We are pretty much done the late spring fishing and are moving into summer seasons, even though the weather has been a little cool and wet. So I thought it might be good to rate how our late spring season went. As you would expect, there are a lot of variables to consider. I picked a few and applied letter grades to them.
Number of fish: The number of fish in our White Clay Creek tends to be relatively consistent. In Delaware, the State put approximately 22,000 fish in this spring. We had a good hold over population as well. Consistency usually equates to a B grade. But, there are two factors to consider: 1) the unanounced DE stocking of those monster trout in addition to the normal stocking; 2) the cooler (true spring) weather we had has prolonged the numbers and activeness of the trout. So B++. On the Pennsylvania section, we had the usual stocking plus an unannounces late stocking last year which has contributed to good consistent fishing with good numbers still in the stream. B+.
The reason I don't give it an A is because in the past years we've had some incredible diversity stocked in DE and huge fished stocked in PA that we didn't have this year. That's tough to compete against.
Pressure: The normal opening day pressure was present, but post stocking pressure seems a little lower than normal, in part due to the weather we've had. This is true for both DE and PA. In addition, there is clearly a reduced volume of poaching complaints/discussion. I know it is still occurring. Maybe poeple are just tired of complaining about it. Since there are plenty of fish in the water and less than usual pressure, I give it an A.
Quality of fish: When I score this, I think about size, appearance, diversity, fighting wheh hooks, behavior, etc. In most cases the fish have appeared pretty healthy and of acceptable size. Stand outs include the blueback rainbows and breeders put in DE which added to the overall quality and the fact that the fish were spread out so well in the many areas which lead to better fish health. B+
Fishing Conditions: This is a tough one because we had a lot of muddy water, but that circumstance will pay dividens now. I'm a little conflicted here and will refrain from scoring this category.
Misc.: This is a wildcard category. So far I have been focussing on trout. The bass/pan/fallfish fishing has kicked in. These species are really fun to fish and they keep the skunk at bay. The bass seem to be getting bigger and more plentiful. More poeple have been interested in carp. We also have been seeing more kids, women, and college-aged poeple picking up the sport in the right way. So I'll give another B+. Dry fly fishing is a little down, because of the temps and rain, but nymphing and streamer fishing has been really good (that kind of washes).
Overall, the White Clay Creek gets a B++. I'm brutally tough with regard to giving A's.
On a separate note, saltwater fly fishing (non boat) was really slow this week by most reports. We need the temp to go up. With these next few warm/hot days, it might turn things on.
Douger