Is this one of the best years ever?

[Prospector]

I've been keeping accurate records of my fish count for the last 9 years and this year is the best by a very wide margin. I have been fly fishing for over 40 years but the last 9 years I generallly fished 23-27 days annually. This year was no different. I've gone 26 times, but my catch numbers are over 2.5 times of my best year in the previous 8 years. That was 2.5 times better than my best year.

I'm sure many of you keep better records than I do. I'm curious if you are seeing the same thing.

This has been a strange year. I thought the late spring would bode well for fishing in June. Then we had the near drought that made streams very low and clear and many hatches in May were ahead of schedule making June look bleak. Then the rains came and loaded up the creeks with water and that kept temps down. So things look good again.

What is your experience?

About the same.
Worse than normal
Better than normal
Much better than normal

Also supply why you feel the year has played out this way.

 

[evw659]

I have definitely had a better than normal year, at least from very late april through early june. The grannoms were a bust(at least where I fish), but the olives, sulphurs, March browns, and cahills produced excellent fishing for me on my local west central limestoner. I had several 20+ fish days, which is above average for me.

 

[Fishidiot]

Not keeping record here, but I'd say it has been a good trout year. . .but still not close to 2013.
I'd rate this year for me as about the same or maybe a bit above average for springtime trout fishing.

Frankly, I think we've had a bit too much of a good thing around here lately: blown out streams and muddy conditions have put the crimp on much of my fishing. As a warm water guy, I haven't even done any significant bass fishing this summer as the rivers are blown. Even the small local WW creeks near my home are still muddy.

I would guess that, for guys who focus their fishing on small mountain freestone trout streams, this has indeed probably been a top year.

Prospector,
Welcome to our online fly fishing community - glad to have yuh.
DaveW

 

[njk3395]

I feel like the fishing has been about the same as usual for me. Most days seemed to be normal numbers, but there was definitely a few days where it felt like I caught fish every other cast. This year has been filled with some of the heaviest hatches I have ever seen though. I haven't been out fishing as much as I have in years past, which may have something to do with why it seems like a normal year to me.... But in the end it's not all about the fishing quality for me. I had some of my most memorable outings this year despite my lack of fishing time and ya can't ask for much more than that.

 

[Deane]

Prospector,
I agree 100% with your feeling about fishing this year.
I went to a fishing camp near Emporium on May8th and returned on the 31st. This was the best year that I have had since retiring 7 years ago. When I arrived the Gray Foxes were already on the water and stayed till around May 23rd. I fished through Green and Brown Drakes, both Sulphers, and the Iso's, along with all the caddis and stoneflies, before I returned home. There was no high flow periods that tend to bring on multiple hatches. Every time the water reached 68, it rained a little and the temp went back to 63/64. I was fishing with just a necklace that contained nymphs, emergers, and duns of the current hatching bug and what should be hatching next. I also had a few others that I just can't resist. But the box was 3" X 2" and hung from the necklace. I landed 138 trout and probably that many bass before I lost count.
I live in the very southwest corner of the state. When I got home I went up in the Fayette County mountains to Whites Creek and because of the altitude; that creek was seeing the 16 sulpher invaria again. LOL So I fished my way through them all again.
I'm telling you my boxes are approaching empty, but what a year!
I think your post is right on target.
Deane

 

[dryflyguy]

I guess because I fish strictly dry flies, this year has been worse than normal for me.
Way too much rain - and earlier in spring - snow.
I spent much of my fishing time scrambling around looking for clear water.
The BWO's in march were OK - had some good days, and then some bad days.
The hendrickson's and grannoms in april - two of my favorite hatches - were a complete wash out.
May was OK - but I still hit a lot of lousy conditions. It seemed like I was either freezing or sweating. Very little in the way of normal temps.
And June/July so far, has been a complete washout around here - all of the large streams have been blown out for the last month or so.
We're just getting a ridiculous amount of rain IMO.
And I hope it ends soon

 

[LetortAngler]

Years not over yet. Usually my best fishing occurs during the dog days of summer fishing Terrestrials and Tricos, however so far its been a good one. Still waiting for a year to equal 2012s hatches though

 

[jifigz]

This year has been terrible. I do more smallmouth fishing than anything and generally go out about once every 12 hours. I also mix a good bit of trout fishing into my plans. Other than a very select few streams in my area I feel like all of the streams have remained flooded and muddy for the entire month of June. I feel like I haven't even been on the Juniata in a month to make a single cast. The rain is keeping it so elevated and swollen wading it is impossible. So now, it needs to stop raining so I can actually find some time to fish and allow the streams, especially the larger waters, to return to normal so I can fish them. I have been having fun with Brookies in mountain streams, but they basically always bite.

 

[sarce]

I am no longer in PA, but this year has been pretty bad fish-catching wise. I should note that the majority of my trips have been to completely new waters, some of which show a lot of potential but mostly they haven't produced like I had expected. I did catch a few new species in the Potomac which is exciting, but it's been too high to fish for weeks now. As jifigz said, brookie fishing has been good, but it is every year. And down here it's an hour drive to find them.

 

[k-bob]

think I have seen fewer fish this year. however, I usually fish tiny and poorly buffered brookie streams, and we're coming off some bad winters. so bigger spring runoffs, which can cause acid pulses, may have hurt ST populations. one of those year-class things...

but I think things may turn up in years that don't trail snowy winters. PA rainfall pH is sharply rising. if you use the link below, select a PA site with some years of data (Kane, penn state, leading ridge, milford), hit the "data" tab, and then select "trend plots," you'll see what I mean. more acid rain reduction in last ten years than the 20 years before that.

http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/data/sites/list/?net=NTN

 

[allan_s]

2013 was the perfect year for fishing.

Water was way too low for most of the season IMO. Rain now has been nice but we could have used it in April and May even more.

 

[BrookieChaser]

So you're quantifying your fishing year by fish landed.

Are said fish stocked or wild? What species? Where in the state?

 

[McSneek]

Hasn't been the year I was hoping for. I was determined to fish more this year especially from late winter into spring. Well, winter dragged on and on and then May was ruined by hot weather and low water. Now high water is the problem. When I did fish this year I had some really good days but conditions prevented me from fishing as much as I intended to. My local WW river has now been too high or off color to fish as of late. Just when it starts to clear more storms roll through. I have one smallmouth and a channel cat to my credit so far. Maybe this weekend....

 

[krayfish2]

For me, this year has been a dud. Changed jobs right before the season which limited me to only a couple of days out this year. When I could get out, the water was 6" or over the banks. I'll find a way to even it up in 2016 though. My main concern was enough cool water for good survival rates over the summer months and we're off to a good start for that.

I now work only 5 miles from my house and I feel like I'm using more gas in the mower than I am in my car. LOL

 

[Luke]

Yes, it has been one of the best years ever fo me, but not measured by fishing success. Two milestones were reached this year that made it great for me.

First, my son caught his first ever trout on a dry fly. I have been trying to create this moment for over a year on Penns Creek and/or the Tulley and finally succeeded. It was a wild brown on a tan cdc caddis and was on his very first cast of our 2.5 day trip. I will never forget it and he was very proud. Second, my son successfully hooked, landed and released another trout on Penns nymphing about 15 yards upstream from me without me "holding his hand" to help.

So, I have really had to set aside some of my own success in fishing this year to teach, but this has been very memorable.

For better or worse, I tend to measure my trout fishing success by how many times I catch a hatch or spinner-fall and catch fish on top. I nymph and streamer fish and enjoy catching fish, but the aspect of this sport that keeps me addicted is catching rising trout on top. For brown trout, this has been largely a bust for me this year with almost zero rising trout during my main spring camping trip to Penns Creek during Grannom season and a couple of days on the Tully where I would have sworn that there were no fish in the creek.

Thank God for willing and eager wild brook trout and the beautiful places that they inhabit!

 

[McSneek]

Luke wrote:
Yes, it has been one of the best years ever fo me, but not measured by fishing success. Two milestones were reached this year that made it great for me.

First, my son caught his first ever trout on a dry fly. I have been trying to create this moment for over a year on Penns Creek and/or the Tulley and finally succeeded. It was a wild brown on a tan cdc caddis and was on his very first cast of our 2.5 day trip. I will never forget it and he was very proud. Second, my son successfully hooked, landed and released another trout on Penns nymphing about 15 yards upstream from me without me "holding his hand" to help.

So, I have really had to set aside some of my own success in fishing this year to teach, but this has been very memorable.

For better or worse, I tend to measure my trout fishing success by how many times I catch a hatch or spinner-fall and catch fish on top. I nymph and streamer fish and enjoy catching fish, but the aspect of this sport that keeps me addicted is catching rising trout on top. For brown trout, this has been largely a bust for me this year with almost zero rising trout during my main spring camping trip to Penns Creek during Grannom season and a couple of days on the Tully where I would have sworn that there were no fish in the creek.

Thank God for willing and eager wild brook trout and the beautiful places that they inhabit!

Luke - your son's success certainly makes it a great year for you. Funny but my two evening trips to the Tully back in May produced numerous fish - all on dries.

 

[rrt]

Different.

The hatches of blue-wing olives and grannoms that provided wonderful dry-fly fishing in the past during the early spring were nearly non-existent this March and April. I had to dredge with nymphs to get into trout. I have only suspicions about what happened to these two formerly wonderful hatches.

Except on my favorite small stream where a liquid manure spill killed the sulphurs for miles, the sulphur fishing was wonderful, with nice hatches and spinner falls not being wiped out by what I call the "annual spring flood," which typically hits sometime during the sulphur hatches and puts an end to dry-fly fishing to them. We didn't get the big rains and high water here till they were nearly over. (The locals who tried to get something done about the manure spill were told this by DEP reps who investigated only 3 hours after the spill: "Everything is all right." The PFBC did not respond to the calls to them by the concerned sportsmen who tried to contact the FBC, which I find surprising. Perhaps they were concerned that they might lose access to this mostly privately owned by mostly open-to-access stream.)

The summer fishing isn't very good now, with high, brown water from about 6" of rain in less than a week. Again, dredging is the only way to pick up a few fish.

I'd say, overall, with the loss of the BWOs and grannoms that the fishing has been generally somewhat worse than other years. But, the sulphur fishing did last longer than it usually does.

 

[Coughlin]

Can't match Luke for sure, but it's been an ok year. Did very well on French Creek in April and around the Reading area and Pohopoco through June. Also had a good week on Penns and Spring creeks in early May. The fishing gods, however, decided things were going too well and my last two trips (Tully & LL) were limited to a couple of fish each. By now my WW friend and I should have had a few days on the Delaware but it's been raging. O well...fish on!

 

[wildtrout2]

McSneek wrote:
Well, winter dragged on and on and then May was ruined by hot weather and low water. Now high water is the problem.

I think this says everything in a nutshell, except I would have to add low water temps to this bad situation.

I have only gotten to the mountains 7 times this year because of some sort of weather anomaly. Yes, now we're getting the rain, but it drops stream temps way down. We are experiencing extremes in our weather, where it's becoming tricky to try to plan any fishing trips.

 

[fishngun]

Every year is a good year. Putting numbers to it kinda ruins it for me. I fish because I enjoy it. I'm not looking to turn it into a stats thing and/or competition, even with myself.