3wt7X
Active member
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2008
- Messages
- 679
I had the fortunate opportunity to fish central PA last Sunday (March 16th) and this Saturday (March 22nd) with a long-time friend and his boys. We stuck to some the more famous limestone creeks with hopes of finding trout rising to BWOs and midges. The weather had other plans. Last Sunday was by far the closest call I have ever experienced in a bad weather situation. I fished most of the morning with my friend's eldest son. We had some success fishing nymph patterns and I was able to coax a couple trout to rise to a midge.
My friend made his way over from a wrestling tournament around noon time. We switched locations and hiked in about a half mile. At this point, the wind really picked up making fly fishing nearly impossible. Otherwise, it was relatively sunny outside with the clouds blowing by at what seemed like forty miles per hour. As we chatted streamside, I began to hear thunder. This was not the normal sound of thunder with an occasional rumble every now and again. This thunder was repetitive to the point where it sounded like a continuous low rumble or even a growl. We decided to beat feet back to the vehicles. When we were approximately one tenth of a mile away, the storm system crested the ridgeline in front of us. I looked back and observed my friend and his son scrambling approximately eight yards behind me. When I looked forward, I saw an absolute wall of black clouds bearing down on us and a thirty-foot tree falling directly towards me. The last thing I heard was my friend yelling, "Is that a tornado!?"
When you have been trained and encountered high stress situations, you instantly revert to your training. My immediate instinct was to run to the nearest cover, which happened to be a small block USGS gauge station. The next thing I recall was pressing my back to the base of that structure as the tree exploded on top of it with debris landing all round. The next few moments were surreal. As I sat with my back pressed to the base of the structure, it was chaos everywhere around me. The wind eddy created by the structure and fallen tree was relatively calm and I had a clear view of my friend and his son running for cover behind a nearby cabin. I witnessed a black picnic table get picked up about 30 yards away and slammed into a much larger tree, which promptly broke in half about four feet above the base of the trunk. You would expect a tree of that size to fall where it split. The force of this storm lifted the tree and threw it down another twelve feet away from the base. And just like that, it was over...
The fishing afterwards was markedly better. The stream had some color to it and a wine-colored San Juan worm did the trick. I have to give credit to Squaretail for that fly selection. For those members that have been around for a while, you will recognize his handle. He taught me about the wine SJ worm on this particular creek approximately 15 years ago.
Yesterday, we fished a different central PA limestone creek with my friend and all his boys. Again, the bugs hatched but the wind had other plans. Everyone got into fish on nymphs and soft hackles to include some nice ones. As the train that frequently passes this stream rolled towards us, my friend's youngest son, having heard the story of last week, looked at me with a little apprehension and stated, "Is that a tornado?" I had to laugh a little. As some of you know, my wife has been fighting advanced staged cancer for several years now and it has limited my time on the water. I cannot encourage you all enough to not take anything for granted as life is precious. Thank God for all your blessings. Enjoy and cherish the friendships you have. Pass the fly-fishing tradition down to the next group! Pictures to follow...
My friend made his way over from a wrestling tournament around noon time. We switched locations and hiked in about a half mile. At this point, the wind really picked up making fly fishing nearly impossible. Otherwise, it was relatively sunny outside with the clouds blowing by at what seemed like forty miles per hour. As we chatted streamside, I began to hear thunder. This was not the normal sound of thunder with an occasional rumble every now and again. This thunder was repetitive to the point where it sounded like a continuous low rumble or even a growl. We decided to beat feet back to the vehicles. When we were approximately one tenth of a mile away, the storm system crested the ridgeline in front of us. I looked back and observed my friend and his son scrambling approximately eight yards behind me. When I looked forward, I saw an absolute wall of black clouds bearing down on us and a thirty-foot tree falling directly towards me. The last thing I heard was my friend yelling, "Is that a tornado!?"
When you have been trained and encountered high stress situations, you instantly revert to your training. My immediate instinct was to run to the nearest cover, which happened to be a small block USGS gauge station. The next thing I recall was pressing my back to the base of that structure as the tree exploded on top of it with debris landing all round. The next few moments were surreal. As I sat with my back pressed to the base of the structure, it was chaos everywhere around me. The wind eddy created by the structure and fallen tree was relatively calm and I had a clear view of my friend and his son running for cover behind a nearby cabin. I witnessed a black picnic table get picked up about 30 yards away and slammed into a much larger tree, which promptly broke in half about four feet above the base of the trunk. You would expect a tree of that size to fall where it split. The force of this storm lifted the tree and threw it down another twelve feet away from the base. And just like that, it was over...
The fishing afterwards was markedly better. The stream had some color to it and a wine-colored San Juan worm did the trick. I have to give credit to Squaretail for that fly selection. For those members that have been around for a while, you will recognize his handle. He taught me about the wine SJ worm on this particular creek approximately 15 years ago.
Yesterday, we fished a different central PA limestone creek with my friend and all his boys. Again, the bugs hatched but the wind had other plans. Everyone got into fish on nymphs and soft hackles to include some nice ones. As the train that frequently passes this stream rolled towards us, my friend's youngest son, having heard the story of last week, looked at me with a little apprehension and stated, "Is that a tornado?" I had to laugh a little. As some of you know, my wife has been fighting advanced staged cancer for several years now and it has limited my time on the water. I cannot encourage you all enough to not take anything for granted as life is precious. Thank God for all your blessings. Enjoy and cherish the friendships you have. Pass the fly-fishing tradition down to the next group! Pictures to follow...
