"Jeff Miller" wrote in message
news:Vfpuc.3433$Tw.2984@lakeread06...
investigation surrounding a murdered mallard on millheim's main avenue
has encouraged me to be circumspect regarding my presence in
pennsylvania this year. had i been in the vicinity of millheim, i'm
sure these would have been some of my comments on the events in the area
between may 14-23...


As I heard a knock on the door yesterday and I peeked out of the second
story window and saw a suit with paperwork in hand, a vivid memory flashed
through my head of a freshly rolled female mallard (at least it looked like
a female from our vantage point) as it appeared from underneath a rental SUV
of some unnamed driver directly in front of us, and I decided to let the
door go unanswered. I'll continue to sidestep said suit for as long as
possible, but anyone knowing the whereabouts that day of said outlaw may
also want to take a peek before answering their doors.

As I remember it that day, I was so overcome with sadness, and grief, that I
must have passed three or four breakfast opportunities, while in the midst
of losing track of half of our caravan, until we found our destination just
a few miles short of State College (Danl, I thought that eatery was only a
mile or so from town..).


1. i'm most appreciative of good fishing, camaraderie, drink, and food,
especially when consumed in a pleaseant environment. penns 2004 offered
it in abundance. thanks to tom, handyman, davepa, vince, and makela for
another fine event.


.... and don't forget to thank the Big Man for supplying the weather this
time around.


2. rather than dour and serious, swedes seem to be quite humorous,
engaging, friendly, open, and true. they do sing a bit funny, but i
suspect if accompanied by wayno and his dyslexic guitar it would be a
sweet sound indeed. of course, these behaviors might simply have been a
result of the camaraderie, along with the fat, carbohydrates, beer, wine
and whisky we fed this swede.


Engaging, friendly, open, and true, I have to agree. The humorous part,
definetly while singing anyway..

3. beware playing card games with a country boy who carries his own
pesonally engraved case of poker chips. drink more during the game.
forget bluffing...they're all bluffers...except NSA reid. he's
deadcenter about winning and paints on a face before playing.


Don't kid yourself, Tim had all of the calculations down, it was just a
matter of time before he read the tells and eliminated most of the crowd.
Frank probably had surveillance cameras installed the week before we got
there. If Tim masters Penn's as well as cards (or chess for that matter)
I'll have to go back my stream hopping ways.

4. davepa is jamesjoycean. there isn't a stream of conscious or
conscience he won't fish - shallow and deep. very entertaining. i wish
he lived closer.


And he's great to hang out with at Heartbreakers..

5. spring creek above fisherman's paradise is as peaceful a bit of water
as i've found yet in pa. it's a part of the heritage waters, woodsy on
the right bank, and tough to fish without being able to enter the water.
i understand there is a prison somewhere above the stretch i fished...
odd juxtaposition.

6. fished below the hatchery on spring creek in a large pool above the
private club waters. fish rose all day long. i caught 3 lovelies, had
too, too many refusals. i acknowledge it will always be a mystery to me
and that i don't have the skill, luck, or time to figure it out... but,
every so often, here and there, i get a clue. penns reminds me that the
clues are sufficient to keep me happy the rest of my days.


No opposition to these finely stated observations, and I've been going back
now for almost two decades and it's the refusals, or even more so, the
maddening runs towards the Suskie of a fish you thought you could control.

7. the best stock i've ever bought is my 4 shares in the Union County
Sportsman's Club. the annual dividends are priceless...

Yep, although I think the pool table is a bit unlevel...


8. an asadi martini night must be declared penns' de rigueur...to be
followed by penance at heartbreakers or brownies... thanks for the
drinks john...and for the sweet sausage.


Missed this one this year, although we did stop in around said time, and no
one was to be found. Went over to Clave Central and never made it back.

9. the smallmouth in lower penns seem a bit...uh...small. of course,
one might say there are no such thing as small fish, only small
fishermen. well, the small fishermen adventure on lower penns was a
happy diversion and new experience. thanks tomG for your efforts in
planning and organizing the jaunt. of course, one among us did manage to
catch one not-so-small smallmouth. as i recall, a few someones owe me
some bucks...


Sounds like Tom G put a great sidetrip together again this year.

Had to skip it due to a tour of duty set-up with a Swede, some Rebels, and a
Fed (or well at least that who pays the salary) which actually turned our
pretty fine in itself. Got to watch Waldo lose a beautiful fish on the
Island side of Caddis Riffle, wouldn't be a clave without seeing some NC boy
lose a nice fish (this year I got to witness this type of event several
times...), but I have to say I don't remember seeing Indian Joe lose any
fish he had hooked (got any pointers Joe?). Put Roger into Caddis Run and
realized very quickly that I didn't have to provide any fishing pointers to
him, as he proceeded to pull his daily average out of that bountiful run.
Guess I have to save the rest for my own damn trip report, just can't find
the time.


10. the carolina cabin needs some serious upgrading and maintenance.
it's seclusion on the stream is its virtue...and, its vice. it's a
distance from the main crowd, requiring sober drivers for participation
in distant events. might be time to strike the colors on the cabin and
try something new. Lou T. met a fellow at the parking lot at the end of
the tunnel/trestle bridge road (past 3-streamer stan) who claims to own
some rentals beyond the parking lot. joe and i took a look...there is
one very, very fine cabin almost on the stream in a nice setting and a
number of ramshackle buildings up that "private drive" at the end of the
parking lot. a house at the end of the drive has a sign that says
"reed's ranch". perhaps one of you fellers up that way could do some
further investigation.


Did you happen to get any names or phone numbers? I think Frank got a
number last year, but damn if anything came out of it (or was it me that
lost the number??) Regardless, put me down for one of the Cherry Run
bedrooms next year if the NCer's don't have them all taken, and it's
available.

11. fishing the hatch in 2004 required night vision goggles. i don't
like stalking trout, changing flies, and false casting in the dark.
probably because i suck at it... even worse than when i attempt it in
daylight. but it was a new experience. standing on a rock in the
middle of penns in the dark yields interesting ruminations... like,
"um...now where was that deep spot i avoided in getting out to this rock?"


I'm gonna tie off some rope to the closest tree if I fish in Weikert next
year. It's downright dangerous down there, although I did get to see a few
beauties down there..a few caught but most of them uncaught and rising
unmolested after dark.

12. catching the big brown is often pure and simple serendippity...
still, a joy filled event, nonetheless.


Largest Fish this year was a 19-20 inch Rainbow at the Beaver Hole, the last
day, but it didn't fight anywhere near as smartly, and powerful, as the
fight I got from a few 16 inch browns, and several untamed long releases.

13. those of us accustomed to carolina wild trout have real difficulties
in accurately estimating the actual size of those penns browns. fat,
big shouldered non-hatchery browns are mutants in nc mountain streams.
every one of the penns fish i caught or saw caught seemed double the
size of our average 8-10" wild trout. my biggest fish seemed almost 20
inches...but i suspect he was 16-18" at best. he was much bigger than
the two 16 inchers i saw makela catch though g.


Saw the pics although I seem to remember a shot of your big fish next to
your fishing rod for comparison. What happened to that one? I remember it
being sizeable as compared to the rod, but??

I'll never forget that run we started on below Coburn (the unoffical Penn's
2004 Death March). Hadn't fished that water for over a decade before this
year. Had someone ahead of us who appeared to have just fished the same
water, who knows what would have happened if he hadn't spooked a few others.
I think that guy was a ghost from the past, I saw him in the same position,
at the head of a three different wonderous pools, having just fished through
water I had looked forward to fishing all Winter, on three different days.

14. there is a beauty in flycasting when done by those who have mastered
it. i believe roger could use a flyrod and flyline to sign his name with
60 foot casts. thanks for those images roger...very inspiring. of
course, there was that leader/hook thing... NINE times. hell, i think
i'd figured it out after seven or eight times... but, given you were in
a foreign country, i guess NINE times is understandable. BTW, how do
you say NINE in swedish?

I think Nine actually means TWO in English....



My pleasure. Looking forward to Montana, we gotta get a plan together.


16. even with a tongue freshly pierced by a barbed hook, indian joe can
recount stories befitting a much better traveling companion than he was
shackled to for the duration at penns. you folks who haven't yet
experienced a few hours or days with the pride of wilmington are missing
a gem.


I did get to spend some time on and off the stream with Joe this year, but
still not enough. Again can't wait til the Western Clave..

17. the run on penns just upstream from the carolina cabin, formerly
known as makela's run (2003) or wally's run (2001), is again named
"jeffie's run". Under the 2004 rules, the run is won by the fisherman
hooking a brown trout of at least 14" on a green drake dry fly, on the
last friday of clave week, in the dark, with said hooked brown trout
leaping at least 4 feet out of the water to spit the hook whilst staring
at the defender/pretender to the run (i.e., makela).


Hmmm...I didn't see a thing.....although that first Sunday I do remember a
solid 16 incher, landed, with Frank as my Witness.....How about The Run???

18. despite all its flaws, this place has enriched my life, and i am
forever thankful to all of you who have shared your time and good spirit
with me.


Can't say it any better, many timeless memories, now etched into the banks
of Penn's Creek.

19. mallards ought not be waddling across a busy millheim street...


Obviously...although I have to say I was remiss in gathering some fresh CDC,
I'll follow your around out West and look for other materials.. but keep
this in mind... deer, elk, and bear should be better respected when crossing
the highway..


jeff


The Finn