Last week Tracey and I had the good fortune of hosting our good friend Henk Verhaar for a few days of fishing before he headed home for the Netherlands. Henk and I met last year at the International Fly Tying Symposium in Sommerset New Jersey and quickley became friends after we were introduced by Steve Sylverio, a fellow tier. Henk wanted to fish central Pa before going home and Steve said he had just the guy for him to talk to. Long story short, Henk stayed with me and even shared Thanksgiving with me and my family and the rest is history.
Henk is an incredible fly tier. He ties extended body mayflies and has a winging technique that is nothing short of awesome!
Henk and I headed to the Little J early Wednesday morning (in the snow) and found ourselves to be completely alone on a great stretch of water. This was not surprising, as the temperature was right at freezing with a constant blowing snow. I didn’t expect much in the way of successful fishing, but it was sure nice to be on the water with a rod in my hand with a friend I see once a year.
Henk’s Extended Body/CDC March Brown
We saw lots of reds on the stream bottom and were careful to avoid wading through them. The trout were no longer on them but they still looked fresh. If the spawn this year is half as successful as it appeared to be, we’ll be in great shape over the next couple of seasons!
My rig was set up with a small green weenie and an orange egg pattern off a dropper. Two small split-shot were all that was needed to get down, as we are still very low. It was 9:30 when the fishing started to heat up and I hit two browns in about ten minutes-one on each pattern. The fish were stunningly beautiful as always!
It really made me wonder why I don’t do more guiding during the winter months. Sure the weather can be difficult to deal with, but the fishing during this time of year is about as peaceful and sereen as it gets. Henk and I never saw another angler through the snowflakes and I must say, if you dress properly and prepare yourself to not expect great numbers (which can happen anytime by the way), you can have a wonderful time. We continued to fish this great stretch of water, paying particular attention to the edges of current lines and tailouts. They really seemed concentrated in the moving water which told me they were on the “post spawn feed”. We fished until we desided we were cold and hungry. By 1 pm we had landed 8 or 9 trout and thought we would grab some lunch. I had a place I thought we might see some risers for the afternoon and so we headed down stream to try our luck.
Sure enough, there were risers where I thought there would be and even got a little dry fly fishing in!
Fish were eating Midges and Olives!
After fooling around with the dry fly fishing for a while, I headed to a deep run downstream to see if I could nymph another decent fish. After losing several rigs on the bottom and one in a tree (yes, we ALL get caught in trees!) i got lucky and landed a nice brown on 
an egg pattern.
Not every day during the winter will produce like this day, but it’s still a heck of a nice way to spend a few hours or a day with a friend! Henk and I fished two days later with our friend Steve Sylverio and the fishing was not quite as productive, but we still had a great time on the stream together and shared alot of laughs and idea’s. I did manage to Land a really nice Brown on a weenie and all of us got into few here and there, but I’d have to say the highlight of the day was the conversation and the hot coffee at the end of the day. Don’t get cabin fever! Get out and enjoy the water, the fish don’t go anywhere, they just get a little tougher to catch!
Tight Lines and Happy Holidays!
Eric
