Creek Addict

I finally got out of the house this past weekend to get a little fishing done. Nick and I decided to head to eastern PA with hopes of catching the BWO hatch. We fished two rivers in the area, both were slightly high and a little off color, but the fish didn’t seem to mind. I got a few new toys in the last couple of weeks (a new Canon 7D, a new 17-55 f2.8 IS, and a new 70-200 f2.8 IS), and decided to play with them a bit while Nick was getting his fish on. As some of you know, I’ve been in to photography for a while, but in the last 2 years, I think I only took my SLR with me to the river once. I’ve vowed to take more pictures this year.

The fishing didn’t really pick up until about noon when the BWO hatch started to kick off. We were at the Little Lehigh with what seemed like half of the fly fishing population in PA. Like Mark Erdosy over at This River is Wild we fished a lot of the “overlooked water”. With most people within 100 yards of the hatchery, we fished way down stream for the most part, and picked up our fair share. The BWO hatch was pretty good and the wild browns were tight against the bank suckin em up at will. We fished a dry dropper set up for most of the day, and had no problem picking up fish in areas that most other anglers that fish that section never touch. Taking fish on top, getting a sunburn, and fishing in less than 4 layers of fleece almost made it feel like spring. Spring is definitely right around the corner. Although I love the fishing conditions that come with the change in season, I hate the amount of anglers that come with it. Winter will be missed, but only a little.

Fish food.

NOM NOM NOM.

Decent wild brown caught three inches from the bank.

The stockers were eating BWO nymphs.

One of Nick’s fish caught on top.

Another one of Nick’s fish, I think this one was sippin a few inches from the bank as well.

These next pictures are kind of funny. If you check out This River is Wild’s latest post, you’ll see our eyes seemed to be caught in a few of the same places. (Although I think his exposures came out a bit better.)

And a few more just because.

I put this video up a little late, I know. Give me a break, I’m busy as a cat covering shit these days. Enjoy it in all its 1080p glory. The angle sucks, I know. The next one will be better, promise.

I had hopes and dreams of getting up early this past weekend and driving out to PA for some fast paced limestone action, but when the alarm went off at 4:30, I just couldn’t do it. I ended up sleeping late, played some video games with the kids, and got to the local river at about noon. The water was a nice 33 degrees and the air was below freezing all day. I knew I had my work cut out for me; I also knew I wouldn’t see another person the whole day. That kind of makes it all worth it. I nymphed the pools for most of the day since I knew the fish would be lazy and using as little energy as possible in these water temps. I tried all kinds of flies through out the day but after spearing a rock worm with my cased caddis I put on a czech nymph and didn’t look back. After fishing for 4 hours I had hooked 3 fish and landed 2. The one that came off at the net was actually some kind of miracle stocker bow that managed to survive almost a whole year in there. The two I landed were wild browns. Both were of good size for this river, the average fish here is about 8 inches. Not a great day by any means but the 20 minute drive home as apposed to 4 hours was a nice change. It amazes me what a difference these few degrees in water temperature can make in the winter. You guys that live out in PA sure are lucky.

This guy had a bad day.

His bad day lead to my fly selection.

This made my trip worth it.

A bit smaller but still a good one.

Don’t ask me why I wanted to shoot them swimming away in such cold temperatures but I did. My hands payed the price.

Yup… I finally convinced my wife to let me off of diaper duty long enough to get some fishing done. It was colder than a penguin’s taint outside, but that wasn’t going to stop me. Nick and I crossed the border to PA to try our luck at a few different places. The fishing wasn’t great, but we managed to put a few pigs and an occasional wild brown in our nets. It was good to get out, but it’s like crack, I’m already fiending for more. Fatherhood has been a pretty awesome experience so far. Knowing that I have no idea when I’ll actually get to go fishing again, it really makes every second on the water that much more enjoyable.

So fat it looks like a tick ready to pop.

Nick’s no lip beast!

Another view of Nick’s big brown.

Nick’s really nice wild brown.

CreekAddict is based in Bergen County, New Jersey, so today, I’m going to talk about places to fish that are within an hour drive or so. Many people cannot believe the number of winter trout fishing opportunities that exist just a short drive from home. Here in NJ our rivers are open all winter long; PA has many fishing opportunities all winter, as well.

In NJ, many anglers that fish in the winter will do so at the Pequest River. The Pequest is home to some very large stocked fish. In the most popular section, the majority of the fish end up stacked in an area that is about 100 yards long. The Pequest is home to NJ’s trout hatchery. From the hatchery, warm water is pumped back into the river via a concrete spillway. Most of the fish (and fisherman) line up in this warm water and give those fish more than their fair share of abuse. These fish that are lined up in this current of warm water see so many flies they can probably tell you what kind of thread you are using. In general, small flies will out produce larger ones, however, the very large Vladi worm still gets its fair share of fish there. For the most part size 16 and smaller flies will be the ticket. Try hare’s ears and red thread midges, and don’t be afraid to tie on some hot bead nymphs. I like a simple dark brown thread body nymph with Coq De Leon for a tail and a pink tungsten bead (available at www.wflies.com) . This is about as easy as winter fishing gets here in NJ and if you can deal with the large crowds of people you’re sure to catch some fish.

Your next option is the Musconetcong river which supports more than a few hold over fish. The majority of these fish are going to be stockers. There is no warm water influence here so most of your fish are going to be in pools and deep runs. Popular flies here are your standard hare’s ears and pheasant tail nymphs, but you should also have some size 12-16 stoneflies. Around February there is a good early season stonefly hatch and although you probably won’t see any rises, the trout take the nymphs eagerly. Don’t count out the use of sucker spawn and glo bugs either, around the beginning of March the suckers will be spawning and the trout line up behind them to eat their eggs. The most popular spot on the Musky is the Point Mountain TCA, and rightfully so, as there are always a good number of holdover and fall stocked fish here. Don’t be afraid to move around though, every spot from Saxton Falls down produces fish in the winter and most of them contain no other fisherman.

Heading out to the Ken Lockwood Gorge on the South Branch of the Raritan is a good bet anytime of year and the winter is no exception. There are many holdovers here, along with a great many wild fish. Be warned though — wading here can be tough and its usually a few degrees cooler in the gorge. The best producers here are golden stoneflies, woven nymphs and frenchies. While the pools and deep runs will hold the majority of the fish, these are also the fish that get the most pressure. Don’t neglect the moderate pocket water here, even in the winter. There are endless number of places for the trout to hold where they are out of the current but can still ambush prey. The KLG is one of my favorite places to fish and it should be for you guys as well.

A little farther out on I-78 just over the PA/NJ border lies the Little Lehigh. This creek is home to one of the many PA fish hatcheries. Just arriving here and looking in the water from the platform by the hatchery you will see where most of these fish get stocked. The Little Lehigh is a limestone creek so it is always a little warmer than our freestone streams in NJ. It also contains a warm water spillway that the fish will line up at. One of the nice things about this hatchery creek is that it contains a good number of wild brown trout on top of the insane number of stocked trout. It’s a safe bet to go small here as well: BWO nymphs, zebra midges, Al’s rat and Walt’s worm are all good flies here. Don’t count out the dries here — even in the winter there can be decent BWO hatches and midge hatches that the fish will rise to. I remember Chris catching fish on a small size 24 bwo in late January last year like it was his job. Be advised: in the stretch by the hatchery, anglers are not allowed to wade in the creek. There are also leader restrictions making this a good place to brush up on your indicator nymphing.

Those are all the popular spots that I will name. I will say this though, there are very many limestone creeks that fish very well in the winter in eastern PA. There are also a lot more streams in NJ that contain wild trout than people realize. All of these small out of the way places that contain wild fish will fish well throughout the winter. Good luck with your winter fishing! If you’re interested in hunting some of these small wild fish with us this winter, book a trip and we’ll make sure you put some of these beautiful native NJ trout in your net.

Holdover Rainbow caught from the Musky last winter.

River Louis Michels. Born 12/31/09, 1:46 pm. 10lbs 21inches.