I went down to the creek this evening in order to wash away the stink from the skunking I took last Thursday in central PA. I also wanted to break in my new 10 ft 5wt. I am happy to say that I was successful in both endeavors.
With all the rai we've had I figured the creek was going to be in bad shape but to my surprise it was running just a little stained and just a little high, Translation: Perfect conditions for czech nymphing this waterway. I had a little over an hour to fish before it got dark. I tied on a size 16 PT and a size 12 minute caddis larva that I made especially for stained water. It took 3 drifts in the first pocket to hook a nice Lopat brown. The new rod responded well to the roughly 14 inch fish and I was able to bring him to hand only to lose him as I fumbled for my camera. He was the nicest of the four fish I got. I caught 2 more browns and a nice holdover bow in a few pockets upstream from where I started.
The 10 foot rod may have been just a hair too big for the Lopat but I can definitely see its advantages over my 9 footer. I am going to try it out on the Bushkill in the morning. I am tickled to death that the first fish I got on it was a wild brown. I hope that's a good omen.
Here's some porn:
This little guy refused to let me hold him long enough to shoot a pic.

Lopatcong Brown Trout

I really had to work for this guy. I saw him rise in a pool down stream from where I was but there was no way to get to him without putting him down. I got as close as I dared and let my nymphs drift down to him. He tried to take one as I lifted them out of the water but I missed the hookset. I continued to let it drift to him and he finally took the caddis. It looks like he has been getting fat on the Lopatcong invertabrae all summer long, I'm sure he did not have that color when he was stocked this past spring.

Catching these fish tonight really boosted my confidence.