Beaverkill Today

[Mark Griffin]

I fished my favorite high water spot, even though the river was not all that high at 773 cfs. From 12:30-3:00 I fished at Lower Mountain Pool and a little bit at Mountain Pool. The water was clear and 50°. I'm sure it makes little difference to the fish, but at 50° I have ten times the confidence I have at 49°. It was a dark day with the fog clinging to the mountain tops. A steady, moderate rain started at 1:00, but it was dead calm and I was prepared, so it didn't bother me or the fish one bit.

I used a #14 green beadhead Copper John below a foam indicator. It took me many years to give in to nymphing with an indicator, but the last couple years I'm enjoying it more all the time. I was casting constantly the whole time on the water. I thought I would move fish in the mid to lower parts of the pool, but I didn't get a single hit. As I got up to the faster water on the edges of the white water, I began to get some hits. I moved six fish and landed three 12" stocked browns. I got one 10" stocker up at Mountain Pool. A fish also came up and inhaled my indicator. I had to yank it from his closed jaws.

I had a flat out blast on the water today. I didn't fish very long, but it was far and away my best day ever on the B'kill in November.

 

[GARYB]

I feel the same way about indicators, I've fished for over twenty years using nymphs. I am confident without indicators, but in slower water I'm positive you will catch more with indicators. The hit sometimes will not be felt or reaction time isn't quick enough. Also in slower water you can keep your fly at the same depth, which is great over weed beds such as on the East Branch.

 

[dcabarle]

50° is not bad! Wish I could have joined you, but that thing called work always gets me.

I used to fish indicators quite often and would switch back and forth (one day use one, the next day go naked). I've come to enjoy fishing more without one however, using a nymph as a dropper is pretty much the same thing. The difference is that sometimes a trout will jump clear out of the water to get your dry fly (Possibly thinking the nymph he was chasing has emergered?)... I have come to enjoy fishing with a dropper to a dry fly.

 

[GARYB]

Dennis
Good point, using dry/dropper system is sometimes the best way. I'm waiting to get two trout on at once.

 

[willowhead]

All good things Gary. For sure a fisherperson will catch more fish WITH an indicator, but i just can't go out and use a bobber. Might as well have a straw hat pulled down over my eyes, and be suckin' on a toothpick. Basically i figure the cats who use indicators are fishin' for different reasons than i am. If you'd ever been on the road and had to do percentage gigs for three months at a time, you'd know what i mean. I actually had to carry a counterclicker with me, jeeze. Don't get me worng, but after schleppin' all day, settin' up and tearing down drums, keyboards, drum machines, takin' care of all the biz (collecting), doing a payrole, keepin a reciepts/payouts book, advancing for the next gig, mixin' sound, makin' a room list and settin' wake-up calls, being responsible for up to 8 passports and boarding passess all day, makin' sure our rider is fullfilled each and every day from the hotels to the dressing rooms to the transportation, and about 10 other things on an average day, the last thing you wanna do is click a damm counter. Now you know why i fish where the numbers are the last thing on my mind. mark(willow)

 

[willowhead]

OH! by the way Mark, how'd you get on that water anyway? I have four friends who live right there, Manny Zanger (president of the BeaMoc chapterof TU) being one of them. You must be a trooper who's willing to hike a bit? mark

 

[JOE.T]

The Bkill is fishing well.

Streamers.

The big browns have landed!

 

[GARYB]

Willow
I thought my job was hard! Anyway I'm hip to the pursuit of serenitity on the stream and not worrying about quanity of fish caught. I just like using the indicators (bobbers) on sweet water.
Any day on the stream is good, but it is more fun with a fish on. If I only want to get away from the masses I can go for a hike. I've also wrestled with idea of using indicators as an ethics question and it's not a problem for me. Anyway I respect your view.

 

[Mark Griffin]

Mark, I get in there the same way as everyone else. I park at Painter's Bend and walk up. Sometimes I fish all the way up to Red Rose Pool and walk back down on old 17. One of my favorite things about that area is once you get up there a ways, you're out of ear shot of the highway. There are not many spots on the lower B'kill you can do that. That's probably the main reason why I rarely fish the WB...it's just too noisey.

 

[NJFred]

Mark you are dead right about the WBD being noisey in spots. The tire whine from the quickway, not to mention truckers honking when they see you, really distracts from the great fishing.

 

[willowhead]

WOW Mark, you are a trooper. I'd be worried about my truck the entire time. Guess i'll have to be dropped off and picked up in order to try that. Must be a hell of a nice way to cover that much water, and fishsing up stream all the way. Sweet! I really like Red Rose Pool. I'm gonna try Trestle more next season. Heard some great reports about it this year. Gary, you seem very level headed. I just gave up on the numbers thing this past season because it was a waste of time worrying about it. Or even thinking about it. I mean what's the point. There's just so much you can miss if your thinking only of numbers, or just overly concerned with it. It's dumb and dumber. mark