Trip to central Pennsylvania

Well, it is time for our annual pilgrimage to south central  PA. My  bother and I have been doing this trip for the past 20 years. We have friends that own a cabin out in the Chambersberg area. I say cabin, but it  was a family home for years that has been passed down through generations and has been converted to a hunting/fishing cabin. Myself, my son Tyler, a close family friend and my brother left Hockessin at about 3:00. Our goal was to meet my dad and about 15 other guys at the cabin by dinner time.

Looks like a lot for 3 days!

We got on the road at about 3:45, a little behind schedule so we would have to make up some time on the turnpike. We made it out there in about 2.5 hours. We had just enough time to pitch our tents (literally) and then sat down to a meal fit for kings.

Home Sweet Home for the next 3 days.

The dinner buffet!

Possibly the best Meatloaf you will ever eat!

The desert Table.

After dinner it was campfire talk, passing the bottle of brandy, and a great relaxing time. I really enjoy this time each night. There is something about sitting around a fire and staring into the flames...a very calming feeling. We are all anxiously waiting for tomorrow.

Up at 6:00 and it is a mad dash to get ready, get rigged up, and head to the river. This river is open water, and I am the only fly fisherman I have ever seen up here in 20 years of making this trip. The crowds can be overwhelming at times so walking great distances is the norm. When we got to the water it was a little low, but running hard. Typical snow melt water. I opted to throw a streamer at the beginning. My plan was to prospect with the streamer and see what I see. When I find some fish I will switch to a nymph rig.

 It didn't take long to realize the fishing would be tough. To say the fishing was kinda tough is like saying Carrie Underwood is kinda hot. A quick check of the water temp showed it to be 38 degrees. I don't ever remember the mountain peaks covered with snow on opening day. We fished for several hours until we had to head back to the cabin for breakfast. The reports we're all the same a few fish, but not great action. I spent the morning swinging streamers. My thought was if I found a pod of fish I would switch to a nymph rig. Well, the fact that I never switched rigs should tell you how the morning went.

A few guys drove to the top and said it was about a foot deep!

10 minutes into the morning!

Back to the cabin for a huge mountain breakfast of eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, scrapple, and blueberry pancakes. One thing about this trip, you will never go hungry. Shortly after breakfast it was back to the river. After dropping everybody off at their spots I will admit I caught a short nap at stream-side before heading out. Why is it that outdoor naps are the best sleep ever? After the nap I walked about 2 miles up stream. My thought was to walk up and fish back to the truck. Several hours of hard fishing yielded only one small Brown. I did see some golden stones, Caddis larva, and small Clinger nymphs under the rocks. All in all it was a great day on the river, just not many fish.

 The day was no totally un-eventful. We did have a flat tire when we got back to the truck. Just what you want to see after a tough day of fishing. All 4 of us jumped on it and had the tire switched out in no time. One of the guys back at the cabin had a plug kit and we removed the screw, plugged the hole and with a little help of a friends compressor had the tire re-inflated and ready to go.

Glad the spare was not flat!

Man, 4 guys can really mess the inside of a truck up!

 Back at the cabin a spaghetti dinner that would make Clemensa proud was waiting for us. A huge dinner was just what the doctor ordered. A little pasta, and some good red wine will cure all ills. After dinner we had more campfire time and then off to bed.

 With the season open we were on the river by 6:30. Water temp was up a bit, not the fishing. With rain threatening we fished till about 9:30. Then we decided to head back and pack up the tents before they got soaked by rain. After quick breakfast and with storms coming we decided to cut our trip short and head home.

All in all it was a great trip. We got to see some good friends and meet a few new ones and spend some quality time with my family. The fishing was not great, but that is ok. Anytime you are on the river is a good time.


Oh yeah, We did manage to catch a few  fish. 


                                                                                                                                              Tight Lines...