The day started out very cold with some snow on the ground, but Eric and I got up early to head out the door while dad stayed in bed a bit longer. We decided to try the UFZ again but there were too many cars present so we decided to go to the trestle area and find some room.
Eric went down the trail to his favorite spot, and I exited a little early to try to swing the top end of a run above 8 other anglers spread out to the tailout. I made a few casts but the water was moving a tad slow, so after 30 minutes or so I decided to head downstream.
I hopped into run that was moving on the fast side for swinging, but I was more than happy to have about 300 yrds to myself and Eric was the next person down. I covered the water methodically and tried to slow the fly down as much as possible, but no luck.
My dad arrived a little later and hopped in above me and he covered the water as well, but no takers. We talked to Eric to see how is action was, but he didn't hook anything and only saw one fish hooked by an angler downstream.
I talked to a guide I know and the consensus was things were slow that morning with only a few fish hooked. The sun wasn't shining and there was still ice on the water in a nearby cove so the temperature must not have risen much since the morning. We were all a tad chilled so we decided to head for lunch a little early. Eric ate lunch and then it was time for him to head home to get ready for the PA deer season opener.
Once we had some fuel in the tank and warmed up our extemities Dad and I decided on heading to the mid-river where we were yesterday afternoon. We had a little more room than the evening before so I started in the very head and my dad started below me.
I switched flies every now and then. I played with big flies, small flies, dull ones, and bright ones, but no luck on any of them. Dad didn't have any luck and neither did any of the other guys in the area. I reeled in my line and headed downstream to the spot where dad had hooked his steelhead the day before. Dad came along too since his little piggies were on the numb side.
I tied the black Irish Crayfish on for confidence and proceeded to work my way downstream. On about the 10 cast or so, the fly was hanging in the slow current directly below me and I felt a familiar tap. I dropped the loop and watched the line dart out of the rod tip, felt a small energetic fish on the end so I lifted the rod. A small 12"-13" silver bullet came up jumping all over the place and had my heart racing for a second.
After a quick fight I got her in and popped out the barbless hook. Dad hopped in after that, but that was it for the evening. Leftovers from Turkey day were on the menu!!
We weren't sure what was going to happen with the river flow the next day since there was some decent snow on Tug Hill and warm weather and rain were in the forecast. As it turned out, the river was raised to 1800 CFS for Monday.
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