Frank Reid wrote in message ...
Saturday dawned on our intrepid fouro with fog. It had been a bit
warmer overnight than Friday. Geese are gathering in small v's, marking
the onset of Fall and great migrations. The forests are starting to
turn, with yellows, golds and bronze outlining the trees, a muted sketch
of the coming Autumn masterpiece. The air has that distinct hint of
cinnamon and clove, rewarding you with the apple pie smells of the
October woods. Leaves litter the ground in the start of the race
towards Winter's slumber. The world holds its breath, knowing the next
will be tinged with the first frost.
Jonas at the Feathered Hook mentioned that the hatchery at Brenner, near
State College, had been flooded out by Ivan. We decide to take a look.
Oops, full combat fishing as cars line the road. We move to Spring
Creek. There, again we see signs of Ivan's wrath. The little walk
bridge at Spring has 6 feet of logs piled up in front. 30 feet of the
stone wall near the parking area has been washed away. Twohundred pound
cap stones litter the area like dropped wooden blocks. We talk to one
gent that had fished Brenner on Friday. He caught tons of fish,
including a brown, rainbow, brookie, cutthroat, palamino and a tiger.
PA hatchery grand slam.
The stream has been swept of silt, bends straightened, tall grasses on
the bank are laid flat, looking like a green and bronze striped kitchen
floor.
Today, there are no bugs. There are however, fish. We all catch many
fish, but most are small and parr marked. Tom and I watch as a 20 inch
palamino trout leaps clear of the water. Just messing with our minds.
The fly of the day is a two fly train of size 14 tan soft hackles. I
land a 12 to 13 inch fish, then later, his older brother nails the
dropper. He fights me for all its worth, roaming in and out of the
riffle, straining the limits of the 5X tippet on the 7'6" two weight. I
whoop and hollar and chase him up and down the pool then back into the
current. I need a net, but get no response from the crew fishing 150
yards upstream. I finally bring him to hand, a bruiser of about 16 to
17 inches. We both rest for a minute and catch our breaths. He flips
his tail, getting the last shot in as he sprays my face.
At about 4, thunder rumbles, telling us that its time to leave. We head
back to the trailer for burgers and home fries.
On Sunday, there's more of a chill edge in the air. We pack the cars
for leaving and head to the Axelrod Run. We might as well fish Penns at
least once during the weekend.
Tom lands a 13" brown on his first cast. Hmm, might be fun. He
procedes to pull a big boy from under the hemlocks, 18 to 19 inches.
The water is still up, so the fish are holding in the calm water near
the bank.
I pull in a couple of nice fish, 13 to 14 inches, but its time to head
back to uncivilization. We say our goodbys and fly to the four winds.
This will probably be my last trip of the year, as family issues will
keep me closer to home. Mike, Tom and Bruce, as always, are wonderful
hosts. Thanks guys for sharing your hospitality. See you in the Spring.

Frank it was a good trip to Penn's and it was good to get a chance to
know you better. I sent you a few Pic's that I took Saturday morning
after the flood. I spent the night in the camper because I was in the
area that afternoon. I was shocked to see how high the water was in
the morning because it didnt seem like it rained all that much. But
the pictures show the bridge to hemlock acres was totally flooded and
I couldn't cross the bridge until late saturday night. I'd been
wondering how the trout survived for the past two weeks but Thursday
night confirmed there are many trout still in their favorite places.
About half were marked with the spawning colors and the other half
will start to color up soon. I have my last 4 day weekend coming up to
fish the creek and take the last pictures of the year. I am still
holding out hope that I'll see the huge October caddis that are
present in the watershed. I learned so much by sitting on the bank and
walking the creek with the camera this year. I pulled rocks from the
river and photographed the pupa and nymphs. During the evening hatches
I photographed the Dunn's and spinners and the pictures are amazing. I
met some new friends and renewed old friendships. I've cut down my
time in the salt and I didnt know how much I missed Penns Creek until
I came back this year after a long absence. Penns Creek is a wonderful
and amazing place to fish I'll send you some more Pics when I get the
chance, see you next spring...
Bruce