Stream & Conditions Report
Current Fly Fishing Report
The information in these reports comes from our fly fishing guides who are on the stream almost every day. Visit our guided and unguided trips section for more information on our great guided and unguided trips on private access water.
August 18, 2008
Spruce Creek Area Waters
Spruce/Penns/Little J/Warriors Mark
What incredible weather we've had lately! High have not topped the 80 degree mark in over a week and overnight lows bottom out in the low 50's… It’s Mid August folks! The air has been dry and crisp with a slight breeze and a few storms have rolled through keeping the water levels fairly stable. What does this amount too… great mid summer Fly Fishing. The week ahead will bring a touch of warmer weather to start, but should cool back down by middle of the week. Best chance of rain will be Wednesday with a slight chance of a storm all other days. This morning the water read 52 degrees at Burt’s Bend and the threat of water too warm has passed until next year.
The water is low but normal for this time of year, and the clear water has made for some great Dry Fly Fishing. Tricos continue to bring trout to the surface on Spruce and the Little J; and Beetles and Ants are still hot, too. Don’t forget the "trick" of sinking your Tricos, Ants and Beetles and fishing them under the surface… deadly. We still have not witnessed the Flying Ants and expect them any day, and the last week of August should bring the evening hatch of White Flies on the Lower Portion of the LJ up to Spruce Creek. Small nymphs, Midge larva, and soft hackles in dark colors are still working well underneath.
Overall pressure has been light considering all the beats we have, and there’s plenty of room to fit a couple fantastic days on the water. See you all Reel soon!
Yellow Creek
Water temps are still very good holding in the low 60s in the morning hours to the mid 60s in the afternoon. Water levels are down slightly from the previous week, but still very moderate. Daytime temps for the week ahead look like low to mid 80s daytime and mid to upper 50s at night. Fishing has been very good for those members taking advantage of the lower water temps. Nymphing in the faster water with small #18 hare's ear, black zebra midges, olive caddis, and princes are still productive. Tricos are still in fair numbers on Lower Meadow and Upper Mill Dam. Hoppers, beetles, and ants are all working well on the slower water throughout Yellow Creek.
Fishing Creek & Northeastern Pennsylvania Waters
Fishing Creek
Great fishing conditions continue in the Fishing Creek valley as a storm on Friday gave us about two inches of rainfall and the air temperatures continue to top out at eighty degrees.
Caterpillar's, moth's, and flying ant's top the list of surface flies that have been getting the attention of some very large fish while Pheasant Tail's and Bead head Copperloo's in a size #20 have been very successful below the surface.
With an increase in flows and water temperatures in the low sixties our fish have relaxed a little. This more relaxed state is recognized by the fact that fewer fish are erratically cruising up and down stream in search of food and cooler waters which means that they aren’t running into us and then spooking other fish when they take off. The water is still crystal clear so a limited number of false casts and accurate presentation’s will definitely increase your hook-ups.
We have had an ideal summer and great conditions continue.
Water Gap and Strawberry Hill
Water Gap is fishing well and is still seeing Tricos until about 9:30 am on most mornings. The water is low and clear so naturally the fish are spooky. With Herons, Ospreys, and eagles hovering overhead they have good reason to be wary! But with a careful approach you can catch some great fish on Tricos, small nymphs, terrestrials and eggs.
As we all know the summertime fishing can be frustrating. One day the water is low and gin clear and the next day it may be high and muddy from a heavy rainstorm. We all like to catch fish. Lots of fish - big fish! But we also just love to be outdoors. And summer is one of the most exciting times to view all kinds of wildlife activity.
The point of all this rambling is that although the fishing can be tough in mid summer, the wildlife is abundant and active. You may very well hear and see things that you just can't experience anywhere else. So when you come, enjoy the fishing, but keep your eyes and ears open and take in all the natural world has to offer.
June 9, 2008
Spruce Creek Area Waters
What a change in Weather in less than a week! From highs in the 70’s early last week to highs in the 90’s over the weekend and early this week, we have changed our operations a bit to give anglers and trout a more comfortable and productive day on the water. This coming week, we are only fishing early in the day on Spruce, Warriors Mark, and the Little Juniata. Penns Creek stays cooler no matter the air temperature and is fishable all day, but morning is still best. Fishing 7-3 or 8-4 will be our only option for the week ahead as water temps will rise into the 70’s by late afternoon. Once the water temperature rises above 72 degrees, fishing MUST stop for the day, or fish will die from stressing conditions if caught. When temps hit 72, you will see trout move right to the source of spring seeps for the cool flows, and will redistribute themselves after night falls and the water cools off.
We see this type of condition each year, but usually not until late June- early August. Fishing is still VERY good when the water is cool, and activity will slowly taper off by mid afternoon. Expect to fish a variety of patterns wet or dry and…. YES the Cicadas are here and still emerging in huge numbers each morning. Fishing with Cicadas has only been effective in a few places thus far, but as they continue to emerge and disperse hopefully all fish will be looking for them soon.
Fishing Dry Dropper combos in the morning have produced well with Attractors Flies (Stimulators, Cicadas, Large Parachutes, Beetles, and Bug Meisters) and small nymphs (Pheasant Tails, Prince, Zebra Midges, and Caddis emergers) as droppers. Sulphurs still continue to hatch the last hour before dark, and Light Cahills should start at the same time as well. Ants and Beetles are becoming effective and the temperatures.
Hot weather means sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, bug repellant, and most importantly LOTS of cold water. It’s best to drink ample water before you head out and keep hydrating yourself every hour to maintain healthy body temperature. Guides always have coolers stocked with beverages, but if you venture by yourself, make sure to pack a cooler of your own.
Call for a more accurate update throughout the week, and Best Wishes to all for a great vacation season!
Yellow Creek
The weather this year continues to be on the extreme side, from the wet cool spring we had last month right into to hot humid summer conditions. The thermometer last week hit the 90 degree mark by the end of the week and had been hovering right around there all weekend. It does look like there is some relief in sight though, air temps will be dropping a little everyday throughout the week, with a chance of an afternoon thunderstorm Tuesday and Wednesday, and again at the end of the week. Unfortunately the hot days and warm nights of the last few days have the water temps up into the mid 60’s in the morning, topping out into the lower 70’s through the late afternoon, because of this, we are doing all of our fishing early in the day right now, and resting the water once the water temps go above the 72 degree mark in order to protect the fish.
Even with the warm water, fish this past week was very good. On the top, the Green Drakes, and Sulphers are slowing down, but good numbers of Red Quills, Beatis, and even a few Slate Drakes have been seen in good numbers and fish are taking them on some of the beats through the day. Spinner and emerger patterns seem to be fooling more fish then the duns throughout most of the day. Along with these mayfly’s the Golden Stones are really starting to come on strong, and fish are taking both surface and sub surface patterns, The first of the summer hoppers are around, along with growing numbers of ants, and beetles; terrestrial season is here.
Fishing Creek & Northeastern Pennsylvania Waters
This past week at Water Gap was again very good. Fish rose well to a variety of flies from morning till dusk. Although we have not seen a "blanket" hatch of any single species, there are enough flies around to keep the fish looking up. The grasses and shrubs in the meadow are now long enough to droop over the water's edge and provide shelter for the many large browns that lurk there. Terrestrials such as ants and beetles are abundant and the trout relish them. Soon we should see good hatches of Tricos as well.
The bad news is that the current heat wave is pushing air temps into the high 90s and the afternoon water temps to 70 degrees. While it is this hot, fishing should really be done in the earlier part of the day before the afternoon sun gets too hot and stresses both the angler and the fish.
Strawberry Hill is also fishing well. Although it too is best in the early hours, it does fish slightly better than Water Gap on these hot summer afternoons. The McMichaels is a woodland stream and thus offers more shade and slightly cooler water temperatures.
There is no major fly activity at this time but fish are rising in the slower pools to midges, caddis, ants, and beetles. Once again, I suggest fishing the earlier part of the day; at least until the air temperatures moderate just a bit.
Fishing Creek
All though summer doesn’t officially start for 2 more weeks the East Coast got hit with a scorcher.
It all started on Friday and continued thru the weekend. With more of the same for Monday and then gradually back to normal the rest of the week. So, what does a devoted Fly Fisher do in these conditions. We FISH!!!! Early morning, taking fish on top and subsurface till the sun peaks thru the trees. Then back to the lodge or cabin to cool off. But, don’t think the flyfishing work is done yet. Time to prep the gear, clean the line you have been meaning to clean for so long. rig up your new leader, sort your dry fly and spinner boxes and watch the sun start to set. Because if you have fished on Fishing Creek late evening this time of year with the humidity and the stream conditions we have right now the SULPHERS are coming and this weekend did not disappoint us. Slowly but gradually they started to pop. One fish up, then another, then another till the day light faded. It’s funny we didn’t seem to mind the temperature or the humidity at all.
Call Bob Hesse for more information at 877 768 7688 or email him at bhesse@loganoutfitters.com.
