The Laughing River

I'm goin' away
'Cause I got a busted heart
I'm leaving today
If my Travel-All will start
And I reckon where I'm headed
I might need me different clothes
Way up in Centre County
Where the Laughing River flows

And laugh at me it did! This past weekend was the traditional Opening Day here in Pennsylvania and being the anti-social loner that I am (and we all know how they turn out) I decided to make it a long weekend and beat feet up to the Karoondinha Gorge on Penns Creek for a few days of lonely angling. The projected weather forecast was downright nasty -torrential rains accompanied by, cold, gusty winds, hazardous thunder & lightning and snow changing to sleet. As has been typical with the weather forecasts over the past month, they couldn't have been more wrong. Maybe they should start tweaking those weather "Al-Gore-Rhythms" that they program into their supercomputers. What I woke up to on Friday morning was unseasonable warmth with a few abbreviated soft rain showers later in the afternoon and evening, eventually giving way to bright, bluebird sunny skies on Saturday.

The river levels have been dropping over the past week or so, and while historically they're a little low for this time of year, they are now approaching perfect levels for fishing dry flies to the cornucopia of early season hatches that are just starting to get cranked up around here. Conditions seemed perfect for a productive day of nymph fishing on the big limestoner; water temp was 52F at noon, cloudy & overcast skies with light showers on their way. Air temp. was 68F.

Twenty years in the minor leagues

Ain't no place I didn't go
Well I got a few hits
But I never made the show
And I could hang on for a few years
Doing what I done before
I wanna hear the Laughing River

Flowing right out side my door

Side Channel on Penns Creek

Precursor grannoms were spotted at the lower end of the gorge shortly after 11 am, followed by a handful of Blue Quills, tan caddis and Hendricksons. None of these insects were present in enough numbers to get the Penns Creek fish looking upward, in fact I only saw 4 sparodic rises all day, so I spent the next 6 hours nymphing the various riffles, runs and slots with large stonefly nymphs as I fruitlessly worked my way upstream. Changing patterns did little to raise the score. In short, even after 30 years of fishing this enigmatic limestoner, I got schooled on Penns Creek on Friday. The fishing gods were shirley laughing at me now.

No matter, tomorrow would be another day on another very special small limestone stream.

Despite the weatherman's ominous forecast, the next day dawned sunny and warm with not a snowflake in sight. I was filled with apprehension as I assembled my gear in the narrows of Elk Creek since the creek had been hit particularly hard by last summers drought. Would there even be enough wild fish left to provide decent sport?

The warm, soft overnight rain in the Brush Valley had given the creek a just a slight tint of color, just enough to make the pocket water easily approachable without spooking these normally shy & reclusive wild browns. Water temp was 53F at 11 am and the afternoon air temp. peaked at 65F. Blue Quills & a few caddis were hatching out of every riffle but not in enough numbers to get these normally recalcitrant browns to feed on the surface.

What did turn these fish on though was a heavily weighted green Rhyacophillia caddis larva imitation tossed into all the likely holding spots. Most of the fish were in the 10-12" range but a couple of them, including this fine specimen, were pushing 14". Fine fish for such a small unstocked stream.

My cousin Ray
Says he's got a job for me
Where the houses are cheap
And he knows a nice land lady
He says she even saw me play once
Said she smiled at my name
Well upon the Laughing River
Could be a whole new game

It soon became apparent that the wild browns of Elk Creek had weathered last season's persistent & dreadfully low water by seeking out the streams copious spring heads and, perhaps, by "digging in". The sheer tenacity of the wild brown trout on the magnificent Penns/Elk/ Pine creek system never fails to amaze me.

So goodbye to the bus
Good bye to payin' dues
Goodbye to the cheers
And goodbye to the booze
Well I'm trading in this old bat
For a fishin' pole
I'm gonna let the laughing river
Flow right in to my soul

Brush Valley Brown Trout

Around the Brush Valley

Around Centre Mills

This is the oldest mill in Centre County that is still standing. It was built on Elk Creek where it leaves the Brush Valley at Centre Mills by Tobias Pickle in 1803. Even today it is one of Brush Valley's largest stone buildings.

Feathered Hook Inn
Accommodation's provided by Jonas Price of the Feathered Hook Inn & Fly Shop. Waders provided by Dan Bailey.

Around Smulton Sinks
The Smulton Sinks are a pair of sink holes located just east of the hamlet of Spring Bank and adjacent to Elk Creek. They're about 30' apart and 30' deep with an underground stream traversing both of them. The limestone valleys in this region are known for their fertility and are famous for producing solution caves. One of the largest in Centre County is the nearby Hosterman's Pit.

Lyrics to Laughing River written & provided by Greg Brown.

Big Trouble in Little Ten Sleep, Wy.

Yellowstone Cutthroat spawning in Clear Creek, YNP

The recent announcement from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department of big trouble in the little town of Ten Sleep has hit the national fishing community like a wall of liquid manure making it's way down Warriors Mark Run. Whirling disease, aka Myxobotus Cerebralis, was detected in the Ten Sleep Fish Hatchery (built in 1939) during a recent annual health inspection. This discovery is particularly disturbing because the Ten Sleep Hatchery had been slated to serve as a source of disease-free Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout brood stock for restoring other compromised waters around the state. In fact, the restoration and recovery program have already started so what ever effect this will have on the effort to save the species remains to be seen. Has the disease already made it out of the hatchery? What were the vectors involved? The Bighorn? North Fork of the Tonque River? Wind River? Clarks Fork? YNP?

Ten Sleep Creek carves a spectacular canyon at the southern end of the Bighorn Mountains in north central Wyoming and provides high quality trout fishing as well as excellent wildlife viewing opportunities.

The name, which is now applied to the present day stream, canyon and town comes from the original native Americans that lived & hunted in the area. As the story goes; near the present site of Casper, Wyoming, on the Platte River, there was an Indian camp that trappers called the "Old Sioux Camp". To the north, near the present town of Bridger, Montana was another Indian camp; these camps were located on an old Indian trade route. Ten Sleep was mid way between the two camps, so as the Indians measured distance by travel time, Ten Sleep was the tenth night or "sleeps" between the two camps.

Click here for the Wyoming Game & Fish Department Press Release

Lyman Run Dam

Harrisburg, Pa., April 1, 2008: After seven years of demolition, construction and intensive testing and permitting procedures, the new dam at Lyman Run State Park will begin retaining water, refilling the lake and clearing the way for its reemergence as Potter County's leading tourist attraction.

"Filling of the new dam will begin on Monday," Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Michael DiBerardinis said today. "We know that comes as very welcome news to park visitors, who totaled more than 130,000 in 1999 when Lyman Run's beach, lake and fishing opportunities made it Potter County's largest tourist destination."

Water retention and the eventual filling of the lake basin must follow a closely regulated dam refilling plan, which was submitted by DCNR and approved by the Department of Environmental Protection. The schedule provides for the lake to be filled to pre-defined depths every 10-days, which will allow dam conditions to stabilize.

"We realize area residents, cabin owners and trout anglers are waiting for a new season, and many others are eager to see Lyman Run Lake take shape again, but it can't happen overnight," DiBerardinis said. "Depending on the weather and stream levels, we estimate that the refilling process could take several months."

Built in the early 1950s, the old dam at the 595-acre state park near Galeton had experienced seeps and leakage that required close monitoring almost since its construction. Safety concerns forced breaching and draining of the lake in April 2000.

In April 2004, Allan A. Myers Inc. of Worcester began the nearly $17 million project to remove the old dam and spillway and construct the new, 50-foot-high, 1,000-foot-long earthen dam and spillway.

Hairline cracking in the concrete spillway required sealing before dam construction completion certification could be submitted and approved by DEP in December, at which time a fill permit was issued.

Last stocked with trout in 2000 by the Fish and Boat Commission, the 45-acre Lyman Run Lake had been popular with anglers and other park visitors.

In addition to lake-based activities, the park also is popular for camping, hiking and hunting. For details on these and other activities at Lyman Run State Park and any of the state's 117 state parks, call toll-free, 1-888-PA-PARKS, or visit www.dcnr.state.pa.us (click on State Parks).

-DCNR Press Release