Jin throws a dry fly upstream at Codorus Creek while I slowly bring up the rear while looking for deep cuts and runs to fish with nymphs.
Jin was in town for a few days and was interested in fishing for shad at Fletcher's Boat House but the Potomac River was running too high and boats were not available so we decided to fish Codorus Creek instead.
It was an overcast day that started out cool but slowly made it's way into the low 80's. There was a front moving in and thunderstorms were expected late afternoon. The creek was running a bit high and the water was slightly colored.
We walked down to the section of stream we fished last year and began working our way back towards the car. We were expecting Orvis guide Tom Baltz to join us later--no guiding involved but just fishing as friends.
Jin was fishing a dry so he led at point and I followed behind him, nymphing the deeper sections of the creek. We moved slowly upstream but there were no fish rising and nothing biting subsurface either. At a section of the stream where we picked up some nice fish the previous year I decided to run a series of nymphs through the run to see what was going on. I put enough shot on the line to get it down to the bottom and ran a pheasant tail, pheasant tail with flash, bead head pheasant tail, hare's ear, several types and colors of caddis and flymphs then a soft--hackle olive. That was the trick. On the first drift through the same spot and depth I ran the other flies I got a strike and a nice 8-inch brown.
However I was being arrogant and too sure of myself and thought this fish was just the start of a run of good fishing like we had last year on this section of water so I did not shoot a photo, thinking that bigger and better fish were sure to come. Wrong! This would turn out to be the only fish I caught for the remainder of the day.
Jin caught a few small trout and moved a few more but was having the same run of luck. About two hours later he caught the biggest creature of the day. A snake. He caught a water snake on a dry fly, hooking it just behind the head.
Tom arrived a little later and went downstream to begin fishing in the area we fished over in the morning. We met up midway on the water later and he had caught eight and missed a few more. Man, I suck. I guess that's why people pay him to lead them to fish. On the bright side, at least I wasn't fishing behind him.
We had to be back in town by 5pm so after a late lunch and a bit more fishing we left Tom on the water and headed home. Jin thought there might be a hatch later in the afternoon and he was right. Later, Tom sent us an email saying, "Too bad you guys left. When I went back out there were sulphurs coming off until I left around 6 o'clock. I got a number of trout mostly like 9-10 inches and missed a few. The good news (for you two) is they weren't really on fire."
EQUIPMENT:
Short 3 or 4 weight rods with floating lines. You don't
need any rod over eight feet long for this creek. The water
is very cold but shallow so you might want wear heavy socks
under your waders.
DIRECTIONS: I-95 towards Baltimore to 795
Towson to Exit 9B Hanover Pike (30) into Pennsylvania. The
road becomes Baltimore Pike (94). Exit Grandview Road, turn
right at the restaurant on Blooming Grove Road (216) and
several hundred yards later a left on Hoff Road (look for
the Lamb of God). Codorus State Park and Lake Marburg will
be on your right as you travel down Hoff Road. STOP at the
railroad crossing! Codorus Creek runs along a CSX rail line
and parts of Park Road, Porters Road, Hayrick Road and
Thomas Drive. Look for the small yellow signs that indicate
fishing areas and parking. Please respect all property
owners and don't trash the stream.