed? They were 3/4 cross the creek in shin deep water casting out about 25 feet. The fly guy was catching fish but the spin guy wasn’t. I went back to the truck to get my gear on.

 I put on my hip waders as there was no need for chest waders in the shallow creek. When I looked in my vest I noticed I didn’t have my nymph box. I doubt I’d be using nymphs anyhow being the water was really shallow and fresh stocked rainbows like streamers anyway. I did have my wet fly box just in case. I took out my Douglas 4 weight 9 foot fly rod and strung it up with weight forward floating line. I Grabbed a few cigars and headed back to the creek. 

 The sun was near enough to just be rising over the far side trees above the railroad tracks that laid high above the bank. The temperature was increasing some as the sun rose. The predicted temperature was to be in the 80* range though the water felt cool enough not to wet wade in. I started casting out a Woolly Bugger down stream from the rocky riffles and behind the two fishermen. The water was shallow, just about knee deep at the most, and plenty of round and flat rocks so I had to keep stripping the bugger towards me to keep from snagging. 

 The fly guy down creek from me was pretty much catching trout at will. I wasn’t sure what he was using underneath but he must of found a gathering of trout cause he wasn’t moving and was casting in the same small area. The trout he was catching were pretty active when he hooked them and splashed helplessly to his net.

 I made a cast out towards the far bank and slowly strip the bugger towards me as it swung down stream. I felt a grab and had my fist fighting rainbow splashing the surface in the shallow water like an anxious puppy trying to get back to the beach in the ebb tide.  

 I caught one more trout before I was too close to the other fishermen. 

 I waded around the two fishermen and down creek further then where they were casting. I made a cast down and across. I swear the bugger just sunk under the water when I saw a surface splash and swirl. I jerked the rod back more by instinct reaction then actually thinking about it. The line tightened and took off down creek. I held the rod tightly as the trout tugged and carried on. The 4 weight bowed nicely as I fought the trout to the net. 

 By now I felt the sun was shining down from above and brightened all surroundings like a school cafeteria lunch room. I lit a cigar and enjoyed the moment! 

 The water now, under the sunshine, looked as clear as well water that had settled in a glass pitcher with brown sediment laying on the bottom. Normally I wouldn’t think trout would be so active being under the sunshine and clear water. With long casts the trout didn’t mind feeding under such conditions. Once hooked they weren’t all that easy to bring in. They fought wildly from the time I set the hook all the way to the net and then some. Some of the rainbows, once hooked, shot up out of the surface water like a kid on a trampoline. It appeared once the water was stirred up with all the commotion, from the hooked trout, it was more difficult to get one to bite. I slowly waded down creek further and continued to cast into the near knee deep shallows trying to avoid the bigger rocks and flat ledges. Once it got real shallow I started to wade back up to where I started upstream from the two other fishermen.

 By now the fly guy was sitting along the far bank relaxing and verbally coaching the younger guy with the spinning rod. He’d catch a trout now and then but had an awkward time trying to net the trout. Upstream from him I saw a line of trout in knee deep water almost motionless as if waiting in the cafeteria food line. I made a cast up creek from them and further across. When my line hit the water some trout scattered like a bunch of young school kids, in the playground, escaping from who had the cooties. I let the bugger swing down creek with my rod held a little higher than the surface keeping the bugger from bumping the creek bed. Slowly I was stripping line and wham a trout grabbed the bugger on the swing. I wristed the rod up and the line tightened with another nice size fighting trout.  

 The two guys decided to take off and walked up the far bank before crossing to avoid stirring up the trout around me. I caught one more trout before wading down to where the other fishermen were catching trout. Once, within my vision, I stopped and made a stand. There was a school of trout in a small area like children at a school bus stop. I would cast my bugger to the side of them, when I could, and stripped the bugger towards me within their vision. The wind sort of picked up and casting into the cross wind I wasn’t that accurate.

 Sometimes a rainbow would grab the bugger hard but other times it wasn’t so easily noticed. Letting the bugger swing into the crowd I watched the tip of my floating line. At the slightest twitch of the line I had to be quick to hook a trout. At times it was as if a rainbow was swiping at the bugger from the side and not grabbing it fully. All the trout I did catch was by their lips. Hardly any were hooked into their jaw and none were hooked inside their mouth. Most of the rainbows were nice size and healthy looking.  

 It got to be slow going from then on. The trout were evidently being cautious with all the commotion but every once in a while I’d get a strike and I had to be ready for the slightest take. 

 I was having fun catching rainbows and not really paying attention to the time. The sun moved above without me noticing. What I did notice was the shadows along the far bank was moving towards me. The wind got a little stronger and it took more energy to cast into the cross wind. The fish appeared to get bored with my offerings anyhow. Sometimes when my line hit the water there were wakes of surface water from scattering trout.

  I decided to call it a day when the last two fish I caught, after a long period of nothing, were small smallmouth. Overall it was fun for the time being catching rainbows under the sunshine.

~doubletaper