The weather was overcast with a possibility of rain in the afternoon so I decided to try my luck at Beaver Creek. I got there early and had the place to myself.
I began by tying on a streamer and on my second cast to a pocket just off the main flow I got a strike. The fish rolled on the surface and I saw it was a decent brown trout. The fish and I pulled back and forth for awhile but he managed to throw the hook by running at me, creating more slack in the line than I was able to strip in to keep tight. I sucked.
I continued to work upstream and back downstream but the action was slow. About two hours went by before I noticed some fish rising. I put on a size 16 CDC Pale Morning Dun got another strike, this time a rainbow. This fish was full of fight and he zipped up and down the stream before breaking me off on a sunken branch. Frustration.
That turned out to be the extent of the action for the day. In the afternoon the clouds rolled in and the fishing turned off. One of the more remarkable things I saw today was a huge cloud of crows, raising a racket and flying from tree to tree. They also dropped down to the creek to drink and it was quite a sight to see hundreds of birds hopping about on the bank and in the shallows.
EQUIPMENT: I used 9' 6-weight rod and an assortment of nymphs and streamers.
DIRECTIONS: From I-70 heading towards Hagerstown, take Exit 66 (Boonsboro) and turn left at bottom of ramp onto Mapleville Road (66). Continue down 66 and turn right onto Beaver Creek Road. About 100 yards past Beaver Creek Church Road on your right is the fly fishing parking lot. Follow the signs and instructions.