 |
 |
| Trout Are Fish Too |
| Fishing on the South Branch has been minimal this year due to sustained high water and the left over effects of the 2002 fish kill. That being said, I thought I would get a little more involved with fishing for trout. The experience has been rewarding and has taken me to more distant waters. Now don't get me wrong, I have fished for trout throughout my life, but the smallmouth in my home water is my forte. The following article will document my attempt at becoming a more knowledgable fisher of trout. My first outing was to another tributary of the mighty Potomac...The North Branch. What a pleasant experience it was. Beauty is one of my prerequisite for fishing and the North Branch definately has that. My quarry was Rainbows..and I was not disappointed. |
 |
| The North Branch is an extremely attractive stream that makes up the border between West Virginia and Maryland. It is located primarily in Mineral and Grant Counties WV and flows into Jennings Randolph Lake just below the small community of Kitzmiller. I fished the stream just above the lake. It runs fast and cold. One has to pick their spots carefully in that a majority of the stream is deep with hugh torrents passing through narrow canyons and hugh boulders. I chose the more gentle stretches to wade. I selected my 6 wt, with 3x tipit due to the necessity of making fairly long cast. My first stop was a long run below a rather significant riffle. My fly of choice was the Smallmouth Seeker in that this river is rather void of insect life. Acid mine drainage did its work a long time ago. The stream is now being limed and I would say recovering very well. I did see some very small blue winged olives coming off the surface, but I figured that I would give them a meal. The |
 |
| Seeker is tied with Black Bear fur which I feel makes the difference. It also has an orange collar behind the bead that acts as an attractor. Whatever the reason, the Smallmouth Seeker also works very well in attracting trout. I fished straight across stream and allowed the fly to sink while continually throwing upstream mends. The fly continued through the swing until directly downstream from my position at which time I recast the fly. I met with good luck by landing several nice rainbows from similiar locations along the river and using similiar techniques. |
| I did try a dry fly or two and caught one fish on a CDC and Elk Hair Caddis originated by Hans Weilemann from the Netherlands. Hans has been a great help to me in my tying and he fishes the CDC/Elk almost exclusively across a lot of the northern hemisphere. You can visit Hans' excellent fly tying site at www.danica.com/flytier |
 |
| While fishing the North Branch I was careful to pause, sit, shed my pack and "take in" the magnifiicent beauty of the area that I was fishing. Alone- without another person on the stream was fulfilling. How lucky we are to have and enjoy this resource called fishing. With it comes many rewards of which fish are only one. More so is the solitude which we can inhale from such a place. |
| My second trip was to the state just north of me- Pennsylvania. It was my fist time to fish the famous streams close to State College. These streams, Penns Creek and Spring Creek, are much different than the streams that I fish. They are derived from hugh springs which boil from the limestone derived landscape. They were cold, clear and full of insect life. I was part of a group that invaded these streams. Flyfishermen and women from as far away as British Columbia attended. It was an honor for me to fish with these people. My association with these people confirmed that flyfishermen are true sportsmen and in touch with their surroundings. The water was high on the streams that we fished; |
 |
| however everyone caught fish. My first encounter was with a brown trout. While preparing to fish this run, I pondered what fly I should choose. I decided to go with what worked at home. I landed two fat browns on the Smallmouth Seeker. I had to laugh at myself. Later that day I caught two more browns . One on a CDC/Elk and the other on a Bead Head Hares Ear. The trout were wild trout (born in this stream) and they were very strong. The only other place that I have caught wild browns was in the Elk River in West Virginia. We had hoped to catch the hatch of the Green Drakes, but due |
| to the late spring and continued high water through the spring, the Green Drakes didn't show. There were good hatches of Sulphurs and Sulphur Spinners late in the evenings, but I didn't have any luck with them. I had never witnessed a spinner fall like the one on Spring Creek. Hatches on the streams that I frequent are fairly sparse. The hatches and returning spinners on limestone streams are tremendous. Just look at this beautiful Brown Trout-fat and healthy. There is something to be said for spring creeks. I would encourage you to head to a spring creek and give it a try. Wild fish do seem more beautiful and rewarding. I hope you have enjoyed reading about my two most recent trout trips. There is, I hope, a common thread in my accounts That being the beauty of a stream along with the treasures that it produces. Even though I am primarily a smallmouth fisherman, I do realize that Trout Are Fish Too. |
 |
| Photographs by: Carl D. DeFazio |