They Like’m Wet

                                                                       They Like’m Wet

6/11/26 

 One section of water I always try to fish on Tionesta Creek is usually fished pretty much. Usually there’s campers along the section or a vehicle parked at the site. This morning, as I drove by, there wasn’t a vehicle at the site. I pulled the truck down the lane and got my gear on. My Douglas 9’ 4 weight fly rod was already strung up on the front passenger side. I added some fresh 5x tippet and knotted on an elk hair caddis. I put my gear on and grabbed a few cigars. The morning was already warm out but the sun wasn’t completely over the far hillside or tree line. 

 Branches of green leafy trees lined the creek as far as the eye could see. Half the creek was dark from the shadows of the tree line on the opposite bank keeping the sun from filtering through. The water was clear but the brown stoney creek bed made the water color look like watered down coffee. I stepped into the cool creek water and slowly started wading to the middle of the creek looking for any risers. 

 One fish was rising out so I waded closer within casting distance. He wasn’t interested in the deer hair caddis I offered him. I switched caddis and a tan elk hair caddis got his attention with a swirl but he didn’t take it. There were a couple other risers in the shade of the creek. Though the risers all looked like they were rising for some kind of emerger by the way they splashed the water surface, I stuck with the dry caddis. I was casting upstream from the few risers I saw and letting the caddis drift into their zone but they wouldn’t grab it. There were bubbles and small debris drifting on the surface so I thought maybe the trout weren’t seeing my dry among the floating surface debris. I made a cast that landed the dry right on the spot I saw a rise. As soon as the caddis hit the water a trout rose and grabbed it. I was ready, for many times I had trout not take a drifting dry until I put it right on their head. I reared back the rod and my first trout was fighting against the tight line. 

 I continued to cast the caddis to the other occasional risers but they didn’t appear to be interested. The sun was still rising and I knew in time the shady section of water would soon be in direct sunlight and bringing down the heat. Being that I figured the trout were eating emergers or having breakfast underneath I decided to knot on a couple of soft hackle wet flies. That seemed to be what they were after.

 If I saw a rise in an area I would cast the wet flies upstream from them and let the wet flies drift within their sight. Many times I got a take. The fly line would shoot towards the take and I’d rear back the rod and the line would tighten. The trout would fight in anger as if they were upset they’ve been fooled.  

 If the trout grabbed the wet flies near the end of the swing it was usually a hard take like when they take a swinging bugger. Once caught they fought with head shakes and tugging the line like pulling the ropes ringing the big bell in the church steeple. Some of the rainbows would rise and clear the surface with aerial acrobatics. 

 The brown trout stayed low nearer the creek bed when they fought. There were many stream bed big rocks laying on the bottom so I had to always keep the rod line up from getting caught or rub against the rock edges. 

 It was a race against time before the sun would clear the trees and bear down on the water. I was the first to feel the sun rays being in the middle of the creek. It wasn’t long that I felt sweat on my brow. Slowly the shadows of the trees upon the water surface were disappearing. I continued to make long cast in the shaded areas of the water. Every once in a while I’d get a take on a wet fly. Most of the time it was my soft hackle pheasant tail. 

 Other times it was a Hen back and yellow floss body that I use to imitate a sulfur or PMD. The rainbows like the Hen back and Yellow. 

 It wasn’t long the whole creek was under the sunshine. The surface water glimmered like a fresh coat of satin sheen varnish under the sun rays. The trout quit biting in the area I was in so I decided to head down creek casting the wet flies.  

 I spent another 1/2 hour or so slowly wading and casting out but couldn’t get a bite. The humidity was heavy despite being in the cooler creek water. I turned to the bank and waded out to the truck.

 I never was one who liked to nymph fish. I would hang up a lot and lose my offerings on the stream bed too often. Now that I feel confident in wet fly fishing I’ll most likely stick with it more often than nymph fishing. I’ll still carry the basic nymphs but not as many different patterns. 

 When I started to fly fish I was more interested in dry fly fishing. Watching a trout rise and take one of my surface imitations is the royal experience. Knowing that I needed to know all aspects of fly fishing I continued to learn different technique's of fishing streamers, nymphs and wet flies. With advice from Phil Valdacchino, of Kettle Creek Tackle Shop, I gained confidence in wet fly fishing and feeling that I’m fishing them correctly. Lately I’ve been doing quite well catching trout on the wet flies when the fish aren’t taking surface mayflies or any of my streamer patterns. 

~doubletaper