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Artistic view of a Male Pteronarcys californica (Pteronarcyidae) (Giant Salmonfly) Stonefly Adult from the Gallatin River in Montana
Salmonflies
Pteronarcys californica

The giant Salmonflies of the Western mountains are legendary for their proclivity to elicit consistent dry-fly action and ferocious strikes.

27" brown trout, my largest ever. It was the sub-dominant fish in its pool. After this, I hooked the bigger one, but I couldn't land it.
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Wbranch has attached these 6 pictures to this report. The message is below.
This brown is 20"+ long and is a great example of a wild Delaware grown trout.
Another very nice streamer caught brown of about 18".
Sorry for putting the fish on the stoney background but it was released in seconds and it quickly swam away no worst for the experience.  It is about 19" long.
Last brown of the 2013 trout season - the picture makes the fish look small but it was a very thick and robust brown about 19" long.
Very strong 16" smallmouth in very good condition with a thick body and just a gorgeous fish.
Awesome experience and one of the largest channel cats I've ever caught.  Very strong and they can reall pull and run line.

Report at a Glance

General RegionWestern Catskills and central Susquehanna River
Specific LocationWB Delaware & Columbia, PA
Dates FishedAugust 28, September 25, October 4
Time of DayMostly mornings; 6:30 a.m. to noon
Fish CaughtWild brown trout, smallmouth bass, channel catfish
Conditions & HatchesCold water with much grass on upper WB, very low water, 7300 cfs, on Susquehanna. No hatches.

Details and Discussion

Wbranch
Wbranch's profile picture
York & Starlight PA

Posts: 2635
Wbranch on Oct 6, 2013October 6th, 2013, 6:46 am EDT
I made one trip in late August to the WB and another in late September to close the cabin and set up an appt with the plumber to winterize it. On both trips the weather was very nice but there was virtually no rising trout. The trout I did catch were on various color Clouser minnows. The fish caught on the Susky were caught on an all yellow Clouser with gold flash in the middle tied on a 1/0 Mustad circle hook. While as you know I prefer casting dry flies to rising wild trout I am not such an elitist that a big streamer might not somehow find itself tied to my leader. Many of my friends look down there noses at me for pursuing some of the techniques that I employ but as long as it is legal I'm all in.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Oldredbarn
Oldredbarn's profile picture
Novi, MI

Posts: 2600
Oldredbarn on Oct 6, 2013October 6th, 2013, 9:39 am EDT
Good stuff Matt! Though there are many places to fish here year round, there still is a pang, somewhere inside, when another fishing season has come to a close. September 30th was the end here in Michigan.

I was up a couple weeks back to close things out myself, and I didn't have anywhere near the success you had.

This was a great year for me though...April in PA with "the Boys", a couple trips to Grayling, and then out to Montana.

While as you know I prefer casting dry flies to rising wild trout I am not such an elitist that a big streamer might not somehow find itself tied to my leader.


:) Speaking of "the dark art"...I think I may visit my local smallie stream here soon. We got some water here this week that may have left the river in good condition for some streamer tossing...Don't tell anyone! ;)

Spence
"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively

"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
Jmd123
Jmd123's profile picture
Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2474
Jmd123 on Oct 6, 2013October 6th, 2013, 9:40 am EDT
WOW Matt, some really beautiful fish there, including the smallie and the catfish! I managed to catch a couple of 17" channel cats from a stocked but largely unfished pond in Texas back in 2005. One actually took a little deer hair "micropopper" (size 10 dry fly hook) off the surface, the other a #6 (I think it was, otherwise #10) original silver/grey KBF (got my biggest largemouth ever from this same pond on that same fly the very next day - 20" long, 5.5 lbs.). Those browns are really, really nice too, very healthy looking fishies. Visualize the 18-incher as the one I caught after dark this summer when my camera flash didn't work...

Who looks down their noses at streamers?? Scr*w 'em! I'll never give up my Woolly Buggers or KBFs no matter who ever says or thinks what. They work and they catch nice big fish as you have showed so nicely. And there's nothing quite like the JOLT of a fish slamming into one, sending the shock wave straight up through the line to your arm and up into you brain!

Well done Sir. And again, nice to see some fishies on here for a change, not too many of us troutnuts have been posting photos on here lately.

Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
Jmd123
Jmd123's profile picture
Oscoda, MI

Posts: 2474
Jmd123 on Oct 6, 2013October 6th, 2013, 9:41 am EDT
BTW Spence, I know where you're talking about...good luck and post us some photos if you get lucky!

Jonathon
No matter how big the one you just caught is, there's always a bigger one out there somewhere...
Al514
Al514's profile picture
Central New York

Posts: 142
Al514 on Oct 7, 2013October 7th, 2013, 3:39 am EDT
Nice fish, Matt.

I'll be on the WB this weekend or next tossing some huge streamers...good to see they're chasing.

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