PeteCz
06-01-2009, 08:55 AM
At the risk of crowding and ruining the creek (as was argued in another thread:rolleyes:), I thought I'd share the great day I had yesterday.
After a hearty Cracker Barrel breakfast with my beautiful wife, I headed out to LRO about 9am. The folks at LRO had been holding a St Croix Avid 9' 4wt for me to cast for a few weeks and I finally made it over there to check it out. Unfortunately I drove Ted nuts trying to actually cast the thing over 50 ft, so once he gave up trying to help me and told me to cast towards the bushes, I relaxed and really started feeling the difference in the rod. After spending way too much time wasting Daniel's, Bill's, Byron's and Ted's morning, I finally left LRO and headed up to Newfound Gap.
I packed and repacked my small day pack twice to make sure I had everything and headed down the trail about 12 noon. As some of you may know, the Upper part of the Deep Creek trail is VERY steep and even though I made it down to CS#53 (4 miles) in 90 minutes, my legs were shot. I took my time gearing up (ate a few Granola Bars - Hans' favorites) and hit the stream about 2p. I decided that I wanted to get out of the stream at 5p, so I only had roughly three hours to fish. The sun was out, so the first few pools down near the campsite, the fish were a bit shy. The water was up quite a bit as well. In all honesty, it was better suited to kayaking in spots than fishing. Thankfully there are lots of Rhodies lining the stream, so I was able to pull my way along (after pausing and looking for rattlers hanging in them first, of course:eek:).
After about 15 mins I switched from a #12 TroutDude xCaddis to a #12 Yellow xCaddis (Its really a yellow bodied CHC Caddis with flash, but that's more of a mouthful). The switch in flies and a slight change in the direction of the creek (and the angle of the sun) were all it took. The fish started eagerly taking flies. I was getting strikes and hookups from almost every fishable pool. Of course many of the normal pools were now whitewater adventures, so I wound up fishing a lot fewer sections of the stream than in previous years.
The fishing was outstanding (but hard). I managed to catch a smoky slam many times over. I wound up catching my first Park brown of the year, as well as this nice 10"
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/PeteCz21/DeepCrk1.jpg
I also spooked a 14-16" fish while moving up stream. He just rolled into the current and was gone...I caught between 20 and 30 and yanked the hook on a dozen or so more.
I managed to crawl out of the stream at 5:15p and hit the trail. About 1.5 miles above #53 I ran into a couple that were struggling hiking down from the top. They had way too much gear (the poor guy looked like he was wearing three packs cinched together - 60 pound, minimum). We chatted a few minutes and I gave him a few of the Yellow xCaddis to try and I started back up the trail. I made it up to the Mossy log (where the trail leaves the stream) and rested for a few minutes while trying to get ready for the steepest part of the trail (the last mile or so). From that point, after a long first climb, its about 7 inward bends and 4 switchbacks to the road (I had to come up with a few mental tricks to keep focused). I pushed hard and made it out in 40 minutes, but it was tough-tough going. The trail is not for the faint of heart, or folks who aren't in shape. The fishing was great but the hiking is VERY-VERY tough (is that enough of a disclaimer?)
I made it to US441 just after 7p. As I tried to recover and unpack my stuff I realized that I could make it over to Elkmont in time for some "last light" fishing. I had not used my new Avid on the trip down to Deep Creek, so it would be a good opportunity to catch my first fish with it. That would be a proper ending to a great day.
After taking my time, I made to below Elkmont to my new favorite pool by 8p and geared up. The rod was great. It casts more distance, much more effortlessly than my others and the extra length is great for keeping more line off the water. I wound up catching my first 3 rainbows with it. All 8-10" fatties that fought acrobatically. I stumbled out of the stream just before 9p and headed home. Tired. A great day indeed.
After a hearty Cracker Barrel breakfast with my beautiful wife, I headed out to LRO about 9am. The folks at LRO had been holding a St Croix Avid 9' 4wt for me to cast for a few weeks and I finally made it over there to check it out. Unfortunately I drove Ted nuts trying to actually cast the thing over 50 ft, so once he gave up trying to help me and told me to cast towards the bushes, I relaxed and really started feeling the difference in the rod. After spending way too much time wasting Daniel's, Bill's, Byron's and Ted's morning, I finally left LRO and headed up to Newfound Gap.
I packed and repacked my small day pack twice to make sure I had everything and headed down the trail about 12 noon. As some of you may know, the Upper part of the Deep Creek trail is VERY steep and even though I made it down to CS#53 (4 miles) in 90 minutes, my legs were shot. I took my time gearing up (ate a few Granola Bars - Hans' favorites) and hit the stream about 2p. I decided that I wanted to get out of the stream at 5p, so I only had roughly three hours to fish. The sun was out, so the first few pools down near the campsite, the fish were a bit shy. The water was up quite a bit as well. In all honesty, it was better suited to kayaking in spots than fishing. Thankfully there are lots of Rhodies lining the stream, so I was able to pull my way along (after pausing and looking for rattlers hanging in them first, of course:eek:).
After about 15 mins I switched from a #12 TroutDude xCaddis to a #12 Yellow xCaddis (Its really a yellow bodied CHC Caddis with flash, but that's more of a mouthful). The switch in flies and a slight change in the direction of the creek (and the angle of the sun) were all it took. The fish started eagerly taking flies. I was getting strikes and hookups from almost every fishable pool. Of course many of the normal pools were now whitewater adventures, so I wound up fishing a lot fewer sections of the stream than in previous years.
The fishing was outstanding (but hard). I managed to catch a smoky slam many times over. I wound up catching my first Park brown of the year, as well as this nice 10"
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk100/PeteCz21/DeepCrk1.jpg
I also spooked a 14-16" fish while moving up stream. He just rolled into the current and was gone...I caught between 20 and 30 and yanked the hook on a dozen or so more.
I managed to crawl out of the stream at 5:15p and hit the trail. About 1.5 miles above #53 I ran into a couple that were struggling hiking down from the top. They had way too much gear (the poor guy looked like he was wearing three packs cinched together - 60 pound, minimum). We chatted a few minutes and I gave him a few of the Yellow xCaddis to try and I started back up the trail. I made it up to the Mossy log (where the trail leaves the stream) and rested for a few minutes while trying to get ready for the steepest part of the trail (the last mile or so). From that point, after a long first climb, its about 7 inward bends and 4 switchbacks to the road (I had to come up with a few mental tricks to keep focused). I pushed hard and made it out in 40 minutes, but it was tough-tough going. The trail is not for the faint of heart, or folks who aren't in shape. The fishing was great but the hiking is VERY-VERY tough (is that enough of a disclaimer?)
I made it to US441 just after 7p. As I tried to recover and unpack my stuff I realized that I could make it over to Elkmont in time for some "last light" fishing. I had not used my new Avid on the trip down to Deep Creek, so it would be a good opportunity to catch my first fish with it. That would be a proper ending to a great day.
After taking my time, I made to below Elkmont to my new favorite pool by 8p and geared up. The rod was great. It casts more distance, much more effortlessly than my others and the extra length is great for keeping more line off the water. I wound up catching my first 3 rainbows with it. All 8-10" fatties that fought acrobatically. I stumbled out of the stream just before 9p and headed home. Tired. A great day indeed.