Blown, Jammed, & Slammed

Last week it was warm...really warm for mid February.  It was so warm that the snow melted and the associated run-off resulted in the rivers rising.  The rivers along Steelhead Alley started flowing and blowing.  And by Friday, the lower stretches of nearly all of the tribs were jammed with ice.  But fate was on our side and by Saturday morning the ice jams blew out into Lake Erie.  The PA tribs began to drop rapidly and it became obvious that Sunday was going to be "one of those days."

Greg and I jumped into the truck at 5:00am and headed to PA.  We hit Walnut Creek at daylight.  There was a lot of slush flowing through the creek, but the flow and color was PERFECT.  We found some open water and immediately began hooking up with fish.  We had hooked into 5 fish in no time.  Greg kicked the day off with a nice fresh hen on a green egg pattern.

The Walnut began to fill-up with other fisherman very quickly, so we ducked out after an hour or so and headed to 12 Mile Creek.  The water at 12 Mile was a little more clear, but still nicely stained.  The creek was not chocked full of fish today, but there were a few in our favorite runs.  We started out catching them on green egg patterns.  As the slush began to burn off we switched over to white streamer patterns and the steehead were literally chasing them down.  That is always satisfying.

We caught about all the fish available at 12 Mile Creek and decided to move on.  20 Mile Creek was our next destination.  We started out at the lower creek and again, we were on fish in no time. 

I was fishing a small narrow cut along a fallen tree on the far shoreline.  I missed a fish and my line shot back at me and got tangled.  I was looking in the run and was seeing an enormous buck.  Greg was on the other side of the stream.  He looked over at me dealing with my tangled mess and I gestured to him that there was a large fish in the run in front of me.  Greg meandered over, made 3 drifts, and BAM...he hooks into my fish.  Oh well, at least one of us tied into him.  He was a 31" beast.

We moved on down and fished a few more holes towards the mouth of the creek.  Greg was doing a particular good job of swinging under an ice shelf in one hole and was rewarded nicely again.  Never underestimate what is hiding up under the edges of those ice shelves.  You are passing up good fish if you do.

We hopped back in the truck after that and decided to move to the upper part of 20 Mile Creek at that point.  And again, we were not disappointed.  We found numerous great runs with willing fish.  The last fish of the day wins the ugly fish of the year award.  He was a good sized buck.  I suspect this guy was in the process of dropping back to the lake when the water came up and he got ran over by an ice jam.  To his credit, he survived and continued to feed.  I hope he makes it back to the lake and heals his wounds.  After the fight he gave me and the mess he endured that past few days...he deserves more time on this earth.

We had an awesome day on the water.  I have said this before, and it continues to hold true, get to know the water in your region.  If you know the run-off rates of the creeks and rivers in your area, you'll be able to get on the water somewhere on the days you do have to fish.  And believe me, there is nothing better than getting out and having a great day on the water during a mid February warm-up, once the creeks blow out on come down.