My first thought was that Mill Creek, being narrower, shallower, and generally faster running, would clear up faster than the Loyalhanna, so I headed out to Mill Creek. Unfortunately, when I got there, there was no open water at all where I normally access the stream. So, a little discouraged, I got back in the car and headed for the Loyalhanna. Luckily, I found some fishable water there.
After parking the car at the eastern end of the delayed-harvest-artificial-lures-only (hereafter abbreviated DHALO) section of the stream, I decided to scout around before donning hip boots, vest, and net; as well as assembling and stringing up my rod; only to find out that it too was unfishable.
So I walked down along the upper 100 yards of the DHALO, and what I saw wasn't encouraging: while free flowing mid-stream, ice clinging to both banks prevented safe access to the water:
Since the best looking stretch of open water was just downstream of the Rte. 711 bridge, I decided to check upstream from the bridge, and was rewarded to this wonderful sight:
So I headed back to the car and traded shoes for hip boots, slipped into the vest, and rigged up my 5 weight, and headed down to the stream.
I didnt catch any fish with the white woolly bugger (sz. 8) I was using, but it felt good to be casting again. I found that my casting skills hadn't suffered much in the off-season, and perhaps even improved a tiny bit by some inexplicable means. Though It could have been my imagination, it seemed as though I was casting farther and throwing tighter loops than I was at the end of last year.
In any event, I fished the 75 yards or so of ice free water above the bridge, then jumped back in the car and headed downstream to check the downstream boundary of the DHALO.
When I arrived at the bridge where SR2045 crosses the Loyalhanna, I once again took a walk before stringin up my rod. In this case, I was glad I did. The ice down here still made safe access totally impossible:
View from the SR2045 bridge, facing east (upstream)
View from the SR2045 bridge, facing west (downstream)After heading back to the car, I drove down to the causeway, to check out the ice jam that had been forming there for the past several weeks. It had been a topic of discussion on the FishUSA Forums in a thread complete with pictures, so I figured I'd take a look for myself. When I arrived, however, I saw that apparently someone had come and cleared out the majority of the ice, and the causeway was now actually driveable:
As you can see, there's still some ice piled up, but its nowhere near the amount that was there even a week ago. There was no fishing to be done here, due to the rushing water, but I decided to snap a few more photos before I left:
View from the center of the causeway facing east (upstream)
View from the center of the causeway, facing west (downstream)
As you can see, there's still some ice piled up, but its nowhere near the amount that was there even a week ago. There was no fishing to be done here, due to the rushing water, but I decided to snap a few more photos before I left:
View from the center of the causeway facing east (upstream)
View from the center of the causeway, facing west (downstream)With my pictures snapped, I got back in the car and headed down to Kingston dam, where I fished a little more. Most of the best fishing here is compromised by ice and/or fast flowing water, but just before I left, I started heading downstream, where there looks to be more open water. Along the way, while driving alongside the slackwater above the dam, I could see where all the ice from the causeway had gone. For about a half-mile above the dam, the entire creek looks like a glacier, with huge chunks of ice packed tight against one another, bank to bank. I didnt take any pictures, though, as I was driving, and there werent any pull-offs with a view of the ice jam.
Well, that's all for now. I'm going to be headed out fishing again this afternoon, and I'll make another post for this outing. No fly pattern for this entry (I only used a white bugger, a simple tie by any tyer's standards), but maybe I'll include one next time.
Feel free to comment or ask questions.
Well, that's all for now. I'm going to be headed out fishing again this afternoon, and I'll make another post for this outing. No fly pattern for this entry (I only used a white bugger, a simple tie by any tyer's standards), but maybe I'll include one next time.
Feel free to comment or ask questions.
2 comments:
Pretty awesome report .. Good read!
nice read, great blog. you'll do well mark.......rap11