Close To Home

It seems as though I don't have the time to update this the way I want, so I'm gonna do it a little different. A picture is worth a thousand words right? Well, that's the way I'm gonna do this for now, until I can get caught up, or have more time to post. On another note, I'm posting this from my iPad so the format sucks. Sorry. I hit two streams and the river in two days and had a blast. Not one of these bodies of water are more than 5 miles from my house. That makes it even better.

I really like this stream, and I think the further into the summer we get, the more I'll fish it. It stays cold all summer long.

The next morning, I hit the river and immediately got into some fish. I wasn't there long, the water was high, and the air was chilly, but man I love the way those smallies fight.

I had a couple of hours later in the day and decided to explore a stream I hadn't really fished much. I'm glad I did because I got into some native brookies and some nice browns. This stream is only about 10 feet across at it's widest but the fertility seemed to be pretty good. There were some little yellow sallies hatching the whole time I was there but I stuck with the wolf. I use a wolf first on most small streams and usually don't take it off unless I lose it. This happens more than I'd like to admit. I was doing some real bush wacking on this stream so when I got out of the woods I thought I better do a quick tick check. Found 5 on me. When I got home had the wife do a quick check, she found one on me and had to pull one out.

Now for a beer review. I'm a huge fan of IPA's, and it's rare that I run into one that I dont like...... Well I'm not saying I don't like the Harpoon IPA, but it's not my favorite. As a matter of fact, I don't think I'll ever drink this again. The beer had a nice color and good aroma but it finished very malty. Too malty for an IPA in my opinion. Score 5 out of 10.

Grannoms

Wow! Not sure where to start. It’s been way too long since I’ve posted last, and I promised a friend that I wouldn’t go as long any more. I’m going to try to break down some of the trips that I’ve taken in the time since I’ve posted last. There is just no way that I can do them all. I guess it’s just like back in school when I would procrastinate on my home work, and then try to catch up all at once, sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn’t.  I am relying on the pictures on my phone for memory of order.  So here it goes.

I chased Grannoms a couple of times this year. The first time was right after a storm. There were rumors of Grannom caddis starting to come off on the little J. I met up with a couple of friends with hopes of a banner day. On the way to meet up with them I noticed that the stream, up above where we were going to be, was blown out, so I figured we probably only had a few hours before the rest of the stream was blown as well. 

The night before this trip I decided to try out a new nymphing rig. It’s a tight line rig with sighter material. Well…. It turns out the sighter material that I got was not the right stuff, it was a much larger diameter than what the formula called for. It ended up being a blessing, because the larger material held just enough memory in the line that I could see every little take. I’m gonna stick with this for my tight line nymphing for a while because I immediately notice the difference.

Blue Quill & Chocolate Milk

Small Stream

So we got to the stream and I immediately got into fish. I couldn't believe what a difference this new rig was making for me. But as time went on the water began to rise higher. The decision was made that we were going to try a different stream, one that does not blow out so easily. We hit the road determined to find good water, and possibly hatches and rising fish. I’m a sucker for rising fish.

When we got to the next stream it was chocolate milk. So off we went again, to yet another stream and found yet another blow out. We decided to stay at this one and give it a try. There were blue quills coming off all over the place, but the water was just too muddy to bring up any fish. I fished down stream for a little while then I gave up. On the way back to the vehicle I came across an extremely small stream (maybe 3’ at its widest). I figured, what the heck, why not throw a fly in it.  First cast wham! A 10” brown slams my fly (it may have been 9" but 10" sounds better). That was it for that small stream and I had to be back home soon, so we went back to the vehicles, BS’ed for a while then left. 

The next trip for Grannoms turned out perfect. I got to the stream a little early and the fish weren’t rising yet so I decided to start out nymphing. Within minutes I had my first fish and it wasn’t long before I had another. Then the fish stopped feeding underneath. Well….. they stopped taking what I was offering anyway. About an hour later (and maybe 10 fly changes) I started to see them rise. So without hesitation I switched to a dry and picked up a fish just before I had to meet up with some friends. 

Little J Brown

Average Fish For the Day

After my friends got there, they took me to a place on the little J that I hadn’t been before. We fished hard for quite a few hours. The hatch was on and off depending on the sun and the wind. Wind blows, hatching stops, sun glows hatching stops, clouds and it’s on. Up to this point we were having an O.K. day, but then, It started to rain, and we were having a hard time getting the fish to take our flies. So we decided to catch up with the other member of our fishing party. He was sitting in some frog water casting to rising fish, and just cleaning up. The fish were taking spent caddis and doing so with reckless abandon. He invited us to join him we did, and within minutes we were taking them with a regular consistency. It got to the point that we had to walk away because it was getting late.  It was a good day.

I’ll probably post about three more trips before I’m caught up, leaving out the less productive ones of course. So check back soon, and I’ll try not to get so far behind in the future.

The Hatch

The Big Fish Of The Day

Most days on the stream are good, ahhhhh what am I talking about all days on the stream are good. It's just that some days are better, and when one of those days comes along it's hard to put the excitement in words. I'm gonna try anyway, because well, that's what I do here.

The early spring can sometimes be the best fishing of the whole year. It can also be the worst, and you can get skunked too. Every outing you're hoping to hit one of those memorable BWO hatches. You know which one I'm talking about, the one where you can't even believe that there are that many fish in the stream when they start rising. The other problem in this type of hatch is that it is really hard to focus on one fish. A good problem to have. There's just something about BWO's that trout love. So this is what you're always hoping for, but how often does it really happen? Seem like it rarely happens. Well..... on Friday, it happened....

Earlier in the week a friend called and asked if I could play "hookey" from work (his exact words). With vacation time left, and more coming at the end of the month, I jumped at the chance. The plan was to go to Big Fishing Creek, which was good with me because I had already been to Spring Creek a few times this year. Everything was set, we were going to meet at the stream at 9:00-9:30. Awesome! I can sleep in a little bit get something to eat, some coffee, and then I'll be on the road. Right? Wrong.... I just happened to wake up at 6:30 on my own and checked my phone to see what time it was. Oh man, there's a text saying that one of his friends had talked him out of BFC and he was headed to Spring Creek, and that he would be there by 7:00-7:30. So I rushed around freaking out. Luckily I didn't forget anything. I get to the stream about 8:00, I think, send him a text when I pull in and he comes to the car to meet me. Smiling ear to ear, has already landed quite a few fish. It was good to see him because he is such a nice guy, and really helped me out when I was up in Erie steelhead fishing.

I rigged up and we hit the water nypmhing, because it was early and there no surface activity. He proceeds to catch two more fish right in front of me. Meanwhile I am not getting any action at all, and that's ok, I was just happy to be fishing because it had been a couple weeks since my last outing. After a while we moved on, and he seemed concerned that I hadn't caught any fish yet. So, the next run we hit, he insisted that I take the best spot. I told him not to worry about it but being the nice guy he is he insisted. I immediately hooked into a nice brown, maybe 14", but beautiful spots and colors.

A Beautiful Fish Taken Underneath

After that it got cold, windy, and started snowing. The fish shut off and we were getting hungry, so we figured we would head off to get something to eat. As we were leaving, we started to notice a few smaller fish rising, which got us both pretty excited.

After going to one of my favorite places to eat, and having a couple of beers (they had Victory Headwaters on tap, woot!) we went to a different section of the stream. As we were pulling in we could see the fish rising everywhere, and I do mean everywhere. This makes it extremely difficult to get your stuff together. There's just too much excitement. So, after fumbling around with my stuff for awhile I was finally ready to get back on the water. Well, with fish rising right in front of us, it made it hard to walk by, so we decided to just hit the water right in front of where we parked. We wound up not leaving that spot for the rest of the day, which is very strange for me because I am usually on the move, but it was worth it. 

First Fish On The Dry For The Day

It took all of about two minutes for me to hook up with my fist fish a 12" brown.

Another Beauty

At this point I could hardly contain my excitement. Couple of casts later, bam, hookup again, then again. My friend on the other had wasn't seeming to have much luck. That would soon change. I ushered him up to join me in the area that I was fishing. It didn't take long and he had one on, then another. At this point he was catching fish and I wasn't, so I jokingly told him he could leave my area now. We continued like this for a while then he did move down about 20'. This was probably his best decision all day because while working the edge he hooked in to a BIG fish. I couldn't tell how big, but I knew it was big. I immediately set down my rod and asked him if he needed help landing it, I could tell he did, and he said yes. You could just hear the excitement in his voice. I waded over to land the fish and did so with little trouble. Wow, what a bruiser it turned out to be, about 18-1/2" inches, just a beautiful fish. After that we both hooked into a some decent sized fish.

 And then, like someone turned off a light switch, they were done rising. We had a great day, with good food, great fishing, and even better company. These are the days you remember, you remember them, and even inflate them a bit. But that's ok, that's what it's all about. Creating memories, friendships, and good times.

On a side note I was in Pittsburgh and stopped at a bar to have a "few more" beers, I saw that they had Bells Two Hearted Ale on tap. I have always heard good things about Bell Brewing so I thought I would give it a try. Wow!!!! I am impressed it's a very smooth beer that has an excellent mix of hops and malt. It really is balanced very well, and I was surprised at how drinkable this beer was. I would highly recommend you try this beer, even if you're not a hop head. I know I can't keep doing this but I'm gonna give this beer a 9/10 also. Give it a try. I look forward to trying other Bells beers.

Expectations

, a photo by coty_soult on Flickr.

Few things in life live up to expectations. Food, movies, books, heck anything that is hyped to no end. "Try this it's the best", then you try it with these ungodly expectations and you're even more bummed then you are happy, just because you had this explosion of senses mind only to be let down. Today I bought a case, not a sixer, not a growler, but a case of beer due to expectations. Let me tell you this, it lived up to, and exceeded every one of the expectations. I even drove 45 minutes to buy this beer and still...... Wow, that is all I can say.

After reading all the hoopla, I found out that this beer was being released this week and decided that I was going to track some down. Turns out there is one distributor within 3 hours that sells it and it's 45 minutes away. So, the plan was to go over on Tuesday to get some. Well, that didn't work out but I was was determined to try this beer, and try it fresh. I went today, got home and immediately poured a beer, ignoring my no drinking during the week (other than pool night, of course) rule.

As you can see from the picture, it pours a smooth copper while holding a nice head. The initial smell is a mix between pineapple and grapefruit. It could be the perfect marriage of hops and maltiness. The taste is very similar to the smell, and at 7.5 ABV it hides the alcohol perfectly. I can still taste this beer even as I write this, 45 minutes later. Needless to say that overall I think this beer is amazing the only thing I can't figure out is why it is not called an IPA. I mean it has all the characteristics of an IPA but with the name of Imperial Amber Ale. IPA, Imperial Amber Ale, it doesn't matter this beer is great, and is going to get a rating of 9.5. I have to leave room for a perfect 10 even if I never try one.

Dries, Beer, and Snow

Since I've gotten serious about fly fishing I have heard stories about Spruce Creek. Some good, like the fact that many famous people have fished there, including presidents. Some bad, this involves the fact that the majority of the stream is closed to the public and the fact that they put large pellet fed fish in the stream. The latter strikes a nerve with me, I don't believe that anyone should be able to own a creek, stream, river, or run (what the difference between these is almost impossible to figure out). It just doesn't seem right, there are definitely selfish reasons for me feeling this way. I want to be able to fish and enjoy the beauty of any stream that I want. Just wake up and think "I think I'll go to ------- creek today" then just leave. Sadly, this is not the case, but luckily there is a small stretch of this stream that is open to the public. I had stopped there last year just to check it out after fishing the Little Juniata River, and decided that the next time I was in the area, I was gonna fish it. This section is called the George Harvey section, and is named after the very influential fly fisherman and instructor. As I understand it Penn State purchased this section and opened it to the public. This is a beautiful piece of water, there are nice pools, riffles, and runs throughout this small section of stream.

Having a whole day to fish, because my wife and daughter were off shopping, I decided that this is where I was headed. I got to the stream about 10:00 am, the sky was over cast and I am pretty sure that the temp was about 30 degrees, the water had the limestone green tint to it and from what I can tell, it was up a little. There were a few cars in the parking area, and not knowing this stream, I wasn't sure if that was going to amount to too much pressure or not. It turned out to not be that much pressure at all. Starting out, I hiked down to the bottom of the open section and began to work my way up stream. I missed a fish almost immediately, I knew that this was going to be a good day. I picked up three fish between 10-13" all on skuds, then decided to take a break for lunch.

First 2012 Fish On A Dry

 I met a guy in the parking lot and BS'ed with him for about 30-45 minutes while I ate. He told me that if I walked up the road I would run into "the Penn State hole" and that this was a nice and productive hole. As I started to walk up the road it began to snow. Now, I'm not a fan of cold weather but when it starts to snow and you're already in a beautiful place it always seems to make it that much better. When I got to the hole I did what I always say I'm gonna do but I'm always to anxious and impatient to do, I watched the water. After sitting there and watching for about five minutes I noticed a rise, then another. Well earlier in the day I saw midges coming off but saw no risers, so I knew what to do. Tying on a Griffith’s Gnat I could hardly even wait to get the fly on the water. It's been a while since I've caught a fish on a dry, well, since fall, and I don't know about you but if I could fish with dries every time productively, I would. So I waited to see the fish rise again and the after about twenty seconds I threw out the first cast, the fish took the fly immediately, I set the hook and the rest is history. I brought my first fish of the year on a dry fly to hand, not a big fish, but a decent brown with some beautiful color to him. I love that buttery color that wild browns get when they are in a fertile stream. After that I noticed that there was another riser on the other side of the stream, this fish was not so easily caught but I got him on the fourth cast. It was a smaller fish, but fun nonetheless. 

That was it for the risers for the day I also only hooked into one other fish, a huge bow that took a San Juan Worm but shook me off before I could bring him in. This, for the second time this year, I'm sure would've been the biggest trout I've ever caught. I had one on a Spring Creek that I would guess would be around 20+ inches, and this was the same. Oh well, it'll come.

After having a great day on the stream I figured I'd stop in at the Spruce Creek Tavern to get some food and beer. In my last blog, I said I would start to review beers, well, this provided me the perfect opportunity to do so because they had Spruce Creek Lager on tap. Before I do this review, I have to say that the brewers of Spruce Creek Lager (Otto's Pub and Brewery) also make my favorite IPA, Slab Cabin. They have a small brewery and restaurant in State College so you know that the beer is going to be fresh, and it was. It has the straw color of a Pale Lager, and I think this beer used to actually be called a Pilsner. The malt taste is a little overwhelming making it sweeter than what I want out of beer, with little to no hop flavor. The head on this was about 3/4" and didn't last long. If you are an American Lager lover then I think you'll enjoy this beer and on a scale of 1-10 I think I'll give this beer a 7.

On the topic of beer we bottled and kegged the Honey Weizen that we brewed about a month ago. After sampling it out of the bottle, the beer turned out great. The carbonation is still a little on the weak side out of the bottle, but I suspect that this will only get better with time. We will be tapping the keg this weekend and I don't expect it to last long. I'll try to get a pic to post so you can see what it looks like before it's all gone. We also brewed the next batch, this was brewed exclusively for the spring party that I'm planning. It's in the fermentor now and I'm gonna try to stay out of it for a month, it's gonna be hard.