A Short Trip to Twin Lakes
8:17 PM | Author: Mark
I decided to fish Twin Lakes for a little bit today before the rains blew in, and I'm very glad I did.

Twin Lakes is a local county park with two lakes (surprise, surprise!) that are both part of the "Approved Trout Waters" program that the PFBC (Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission) stocks with trout.  It's in an easily accessible location, near several residential areas, just a few minutes off of Rte. 30, there's plenty of parking, and 95% of the upper lake and about 85% of the lower lake's shoreline is fishable, either by standing on a brick walking path that circles them, or with a short (literally, less than 10 yards) walk from said path.  All of this combined makes Twin Lakes one of the most heavily fished locales in the area.  The lakes are more or less dominated by your typical lake fishermen: guys who bring out a pair of medium weight rods with an ounce of lead and two hooks on each.  They put some combination of live bait, paste, marshmallows, cheese, etc. on their hooks, throw them as far out into the lake as possible, and sit and wait.  Occasionally, they'll talk to the people nearby.  For me, that's not fishing, its an exercise in tedium.

Still, one of the things I love about Twin Lakes is that, if you're willing to break the mold a little, the fish are willing to cooperate...usually.  I cant tell you how many days I've spent 3-5 hours fishing and was the only person I saw catch anything (because I was the only person NOT fishing bait on the bottom).  Sometimes it takes a little bit of experimentation to figure out just what they want, but when you find it, the fishing can be great, especially for a heavily pressured pair of lakes.

Today was no different.  On my way, I decided it was entirely too windy for fly fishing.  I had my 3 wt setup on hand, but dark storm clouds were coming in fast, and leaves and branches could be seen swirling around on the roadside: conditions that the elegant, but delicate fly rod wasn't designed for.  Thus spinning became the order of the day.  Since my bass rod was at home, I had the choice of my noodle rod or my ultralight, and the fact that my noodle rod already had the reel attached made it my choice.  Noodle rod meant light lures: jigs.  Jigs meant crappie.  And so I pulled into a lot at the park that would give me the best shore access to the deeper areas of the lower lake.

I parked, assembled my rod, and swapped out my boxes of nymphs and dries for a bos of lures, hooks, and jigheads and a ziplock bag full of smaller bags of little crappie tubes.  Starting off with a little pink and white tube, I headed out.  

I didnt stop to take pictures, but in less than 2 hours, I caught 3 or 4 bluegill, 3 largemouth, and a half dozen of my intended quarry: crappie.  It felt good to be able to put my knowledge of a fish's habits to work and actually have it work after months of unsuccessful attempts at analyzing trout.  The little papermouths were cautious but forgiving, and after a missed strike, a few casts through the same water would often incite an encore from these fiesty panfish.

I caught fish from every spot I tried fishing, but soon the storm was upon Twin Lakes and, not wanting to get totally drenched, I made my way back to the car.  Next time: I'm bringing the stringer!
Fly Tying Humor
11:30 AM | Author: Mark
Stopped by Gander Mtn. yesterday and saw this amusing site in the tying section...a new use for an age old material, that might be the most effective fly tying material breakthrough since genetic hackle:



Incredibly careless customer, snarky anti-fly guy, or sublime understated satirical piece?  You decide! :D
Second Day of Trout Season at Mill Creek
9:10 PM | Author: Mark

After intentionally avoiding the heavy crowds of Pennsylvania's trout season opening day yesterday, I decided to venture out in search of uncrowded streams and salmonids today.  I decided to head to Mill Creek: after being confined to the Loyalhanna DHALO for weeks, the crowded project water was the last place I wanted to throw loops.  Driving past the several access points for the DHALO only confirmed my decision: every single access had at least one car (even the tiny pull off at the bottom of it), and the more popular parking areas each had several vehicles parked in them. 

From what I could see, the stream itself didnt look overcrowded, like, say, the Walnut project water in Erie, but I knew that all of the best spots would have at least two guys fishing them.  Not my style.

So I continued up to the back road that I normally have to myself to park and fish Mill Creek.  As I rolled around the last bend of the unpaved road, my heart sank: no fewer than 8 cars, trucks, and SUVs were positioned anywhere they could get off the road, and people were milling about like it was a flea market.  Adding to the flea market image were the two ridiculously large tents and a lean-to made from a tarp, all set up on the gravel bank on the other side of the stream.  From the looks of it, these people had been here all weekend, and didnt look likely to pack up and leave.  While it was possible (likely even), that the entire group was right there, and the restof the area was deserted, the best spots in that area are a good hike and wade away, and I'd have been disappointed to find them occupied.  So, I decided to scout out new water, and check out a few access points I'd found over the winter to see if any of those might provide the solitude I was looking for.

The first place I stopped by looked promising, so I parked the car and strung up my 3 wt.  There were two guys fishing a hole near the access so I walked down the trail past them and maneuvered into position at a hole down a few bends from them.  I was using a white latex caddis that I'd had on from the last time I went fishing, but after a few minutes at the hole, I decided that something a bit bigger and flashier might be in order.  

So, I clipped off the #14 latex caddis and tied on a bigger, flashier, heavier fly...a nymph/streamer/bugger abomination I dreamed up months ago at the vise.  Based loosely on a woven bitch creek nymph, this fly sports fluorescent green in the underbody, a flashback, cone head, and flash & glow in the dark mateial for a short tail.  After i completed it, I showed it to a friend along with several regular bitch creeks I'd tied for a swap.  When he asked what it was, I replied, "Idunno...a psychotic bitch?"...a few jokes and wisecracks later, and the fly became affectionately known as "The Angela", after a girl I used to date.

So I tied on this #8 Angela nymph with some shot and some indicator putty and went back to work on the pool.  Nothing...nothing...nothing...snag.  As I went to lift out of the snag, the "snag" pulled hard and shot to the other side of the creek!  The fish was hugging bottom and running for all it was worth.  As it was at the bottom of over 3 feet of water, I wasnt sure how big or even what species it was, but on the 3 wt, it felt like a shark.  Slowly but surely the fish tired, and when it decided to turn, it went all out, shooting to the surface and crossing a good 4 or 5 feet of stream while airborne!  At this point I knew I had a lean, but healthy brown on the line, apparently well hooked too.  A few moments later I felt the half-hearted head shake of a tired trout and knew he was ready for the net.  I coaxed him across the pool and into my new Measure Net (a Christmas gift that has seen precious few trout since December 25th), and saw that he was just a mite over 12", with a color to him that indicated he'd been eating well since escaping from the stock truck.   I was going to take a picture, but he seemed pretty exhausted, so I just got him back in the water as fast as I could after getting that Angela out of the corner of his mouth.

Not long after that, the two gentlemen from up above caught up to me, moving on down the stream, past the next good hole and down around the bend.  When I got down to the next hole, I managed to get my fly hung up in some branches and, not willing to disturb the water, I broke off and tied a new fly on, this time a standard woven bitch creek nymph.  I'd heard from a friend/mentor of mine that Mill Creek was home to a population of truly enormous stoneflies (in the #6 or larger neighborhood), and from the way that brown had attacked my angela nymph, I figured a #8 stonefly imitation would be a safe bet.  

Well, I fished that hole for a while with no results, and from the way the guys below me were acting, I didnt think they really wanted to have to leap frog all afternoon, so I turned around and headed back upstream, past the car and into more uncharted water.  I worked my way upstream, fishing a few holes unsuccessfully, but really, more interested in exploration.  

Finally I came upon a hole that just looked "fishy".  Its one of those things that need not be explained to a fisherman and can not be explained to a non-fisherman.  There was just something about that hole that had me convinced there was a trout in there somewhere.  Its the type of certainty that will take a nicely moving fisherman and stop him in his tracks in that spot, trying different drifts, casts, flies, sizes, angles...until it's too dark to fish.  If he's got a flashlight, he may never leave.  I'd even guess that a large percentage of fisherman even believe that this profound belief that they'll catch a fish in that hole might actually help in the process of inducing that fish to bite.  Its all part of the totally nonsensical but equally serious set of superstitions that all fishermen carry with them, but few share with others.

In any event, I tried long cast, short casts, angled casts, two different positions, different weights...all without a bite.  Finally, I settled into a kind of routine, casting into a current that swept my fly down under the tangled roots of a tree.  Finally, i cast out and immediately saw a yellow-silver flash.  A twitch of the rod and my second brown was on the line.  This one was smaller, but just as pretty, and came to hand with plenty of energy to let me feel justified taking a snapshot before sending her back to her hiding spot.



After releasing this fish, I continued exploring upstream, walking more than fishing, until I hit a row of yellow posters, ending my upstream exploration.  After this, I headed back to the car, noting that the other guys had left.  So I headed back down, recovered my angela nymph from its branch and checked out about a quarter mile of the creek below where I'd parked.  Eventually, I went as far as I cared to, and layed my rod against a tree.  Then I sat on a log and opened up the bottle of Newcastle I'd packed in while I listened to the stream and watched a few squirrels, ducks, and other birds going about their business.  Some time later, I got up, got my rod and headed back toward the car.

Along the way, I glanced down and saw an interesting sight.  Too long to be a big or a crawfish and too thin to be a sculpin, I saw a little gray worm-like creature wriggling around in the stony streambed.  Once it settled a bit, I saw what it was and grinned, scooping it up for a brief photo shoot.


I knew I was holding a freshwater lamprey, and that the little guy wasnt going to hurt me in the least, being a non-parasitic lamprey.  In fact, the adults actually do not feed at all.  After coming home, I did a little research and identified him specifically as a Least Brook Lamprey, which is actually a candidate rare species in Pennsylvania.  You can read more about Least Brook Lampreys here, here, and here.  At first, the one I found (in blue-black spawning colors) was wriggling around energetically, and wouldnt sit still for a picture.  So I got him back in the water and lost my grip on him and he squirmed down and attached himself to my wading boot, of all things.  Carefully, I got him off of there and he immediately got a grip on my fingertip.  Once there, he was content to go wherever, in or out of the water, as long as I didnt disturb his suction grip.  I got several pictures, then, of course, released the little guy unharmed.


All in all, a pretty good day on the water!

Angela Nymph

Hook: Mustad C53S (80050) or equivalent

Tail: Pearl Krystal flash and pink glow-in-the-dark flashabou

Body: Micro ultra chenille, woven, black on top, flo. green on underside

Thorax: Black micro ultra chenille

Hackle: Black, palmered over thorax

Case: Flash back, scud back, krystal flash...anything flashy

Head: Black Conehead

Picture to be attached later.




As some of you (primarily readers that are also active on the FishUSA Forums) may know, I recently put together a new, lighter fly setup, for fishing for panfish, as well as trout in small streams.  

My new fly rod is a 7' 9" St. Croix rod in the Avid line.  Stumbling upon a recent sale on the Bass Pro Shops website, I got the rod for about half price.  Once it arrived in the mail, I took it to my friendly local fly shop and paired it with a Teton Tioga 2 reel.  Onto this, I spooled up a WF3F Tactical Trout Ridge Line from AirFlo.  Unfortunately, weather kept me off the water for two long days, and it wasnt until Sunday that I was able to try it out.  

Sunday afternoon, I headed out to the Loyalhanna.  I pulled into an access area to find 5 cars parked and empty with a sixth car surrounded by a trio of fishermen geting ready to fish.  So I turned around and headed farther upstream.  Up top, I had the parking area to myself, but a quick check of the water revealed that it was just as crowded as down below.

At that point my adventurous spirit kicked in and I made the drive to the Indian Creek DHALO.  I was surprised to see two other cars in the lot, but once I got on the water, I didnt even see another soul until I got back to the parking area.

Indian creek was beautiful.  It's crystal clear, with good depth and flow, and Sunday, it was the scene of a fairly steady scene of stonefly traffic


Indian Creek DHALO

In fact, the only thing the creek WAS missing was trout.  In a few hours of fishing there, not only did I not catch anything, but I didnt even SEE any fish.  So after a pleasant walk back to the car and headed for a local farm pond.

Action here was much better, as the warm weather had turned the bluegills on!  I caught 2 or three bass and more gills than I could possibly count.  I was catching a few here and there till I discovered a nymph they liked (flatteringly enough, a personal design) and proceeded to catch bluegills steadily for the next several hours.  Here's a picture of one particularly large hog:

 

Well I got home last night and saw I had an email from Orvis:

Dear Orvis Customer,

Thank you for the review you recently submitted for the Trout Wonderline, item number 94GK. Customer service and your satisfaction are very important to us and we do greatly appreciate your feedback as it does help us continue in ensuring that we meet your expectations.

I am very sorry that the welded loop did not hold up well. I do want to assure you that we will pass all of your comments on to our buyer so they are aware of the problem and will be able to take the appropriate action as soon as possible.

I do want to make sure that you are aware that we completely stand behind our products and have a 100% satisfaction guarantee to ensure that you can always buy from us with confidence. You are more than welcome to return this to us for a refund or exchange. If you wish to return this to us, please reply with your full name and billing address and I will gladly provide you with further instructions and can even mail you a pre-paid UPS return label if you would like.

If it would be more convenient for you to return the line to a local Orvis Retail store, you would also be welcome to do that and would only need to present the item and a proof of purchase (such as your order confirmation or packing slip).

If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to let me know. Have a wonderful day!

Thank you,
Megan Sanders
Orvis Customer Service
I'm pleasantly surprised by this response to the review I left on the Orvis website.  It's been suggested to me (by other fishermen) that I take my flyline back to try and get a replacement, and while I feel the line eye did wear out prematurely, I haven't been dissatisfied enough with the product, in my opinion, to warrant going back to the dealer and seeking compensation.  When the company itself sends me an encouragement to go back and take advantage of the service they pride themselves on, well that bumps them up a notch in my opinion.

Its only fair that if I'm going to review a piece of gear, that I also give you updates on anything that might change my feelings on doing business with a company, so I wanted to share this.  If you have problems like mine with the Wonderline, clearly Orvis will do what it takes to make you happy.

...maybe I can get my replacement in olive...

Pennsylvania Youth Fishing License?
6:15 PM | Author: Mark

It's been talked about for well over a year, so it wouldn't surprise me if we saw Pennsylvania's kids forced to pay a licensing fee to go fishing.  Its an old link, I know, but it does a good job of succintly stating what's being proposed.  For those of you into specifics of the deal, I've got the bill submitted to the Pennsylvania House, and here's a newer article discussing license fee increases as well as the proposed youth license.

Basically, the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission (hereafter, PFBC) wants to require children ages 12-16 to purchase a youth fishing license at $5 (historically, fishing has been free in Pennsylvania to all children up to, but not including, age 16).  The revenue generated by these fees (as well as federal funds that are to be somehow received as a result of the youth licenses) will be used to institute youth fishing programs and activities.

My first reaction upon hearing this news was what the hell are they thinking?!  After a little thought, I realized that some good may come out of it.  Still, I've been mulling the idea over for a few weeks now, and I still find something about charging kids a new fee where none existed before to be...well...just wrong.

The issue has caused quite a stir in several threads over on the FishUSA forums.





Mixed in with all the semi-intelligible ramblings, contention, and internet muscles common to any internet message board, there's a great pros vs. cons debate if you can filter out the nonsense.

As far as I'm concerned, its just bad business to charge anyone, especially children, for something that's been free to them since time immemorial.  I dont care what the money is going to or how little it may cost, The Man shouldn't be holding his hand out, waiting for payment from a 12 year old.


They want to increase youth programs and find ways to increase youth interest in fishing, and turn around the recent downturn in youth participation in the sport.  All of this is a very noble goal...but to pay for it...they're charging the kids?!

Alot of people argue that they're really charging the parents, and in the majority of cases it probably will be the parents that will foot the bill, but even at that, I dont like the situation (especially coupled with the license fee increase for everyone, included in the PFBC's proposition).  So if dad's picking up the tab for junior, now dad's licensing fees have jumped by more than 25% in one year.  Way to encourage guys to take their kids fishing.

Still, I'm sure most serious fishermen that are passionate about the sport will get the kids license and take the kids, but what about the kids that would love to fish, but their dads (or moms) just aren't into it.  While my dad loves to fish (slowly but surely, I'm getting him back into it), my mom isn't a fan.  Before I could drive myself (the targetted 12-16 year old demographic), she'd drop me off at a local lake and either go for a walk, or run errands or meet friends, while I enjoyed a long summer afternoon/evening of fishing.  If I hadn't been so interested in fishing, it would have been just as easy for her to leave me at home to play video games, and now, not only will it be easier, it'll be cheaper.

On a more objective note, the PFBC really needs to hire a few more economic analysts, because if they'd bother to look at trends, they'd see that any time they've increased license prices, sales have dropped accordingly.  So if you start charging for something that's free, what do you think is going to happen?  I think they'll turn lots of kids away from fishing.  If they were really, truly serious about getting more youth involved in fishing, they'd make fishing as accessible as possible to children of all ages and income levels ($5 isnt much, but its more than free).  

If they want to run youth fishing programs, either charge a small entry fee for the program, or cut back in another area (like stocking trout at keystone power dam?).  Better still, get a few sections of stream designated as youth-harvest-only (who doesnt want to fish WITH Dad?), and maybe a week or two in early to mid-April designated as a youth trout season, when the kids can rock the "uneducated" stocked fish, before they're traumatized by the general season opener later in the month.  In fact, I think that'd be an awesome idea.  It wouldnt cost the PFBC alot more than a few more hours laber to have WCOs at the lakes on those days on the minimum side  (to make sure adults arent coming down fishing and ruining the experience), and on the other end of the spectrum, they could have the two preceding Saturdays as "Youth Fishing Days" complete with a pre-fishing seminar about the fish, how to use their gear to catch them, conservation, and maybe even recipes for cooking their catch.  At the end of the talk, they'd get a patch, button, license, or whatever, and then they could spend the rest of the day fishing.

Sound like an idea?

As always, I'd be delighted to hear from any reader with an opinion on the subject.  Feel free to leave your comments, I'll read them all!