Info for Fans of The Little J (and who isn't)

[MD_Gene]

I exchanged emails with the USGS people and found out how to download only the data I wanted and not have to deal with thousands of unwanted data points. Here's the picture for The Little J. Sad that the two most fun months (April and May) have been so bad, especially the last three years. The average was less than 8 days per month with CFS less than 400!

Another year or so like these and our favorite mom-and-pop fly shops will be history.

 

[lycoflyfisher]

The fact of the matter is we can not control flows, luckily there has been some great fishing to be had the past 2 years. Flows have been ideal in small to medium mountain streams all summer for 2 years. Also, many of the larger stocked streams are holding fish all summer. when on your average year many would have been void of fish by now. I enjoyed a morning on a largish North Central PA freestoner this morning catching numerous stocked trout on dry flies. Yes I know the water is warm, but these fish will be put to good use tomorrow for lunch! How often in the past decade have most stocked trout streams provided a great morning on the water in the end of July? Instead of worrying about absolute perfect conditions on one particular stream, I have had a blast the past two summers exploring new streams provided the additional 2 months of summer trout fishing.

 

[troutbert]

Is this an action item?

 

[Mike]

I'm with you Lyco. In effect, what you have said is that adaptability and being opportunistic are the names of the game. The night fly fishing for stockies has been good as well.

 

[MD_Gene]

Not "worrying about perfect conditions". Just put some data out there for people to ponder.

The only real downside is that, if we get a few more of these, some of our favorite mom-and-pop fly shops will probably not be there.

 

[lycoflyfisher]

It's interesting to see the data and it truly shows the unique weather pattern we have been in over time. What kills mom and pop flyshops are online sales where you have a much greater selection for cheaper prices at your fingertips at all times. The perception that you can only trout fish during April and May under and ideal flow range doesn't help. I think many will agree there have been more trout fishing opportunities the past two years than there has been in possibly decades.

 

[afishinado]

MD_Gene wrote:
Not "worrying about perfect conditions". Just put some data out there for people to ponder.

The only real downside is that, if we get a few more of these, some of our favorite mom-and-pop fly shops will probably not be there.

I'm with you, Gene.

The trout fishing has been great because of the record high water the last two years in the smaller mountain streams. But that's if you live near those mountain streams in central or north Central PA and are into fishing them. But no doubt, the bigger trout streams and rivers have been unfishable for the most part during the prime fishing and hatching periods for the last two seasons.

Many anglers, myself included, have been disappointed by unfishable conditions for wading during the spring hatches like grannom and Hendricksons on the Penns, the D River, and the Little J just to name a few.

The last two spring seasons have been a bust for many as well as the being tough for the fly shops on those rivers. These have been the worst conditions I can recall for two years in a row, now.

While the small trout fishing has benefited by high water, smallmouth bass, both the fish and fishing have not fared well at all. Flooding and blown out rivers during the spawn and murky rivers too high to fish have continued without a let-up.

Not to even mention the flooded homes and basements plus the over taxing of sewage plants forced to release raw sewage into the rivers.

No one wants a drought, but wishing for normal rainfall and flow is not something I would criticize, given the big picture.

 

[larkmark]

I hear you MD Gene. I like fishing the bigger streams and hatches. The upside in my part of state is the trout are growing fat and healthy without constant pounding from fishermen like they have been getting some years with lower flows. When water levels got down this year I dropped everything and went because I knew it would not last. Although those opportunities were fewer I had some of my best fishing for quality fish. I have also started adapting my methods and discovering I can catch fish at higher flows.
The problem of sewage treatment plants is a real concern. I read an article lately about Harrisburg releasing overflow on something like 150 days recently. That cannot be good.

 

[HopBack]

I get that we never really fish most streams in perfect conditions, however people who travel a distance to fish this stream are not going to make the trip and waste time/money if conditions aren’t just right.

I see genes point but you can adapt fishing techniques. High flows are a great time to toss big streams for even bigger fish. Locals probably had a blast this year.

 

[rrt]

afish wrote what I would have, but he wrote it much better.

 

[MD_Gene]

I think everyone makes a lot of sense. I just think it's good to put data with "geez, the last couple of springs have been terrible!"

I know my favorite shop makes 90% of yearly revenue during April-June. In Mid May this past year, he thought he might not make it. But the weather broke (June was okay) and he will survive another year. I remember a couple of years ago, I heard the proprietor wrt revenue say something like, "If every month was like May, I'd be driving a Maserati". ;-)

But I'll tell you with the wild change in flows, the Drake hatch left a lot to be desired this year on Penns. But, you're right, the fish got a break from lip hooking and you know they still ate like kings.

 

[Prospector]

Overall this year, not only were high flows commonplace where I fish but April was very cold. I had water temps below 40 several days and didn’t catch many then. However with all those challenges, in 2018 I caught more trout than I ever had and in 2019 I’m knocking on the door to surpass last year. At least one avenue to success is being flexible, read the conditions and know when to go elsewhere or know where to make a good decision in the first place.

Case in point, in May I was fishing Spring Creek in the Allegheny National Forest (not the one in Centre Co). I drove up and saw what appeared to be perfect fishing catching conditions (51 degree water, a little high and off color) the only issue was there was bright sun. I fished a great stretch for an hour and never had a strike. I could have gone home but I drove further away from home, 45 min to East Br Clarion and caught 19 in about 2 hours. This happened several times this year where I drove to a stream and due to conditions and possibly results and switched to a better option. Now I also made some decisions that didn’t work out but just having an awareness of many stream flows and air temps in certain areas can really lead to some great opportunities.

As a working guy I was still able to get out a lot of days the past 2 years. In 2019 I fished 7 days in April, 13 in May, 15 in June and 7 days in July (coincidently July 7 was my first day ever on the Little J). In 2018 I fished 5 days in April, 15 days in May, 15 in June, 7 days in July and 2 days in August.