Forgot I had a 4 pc. Cortland CL 8'6" 5/6wt. rod. I bought it for a nice
pack rod, but mostly 'cause it was green. Took it out on the lawn with a
buddy who is a good caster, and realized what a really nice casting rod this
is. Hadn't used it in many, many years.
Took it up to Cook's creek on a Saturday morning. Cook's is a limestone
creek flowing through upper Bucks county, Penna. Hiked in from the Delaware
River, past the old paper mill, and found a shady pool with rising trout.
Caught two nice streambred browns on a quill gordon:
http://www.juvenal.com/cooks01.jpg
http://www.juvenal.com/cooks02.jpg
Then when back out to the river and cast some streamers about but, alas,
without avail. A green heron was flying back and forth and landing in the
trees along the stream. Ungainly looking bird, not as shy as his great blue
cousin, apparently.
Headed north for the real purpose of the days outing: fishing feeder streams
of the Brodhead with a new 6'6" Cortland CL 3/4wt. Yes, I bought it because
it is green. Tried it with both 3 and 4 wt. lines at the store, and decided
on 3 wt. line.
It was getting a lot later than I had realized, and so only made it to one
stream; Devil's Hole Run. This is a feeder of Paradise Creek (West Branch
of the Brodhead). Went past the spot where Henryville House once stood.
The long outbuilding is still there, but Henryville House has been torn
down. The property is still for sale.
Devil's Hole Run is a wee thing tumbling over mossy boulders, with pools and
holes and undercut banks beneath root tangles. It flows largely through a
State Game Lands, and the path is apparently listed in some sort of Best
Hikes in the Poconos book, so there were a lot of dayhiking families on the
trail. There are mouldering buildings on the property, including the
remains of one of the sawmills from the 1800's that assisted in the
deforestation of the Brodhead watershed, and remains of the old railroad
grade.
There are also streambred brookies, including some nice ones in some of the
bigger holes. Lots of fun sneaking up on the holes on hands and knees,
carefully threading a cast between shrubs and branches, landing the line,
leader and fly light as a feather, a natural drift past a tangle of
submerged roots, and ! the fly is sucked in.
http://www.juvenal.com/dhr01.jpg
Timothy Juvenal