whuggins
05-26-2009, 09:38 PM
My brother-in-law and I headed into deep creek for four days of fishing Wednesday 5/21 - Sunday 5/24. We walked into campsite 60 about 6pm on Wednesday and fished the afternoon hatch behind the campsite. The water was moving pretty fast, which made wading tough, but there were lots of yellow sallies coming off and the fish were rising to take them. Didn't get anything too big but it was a lot of fun.
On thursday we fished from campsite 60 up to where the trail comes back down off the ridge. The water was still pretty high and the wading was tough. I fished a size 12 yellow caddis most of the day and had pretty good luck, but my brother-in-law outfished me using a size 12 wolf style yellow humpy and a size 14 blue soft hackle dropper he picked up at a local fly shop. I did catch two 15" browns from one deep hole on a lead-eyed bunny streamer, but did not take my camera that day.
On Friday, we woke up and hiked from 60 up to 56.
The campsite at 56 was right on the water and very nice.
http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt289/whuggins/DSC03687.jpg
After setting up camp and getting some breakfast, we fished upstream from 56 to where the left fork of deep creek comes in. Fishing was Ok, but the fish that were taking dries were on the small side and the water was still pretty high and moving fast. The weather was perfect and I did get some good pictures.
http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt289/whuggins/DSC03689.jpg
After lunch, we headed downstream to just above campsite 57 and were going to fish back up to 56 on the afternoon hatch. Once we walked into the stream, I was tying on a fly and my brother-in-law started walking upstream to give me some room to fish. Since the water had been high all trip, we had been walking slowly upstream and holding onto overhanging rhododendrons and trees for balance. BAD IDEA! This guy really gave my brother-in-law quite a start.
http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt289/whuggins/DSC03665.jpg
http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt289/whuggins/DSC03668.jpg
http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt289/whuggins/DSC03666.jpg
Chad did not see this guy as he was moving upstream since he was watching his feet and balance in the high water, but about the time he got within 5 feet of it or so, he said he heard this rattling sound that sounded like someone shaking a container of lead weights. When he looked up, he realized what it was and started heading back down toward me fast.
We watched the snake for about 20 minutes. Eventually he slid out of the bush, into the water and swam across the river to a log in the water. He climbed out and sat there for 10 minutes or so and then took off into the woods.
This was definitely a first for us. We saw a couple of garter snakes and a couple of northern water snakes on this trip, but I have never heard of a rattler climbing a rhododendron over a river. In fact, I always heard that rattlers did not like the sound of the running water and would only come to the river during times of extreme drought. Needless to say, we spent the rest of the weekend very wary of overhanging rhododendron bushes.
On saturday, we hiked up above 54 and started fishing. Fishing was ok for a little while, but it turns out we were trailing two guys who were about 30 minutes to an hour ahead of us. We did manage to get into a few brookies, but turned around once we realized there were people ahead of us. We headed back downstream and fished the afternoon hatch around the camp site and had a great time. The water was noticeably down and the wading was much easier. Any yellow dry fly worked well and we fished until it was just about pitch dark.
http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt289/whuggins/DSC03692.jpg
http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt289/whuggins/DSC03694.jpg
On Sunday, we hiked back down to just below 59 and started fishing. We had some rain on Saturday night and there was a slight stain to the water. We both started with dry/dropper combinations but eventually switched over to only dry flies as the action heated up. Most of the fish I caught were browns. About 3:30 we headed back up to camp to make dinner
http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt289/whuggins/DSC03682.jpg
All in all, it was really a great trip and a great way to spend memorial day weekend. The campsites were great and a lot less crowded than we thought it was going to be and the fishing was pretty good down low around bumgardner bend. We will definitely be back, but will watch for the rattling rhododendron.
On thursday we fished from campsite 60 up to where the trail comes back down off the ridge. The water was still pretty high and the wading was tough. I fished a size 12 yellow caddis most of the day and had pretty good luck, but my brother-in-law outfished me using a size 12 wolf style yellow humpy and a size 14 blue soft hackle dropper he picked up at a local fly shop. I did catch two 15" browns from one deep hole on a lead-eyed bunny streamer, but did not take my camera that day.
On Friday, we woke up and hiked from 60 up to 56.
The campsite at 56 was right on the water and very nice.
http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt289/whuggins/DSC03687.jpg
After setting up camp and getting some breakfast, we fished upstream from 56 to where the left fork of deep creek comes in. Fishing was Ok, but the fish that were taking dries were on the small side and the water was still pretty high and moving fast. The weather was perfect and I did get some good pictures.
http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt289/whuggins/DSC03689.jpg
After lunch, we headed downstream to just above campsite 57 and were going to fish back up to 56 on the afternoon hatch. Once we walked into the stream, I was tying on a fly and my brother-in-law started walking upstream to give me some room to fish. Since the water had been high all trip, we had been walking slowly upstream and holding onto overhanging rhododendrons and trees for balance. BAD IDEA! This guy really gave my brother-in-law quite a start.
http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt289/whuggins/DSC03665.jpg
http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt289/whuggins/DSC03668.jpg
http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt289/whuggins/DSC03666.jpg
Chad did not see this guy as he was moving upstream since he was watching his feet and balance in the high water, but about the time he got within 5 feet of it or so, he said he heard this rattling sound that sounded like someone shaking a container of lead weights. When he looked up, he realized what it was and started heading back down toward me fast.
We watched the snake for about 20 minutes. Eventually he slid out of the bush, into the water and swam across the river to a log in the water. He climbed out and sat there for 10 minutes or so and then took off into the woods.
This was definitely a first for us. We saw a couple of garter snakes and a couple of northern water snakes on this trip, but I have never heard of a rattler climbing a rhododendron over a river. In fact, I always heard that rattlers did not like the sound of the running water and would only come to the river during times of extreme drought. Needless to say, we spent the rest of the weekend very wary of overhanging rhododendron bushes.
On saturday, we hiked up above 54 and started fishing. Fishing was ok for a little while, but it turns out we were trailing two guys who were about 30 minutes to an hour ahead of us. We did manage to get into a few brookies, but turned around once we realized there were people ahead of us. We headed back downstream and fished the afternoon hatch around the camp site and had a great time. The water was noticeably down and the wading was much easier. Any yellow dry fly worked well and we fished until it was just about pitch dark.
http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt289/whuggins/DSC03692.jpg
http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt289/whuggins/DSC03694.jpg
On Sunday, we hiked back down to just below 59 and started fishing. We had some rain on Saturday night and there was a slight stain to the water. We both started with dry/dropper combinations but eventually switched over to only dry flies as the action heated up. Most of the fish I caught were browns. About 3:30 we headed back up to camp to make dinner
http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt289/whuggins/DSC03682.jpg
All in all, it was really a great trip and a great way to spend memorial day weekend. The campsites were great and a lot less crowded than we thought it was going to be and the fishing was pretty good down low around bumgardner bend. We will definitely be back, but will watch for the rattling rhododendron.