By The_Sasquatch
Photos by Skybay
We're all back from the 2012 Quill Gordon Summit, and by all accounts the event was a great success! We had a good turn out of about 7 guys; Skybay, Dave_S, Turkey, CSoult, Wetfly_01, The Sasquatch, and my father, Jerry (non-board member).
The weekend started for Jerry and me at 5:30am. By 9:15am we were on the Pine Creek in Ansonia not far from Sandfly's shop. We fished for about an hour and then headed over to Sandy's. First thing we noticed was that the water was low and very very clear. No fish to be found in the AM, but lots and lots of caddis on the water.
Meeting Sandfly is worth a weekend trip in and of itself. He's full of stories, all full of hilarity and also fly fishing wisdom. His hens that he raises for hackle are beautiful, and although his shop is quite small, the amount of stuff he has in there is overwhelming! He loaded my pops and I up with flies and advice and about two hours later, we were on our way up to our camp.
We opened up Camp Iroquois on the top of Denton Hill and made plans for our evening outing. Decided to hit the Pine Creek down in Gaines. Again, LOTS AND LOTS of caddis, but no risers, no action sub surface, it was quite confusing. Dad and I decided to bail on that stretch while the evening was still young, and drove up Rt 6 to where the Pine crosses Rt 6 above Galeton, right at the Sylvania Diner. This was the right choice. Dad went down stream, I went up stream, and both of us came back to the car with reports of many rising trout and several brought to hand, mostly hold over rainbows.
After returning to camp I called Skybay to make plans for him to meet up w/ us the next day, and then called Csoult. He told me him and Turkey were already at the campground (less than a minute drive from my cabin) and that I should come over. After telling him I was too tired for socializing, I changed my mind and headed over to their camp site. Glad I did. Got to hang w/ Turkey and Csoult for a few hours, getting to know each other, drink some beer and tell some stories, before the rest of the guys came up.
Friday we met at 8am and headed to Lyman Run. Beautiful setting, but again the clear and low water was our bane. As we worked our way up stream, the further we got the more fish we saw, but we were unable to bring any to hand. After heading back to the cars, we found a tiny trib that flowed under the road and into a little drainage ditch. We spooked two brookies out of that little pool, so I decided to rock it "Lehigh Valley Style" and fish the drainage ditch. After about 15 minutes I brought my first Potter County native brookie of 2012 to hand. A hilarious approach to catching a beautiful fish!
After lunch Dave_S arrived on the scene and we made plans for the evening trip. Originally we planned on hitting the Allegheny, but after seeing the flows, Dave_S led us up to the Oswego. Right decision as the flow was much better. Tons and tons of caddis flying around, march browns, even thought we saw some sulfers...but NO RISING FISH! I managed to catch a decent sized "Golden Rainbow" on a hare's ear (fun fight!), Dave_S caught a stocked brookie, my dad caught a nice little brookie that regurgitated a big old sculpin, and csoult and Turkey were wishing they stayed at State College
Ended the day at the campsite, sitting around the fire ring where we met up w/ Skybay who had us all laughing and telling stories quite quickly!
Saturday was the main event. Dad and I arrived at the campsite to find that Wetfly_01 arrived, and we learned that the plan was to hit the Pine all day. Wetfly_01 quickly took on the guide responsibilities as he led us to our first destination; the Pine Creek at Darling Run. Good flow to the Pine, the weather was overcast with rain, so conditions were working for us for the first time all weekend. There were several hookups at the first section and everyone was having fun, although wet and cold. After heading back to the vehicles for lunch (Dave_S I'm sure will tell the story of "The Sasquatch in a China Shop....), we headed up to the Pine at Blackwell. Wetfly_01 had us walk upstream to get away from all the crowds, and put us on some GREAT pocket water. As the rest of the group fished upstream, I joined up w/ Csoult and started hitting large pools. The March Browns were coming off the water big time, and the trout were rising! Csoult and I caught it right and we had a blast for the next two hours picking off risers on MBs. We officially renamed the event, "The March Brown Summit". Everyone brought fish to hand, including Skybay who caught his first fish on a dry fly. I say fish, because when he landed the beast, we discovered that he caught a 3lb smallie! Great catch!
Next we drove to Slate Run Tackle Shop. Lusted after things we couldn't afford, ate some legendary Slate Run sandwiches, and then fished the stretch behind SR. The rain was coming down HARD now, it was windy, and the temps dropped about 10 degrees from what it was when the day started. Fish were still rising, but none of us could figure out to what. Lots of MB and Caddis on the water, but they weren't taking either. Tried some midges, still nothing. Dave_S hooked up w/ one on a bugger, and my dad brought a few to hand. We all had enough though and were back in the trucks by 8:30. Headed back to Camp Iroquois, got the wood stove burning, Skybay cooked for us (amazing food from Skybay!), and the guys sat around the dinner table for hours talking FFing. All except for me, who headed over to the sofa and passed out...although I added my 2 cents every now and again. All were out and in bed by 12:30am.
Turkey took off first thing the next morning, the rest of us met up and had a final meal together at the Sylvania Diner. It was a great time. Crazy to think the weekend began w/ weather in the 70s, and now they're calling for snow. No QG anywhere, but it didn't matter. The landscape and the company made the event worth every minute. Can't wait till next year.
Photos by Skybay
We're all back from the 2012 Quill Gordon Summit, and by all accounts the event was a great success! We had a good turn out of about 7 guys; Skybay, Dave_S, Turkey, CSoult, Wetfly_01, The Sasquatch, and my father, Jerry (non-board member).
Meeting Sandfly is worth a weekend trip in and of itself. He's full of stories, all full of hilarity and also fly fishing wisdom. His hens that he raises for hackle are beautiful, and although his shop is quite small, the amount of stuff he has in there is overwhelming! He loaded my pops and I up with flies and advice and about two hours later, we were on our way up to our camp.
We opened up Camp Iroquois on the top of Denton Hill and made plans for our evening outing. Decided to hit the Pine Creek down in Gaines. Again, LOTS AND LOTS of caddis, but no risers, no action sub surface, it was quite confusing. Dad and I decided to bail on that stretch while the evening was still young, and drove up Rt 6 to where the Pine crosses Rt 6 above Galeton, right at the Sylvania Diner. This was the right choice. Dad went down stream, I went up stream, and both of us came back to the car with reports of many rising trout and several brought to hand, mostly hold over rainbows.
After returning to camp I called Skybay to make plans for him to meet up w/ us the next day, and then called Csoult. He told me him and Turkey were already at the campground (less than a minute drive from my cabin) and that I should come over. After telling him I was too tired for socializing, I changed my mind and headed over to their camp site. Glad I did. Got to hang w/ Turkey and Csoult for a few hours, getting to know each other, drink some beer and tell some stories, before the rest of the guys came up.
After lunch Dave_S arrived on the scene and we made plans for the evening trip. Originally we planned on hitting the Allegheny, but after seeing the flows, Dave_S led us up to the Oswego. Right decision as the flow was much better. Tons and tons of caddis flying around, march browns, even thought we saw some sulfers...but NO RISING FISH! I managed to catch a decent sized "Golden Rainbow" on a hare's ear (fun fight!), Dave_S caught a stocked brookie, my dad caught a nice little brookie that regurgitated a big old sculpin, and csoult and Turkey were wishing they stayed at State College
Ended the day at the campsite, sitting around the fire ring where we met up w/ Skybay who had us all laughing and telling stories quite quickly!Saturday was the main event. Dad and I arrived at the campsite to find that Wetfly_01 arrived, and we learned that the plan was to hit the Pine all day. Wetfly_01 quickly took on the guide responsibilities as he led us to our first destination; the Pine Creek at Darling Run. Good flow to the Pine, the weather was overcast with rain, so conditions were working for us for the first time all weekend. There were several hookups at the first section and everyone was having fun, although wet and cold. After heading back to the vehicles for lunch (Dave_S I'm sure will tell the story of "The Sasquatch in a China Shop....), we headed up to the Pine at Blackwell. Wetfly_01 had us walk upstream to get away from all the crowds, and put us on some GREAT pocket water. As the rest of the group fished upstream, I joined up w/ Csoult and started hitting large pools. The March Browns were coming off the water big time, and the trout were rising! Csoult and I caught it right and we had a blast for the next two hours picking off risers on MBs. We officially renamed the event, "The March Brown Summit". Everyone brought fish to hand, including Skybay who caught his first fish on a dry fly. I say fish, because when he landed the beast, we discovered that he caught a 3lb smallie! Great catch!
Turkey took off first thing the next morning, the rest of us met up and had a final meal together at the Sylvania Diner. It was a great time. Crazy to think the weekend began w/ weather in the 70s, and now they're calling for snow. No QG anywhere, but it didn't matter. The landscape and the company made the event worth every minute. Can't wait till next year.
