Not Being Picky

                                                                          Not Being Picky

6/01/26 

 Clarion river has an assortment of fish in the river. The last few days I’ve been targeting trout with dry flies, nymphs and Woolly Buggers. I wanted to fish a different area along the river where I know smallmouth bass and trout both inherit the water. Not that the other place didn’t but I usually catch more bass than trout where I was going to fish. I usually use a 6 weight fishing the river for bass and tempt them with poppers more than streamers. My 5 weight Icon was already ready to go so I took it out of the truck and knotted on a Woolly Bugger.

 I carefully made my way along the side of the road and down the bank to the river. Shin deep along the bank I took time to look the conditions over. The sky was light blueish with white puffy clouds that appeared to float above in no hurry if you watch them long enough. The sun was out and was warming the morning. The river flowed clear across without any visible obstacles above the surface water. I could tell the hidden obstacles beneath by the swirls in the surface current. Any hazards stuck to the bottom I wasn’t sure. Other than the birds chirping every once in a while I’d hear or see a couple of geese down river. I felt alone but there was a road on each side of the wide river and occasionally a vehicle would pass by. Other than that I was the only one on the river fishing as far as I could see. 

 I figured I’d start off casting the bugger in the faster riffling wavy water that didn’t look more than thigh high deep. I wasn’t sure how far across I would be able to wade so when I did I was careful about it and really didn’t get as far across as I wanted. No matter, I was out far enough that I had plenty of room for a long backcast which gave me plenty of distance for a forward cast. Casting out among the riffling waves and fast current I felt my bugger wasn’t getting down deep enough on the swing. I brought in line and added a small split shot at least 15” above the bugger. This might seem a lot but I wanted the bugger to swing without touching bottom and I also felt the bugger would swing more freely than the weight being closer to the bugger.

 I was puffing on my cigar and was as relaxed as I could be. No rush to cast to any certain spot on the river. I knew there had to be fish in there and would only hook one if one happen to be hungry. I hadn’t seen anyone wade fishing the area and usually the fishermen in canoes and kayaks don’t usually have anchors. They may pull over in a back eddy behind a big boulder along the bank but there were none in the area I was fishing for them to do so. Though it is a Monday, with lots of activity on the river the weekend before, the fish are used to that and I didn’t feel they would be too worried about feeding. I mean I’m sure we all have been in restaurants were there was many unruly, noisy people but we still eat our meal and try to just tune them out. I imagine the fish are the same way. As long as no one is swimming near them or throwing stones near them they aran’t going to move much and if food passes by, if their hungry, they are going to grab it. 

 Slowly wading down river and casting out I had 2 hookups but was unable to get them very close at all to net them  and I thought ‘here we go again!” A few days ago I hooked up several time in the faster current but couldn’t keep them on the hook. I know I was going to let them go anyway but I would have at least liked to get an eyeball on them. 

 One offer a fish grabbed the bugger as it was swinging. The line straightened on the surface water before I yanked the rod up and stripped the line in. The fish fought, tugging the line, where he grabbed the bugger before taking off down creek. Playing the fish towards me against the undercurrent was a challenge. I didn’t horse him in as I did the others but I wasn’t going to have him have his way swimming long. I got him to the slower water between me and the bank and got him netted. A nice brown trout laid in my net. 

 Continuing wading slowly and casting the bugger out, pretty much as far as I could,  I caught a couple of nice rainbows that looked like they were well fed.  

  Practically after the end of one drift I had a take. I pulled the rod back and the line tightened once again. The fish on the other end fought to and fro but wasn’t that hard getting him in. I wasn’t all surprised by my catch as long as I was catching fish I was happier. I wasn’t picky who I got in the net and took a picture of the smallmouth. 

 I was pretty much down creek from the faster riffling water where the water was a bit calmer and looked deeper. The bugger swung a lot slower which I figured was drifting deeper. A fish grabbed the bugger almost at the end of the drift. I lifted and yanked the rod back and the fish was on. I knew I had a husky fish and soon learned he wasn’t going to be easy getting to the net. I wasn’t surprised by sure glad I didn’t catch him in the faster current. We fought back and forth not giving each other much time to rest. It took time but I got him in the net safely. He was a nice bronze colored smallmouth! 

 By now the sun was up above the river and everything around me was quite lit up. The hillside downriver looked greener, the puffy clouds above looked whiter. The river water surface looked like a wrinkled satin sheet, shimmering under the sunlight, across and down river. I puffed on my stogie and relaxed a bit enjoying the scenery. 

 I wasn’t getting any hook ups down river any more so I went back up where I started and figured I’d spend another 1/2 hour or so covering the water I had already fished.

I was still swinging the Woolly Bugger with every cast. I was a bit out further than before in just over my knees. I was making long casts out and across though, because of the gusts of wind on occasion, I wasn’t sure where my bugger was going to fall. Being that I was in deeper water I would let the bugger swing straight down from me. On one occasion, after the bugger got to the end of the drift, down from me, I started to slowly strip it towards me. A fish grabbed the bugger as if it wanted to tear it apart, like a hate crime! After I tightened the line on him he pulled back with force and headed to the faster riffling current out in the river. I tightened my grip on the cork handle as line stripped through the guides and eyes as if an airplane took off the runway with a banner attached. The fast action rod arced into the midsection and I knew I had a good fish. It stayed beneath pretty much the whole ordeal so I wasn’t sure if it was a brown trout or a husky smallmouth. We had a good battle like two kids tugging on each end of a stuffed animal in the playground. Neither of us were giving in. The funny thing was both of us was going to lose if we both lost out grip on the toy we were tugging. He wasn’t coming in very easily and trying to disrupt his fight I would move the rod towards the bank. When he followed and tugged, I’d swing it back to my right. I guess I was trying to confuse him but doing So I wasn’t able to get him closer to me. I backed up towards the bank so I was in water just below my knees. I was coaxing him upstream in the riffling current. When he got, just down from me, I swung the rod towards the bank and lifted it. I had already had my net out dangling from the elastic cord to my belt. I grabbed the net with my left had and as I raised the bowing rod, he came up from the bottom shaking his body to no avail. I netted him cleanly. He was a nice brown trout that looked like he lived in the river for quite a few years! 

 Downriver I was casting a bugger in the slower water. I was waiting for my cigar to burn down before wading back up river and to the place I entered the river. I made a couple of long casts across the river and let them drift into the slower current. I saw the end of my fly line dip down and I felt a nudge. I lifted the rod quick with a hard wrist set. The line came off the water and the line tightened. I felt a head shake and then the line took off down and away. I knew I had something with some muscle. He didn’t head shake or twist and turn quickly like a trout but used his muscle and weight to guide the line and rod tip where he wanted to go. We had a good battle and I was glad we were in the slower current. Eventually I got him in the net. Another fine bronze back got its picture taken. 

 By now the sun was high above and in full view. I swear it was getting hotter by the minute. After that I made a couple more casts but called it a day and headed back up to the truck.

~doubletaper

Monday Before the Heat Wave

                                                                Monday Before the Heat Wave

5/18/26 

 I knew, Sunday, right where I wanted to fish Monday. The weather was to get into the 90’s so I knew I’d have to get to the section of Kettle Creek before it got too hot. I ate a good breakfast, Monday morning, got my waders on at the campsite and made sure my vest was filled with what I felt was needed for the days adventure.

 I was the first to park along the dirt road in the morning. The sky was ocean blue without a cloud in the sky. It forewarned me that when the sun came overhead it was going to be hot. I was counting on a mayfly hatch of some kind to fish over. I wasn’t going to waste much time swinging Woolly Buggers and I was hoping for risers or I was going to make’m rise. Without any wind advisory I assembled my Scott G2 9-footer fly rod for some dry fly casting.

 The sun was coming up behind me, and it was already warm enough to just wear my Columbia fishing shirt. I knotted on a Woolly Bugger to my fresh 7’ 6” 4x tapered leader and stepped into the clear cool water of Kettle Creek. I might have casted out twice before I saw my first rise out in front of me. I nipped off the bugger and knotted on a section of 5x tippet. To that I knotted on a #14 caddis. I casted out to the one riser a few times but he didn’t seem interested. No matter, I continued to wade across creek so I could cast to the far side of the wide section of creek, 

 I casted out the caddis to the few trout that were rising sporadically. I caught one but after that not any were much interested. There were a few other risers but didn’t want my caddis I had chosen so I switched colors, still nothing. A little later on I saw a March Brown pop up and fly away. I knotted on a #12 March Brown but couldn’t get a strike. I switched to a #10 March Brown para chute and casted out to nowhere in particular. A trout finally rose to it and I was Jerry on the spot and nailed him. He fought like the dickens, twisting and turning, tugging and head shaking trying to release the hook but couldn’t. I played him well and my first trout of the day made it to the net safely.  

 After that I couldn’t get a strike for some time. I knew I had to be patient and not give up and go elsewhere on the creek. About an hour before noon March Browns were coming off the water pretty regularly. Trout were breaking the surface as if grabbing an emerger before it got to the surface. I figured they were taking emergers, but I convinced myself I could catch one on a dry March Brown. I casted out to the many risers but many weren’t interested in my dry fly at first. I did catch a couple on my MB dry offering, but the majority of the trout ignored mine and they continued to pop out of the surface after an emerger.  

 I took out a cigar and decided my next challenge. 

 Not getting any more to rise to my dry I knotted on a March Brown emerger. I tie them similar to those sold at the Kettle Creek Fly Shop. In no time at all I caught 2 nice hearty brown trout on the emerger. They both fought as if they made up their minds they weren’t going to be netted. Wrong!  

 After those 2 the hatch all of a sudden stopped! The wavy water flowed without interruption as if there were no trout in the area. None were rising and no March Brown naturals were seen.

 I would say the hatch only lasted about a half hour. Maybe I was stubborn and could have caught more trout on the emerger if I would have knotted one on earlier?

 When I couldn’t catch any more on an emerger I knotted a March Brown nymph under the emerger. I caught 3 sticks, the last one broke off my MB nymph, so I quit nymph fishing!! By now the sun was up above throwing down the heat like an infrared light source. I know my body temperature was heating up so I decided to call it quits. I had a way to go to wade to the bank, so I decided to knot on a small hackle wet fly and cast it out as I stop and go towards the bank. I caught one trout pretty quick. 

 Continuing towards the bank I stopped for a moment and made a long cast across creek. I lifted the rod, like I was nymph fishing and slowly lowered it as the wet fly continued its path down creek. Wham! A trout grabbed the wet fly as hard as if it was one of my swinging Woolly Buggers! I jerked the rod back to make sure the point penetrated. The trout shook back and wasn’t very pleased, but she was stuck with me for a while. 

 She fought to and fro like we were square dancing. She’d swing to her left and do a Do-si-do. I extended the rod to the left trying to bring her up creek, but she had lots of energy and resisted. She swam to my right, down creek keeping her distance, and I swung the rod to my right and she did a couple more Do-si-do’s. She finally seems to tire some and I had her coming up creek to my right. She passed by me in a hurry as I held the rod tip high, bringing in line and keeping the line taunt. She then decided to swing around me as if we were now partners. I followed her lead, with my rod and turned with her, as I swung my partner round and round! She still appeared to have lots of energy, but I was kind of tired of square dancing with her. I put a little more tension on the line and let the rod arc more following her go around. That must of tired her out some and she wasn’t so playful. I got her a little closer and she decided to Promenade with me as we spun around once more. As close as she was now, I was ready to scoop her up in my net. I lifted the rod high and she rose in front of me and I swooped her up. The dance was over. I got a picture of my lady and let her go so she could change partners the next time she wanted to square dance. 

 When I got to my truck, and started it, the temperature gauge read 99 degrees. It felt steamingly hot and I wasn’t willing to play anymore in the heat.

~doubletaper

Variety Show

Variety Show

5/17/26 

 Sunday I had a variety of offerings I took to the show. I assembled my Hardy fly rod with my Hardy featherlight reel and doubletaper line. I headed down Kettle Creek from the campground and was going to present my offerings to the trout. My first trout took a Woolly Bugger but when I saw caddis flying around and saw one rise I switched over to a deer hair caddis and tossed it out. He took it like the first shopper at my caddis offering. He wasn’t a big trout but the brown fought well in the oncoming current. 

 I lit up a cigar and I had a feeling my offerings were going to be wanted. 

 I casted out to get another taker and I sold 3 more to consumers. It wasn’t one after the other but if they saw the caddis within my showing they took it. When I couldn’t sell anymore I tried to sell them something else. I presented them with a bead head Hare’s ear and below that, I knotted on an old green rock worm that I tied years ago. You never know when someone sees an old piece they may want it. Well, I had a buyer for the old green rock worm. Not a big spender but I had to get a picture. 

 A trout rose not too far from me out in the middle of the creek. I switched to the caddis and tossed it to it. It took a couple of showings to persuade him to get him interested. I’m not sure he was expecting anything out of the ordinary but when he rose I surprised him. He turned deep and took off like thief. The reel clicked as fast as heated popcorn kernels exploding. Line shot through the eyes, of the arcing 8’8” rod, and line cut the surface water like a Ginsu knife through a tomato. I put a little more tension on the line and he turned down creek. I held the rod high enough to keep as much line out of the water as possible. He tussled with me, kicking and stammering like an ornery mule, wanting me to let the rope go. I kept the pressure on as he swam up creek still out a distance. I turned the rod putting side pressure on him. He turned towards me and started to swim down creek again. I let him have some line before I tightened my fingers on the fly line. He swam closer to my side of the creek and started really tugging and pulling. I moved the rod upstream and he followed reluctantly with head-shaking. We tussled a little more and he was losing the battle. I got him within net range and when he flattened his body on the surface water I nabbed him in the net red handed with the caddis still attached. What a nice catch! 

 I caught one more on a caddis before it seemed like the top water show was over. 

  After that I didn’t see any risers so I knotted the Hare’s ear and green rock worm again. I fished them under an indicator being the current was flowing away from me. This way the indicator flowed with the direction of the current then without one. I sold two more Hare’s ears to anxious  pickers.  

 Later on I nabbed one, I think a rainbow, on a wet fly. I nearly had him in the net before he shook the hook out. 

 It was getting hot as the weathermen were calling for 80+ degrees. I believe it had to be at least above 80 by now. The trout no longer were interested in any of my stuff. I waded out and headed up the path to my truck.

 It was another good day in ‘God’s Country’. Good thing I brought along a variety and showed them off instead of being stubborn and only showing a couple offerings.

~doubletaper

Better’n Yesterday

Better’n Yesterday

5/14/26 

 On Wednesday, the guy the next campsite over, who doesn’t fish, asked me how I did fishing?  I told him about the conditions were kind of tough. On Thursday He asked me how I did? I told him better’n yesterday. 

 I’ve been going up to Potter County, to trout fish, for about the past 30 years. I go up to dry fly fish Kettle Creek in mid May when most of the mayfly hatches appear. If I just wanted to catch trout I’d stay at home. Mid May there are usually many mayfly hatches that I keep well entertained with dry fly fishing. This year so far it wasn’t to be so, yet! 

 Tuesday I set up my camper at Ole’ Bull campground. Wednesday I went to Kettle Creek to fish. The water was high, but wadeable, but the current was fast. Once I got thigh high deep it was kind of scary so I stayed knee deep. It was a chilly overcast day so there wasn’t any hatch to speak of or any fish rising. I did catch a few on Woolly Buggers and a Pink Sucker Spawn but for the 5-6 hours I spent fishing wasn’t an impressive day to tell a story about.    

 Wednesday evening it stormed and even hailed. I knew Kettle wasn’t going to be any better off then the day before so my plan was to fish a smaller mountain creek instead. One thing about mountain streams is they seldom get too muddy to fish. They may rise but they really don’t get muddy.

 I put my 7’6” 4 weight Powel fly rod together and snapped on a Woolly Bugger at my campsite and headed south to the mountain stream. After I parked along the roadside, I got my gear on and headed to my first stop on the creek.

 The air was much cooler along the mountain water. Green forest trees and grass lined the banks as far as the eye could see. Birds chirped in the background to the main resonance of the riffling water downstream. It was a picture worth mounting!

 Upstream, I was wading slow and easy as the water was flowing mirror clear. Reflection from the rising sun, when the clouds gave way, was throwing bank-side shadows on the surface water. I was making cross creek casts from a distance and trying to keep my silhouette not to be detected. I didn’t wade down creek very far when I stopped along the bank in ankle deep water. The creek was wide, within casting distance, and looked deep enough for trout to hold anywhere. The riffles and waves distorted my vision seeing through the water and I would imagine the trout had a hard time determining anything standing motionless. I’m sure they would capture movement and be wary so I stayed pretty much stationary and made slow movements. 

 I made a cast across creek and let the bugger swing down creek towards the deeper water just before the current flowed over rocks and boulders causing shallow wavier water. Almost at the end of the swing I felt a bump but it wasn’t very hard. I let the bugger dangle a bit, when it got to the end of the swing, but nothing grabbed it. I made another cast in the same manner at the same distance. This time, at the end of the swing, I felt a nudge and my fly line stopped arcing. It wasn’t like a hard hit but as if the trout saw the bugger coming and opened its mouth to let it in. I reared back the rod and the rod bowed but I didn’t think it was anything uncommon being the under current might have been strong enough to make it feel like a heavy fish. Bringing the trout towards me wasn’t easy but he didn’t put up a major battle. At the beginning it was if he had just awoken from a dream and wasn’t in full awareness of what was happening after his first breakfast meal. He had strength enough to keep his distance but wasn’t the head-shaking, rough and tumble fight I would have expected. Once across from me I could see he was a colorful rainbow and a nice size trout for this small mountain creek. He took off towards the far side as my 4 weight arced with the swimming trout. I didn’t force him but let him use up his energy fighting the current and my arcing rod. I got him near me and scooped him up. What a nice rainbow. 

Well, that was definitely worth a cigar. 

 I checked the bugger for any defects and didn’t see anything wrong with it. I made another cast across creek and near the end of the swing, wham, another strike. This nudge was a little harder than the last. I was bringing the fish towards me but he was putting up a pretty good fight, like the piercing of the hook hit a nerve. The battle was short lived though. When I got him closer I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was another nice size colorful rainbow. When I got him in the net I shook my head and thought “this couldn’t be the same trout I just caught?” No, this one looked a little chubbier. I mean, what’s the odds of the same trout striking a second time after he got caught and netted in a matter of 10 minutes? 

 That was the big excitement for the day. I fished a couple of different areas along the catch and release section and caught mostly rainbow trout on buggers. Some of the rainbows were nice size and all the trout gave good lasting battles against the 4 weight.

 

I tried a couple of dry caddis but that wasn’t on the trouts menu. It got a little warmer and started to drizzle. After that I called it a day and headed back up to the campground along the dirt road and then to the main highway.

~doubletaper