The older I get the faster time seems to go. Another year in the rearview. I fished more in 2012 than I ever have before and it still didn’t seem like enough. However, as an expectant father, 2013 looks to be a life changing year for my family and busier than ever. I know that fishing, tying, and rod building are going to be on the back burner for awhile so I wanted to get one last trip in before the end of the year. I got ahold of my friend Coty, who I know never misses a chance to fish Pennsylvania’s Spring Creek, and he agreed to meet me up in Centre County the day after Christmas despite a healthy snowstorm forecast to hit that morning.
The Mayans might’ve been wrong but the weatherman wasn’t. Coty nymphing below a good looking riffle.
Spring Creek being fed from limestone springs doesn’t have the drastic temperature swings that freestoners might have. It’s a very fertile stream however and these trout have plenty to eat. They can afford to be picky. Scuds, sow bugs, small pheasant tails, tiny zebra midges, and the venerable green weenie are all good bets in the winter. We had hoped for the BWOs to possibly show themselves but it didn’t happen.
They didn’t come easy but we fooled a few.
The snow rolled in late morning and fell fast. The fishing was slow but I had a great time. I don’t have all of the time in the world to fish anymore and I make sure that I don’t take these trips for granted. That said, the deteriorating road conditions were in the back of my mind, and we wrapped it up in the afternoon. The trip home took 4 hours but it was worth it.
Iced up.
So there it is. Last trip of the year. I hope that everyone had a great holiday season and New Year. Things can get pretty hectic once Thanksgiving hits and it doesn’t seem to slow down until now. It’s nice to take a few minutes and think back over the previous year. I fished with a lot of new friends and hit a lot of famous water in PA that was new to me. Hopefully there will be more of the same in 2013. Thanks for dropping in and checking out the blog. Take care.
Trout Purgatory 