December Fishing Report:
I hope this report finds everyone warm, well, and immersing themselves in the holiday season with family and friends. I know, after the first couple of weeks of December weather, I’m everything but warm!
The month started off great with good water flows, happy fish, and decent weather. That all quickly took a turn in the wrong direction, and a seemingly brutal winter started to set in. After about 10 days of single-digit to high-teen temperatures in Pennsylvania, nearly every body of water in the NW area of the state was frozen or loaded with slush.
In the last 3-4 days, we have had weather in the 40s and rain, which has thawed everything out and given us a nice dose of water for the upcoming weeks. This looks very promising for late December and January fishing!
If you haven’t had the opportunity to hit the water with me this fall, now would be a great time to get some days on the calendar because these next few weeks will be great!
It’s been an interesting year for Erie steelhead fishing. Two years ago, Pennsylvania had a hatchery issue with steelhead smolts and, in turn, only stocked half of the normal number of smolts that they typically do. This year’s class is smaller than usual, and there is no doubt we have fewer fish than a typical year.
With that being said, we still have a lot of fish and have been having some successful days this season.
I find the biggest advantage we have seen is that people are discouraged by fishing reports and blogs on the internet, advising them not to go because it’s a “tough year.”
This has allowed us to have many miles of streams all to ourselves with great fishing to be had!
The usual tactics and techniques are working: swung and stripped streamers and throwing eggs/nymphs under indicators.
Flies:
– Eggstacy Egg: 12-16
– White Zonker: 6-12
– Wooly Buggers (any color): 6-12
– Stonefly Nymphs: 10-14
– Prince Nymph: 14-16
Trout fishing has been tougher than usual to date. We’ve had an extremely low water spell in trout country. It’s required a careful, methodical approach with smaller flies, patience, and multiple drifts to convince fish to eat. The fish also seemed to be spawning later than usual with the low, clear water. The last time I was out, it seemed most of them were wrapped up and transitioning back to their usual haunts.
As I type this report, we’ve had about a foot of snowmelt and an inch of rain in some areas. This is giving us the flow bump we’ve been begging for.
We should have amazing streamer fishing to come!!
Flies:
– Zebra Midge: 16-20
– Pheasant Tail: 14-16
– Walt’s: 14-16
– Egg Fly: 16-18
– Streamers
I haven’t been musky fishing in a couple of weeks due to the recent freeze spell. With this warm-up, this will be a great time to find a hungry musky!