Light Switch

[ROVERT]

The light switch was in full effect on Penns today.

I'm at our place in Siglerville this week, unfortunately not to fish but to work. I have a lot of work to do so I'm trying to squeeze in some fishing hours at, as far as I'm able to predict, the best times of the day.

Yesterday, I nailed it and had the best couple of hours of grannom fishing in my life. Today, I headed to the water as the fronts were due to bring cloud cover and showers. I got to the first pool as a bout of rain and sleet tapered off. The olives poured off. It took the fish a bit to start but soon there were steady risers.

They were not interested in my offering. I started to change patterns and the sun popped out. Every fish stopped rising. This repeated twice more with no success.

The number of Hendricksons had steadily increased over this period and they were keyed in on them instead of olives when the next round of cloud cover arrived. I found quick acceptance of Hendrickson offering.

As the clouds settled in for good, the accompanying temperature drop seemed to shut down the majority of risers. I found two tucked tight, really tight, to a log on the far bank. They were consistent. They ate every Hendrickson that came down their incredibly narrow lanes. The problem was I couldn't reach them.

After far too long hopelessly trying to get my cast to shoot just a little further, I waded even deeper. I found two rocks that, with a slightly wider than ideal stance, I could stand on, elevating me just enough to be able to make the cast. When I got my fly in the lane, the fish took. It was a good fish. It promptly headed for a submerged log, deftly transferring my fly from its mouth to it.

I'm going to be thinking about that fish for a while. The weather looks unfavorable tomorrow buts there's a good chance that I'll be standing on those two rocks at some point on Thursday waiting for the light switch.


PS. Bruce reported that Grannoms started on lower Penns today. They were very heavy in the upper C&R yesterday. I didn't see nearly as many today. I'm not sure if it just because they are the first big surface feeds of the year but I think having simultaneous Hendrickson and grannom hatches may be my favorite FF event of the year and one I often don't get to fish.

 

[Tabasco-Joe]

I was on Penn's yesterday morning in the top of the Trophy section. Saw some rises and they ended up being stockies. Caught two on EHC. I had to run up to Snowshoe in the afternoon and hit a massive sleet storm that dumped about 2".

There were plenty of Grannoms up at Spring Mills, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.

 

[Mashbill]

thanks for a great story --- you'll remember that fish for a long time. Penns is such a great place. i still remember a smashing strike i got swinging a big soft hackle march brown below Ingleby --- by the old rail tressle -- sounds like you had a great time. dont work too hard!! those chores will be there in july!

 

[ROVERT]

I went back for the log hugger on Thursday afternoon. Unfortunately, the log was being used to fish from rather than being fished to by other anglers.

I caught a few on hendricksons before the surface feed again turned off. I don't think there was a single cloud all day on Thursday so it was a matter of fishing the shadows.

My last fish of the day was at another log, a bit further downstream. The fish was lying under the sticks and foam in the nearly dead current upstream of the log. It's head would just break the edge of the foam each time it fed.

It was a difficult current to deal with. I made about half a dozen pile casts before finally getting my fly to crawl over the fish in the nearly nonexistent flow while my fly line was rapidly beginning to belly downstream between us.

There was a good take, a hook set, and a landed fish this time. It was a decent fish but definitely not as heavy as Tuesday's.

 

[Mashbill]

beautiful! interesting how bare the trees in the background still look.

 

[ROVERT]

Botanically, other than the grasses and understory greening up, there is very little sign of spring on Penns in the Poe Paddy area.

Big valley and south facing slopes are starting to bud out but there isn't much green yet.