Brookies, Browns, and Bows

Matt, Mike, and I headed into the wilds for a full day's fishing - yep that's right - fishing, without Noah rowing the arc!  We packed up our gear and headed out to western Maryland to sample a couple of waters that hold wild fish.  The streams were at a good level and the fishing was as good as the beautiful weather.

The fishing was steady all day, the hatches were present but not in fishable numbers.  A smattering of Blue Quills, Sulphurs, Caddis, March Browns, Yellow Sallies, and even a Green Drake or two helped keep the fish feeding most of the day.  While Mike found some risers the best score was made under the surface.  The heavy pocket water produced the best fish, and that meant being on the bottom with a very good drift - any drag and you were out of the game.  Who says brookies are knock overs? Maryland has done a fantastic job of harnessing the full potential of these gems, my hats off to them.

High Water Continues In PA

Native Brookie

The high water continues to flow in all of PA. Just when things look like they are going to get fishable again mother nature jumps in and throws down 1-2 inches of rain. The first round of Sulphurs will be all but over by the time streams get fishable. At this rate we'll be lucky to hit the Green Drakes!

High Water Brookie

Even with the high water there are still fish to be found if your willing to explore smaller water. I was lucky enough to get out on Tuesday and the fishing was incredible. A great mix of stockies and natives fell to nymph's all day long. Flows were double their normal output and I still saw fish rising in the back eddies. Don't let high water scare you off, some of my best day's this year is when the water has been high.

Fat Stockie thrown into the mix

Early Season Brook Trout

Headed out in the unusually warm temperature today to fish for some  hidden gems - our native brook trout. The warm, sunny weather made the hike in a nice trip. Like all the streams across the area, this little stream was bank full of water, which ended up making he catching a little difficult. I don't have much use for nymphing on these excursions, and wasn't in any fear of competion from other anglers so I stuck to the most delicious looking lies.

While the catching wasn't fast and furious, I did manage success a few times. They don't come any prettier than this.

Late Winter Brook Trout Hunt

Early March usually brings out Cabin Fever in a lot of us and when Brian told me he was itching to go fishing for some natives Saturday night I knew it was time to go exploring. Our buddy Garret met us and we piled into his truck to set off for the day. The weather didn't remind us of spring as we ventured down the steep gorge, heavy snow fell the entire time we fished. It didn't put a damper on our trip as Garret and Brian both pulled out gorgeous brookies in the swift water. The stream had great holding water and was wider then most brookie streams I have fished.scenery alone was worth the trip and it felt great to get out of the house to throw some line. I would say when little black stoneflies start popping more frequently all three of us will head back out for some top water action!

Quebec Run Backpacking Loop

A few of my buddies and I headed out to Quebec Run Natural Area for a backpacking trip this weekend. We left the house on Friday around 6pm and parked at the Miller Run Trail head. We hiked 1.30 miles to a nice campsite along Quebec Run and set up our tents. There are 3 different camp sites along the 1.1 mile Quebec Run Trail, all offer great cover, fire rings and plenty of room for 3 tents. The rain came in at about 11pm and it poured on and off all night. When I woke up Saturday morning I had to string up the fly rod and cast to some Native Brookies before we set off for the hike. I caught 2 fish and let my friends try their luck at casting in very tight conditions, they missed a few fish but didn't land any.

After lunch we packed up and started up the mountain. After crossing Quebec Run Road the trail heads up the mountain side along the creek through some pine forest. After about .5 miles you hit the junction of Hess Trail. We decided to go left and hiked it 2 miles to the junction of Brocker Trail where we split right. This section showcased the dense ferns that covered the forest floor. After climbing about 700 feet and another 1.4 miles we arrived at the top of the mountain. We connected with Tebolt Trail and headed back down the mountain. This section followed Tebolt Run which was a very small mountain stream that contained some natives in the headwaters. The trail was also very rugged and contained many loose rocks that made walking interesting. We passed by 2-3 campsites at the top end of the trail that looked very cozy.

We decided to set up camp for the second night about 1 mile from Tebolt Road along the creek. This site also had plenty of room and cover for our 3 tents. I strung my rod up once again but didn't run into any fish. This stream is smaller then Quebec Run and harder to fish, access is rough because of the thick vegetation along the stream. The thunderstorms rolled in once again so I had to cook dinner outside my vestibule. After eating some chicken and rice, we took a shot of Whiskey and decided that we didn't want to sleep through the Thunderstorms again. At 7pm we started packing up shop and were on the trail by 7:30pm. We hiked at a very high speed and did the remaining 4 miles in 1.5 hours. We hiked Tebolt Trail all the way down to Mill Run Trail and back to the parking lot. Most of the last 4 miles were downhill or followed the creek bed so it was relatively easy.

The loop was about 11 miles long with the hardest section from Quebec Trail to Tebolt Trail. A very doable hike for beginners wanting to see the back country of the Laurel Highlands. There is plenty of water along the way so you don't need to bring any, just a water purifier and you will be set. There are many bears in the Quebec Run area so be cautious and hang your food away from your campsite.

Hunting The Elusive Brook Trout

Had the day off work and decided to get my fishing equipment out for the first time this year. It's crazy how fast the seasons change these days! Two weeks ago I was still skiing. The local waters are all flowing high so Steiner and I decided to hunt some Native Pennsylvania Brook Trout in the Laurel Highlands. We went to one of my favorite spots in the mountains and when we got there I could tell the stream had some volume to it. The vegetation is nowhere near ready to sprout so the casting was easier then when I usually fish this stream. We fished my normal holes and picked up 1-2 fish on a black woolly bugger and a black caddis. At about 2pm little black stone flies started coming off and where on the water. Saw a few fish rise and the action heated up. We hiked about .69 miles from the car and ended up catching about 10 fish between the two of us. We fished water I never attempted before and it was very productive, got into some bigger fish the higher we hiked. It seemed at about .50 miles the water opened up and the runs got deeper. It was flowing so fast that our techniques were not effective. In another month or so I will attempt to revisit this location when dry flies are the main course for these fish. Mike moved a fish that was 12 inches + so I am sure he will be back with me.

Cold Water in August

Had some time to kill after biking today and decided to check out a little stream I haven't fished in a long time. Why this stream is not designated as Wild Brooke Trout water is beyond me. There is no reason people should be keeping trout out of it. After I got my rod suited up I looked over the bank at a trickle. Looks can be deceiving though. The water felt like ice when I got in, hard to find streams like this in  PA this time of year. I fished 1/4 mile of stream in 1 1/2 hours and caught 9 fish. Some of them were native, some were holdovers. I was surprised at the size of the fish, 4-5 were over 6 inches. I love fishing Humpy's for natives this time of year. Hopefully these fish will survive the summer and breed in the fall. After a slow month of fishing the river, today was a blessing on this little stream.

Getting to Natives The Technical Way

Had a Saturday morning off for the first time in ages. The river was flowing too high so I decided to head out for some brookie water. Took my mountain bike out for the trek. Caught a few brookies in 30 min and continued to ride for the morning. Gorgeous day now it's off to work, LETS GO PENS.

Searching for Natives..........

Today was an uncommon day in PA, the sun was shinning! I got up early and went  exploring some new water to catch native brook trout. Found a new spot that wasn't bad and hit up an old one. I saw a few sulphurs popping on one of the little streams which is a great thing to see. In a few weeks I will be staying at Poe Paddy State Park for an entire week of matching the hatch at Penn's Creek. I still haven't been able to fish any of the bigger streams around here yet, Meadow Run looked like the flow was good but the "RIVER" is way to high to venture out on. Later in the evening I took a trip out to my favorite "Crag" in  PA to test my rock climbing skills with a few buddies. I am lucky enough to have an indoor rock wall close to home so I can train in the winter so my forearms did not get destroyed as much as my buddies did. The route is called "The Kitchen" and has a very difficult move you must do to get over a small overhang. I hope to explore a few more routes to the right of the Kitchen this summer.