Clear Creek State Forest

I pulled into the trailhead parking lot and grabbed my gear. Not too much is required for this type of trip. My rod, reel, one small fly box, a water bottle, and a few items stowed in the pockets of my cargo shorts is all that is needed. My waders are hanging up at home. Hiking boots, wool socks, and shorts are the way to go today. There will be a lot of hiking ahead. When I’m finally fishing the stream stealth and presentation will matter most. If I’m lacking in either of those two areas no catalog full of gear will matter.

I fish this stream a few times a year. It’s not too far away from home and it makes for a relaxing day in the forest. Most of the brook trout here are small but the stream also holds a few really nice trout. There are brook trout in this small stream that have grown to 8 inches and larger. However, these fish are very hard to catch. The dinks will bite all day but the truly nice brook trout are much more cautious. The possibility of catching one of these larger brook trout is one of the things that make this stream so attractive.

After hiking my way to the stream I strung up my rod and went to work. I proceeded very slowly upstream. I covered ever inch of pocket water, every pool, and every undercut bank. The catching was on the slow side but I was hooking in to a few. Then I got lucky. I cast a Grizzly Wulff into the center of a nice, deep pool with a glass like surface. A trout picked the fly off the surface barely making a ring. I set the hook and quickly realized that this fish was better than average for the creek. After a quick fight and a photo the fish was back in the water. I estimate the fish between 9-1/2” to 10”. This was the highlight of the day.

As I continued upstream I noticed a few of these dragon flies going from the nymph stage to the adult stage. I would have never thought that these insects would be in this stream. I thought they would be more of a warm water insect. I thought they were interesting so I snapped a few photos.

As it became later in the day and things warmed up, a nice day on the stream quickly became not so pleasant. I experienced swarms of biting flies and very annoying gnats that I have never experienced on this stream before. It was truly awful. Trying to focus on fishing was nearly impossible. Standing still for more than a couple seconds was becoming a bad idea. I spend a great deal of time fishing in remote areas and this was much worse than normal. Unfortunately, I did not have any insect repellant with me and I was rapidly becoming the main dish for every insect in the forest. The situation finally became so bad I decided to head back to my Cherokee. I could have continued but I certainly was not having a good time anymore. Even this poor little guy was not immune from the annoyance of the insects. You can see them on his back and head.

Here's another picture of the newt. I think these things are way cool looking. Sorry it's a little fuzzy in areas. I can't control the depth of field with my pocket digital.
After four miles of quick hiking I was back at my Cherokee. Not more than a few minutes’ later thunderstorms rolled in and it started raining very hard. I had made it out just in time.


Packmule