Seeing how the Federal Gov. Was closed yesterday I had planned on taking a trout day and putting a few more in the freezer. I wanted to go back to the larger Antietam creek where I could keep my limit of trout and get some more casting experience on a larger body of water. My plans however were dashed as a series of severe storms put down probably 6 inches of rain over 3 days. The big river was blown out again. So back to the mountains I went, stopping first at the medium sized creek that is now catch and release for the leftovers. The creek was also about 2 feet high, but the water was clear enough to fish with a bit of cloudiness. My plan was to fish here for a few hours before looking for the put-and-take stream a little closer to the PA border in the mountains. I figured there would be less action there and had no idea where to go. I wanted some experience catching a few first.
Getting there around 9:30 I fished until noon and caught 7 nice rainbows to about 14 inches. Most were caught on a micro jigged streamer olive with a squirrel zonker tail size 12 long shank hook, or a cream-colored mop fly. The streamer kinda looks like this with some flashabou though I don't have a specific photo of what I tied.
Didn't catch any browns which kind of surprised me as they tend to have an affinity for the streamer and I know there are some in there. The rainbows however where active.
I drove a lot of back mountain roads until I got to the next creek. I stopped at a bridge with the first state put-and-take signage I came to. Even with the rains the stream was very skinny and I saw no fish. I hiked up and then down in this area and fished for about 30 minutes even after finding a deep stretch that looked like it should hold trout, but nothing but a creek chub hit my flies.
I drove a few miles downstream and passed a few smaller tributaries that added to the water flow. Finally, I found a pull off with a deep pool and started fishing. This stream was dotted with huge boulders with deep fast pools. I had no luck for a while until a 13-inch rainbow popped out of a deep pool and grabbed my streamer jig. Finally some lunch! There was definitely less fish in this stream but there were a few hold outs.
About a quarter mile downstream I found a very large deep pool after a set of long rock almost like a dam. I was fishing this fairly well with no action when the sky started to get very dark. The torrents of rain started not long after. I was soaked in no time which didn't bother me; however I could watch the run off make the creek muddy within a period of 10 minutes. I sloshed back to the truck. Totally soaked, but enjoyed my fishing holiday. I am now up to almost 60 fish this trout season, way more than I ever caught with spin gear or bait.
Saturday, I leave for a week at deep creek lake for more pike and bass action with the kayaks. My timing is impeccable, as a heat wave is due here for 3 days with temps near 100 and high humidity. Temps out where I am heading should only be in the mid-eighties. There are also a few good trout streams out that way, but my attention may be filled with fishing the lake and I may not want to drive around to explore. Will see as I have a week, so I will bring both my 8wt and 3 wt rods.
I have not made my elk hunting arrows yet, but have a few prototypes and I have been trying to shoot at least one shot with a broadhead a day. Really concentrating on that one first shot. I am agreeing with the set up well and have some confidence building.
I am making a case to transport my new vintage coleman model 228 and have set the October dates for fall deer camp. I am using a white bucket with screw top lid as it is a little tall for other types of buckets and the shade is much wider than any commercial lantern nowadays. The fuel tank and glass shade is also bigger, so I don't want to break it. I am going to glue some foam board into the bottom of the bucket with a hole cut to fit around the fuel tank. Together with the top nut fitting into the recess of the screw top lid this should be very secure.
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