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Warning: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is deprecated, use preg_replace_callback instead in ..../includes/class_bbcode.php on line 2962 Lopatcong Creek 3/14
I spent 2 hours casting with no fish today. I tried a pheasant tail, a hare's ear, and even tried a few dries to no avail. I remembered a thread on here talking about cased caddis so I tried one of those, a #14. On my first cast I caught a baby brownie followed by several more. In accordance with my luck, I then caught a high tree branch and broke the leader. Of coure this was the only fly of this type that I had in my box so I ended up calling it a day. The day wasn't a total loss, I caught fish. I am happy.
Here's a pic of one of the babies I caught today:
I fished the lower section of the creek yesterday. What I found there was disheartening in the least and downright disagusting at the most. There is a spot where two large sycamores were washed out of the bank several years ago during a flood. They fell perpendicular across the creek, in esence damming it up. This created a large basin in front, almost 8-9ft deep. Because of this, the deadfall also collects and deposits everything that floats downstream during high water onto the bank. There must have been over 100 (no exaggeration) empty water, beer, and soda bottles laying there along with various other debris and flotsam. I was pissed off, really pissed off. So on my next day off, tuesday, I am going to go down there with a box of garbage bags and clean it up, even if it takes all day. If anyone reading this is in the Phillipsburg NJ area Tuesday, I will be there at noon if you want to help.
Only 10% of bottled water containers get recycled. The rest either wind up in a landfill or worse they are chucked to the side of the road and end up polluting our waterways. If you don't already, I urge everyone here to buy a reusable water container and bring your water from home. There are many good inexpensive filters on the market. It will save you money, it will save the environment, and its just the right thing to do.
Thanks for reading my rant!
Chris
03-15-2009, 07:05 PM
AaronJasper
Re: Lopatcong Creek 3/14
Come to think about it I do notice less plastic bottles and soda cans on the ground in CT. The charge must make it worthwhile to recycle them!
03-18-2009, 06:35 PM
LopatNympher
Re: Lopatcong Creek 3/14
I spent the morning cleaning up this mess. Pulled 3 large trash bags full of plastic bottles out of here. I'd like to thank the Phillipsburg Water Authority for letting me throw them in their dumpster.
There is a spot on the creek where it widens out considerably and becomes very shallow. I cast up from there into a nice run, about shin deep. Towards the end of this run there is a large piece of concrete pipe about 2 ft in diameter that sits on an angle in the creek bottom. The last 2 times that I've fished this spot, a large fish has come out of the run and hightailed it into that pipe. He is enormous by the standards of this creek, about 15-16 inches. Rip and Black, that fish is MINE, you cannot have him!
03-18-2009, 08:09 PM
TexasChris
Re: Lopatcong Creek 3/14
It's on now bortha!
good job with the clean up. That's a real stand up thing to do, wish i could have helped!
03-18-2009, 10:02 PM
BlackLabel
Re: Lopatcong Creek 3/14
These pics got me wanting to explore alot more.
03-18-2009, 10:38 PM
LopatNympher
Re: Lopatcong Creek 3/14
The more you explore, the more your back and knees get sore from creeping up on all the little pockets.
A couple wood ducks showed up yesterday and warned every fish upstream that I was coming.
03-18-2009, 10:48 PM
AaronJasper
Re: Lopatcong Creek 3/14
Thats a really nice little stream. They did a very good job on the dam removal. The bank restoration looks very solid. Does the spring flow well year round? Or does it fluctuate seasonally? I would imagine that if it does there are more trout in there than one would think.
How are you fishing that creek? I would use a dry fly with a nymph dropper. That way you would be able to effectively fish those small pockets from long range.
03-18-2009, 10:56 PM
LopatNympher
Re: Lopatcong Creek 3/14
The flow from that spring is fairly constant all year. I've only seen it slow down drastically once during a very dry summer.
I am fishing small nymphs with an indicator (I use pink biostrike). I haven't really tried any dries yet, I don't really have anything in my boxes that match what is hatching right now. Last fall I was getting some really nice brookies on tan caddis in the late afternoon, early evening.
03-18-2009, 11:00 PM
LopatNympher
Re: Lopatcong Creek 3/14
I know there are bigger fish downstream. I've seen a nice one the last two times I was there and to be honest there are spots on that creek where I know some monsters are hiding but I just don't have the skill to get a fly to the.....yet! I did land a 21 in brookie last spring although with spinning tackle.
03-19-2009, 11:06 AM
Flyfisher
Re: Lopatcong Creek 3/14
This creek reminds me a lot of the nice little streams I fish over my way. I always like how the obivious creek is always the overlooked one.
03-19-2009, 07:39 PM
Nymphmeister
Re: Lopatcong Creek 3/14
a 21" Brookie is a monster almost anywhere, let alone a small creek like that! Impressive. Was that a fish that ran up from the Delaware, or do they dump a few big breeders in there? Nice job with the photos BTW.
03-19-2009, 07:49 PM
LopatNympher
Re: Lopatcong Creek 3/14
I caught him just above the mouth. The river was running really high and I think he came up into the creek to get out of the turbid water. He was definately a wild fish from what Ilearned about them here. He really smoked the drag on my little ultralight reel. I was using 4 pound test fireline. I may have overplayed him a bit but there was no way i was gonna let him snapp that line. You would have laughed if you seen the dance i did on the shore after I landed him.
03-19-2009, 08:28 PM
Nymphmeister
Re: Lopatcong Creek 3/14
Hey, I would also do a stupid dance if I landed a wild 4# brookie in a public trout stream in the Northeast. That will be a tough fish to top. In my mind it's the equivalent of a 30" resident stream wild brown trout and about equally uncommon.
03-19-2009, 08:30 PM
LopatNympher
Re: Lopatcong Creek 3/14
It was for me, a fish of a lifetime.
03-19-2009, 08:37 PM
Nymphmeister
Re: Lopatcong Creek 3/14
Biggest wild brook trout I ever caught was 12", on a #1 Mepps spinner. I once landed a 5# plus over 22" specimen on a #2 black Bugger in CT, but it was in a stocked private lake you had to pay to fish where they pellet fed the trout, so it doesn't count. Venwood Lake in Killingworth, they went out of business though.
03-19-2009, 08:40 PM
LopatNympher
Re: Lopatcong Creek 3/14
I caught this one on a gold #2 mepps vibrac spinner. A little heaavy for my 4'6" spin rig but the smallmouth get in line to hit that spinner in the Delaware.
03-20-2009, 08:41 PM
LopatNympher
Re: Lopatcong Creek 3/14
Here are 2 pics from last fall that I finally figured out how to get off my phone. Picture quality isn't that great, sorry.
Tommorrow is going to be my last shot at fishing in lopat until the season reopens in april. May the fishing gods smile upon me.
03-20-2009, 11:18 PM
Flyfisher
Re: Lopatcong Creek 3/14
nice trout that is a sweet little stream.
03-21-2009, 01:23 PM
LopatNympher
Re: Lopatcong Creek 3/14
Today's Lopat report. In a word----SKUNKED. I fished the morning until about 11 and the fish were there but just not interested. After 11 midges started hatching and the fish started taking them. I sat down at the base of a large sycamore and starting watching the fish in a certain pool. The pool was loaded with them, I counted up to 30 and lost track. These fish ranged in size from about 5 inches to about 12 or 13. I sat still for awhile with my back to the tree and they started to become active. In the following pic you can see a pile of rocks on the bottom right hand corner. This big brown came up there and started to feed on something that was just under the surface. I sat and watched him for about 20 minutes, he was only about 5 feet away from me. It was so awesome, I totally forgot about getting skunked. Any fish that came near that spot was immediately chased away.
Lopat, I would like to ask you something about the stream you fish but can't seem to be able to read a profile or send an IM. Could you IM me please so I can respond to it.
thanks
Frank
03-28-2009, 04:34 PM
LopatNympher
Re: Lopatcong Creek 3/14
I went to do another cleanup down at the creek today. I concentated on the area between the creek and the road. I started at the liquor store and worked down to the Water Authority bridge. Here's what I ended up with. A shame really.
I took my little net with me to see what kind of bugs I could get off the bottom. I picked up mostly midge larvae (guessing because they were so small) and these mayfly nymphs. They had a really bright green underbelly and their bodies turned completely green after they were out of the water for a spell. Can anyone ID them for me?
I got to get back out there, that place probally looks totally differnt. Keep up the good I'm sure the little brownies appreciate it.
03-28-2009, 11:06 PM
LopatNympher
Re: Lopatcong Creek 3/14
Not so sure about that but I am makin a dent anyway. I am still waiting on a date for a company sponsored clean up. Its probably going to be the weekend bfore or after Earth Day
03-29-2009, 05:09 PM
LopatNympher
Re: Lopatcong Creek 3/14
I am going to be posting a few of these along the creek before opening day.
