Mixed Feelings

[MattBoyer]

Upon opening the list of changes by the PFBC for '07 I couldn't help but notice the new DHALO section on Pine Creek. On one hand, I almost exclusively fish the long rod these days, and fish C&R, so it shouldn't affect me, except for bigger fish, at least in theory. The part that makes me sad is that I grew up camping on that stretch and spent many a seemingly endless summer day learning the ins and outs of fishing with worms and corn like many a kid. I feel that in being happy for this reg change I am selling out some of the fondest memories that I have. I know most of you on here have an often outspoken disdain for bait-chuckers, but in my mind, a kid with an old rod and a coffee can full of worms is the purest form of fishing there is. I'm not really sure why I am writing this. Hell the campground is just a memory anyhow. It just hit a personal chord and I needed to vent. Sorry to rant on.

Boyer

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear Matt,

Actually there are now 2 delayed harvest sections on Pine Creek. One in Lycoming County from Slate Run to Naval Run, and one in Tioga County from Darling Run downstream. And so it goes.

Don't feel bad about feeling bad that you started out as a bait chucker. I'm sure most of us started out fishing bait, I know I did. I remember netting minnows, turning over rocks for hellgrammites and crayfish, digging worms, and especially catching nightcrawlers using a flashlight after a Summer thunderstorm. I loved getting a double!

The memories won't go anywhere and it's not like there aren't still thousands of miles of streams where kids can dunk worms and catch crayfish and tadpoles. To paraphrase the Who, "the Kids are still alright!"

Regards,
Tim Murphy

 

[tomgamber]

TimMurphy wrote:
I feel that in being happy for this reg change I am selling out some of the fondest memories that I have.

When I was very young I used to fish a certain creek and kept everything I caught. I even ate a 14 inch sucker once. Sucker aside, we do or did a lot of things that in hindsight might not have been the best and as adults we have the opportunity and hindsight with which to change things...hopefully for the better. There is a time and a place for everything. Don't feel bad. There are plany of opportunites and I don't think anyone is denying anyone else, anything. That's how I see it anyway.

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear Tom,

I know you are an old video photographer and editor but I have to admit that's some pretty slick work you did there quoting me and using Matt's words.

You definitely have a career in politics if you are interested. :-D

Regards,
Tim Murphy

 

[tomgamber]

HUH, yeah I did didn't I? I didn't even notice that. I had copied the text and just replied...didn't notice to which post...I often copy and paste and just steal the quote for the computer to box it up. I wish I could say I was that sharp and did it on purpose.

It won't let me edit it now...anyway...as you can see its the writers that spin it...not the video guys. I would have just taken a picture and let you come up with your own story.

Must have been that freaky red bear that threw me...

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear Tom,

Never dawg that dancing fishing bear, you'll anger the ghost of Jerry. Doing that will put bad juju on your mojo, and you will never have another good day astream. :-D

Have a Happy New Year!

Regards,
Tim Murphy

 

[MattBoyer]

I personally love the bear, Tim! I think my band's playing at Epic downtown in Jan. You should stop out. We've been known to whip out some "fire on the mountain", "shakedown street", and maybe,maybe,maybe, but I'd hafta beg the boys "black peter" or "ripple". We've been known to play more dead in the past, but nowadays we play mostly originals. I'm pretty sure Epic shows will be the old covers and requests, though. My two guitarists play there acoustically a lot and will play almost anything, so I'm guessing it should be the same. I'm actually feeling a little better about the DHALO section today. I've had time to think about it, and unless it gets flooded with people from the status, which seemed to happen on the Wiconico, my home creek, last year, It should be fun. That stretch holds some serious trout. The funny part is that even when it was open to harvest, I caught my largest trout ever there on a worm. He was a very fat 30" brown. I would post the video, but when I first landed him I was gonna keep him, and, well, wasn't so gentle, so I am a bit emarrassed to show myself lifting him onto shore with my foot and fumbling like a moron to get the hook out while he flopped around. I saw him there 2 weeks later, and it was only 2 years ago, so he should still be swimming around. I'd love to see him at 40"! Wooohooo! Oh well I've rambled long enough. Just got dsl at my new house, so I think I felt the need to make up for lost time! Good to be back!

Boyer

Sieze the Carp!!!

 

[troutbert]

Pine Creek is about 75 miles long. So now there will be 2 DH areas, with a total mileage of 2.2 miles. Leaving 72.8 miles where kids can use worms. And kids can still fish the DH areas, using lures such as spinners.

 

[MattBoyer]

Point well taken TB. It was just that this was the exact stretch I grew up fishing, that's all. I'm more worried about the crowding than anything, but I guess it will just go back to how it was when the campground was there. This past year was downright odd. I went there Memorial day weekend and saw one guy fishing the top of "dutchmen's hole", one guy at the mouth of Little Slate, and on guy went by on a canoe. There used to be like 40 people fishing that stretch any given year that weekend. I like solitude as much as the next guy, but it was surreal. I'm actually looking forward to it the more I think about it. My favorite stretch is DHALO. It was already a great stretch, but now will have older and smarter fish. Maybe the big guy will grow to be a state record, who knows. Maybe a bigger fish already ate him. Hehe. At either rate, I'll be fishing there until I'm old or it's posted shut, which might happen first at the rate the valley has been posted in the past 20 years. All we can do is enjoy what we've been given and try to leave it as we saw it. The only constant in nature is change, I suppose.

Boyer

Sieze the Carp!!!

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear Matt,

Don't sweat it, the only way Pine Creek could get more crowded is if they opened a Delayed Harvest for European SUV driver's only. I remember driving up the valley and stopping right on 414 to take a leak right in front of a State Police cruiser, it was never an issue back then. Today I'm betting that would be big news in the Charlotte N.C. Observer.

Where is your band playing next? If I can find a place to park my truck I'll come see you guys. Afterall, we are practically neighbors, I live about 20 miles straight down the line off Rte 443 from Pine Grove. :-D

Regards,
Tim Murphy

 

[troutbert]

There IS a fair bit of posting up through the Pine Creek valley, and I also remember fondly when there wasn't. Luckily the state forest people had the foresight to acquire many public access areas.

And the area where the campground was located has been acquired by some conservancy group, and should remain open to the public, according to Tom at Slate Run Tackle.

I never fished that section before, because of the campground there. But I stopped in to check it out this fall, after all the trailers were gone. What a fabulous piece of water! It probably will be quite crowded, and the upper DH area probably will be too.

I dislike crowding so I probably won't fish there. I generally fish small cricks in the region for wild trout rather than "The Big Creek." But I think people who are more social will have a great time at these DH areas. The regs will keep more fish in there, and the water will probably boil during hatches.

 

[MattBoyer]

Tim, I think the third week in January we are playing at Epic in Harrisburg. After that i'd imagine we are playing in the Millenium Music Conference, but I have no idea as to a date or venue yet. Also, if you live near 443 we are closer than you think. I work in Grantville , so depending which side of 743 you live on, I might have driven past you every day for like, 17 years. LOL. TB, don't let the crowds there trouble you. My buddy and I used to take the canoe accross the Piney from the campground and wail up on them, even back when the campground was the place to be in the valley. The rapids in front of the campground are a haven for a lot of the 'bows they drop in up at the bridge, and there's usually a meaty brownie or two thrown in the mix. I have also caught carp, catfish, walleye, smb, lmb and a bajillion chubs (appalacian bonefish, as we like to call them) Every couple years somebody would bring in an eel, and the place is crawling with hellbenders. All in all, I see something cool everytime I go there, crowds or not. I highly recommend it, although it does get a little unbearable when the drake snobs roll in. Man, it's just a little bug, not a religion. Hehe.

Boyer

Sieze the Carp!!!