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Little
Lehigh in the Cold Little
Lehigh REDUX Little
Lehigh Heritage
H2O Brookies fishing
buddy unbelievable a
couple of hours
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Little
Lehigh REDUX
November 18, 2004 It's only been a couple of weeks since I was up here with my father. That weekend was the first time I'd fished the Little Lehigh's Heritage Trout section. Success was hooking a few, and bringing one wild brown almost to the net before he shook off. This time, things seemed to fall into place for me thanks to a little fly called Al's Rat. I tied a half-dozen since my last visit and started off this trip with the same rig that got me so many strikes last time. A size 8 nontoxic split shot about eighteen inches above the fly with a foam indicator about three and a half feet above the shot. With gin-clear water, fish were evident everywhere. I took a couple of casts to get the bugs out but on the first cast where I let the fly swing through the drift, I hooked up with a fat little rainbow—about a fourteen inches. I tried a couple of dries just for the heck of it. My first was a pretty hefty caddis, a blonde elk hair with a dark brown body. Several smaller trout would encircle it, bump it, doing just about anything but take it. Second was a size 20 shuttlecock, an emerger/stimulator pattern tied with CDC. Again, nothing. Wanting to catch fish and not practice my roll casting, I again tied on the Al's Rat w/ split shot et al. Again, not too long after beginning with the Rat, and again on the swing, a definitive hit. This time, a little, wild brown. After a quick photo and release, I started back towards the Little Lehigh Fly Shop where I'd parked, and where there was a nice riffle. I started target casting towards the golden trout that unwittingly give away their position with their brilliant color. The strike I received next made me believe it was one of the largest trout I'd ever hooked. It shot across the stream, fighting current the whole way, and tearing line off my reel. The action was more akin to how I imagine a bonefish would be. I would never find out since he shook the hook, in an obvious sign of a less than perfect set. A couple of more fish on, fish off, it was time to go. I'm fishing the Connetquot on Long Island tomorrow, and am looking forward to landing a trout that is judged in pounds, not inches. Thanks, Little Lehigh, for a great afternoon. |
