3wt7X
Active member
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2008
- Messages
- 670
Well, I met up with a couple good friends for our annual green drake trip on Penns Creek. When I arrived Wednesday, the stream was a nice shade of green flowing at about 550 cfs. As anyone who was paying attention knows, those conditions did not last. The storms started rolling through the area at about 3pm. I had a flurry of activity as the dark clouds approached, and lost a single large mystery trout on a Green Drake dun with lightning crashing around me (not one of my smarter moments.)
The waters continued to rise through the evening and next morning. We decided on plan b, which was to make the most of the situation and explore some mountain freestones in the area. It was a treat. As anyone who as explored those streams can attest, the beauty and ruggedness of that area is difficult to describe. The mountain laurel seems to choke the stream in many locations. The swiftness of the current and depth of the stream channel is really impressive for bodies of water that are only a few feet wide in spots. We saw a ton of wildlife, from black snakes, snapping turtles, and centipedes which appeared to come out of the pages of a book, to turkey, woodpeckers and hawks. Swinging soft hackles down the channels and under the overhanging laurel was the order of the day. The reward was many native gems (gemmies as some would say.)
We ended the day yesterday, by locating a large slow hole on the big river and sitting and waiting with half hopes the browns would find the drake hatch through the mud. To our delight, for an hour it happened, before the next heavy downpour in the dark had us fleeing for warmth and dinner.
Life teaches us all to handle adversity. Some of us like to taste the bitterness of lemon, and show everyone how displeased we are. Others make lemonade and convince ourselves it tastes better than it actually does!!! For the last two days we were making lemonade.
The waters continued to rise through the evening and next morning. We decided on plan b, which was to make the most of the situation and explore some mountain freestones in the area. It was a treat. As anyone who as explored those streams can attest, the beauty and ruggedness of that area is difficult to describe. The mountain laurel seems to choke the stream in many locations. The swiftness of the current and depth of the stream channel is really impressive for bodies of water that are only a few feet wide in spots. We saw a ton of wildlife, from black snakes, snapping turtles, and centipedes which appeared to come out of the pages of a book, to turkey, woodpeckers and hawks. Swinging soft hackles down the channels and under the overhanging laurel was the order of the day. The reward was many native gems (gemmies as some would say.)
We ended the day yesterday, by locating a large slow hole on the big river and sitting and waiting with half hopes the browns would find the drake hatch through the mud. To our delight, for an hour it happened, before the next heavy downpour in the dark had us fleeing for warmth and dinner.
Life teaches us all to handle adversity. Some of us like to taste the bitterness of lemon, and show everyone how displeased we are. Others make lemonade and convince ourselves it tastes better than it actually does!!! For the last two days we were making lemonade.
