TR - Valley Creek/Valley Forge Natl Park

Took as leisurely an outing as possible with the Boys, on a beautiful sunny
60 degree day. It was Matthew and Daniel's first trip to the park of recent
memory, so we took the obligatory tour around the Inner Line drive, pseudo
firing the cannons over redoubt 3 and the Inner Line Defenses, before
seeking out the park deer herd for the boy's viewing excitement.

Next we headed over to Washington's HDQ to investigate the historic
encampment cabins and the Big Cheese's place. I was a bit surprised to see
that they had roped off the tunnel leading under the railway, down to the
Valley Creek/Schuylkill River junction, where I normally start my fishing on
the lower section. I was also required to skip a stretch above before I
could make casts into that personal sacred water, for the first time in over
5 years.

I had to run through the "rules" with the Boys, as they have both proven to
be fine fish locators in the past, albeit with the use of oversized sticks
and stones. Fortune found me as they discovered a skeletonized deer carcass
just along the grass line of the stream that captured their attention which
allowed me to limber up on the first few holes.

As I moved up stream for the next 30 minutes I re-accustomed myself with
some familiar water, and casts. My first brown of the day, a nice 13-14
incher, which would turn out to be my largest of the day, took a size 18
red/brown nymph. Both of the boys were quite excited with Matthew getting
the pleasure of reeling in the last few feet of line, touching the
glimmering side of this mature brown before releasing it. They immediately
required I go back in to catch several more as they clung to the edge of the
water, and we made our way above route 29. I wasn't able to meet their
demands, but I had definitely gotten their attention.

We explored the rest of the water below the dam, poking sticks into every
groundhog hole, swatting at anything remotely resembling life (tree
branches, bugs, tall grass, and rocks), and jumping on stream banks, trying
to catch a glimpse of fleeing fish in the shadows. This was after all not
only a seasonal warm-up, but a scouting trip for a few outings to come over
the next few weeks.

As we approached the dam, Dan officially claimed Shark Island as his
territory, and Matthew immediately followed with the causeway bordered
Turtle Island. Their siege of each other's land would keep them busy long
enough for me to enjoy the rest of my excursion. I switched up to a larger
stonefly after the smaller offering was unsuccessful (more likely due to my
floundering than the fly itself). The stonie yielded a medium sized beauty
quite quickly but just the one under many successive casts.

I continued to test the new currents created by the slowly collapsing old
dam. When I first started to fish these waters, it was a traditional center
flow, top feed, dam with the main current coming through the center of the
pool, splitting almost evenly into two large, backwater, pools, before
feeding back into the middle current. The new configuration yields varied
flows from the top, and several different conflicting, surges which take
some time to master (which I may never do..). After missing another on the
opposite side of the creek, I was able to manage one more small streambred
specimen before we wrapped it up for the day.

It was tough getting Matthew and Dan to renounce their new found claims, but
with promises of return trips soon to come, we made our way back to G.W.'s
HDQs, fulfilled for this day, and ready to plan the next attack.

MNM