Fishing Report 12-1-12

   It has been quite a busy few weeks since the last report. We Hope everybody had a happy and safe Thanksgiving. Hopefully you were able to get out on one of our local streams during the extended holiday weekend. Local Trouting  remains strong and we have had good reports from the White Clay, West branch of the Octoraro, and the East Branch of the Brandywine. Realize we are getting very close to full blown winter fishing conditions. Water temps have been hovering at or around 40 degrees and the water is thin and gin clear. Now is the time to get real friendly with your micro nymph box. Zebra midges in black or red will carry most of my winter fishing duty. The deadly tandem of a KF Flasher (a Zebra midge with a Krystal flash wing) and a tungsten Zebra, black with a silver bead and rib will always produce underneath. On top CDC puffs are one of my favorite Midge drys (thanks Rick for teaching me this pattern) or a Griffiths Gnat should get the job done. Remember all of these flies are a size 20 or smaller, told ya it was winter time! Prime times to be on the water are from 10:00 am till about 2:00 pm. That is what Rick did last week. He said he had solid action on top for over 2 hours. In that time several fish came to hand including these 2 beauties. all on a CDC puff. 

Terry guided Dr John last Monday for the first guide trip of the winter season. They met at the shop at 11:00 and were on the water by 11:45. They fished till dark and had a wonderful afternoon. Bug action on top was minimal so they started off drifting 2 nymphs under an indicator. They spent the day working up river switching between a tandem indicator rig and a dry and dropper. It is kind of ironic that on a day with minimal bug activity that the biggest fish of the day would come on the attractor dry they were using as an indicator...a stout, 18" brown. Several fish were landed that day including a 5" rainbow with par marks on the sides. "Definitely a wild fish"  Terry says, a great sign. We haven't seen a wild fish on that particular  river in over 10 years.  A great day on the river was capped off by a mature Bald Eagle flying overhead at dusk. Sounds like an awesome day, I wish I had been there with you.  

   If you have ever met Doc you know he is one of the nicest, most genuine people you will ever meet. He was in the shop recounting his day on the river with me and you could tell he had a blast. He told me he actually went home that night and tried to write down as many of the things that Terry taught him that day as he could remember. I have the feeling this is not the last time Doc and the boss will spend a day on the river. 

   For more information on our guided trips check out the "Guiding" tab on the home page. Give us a call and book a day on the water, like Dr John, you will be glad you did. 

WCFF Holiday Stocking

   As we approach Christmas we all should be thinking about the Holiday Stocking program that the White Clay Fly Fishers do every year. Please stop by the shop and take a look at the beautiful rod that is up for raffle. Rick Daring built an awesome Gatti 5 weight and then donated it to the club to raffle off to raise money for the Holiday Stocking. 100% of the money raised will go the the purchase of fish to be stocked in the middle branch of the White Clay. Last year enough money was raised to put almost 1200 fish in the river. They were stocked right after Christmas and we had good fishing through the winter months. We have the rod on display at the shop, stop by, take a look, and get a few tickets. WCFF and A Marblehaed Flyfisher inc thank you for your support of a great cause.