Erie Tribs Report 3-15-10

I had to bring an order of tube flies to Elk Creek Sports in Erie, so we waited as long as we could, and Bob and I made the trip up yesterday. I thought it was our best bet since the levels were receding fast as of Saturday. We didn't get on any water until about noon. Out of the first 3 places we went, 1 was too high and muddy and the other 2 were almost completely devoid of fish. After a lot of persuasion, my buddy agreed to take the long walk down to a middle stretch of the bigger creek that was high and muddy down low. I knew the conditions would be a little better as we got a little higher, but it actually turned out to be a lot better than I thought. It was still moving very fast, but it was managable. As soon as we got there I got a water temp of 39. Cold, but the fish were still very active. Which turned out pretty good considering there weren't nearly the amount of fish that were there in the Fall. Our spring runs are always a little smaller, just nicer with the lack of crowds.
So onto the fishing. Within the first few casts, I rolled a couple over, and lost a nice one. Finally, after about 10-15 minutes, I hooked into a nice colored, solid male. He fought with every ounce of energy he had in him, and he was a very strong fish for his size. He made a few runs upstream, jumping completely out of the water putting on a little show for us, the only two guys for a mile or 2 on this stream. I finally turned him around and got him into the shallows to land before he hit the big riffle section that I would've not been able to pull him back out of. The rest of the day went pretty good, hooking up many more times and landing a couple here and there. Bob landed a nice fresh one in the last hour of light to ensure a skunk-free day for the both of us. I was so glad to be back on the Steel mission I looked like a little kid running around haha!
And now for your viewing pleasure...
the usual suspects

I was glad I brought these for two reasons. First, every fish but one came on the Wiggle Stones.

second, this was our winsheild tagalong for the last few miles before getting to the stream.

Bob getting a few drifts in

The Three Amigos (it was just funny because they looked out of place)

mother nature can pretty much do whatever she wants. (like most women)



first nice fish of the day for me

fresh female

beaverland


not to be confused with Beaver's land (This guy is such a douche! He pays the woman who owns this stretch of stream to post it so he can run guided trips there for totally outlandish amounts of money! It would be different if we weren't all paying for the fish that are off-limits to some. That's why he feels the need to litter the woods with who knows how many posted signs and cables across stretches of streams like this one.)