May 23rd continued...

OK, so I got too wrapped up with trying to post the pictures and lost track of the actual story. Here's the recap of the day...

Bob had discovered this upper section of the East Branch of Fish Creek on a recon mission disguised as a rock quest for his wife Karen's landscaping projects. Bob is cunning like that, and he has a super-human ability of looking on a map and being able to visualize how nice a body of water looks. Too bad his telepathic powers don't allow him to get into the minds of the trout. It would've helped that morning. The East Branch of Fish Creek is beautiful, but the brook trout didn't get the memo that they were supposed to feed ravenously on what ever I threw at them. I'm sure it was a problem with the DEC home offices, because the brook trout on the upper West Canada Creek didn't get the memo either. I mean, they're brook trout for God's sake. They don't get as big and aren"t as hardy as other trout species (I know - they're actually a char and not a trout, but for argument sake stay with me). The only thing going for them is their vibrant colors and the penchant for eating any fly thrown in front of them. Stupid fish, jeesh....

So, Bob hooked up on a brookie and I had two hits but no takers. Time for an early lunch and then on to the upper West Canada Creek. Wow. Beautiful water...again. Stupid brook trout...again. Bob brought up 4 more. I couldn't even get a hit on a wooly bugger. Hmmm. Maybe I'm underestimating Bob's telepathic powers. Fortunately, the black flies were everywhere, making the experience even more enjoying. If it wasn't such a beautiful place and my favorite river, I might have gotten a little discouraged. OK...well.....how about the lower West Canada.....

We decided to try a few spots on the lower West Canada that had been mentioned in Paul Keesler's book. First spot? McDiermid's run. We followed the map in the book to the access trail. Wait.......no trail? Posted? Crap. OK.... well.......how about Powers Bend? Ah-ha! No black flies! smart stockies that hit most flies and strike indicators for good measure! Woot!! Both Bob and I scored doubles - meaning a fish on the indicator fly and one on the dropper fly at the same time. We both lost count of how many smart stocked browns we caught. Bob even got into a nice 16 incher.

We took a break to rest our backs, grab a bite to eat, and call the wives. Had a nice conversation with a guy vacationing in the area, and lost the pool to some spin fishermen that descended on the spot like raccoons to road kill. Oh well. We decided to finish out the day at the run below the Trenton Falls bridge. No other fishermen there - go figure. A Saturday night on Memorial Day weekend and we had it all to ourselves. We both got into some decent fish, including a 16 inch rainbow trout that slammed a golden stone nymph I was swinging through the run.

All in all, a great day. A little slow at first, but the good old West Canada Creek saved the day. Too bad about Fish Creek, but something tells me we'll be back. It looks too good to only fish once....

Tight Lines,

Muddler