Honey Browns and Healthy Rainbows

 

Honey Browns and Healthy Rainbows

5/13/2024

 It was a gloomy, misty Monday morning. Gray clouds moved slowly across the pale blue sky in bundles. I hadn’t trout fished for over a week because of moving to a new house. Unpacking boxes and trying to figure out where to put everything. And then there’s the yard work. Well, I had enough and needed to pause and relax. I made myself an excuse, from such, and decided to go on out and fish. I was headed to Potter county in a few days, for a week, and told myself I need some practice.

  I really didn’t need any practice. It’s like hunting all your life and going to the gun range just to shoot. Maybe take a rifle you haven’t shot for a while to get a feel and make sure you’re on target. Kinda the same with fly fishing. Once you’re good at it and like it, it’s still fun. Casting a different weight, action or length kinda like shooting different rifles though. Getting a feel for the rod and seeing if you can pinpoint the target zone.

  I made sure I had all my trout gear in the truck and took off to the Allegheny National Forest. I pulled off the side of the road and put together my 7’6” 4 weight Powell’ rod. The creek I’d be fishing is just a narrow mountain creek with plenty of bank side overhanging hazards. No need for a long rod or weight forward line. I attached a reel and threaded DT4F line through the eyes. I put on my gear, grabbed a couple cigars and followed the path through the forest to the creek.

  On the bank I looked over the wavy, riffling current. The water was pretty much in perfect condition as far as I was concerned. Clarity was good and not too shallow. I’d have to make lengthy casts so the trout don’t see me and wade slowly as to not stir up the creek bed. I knotted on a Woolly Bugger and stepped into the cold water.

  The creek was lined with brush and leafy tree branches in some areas. The wet pine boughs glistened under the sun when it did appear. Tiny raindrops fell from the sky but not enough to discourage me. I was going to fish, rain or not. Listening to the forest birds chirping told me it wasn’t going to rain for long anyway. I carefully crossed over to the other side of the creek for better drifting angles. I pulled line out of the rod and made my first cast across and down stream and let the bugger drift with the current. On my way down creek I had a couple of short bumps but noting hard enough to set the hook. I got to a deeper section, this side of a downed tree limb that laid along the bank across creek. Rough water banked and wavered along side as it calmed down and flowed into a deeper pool that I’m sure a trout or two would be waiting for breakfast.

  I don’t usually fish on Mondays being I always figured the weekend warriors would have the trout all stirred up and spooked come Monday. I wasn’t expecting to catch many trout but I already told myself it was for my sanity and relaxation just to get out.

  I casted the Woolly Bugger up from the downed limb and let it drift with the current. The arc in the fly line pulled as the bugger wasn’t even at the end of the downed limb. I yanked the rod and line back and my first trout was on a tight line. The 4 weight bowed good as the trout fought in the current with good force. After a bit of a battle in the deeper section I lead him up through the wavy current. He followed with head shakes keeping his distance as I brought in line. I swung the rod back and he followed ahead of me. With my net in the water I slowly brought the rod point down and he swam back right into my net. My oh my! I was surprised to see a somewhat decorated brown trout. This wasn’t a recently stocked trout by no means. He’s been in here for a year or two by the shade of his light honey color belly and dark complexion. He was even developing some small ruby dots in some of his honey color circles. I unhooked the bugger from the side of his mouth and released him. 

 

 I caught a small rainbow where the wavy water flowed into the deeper pool before I hooked another trout that fought a lot harder in the current flow. The rod flexed into the mid section with each forceful tug. After another downstream battle I got him coming up and through the wavy riffles passed me. Again I lowered the rod and he slipped in. I was surprised again with another brown trout. Though not as dark as the previous one but showed more ruby spots over a lighter complexion. Light shades of honey looked as though its been brushed along its belly up to its gill plate. He must have been real hungry as the hook was lodged in its tongue but came out easily. He evidently has been around for a year or two also.

 

  I only moved a bit downstream to get my bugger to pass through the deeper section. I had caught 2 rainbows that looked as though they were stockies from the last recent stocking. I reached into my rain jacket and pulled out my first cigar of the day and lit it up. 

 

  The blueish slate gray clouds were still hanging around but the rain had stopped. The birds continued to chirp as the morning got lighter. There was no signs or traffic noise or stale air. I took a puff of my cigar and listened to the morning calmness of the forest.

  Continuing on I just casted the Woolly Bugger across creek and let it drift with the current. Wham, a trout grabbed and pulled the line like it was trying to pull a stuck apple from a tree branch. The rod bowed, like a branch being pulled, and then relaxed some pointing to the culprit that was steeling my Woolly Bugger. He fought well and ended up in my net also. Another holdover trout. Not so colorful as the last two. Maybe he was a new member of the Millstone Trout Club that hasn’t earned his long time membership pin yet?

 

  I got down to where a branch of the creek flowed into the main section. I usually catch quite a few trout in this section. Casting out and letting the bugger drift accounted for a few more trout. It’s as if the honey browns didn’t take up residence here. Hearty rainbows were the main take.

 

  I fished down a bit further. The sun was well out now bearing down heat. I had dressed warm for the chilly morning but now feeling too much heat beneath my Gortex rain jacket. I felt like I was in a sauna. I waded to the bank and made my way to the truck. Unclothing some, I got into lighter clothes and drove down creek.

 I parked along the creek and got back into my fishing gear. I walked down to the creek and crossed over. This section of creek was one that I know gets fished quite a bit because it’s so close to the road with easy access. I’m sure the stocking truck stops here and buckets quite a few trout in this section. I didn’t expect to catch many trout here but that wasn’t the case. It’s not that the bite came one after the other but the trout here were hungry and its if they heard, from the first released trout, that there was an afternoon food vendor in the park!

 

  I was hooking up with some nice healthy looking rainbows until the bite stopped. I slowly waded down creek through the shallow riffling section to a deeper section. There were a couple of guys fly fishing the the flow where the riffling water got slower and deeper. They had moved down creek by the time I got to where they were. Nice of them!

  Continuing on with the bugger I caught a few more rainbows that they hadn’t hooked.

 

 I’m not sure what they were using or if they caught many but they left me some hungry trout that wanted my Woolly Bugger.

 

  It wasn’t long after they left I waded down stream, to shallower water, and called it a day.

  The sun was still shining bright and I had a good fishing outing catching. I still had things to do back home before nightfall. The camper needed waxed before heading to Potter County to fish Kettle and Piney Creeks!!

~doubletaper