Penns Creek Angler
Bruce Fisher
Article March 2008
I did a lot of fishing over the past month and noticed a few things worth talking about. On sunny windless days I’ve always had my best fishing with stonefly nymphs cast directly upstream and floated back in a strait line to my casting position. If the fly line were to land incorrectly a belly would be created in the line causing the nymph to rise off the bottom in an unnatural way and the fish would not hit. The nymph needed to float down the creek in a strait line in order for the fish to take the fly.
It really didn’t matter how cold it was as long as the wind was light or slow and steady from the East. This is mostly due to the fact that Penns flows mostly east and when the wind is from the west it pushes your line, leader and fly downstream faster than the current. This causes a belly or a push on your line and the nymph acts unnaturally and the fish can sense something is wrong. I have always preferred the wind to be against the flow of water on any creek I’m fishing. So the old saying “Wind form the west and the fish bite best” doesn’t always hold true.
In most years the fish leave the riffles when the weather becomes the coldest in February. This is about the same time the deer drop their antlers. This year I’ve found most of my fish in the fast pocket water all winter. Don’t overlook these spots they can be very productive even in the cold of winter. I’ve always known that there are only a few reasons for a fish to hold in the riffles. The first is the fish is hungry and he’s there to feed at a place where the current brings the most food. Some other reasons are the faster water contains more oxygen but this is usually a summer event. The other reason is broken or riffled water provides cover from predators such as Bald Eagles, Osprey and Herons.
Another important discovery this season is the use of a new strike indicator that has come to the market. First let me say I have never used a strike indicator for fishing very heavy nymphs. This is not a reflection of any bias one way or the other about the use of strike indicators in fly-fishing. The reasons I didn’t use them had to due with the fact that they were hard to constantly adjust. Another reason I didn’t use them was they usually sank with heavy weighted nymphs and this caused the fly to act unnaturally. This new style of indicator is made of an extremely light aerodynamic buoyant material. It has a slit down the side of the indicator with a rubber core that can be stretched to insert your line. The only reason I mention this new indicator is its effectiveness and versatility. The reason this strike indicator works so well is the fact that it can support three very heavy nymphs and not sink under the water
. When I fish nymphs I usually use more than one and in most cases I use three on droppers at different water depths. In my style of winter nymph fishing I get the most production from a nymph dropper system supported by an indicator that allows the nymphs to hang directly below the strike indicator or very close to vertical. This provides the most natural presentation of the nymphs and if you achieve this goal you will catch more fish. This method provides constant contact with your flies and if a fish takes one of your flies you will know instantly something has changed because the indicator will either stop, pause, move sideways or simply get pulled under the water. The only other things that will affect the natural movement of your strike indicator are an incorrect depth setting of the indicator that allows your flies to hit the bottom too often or an underwater rock or snag. If your system is set right and everything is in a strait line from your indicator to your bottom fly you will catch more fish using this system during the winter months.
Catch you Later”
Bruce Fisher
© 2008