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So, I caught a native brookie on a black midge yesterday

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Good to know there are now 183 trout out there living their lives with purpose.  <_<

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1 minute ago, Mookz said:

Good to know there are now 183 trout out there living their lives with purpose.  <_<

About half of those fish were caught in catch-and-release-only water, so I can say that most of them are probably living their lives with purpose, unless they have been eaten by an eagle or great blue heron.  

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9 hours ago, fricker66 said:

Greetings fellow fishermen.  Well, it has been a successful year thus far and I wanted to report my results.  I have caught trout in every month of 2021 thus far, so I have 7 months to reach my goal of catching 1 trout in every month.  Of course, I expect July and August to be challenging due to warmer water, which is not a trout's friend.  In 2021, I have brought to net and successfully released 183 trout, all on flies.  I have yet to kill one and am pretty proud of that.  It is currently dry fly season here, so I pulled in an astonishing 23 trout on Memorial Day.  

I have fished 24 times, often for a few hours before work, and have been skunked only thrice.  I do not use any rigs nor indicators (bobbers)...just a single fly tied to the end of my tippet.  Most of Monday's catch was utilizing an Adams dry pattern.

Tight Lines!

 

Congrats.  You are only a 2 hour drive from the below blueribbon trout fishery. It might be worth checking out. There are probably others that are close by as well.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bow_Creek_(Big_Wapwallopen_Creek_tributary)

Bow Creek is considered by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission to be Class A Wild Trout Waters for both brook trout and brown trout from its headwaters to its mouth.[4] A 298-acre tract of land owned by the North Branch Land Trust in Fairview Township contains a section of the creek that is said to be "teeming" with native brook trout.[15] The main stem of the creek from Pennsylvania Route 309 to its mouth is designated as a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery. However, its existing uses are High-Quality Coldwater Fishery and Migratory Fishery.[16]

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On 6/3/2021 at 6:43 PM, MTSkiBum said:

 

Congrats.  You are only a 2 hour drive from the below blueribbon trout fishery. It might be worth checking out. There are probably others that are close by as well.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bow_Creek_(Big_Wapwallopen_Creek_tributary)

Bow Creek is considered by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission to be Class A Wild Trout Waters for both brook trout and brown trout from its headwaters to its mouth.[4] A 298-acre tract of land owned by the North Branch Land Trust in Fairview Township contains a section of the creek that is said to be "teeming" with native brook trout.[15] The main stem of the creek from Pennsylvania Route 309 to its mouth is designated as a Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery. However, its existing uses are High-Quality Coldwater Fishery and Migratory Fishery.[16]

Yeah, I have a lot of good streams that are probably closer than Bow Creek.  The Upper Delaware is about 90 minutes away as is the town of Roscoe, NY, which is essentially the birthplace of American fly fishing.  There are a few good streams in that area  that I might hit when the weather gets too warm here making it unsafe for the trout to be caught.  I essentially have to choose to be an out-of-stater in either NY or PA...don't really want to spend money on licenses in both states.

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29 minutes ago, fricker66 said:

Yeah, I have a lot of good streams that are probably closer than Bow Creek.  The Upper Delaware is about 90 minutes away as is the town of Roscoe, NY, which is essentially the birthplace of American fly fishing.  There are a few good streams in that area  that I might hit when the weather gets too warm here making it unsafe for the trout to be caught.  I essentially have to choose to be an out-of-stater in either NY or PA...don't really want to spend money on licenses in both states.

I regularly drove 1-2 hours to fish when i lived in wyoming and montana.  Down here in texas my drive is around an hour to go fishing, sometimes you have to drive to where the fish are.

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44 minutes ago, MTSkiBum said:

I regularly drove 1-2 hours to fish when i lived in wyoming and montana.  Down here in texas my drive is around an hour to go fishing, sometimes you have to drive to where the fish are.

I have a mediocre trout stream about 10 minutes from me, but a great stream about an hour from me.

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1 hour ago, fricker66 said:

Yeah, I have a lot of good streams that are probably closer than Bow Creek.  The Upper Delaware is about 90 minutes away as is the town of Roscoe, NY, which is essentially the birthplace of American fly fishing.  There are a few good streams in that area  that I might hit when the weather gets too warm here making it unsafe for the trout to be caught.  I essentially have to choose to be an out-of-stater in either NY or PA...don't really want to spend money on licenses in both states.

What streams is PA?  That’s my state.

Lycoming and Clinton counties have good native trout fishing.

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Haven't been fresh water fishing in ages, but I do have a stream right down my block.

I should take advantage of it.

:thumbsup:

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I know all of you have been eagerly awaiting an update on this thread.

Cold days on July 2 and 3 led to a surprising opportunity to trout fish on July 4th.  Water temp was down to 62, so I put on the waders and headed out.  I caught 17 trout before the waters got up to 68.  At that point, it was time to go.  All fish were caught on dry flies, with an Adams pattern being the most effective.  

I am now 7-for-7 in catching at least one trout every month.  All 242 trout that I have caught (28 outings) have been safely released.  August will be the biggest challenge given the warm water temps.  

Tight lines, my friends.

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Alright, you like to fish, you caught 579 fish last week and are the best fishing person in the world, enough already.

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2 minutes ago, GutterBoy said:

Alright, you like to fish, you caught 579 fish last week and are the best fishing person in the world, enough already.

Actually, I probably caught 40-50 sunnies and one bass (separate outing on a different waterway), in addition to the 17 trout, so 579 is a little high.  Also, this post has a familiar ring to it.  

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I am 10-for-10 in the monthly trout quest.  I know you are all on the edge of your seats to see what will happen in November and December.  I treated myself to a new custom fly rod. 

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2 hours ago, fricker66 said:

I am 10-for-10 in the monthly trout quest.  I know you are all on the edge of your seats to see what will happen in November and December.  I treated myself to a new custom fly rod. 

Heading up to north central PA with son next week. Im a saltwater guy....he loves trout fishing.

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5 hours ago, porkbutt said:

Heading up to north central PA with son next week. Im a saltwater guy....he loves trout fishing.

Enjoy.  Hopefully, the water from this nor'easter will recede by then.  

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On 6/3/2021 at 1:18 PM, fricker66 said:

I also have caught 3 river chubs.

Maybe wear looser pants?  :dunno: 

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17 hours ago, fricker66 said:

Enjoy.  Hopefully, the water from this nor'easter will recede by then.  

yea i told him that. oh well...we'll camp and enjoy anyways.

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On 10/26/2021 at 4:28 PM, fricker66 said:

Enjoy.  Hopefully, the water from this nor'easter will recede by then.  

we hit some beautiful creeks in north central PA and got some nice browns and some rainbows. one brookie. a little late in season but nice weekend. he runs all over in his waders. i basically sit on rock and cast once in a while. still got biggest brown of weekend😃😃😃

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On 9/21/2020 at 12:48 PM, The Elevator Killer said:

Frigging multi tasking while posting. I thought it said black midget. 

Beetlejuice & Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf were my 1st thought....

 

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Opening day of trout season is today, but rivers are all running at or above flood stage due to rains this week.  I am not willing to risk my life for an opening day catch, so I will wait a few more days.  I have already caught trout on the fly in the first 3 months of the year (after going 12-for-12 in 2021).  It seems the gold ribbed hares ears were working just before the flooding started.  I figure that I am still about a month out from when dry flies will be eaten on the regular.  Water temp is still below 50, so it's a bit early for dries.  

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13 hours ago, fricker66 said:

Opening day of trout season is today, but rivers are all running at or above flood stage due to rains this week.  I am not willing to risk my life for an opening day catch, so I will wait a few more days.  I have already caught trout on the fly in the first 3 months of the year (after going 12-for-12 in 2021).  It seems the gold ribbed hares ears were working just before the flooding started.  I figure that I am still about a month out from when dry flies will be eaten on the regular.  Water temp is still below 50, so it's a bit early for dries.  

Apologies if this is the wrong thread, but...your onions?  :( 

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1 hour ago, Mookz said:

Apologies if this is the wrong thread, but...your onions?  :( 

They are growing!

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Had a couple over for dinner tonight and he wants to fish tomorrow.  I am not thrilled but he is showing up at 7 a.m. tomorrow.  Midges, let's go.

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Pretty tough start to the season.  Water has been high, so catch has been limited, but I did manage to find a new spot to fish, which will be good for the spring and summer.

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I am going fishing tonight for catfish and bass, I am going to a new lake but that is what i assume is in there.

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I was out fishing for bass on Sunday and the only thing I caught was a nice rainbow trout.  Better than getting skunked.

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Water levels finally came down, so I went on Saturday and fished my favorite stream in the northwest corner of NJ.  The area is beautiful (very unpopulated) and the water is crystal clear when not high.  The water was under 50 degrees, so fishing was much better once the noontime sun warmed the waters, and the trout really started actively feeding.   From 8:30-noon, I caught and released 3 trout despite seeing dozens of fish in the area that I was working.   I moved spots to a shallower hole, and from noon-2:30, I caught and released 29 trout.   I wished I had moved sooner.  

Also, 27 of the 29 trout caught in the afternoon were caught by swinging a size 18 gold hares ear downstream in the current.  Most of the hits happened just as the fly swung towards the headwaters, in less than a foot of water.  You could see the fish waiting on the swing.  

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12 minutes ago, fricker66 said:

Water levels finally came down, so I went on Saturday and fished my favorite stream in the northwest corner of NJ.  The area is beautiful (very unpopulated) and the water is crystal clear when not high.  The water was under 50 degrees, so fishing was much better once the noontime sun warmed the waters, and the trout really started actively feeding.   From 8:30-noon, I caught and released 3 trout despite seeing dozens of fish in the area that I was working.   I moved spots to a shallower hole, and from noon-2:30, I caught and released 29 trout.   I wished I had moved sooner.  

Also, 27 of the 29 trout caught in the afternoon were caught by swinging a size 18 gold hares ear downstream in the current.  Most of the hits happened just as the fly swung towards the headwaters, in less than a foot of water.  You could see the fish waiting on the swing.  

Maybe it was not the spot, but rather the time of day. Maybe you would not have caught fish until noon even if you moved earlier.  In 6 hours of trout fishing on streams I probably fish ~2 miles and dozens of spots.

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3 minutes ago, MTSkiBum said:

Maybe it was not the spot, but rather the time of day. Maybe you would not have caught fish until noon even if you moved earlier.  In 6 hours of trout fishing on streams I probably fish ~2 miles and dozens of spots.

I think it was a combination of the time of day, water temps and the location.   

The total area that I worked on Saturday was about a mile worth of stream.   I worked about 8-10 "stops" in the morning and that yielded 3 fish.   I was mostly sight fishing given the water clarity.

The 29 afternoon fish were all caught in two locations with similar creek topography....  Both locations were upstream of the area that I was fishing in the morning.  Each stretch was about 50 yards long and 15 feet wide with water running just faster than my quick walking pace with rapids on either end and a rocky bottom.  The deepest points of each stretch were less than 4 feet, and most of the water was 2 feet or less in depth.  I was essentially working my way back upstream to my car when I hit paydirt.  In both locations, the fish were all sitting at the base of the headwaters.  When I stepped into location #2, I literally saw about 30 fish scatter and knew I might be fishing later than expected. 

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2 minutes ago, fricker66 said:

I think it was a combination of the time of day, water temps and the location.   

The total area that I worked on Saturday was about a mile worth of stream.   I worked about 8-10 "stops" in the morning and that yielded 3 fish.   I was mostly sight fishing given the water clarity.

The 29 afternoon fish were all caught in two locations with similar creek topography....  Both locations were upstream of the area that I was fishing in the morning.  Each stretch was about 50 yards long and 15 feet wide with water running just faster than my quick walking pace with rapids on either end and a rocky bottom.  The deepest points of each stretch were less than 4 feet, and most of the water was 2 feet or less in depth.  I was essentially working my way back upstream to my car when I hit paydirt.  In both locations, the fish were all sitting at the base of the headwaters.  When I stepped into location #2, I literally saw about 30 fish scatter and knew I might be fishing later than expected. 

 

At least half the time that is the best place to catch fish. Sometimes deep runs, other times pockets behind rocks, in high water it can be the river edges, but I try to always want to start out fishing at the base of a headwaters.

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What a shitty spring for fishing.  We started out with high water conditions, and since then temps have been really cold.  Usually, by this time, we are well into dry fly season, but I've seen very few trout rising where I have fished, and have caught only 1 on the dry flies thus far.  This weekend is going to be cold and rainy again.  Next weekend I'll be away.   By this time last year, I had caught over 100 trout.  I'm probably around 40 thus far this year, all on nymphs and scuds.  

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2 hours ago, fricker66 said:

What a shitty spring for fishing.  We started out with high water conditions, and since then temps have been really cold.  Usually, by this time, we are well into dry fly season, but I've seen very few trout rising where I have fished, and have caught only 1 on the dry flies thus far.  This weekend is going to be cold and rainy again.  Next weekend I'll be away.   By this time last year, I had caught over 100 trout.  I'm probably around 40 thus far this year, all on nymphs and scuds.  

Worst spring I can ever remember here in Iowa.  It's been cold, wet and windy almost every day.  Looking at the forecast it seems we are going from early spring weather straight into mid summer.  Next week we might get to 90.

Tournament fishing started a few weeks ago and the weather has been miserable.  Last week I was fishing during 25-35 mph winds then a storm came and gusts were up to 50mph.  I had to beach my kayak and walk over a mile back to my truck.

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Native Brook Trout are catch and release only near me.

:mad:

They stock rainbow and brown.

 

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On 5/7/2022 at 9:18 AM, HTH said:

Native Brook Trout are catch and release only near me.

:mad:

They stock rainbow and brown.

 

Why does this make you angry?  Brook trout are C&R near me as well, and NJ only stocks rainbows.  Browns are wild and are only sustained in certain rivers/streams in the northern part of the state.

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1 hour ago, fricker66 said:

Why does this make you angry?  Brook trout are C&R near me as well, and NJ only stocks rainbows.  Browns are wild and are only sustained in certain rivers/streams in the northern part of the state.

That was probably an overreaction.  LOL

I wonder why they don't stock them though.

Here's a list of trout stocking on Long Island.

https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/23286.html

Also, do you fly fish or fish conventionally?

This is a fly fishing only fishing/trout preserve.  If you ever make it to long island it's like going back in time.  Teddy Roosevelt fished there as well..

https://parks.ny.gov/parks/connetquotriver

:thumbsup:

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25 minutes ago, HTH said:

 

Also, do you fly fish or fish conventionally?

This is a fly fishing only fishing/trout preserve.  If you ever make it to long island it's like going back in time.  Teddy Roosevelt fished there as well..

https://parks.ny.gov/parks/connetquotriver

:thumbsup:

Pretty cool looking place.   

At this point, I almost exclusively fly fish, all on smaller rivers and streams. I do not fish lakes, and I fly fish year-round.  I really enjoy wading, even if the water is 40 degrees.  I have a 21-month streak going -- have caught at least one trout on the fly in every month since September of 2020.   I am confident that if I remain healthy, I will run that streak a few more months.  I won't fish if the water temp is over 67 degrees, so I am at the mercy of that rule for July and August.   Fortunately, I have found some spring creeks that run cold year round.  Also, last year, we had a nice cold spell around July 4th and towards the end of August that helped me to keep my string going.   Most of July and August is spent catching bluegill on superlight fly gear.  

Are you a fly guy or spin?

The only time I spin fish is at the beach.

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1 hour ago, Nomad99 said:

We are getting tiger trout stocked this year.

I have never caught a tiger trout in my life.  Most of the tiger trout around us are stocked to private clubs and they occasionally sneak out of the bounds of the private waters.  There is one stream that I occasionally go to that is not stocked, but supports the grand slam.   In September, I went there and caught a brookie, a brown and a rainbow.  Sadly, no tiger.   I'll go back this summer.

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26 minutes ago, fricker66 said:

Pretty cool looking place.   

At this point, I almost exclusively fly fish, all on smaller rivers and streams. I do not fish lakes, and I fly fish year-round.  I really enjoy wading, even if the water is 40 degrees.  I have a 21-month streak going -- have caught at least one trout on the fly in every month since September of 2020.   I am confident that if I remain healthy, I will run that streak a few more months.  I won't fish if the water temp is over 67 degrees, so I am at the mercy of that rule for July and August.   Fortunately, I have found some spring creeks that run cold year round.  Also, last year, we had a nice cold spell around July 4th and towards the end of August that helped me to keep my string going.   Most of July and August is spent catching bluegill on superlight fly gear.  

Are you a fly guy or spin?

The only time I spin fish is at the beach.

Hey, 

I'm mostly a salt water guy.  But, I'd love to get more into fly fishing.

:thumbsup:

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