Although the booking was made by one of my favorite repeat customers, Tim Heffernan, the “rookie” was a big Irishman named Marty. Soft-spoken and with classic Irish red hair on head and face, what he somewhat lacked in finesse he more than made up for in desire, tenacity, and inner strength. Our day was cold [...]
The morning was partly cloudy and unseasonably warm for mid-December in Northwestern Pennsylvania. A light wind out of the northeast predicted an approaching low-pressure system that would affect the mood of my quarry— the trophy steelhead! When I left my camper on the shore of Elk Creek, I was alone at that first hole — [...]
Either the fall run is sluggish this year, or it’s heightened anticipation on my part, I thought, as I arrived at Walnut Creek a little after 6 AM. As I finished my coffee, I wondered just what adventure lie in store for me this day. At the end (or beginning, depending on ones perspective) of [...]
It was late in the 2004 Fall Steelhead Season, and the fish had been running really, really big. Several local bait shops had weighed many fish in the 11 to 15 # class as well as a few over 15 #. My job as a Steelhead Fly Fishing Guide had been fully occupied with fishermen [...]
The pre-dawn morning was crisp…plenty of dew, a little fog, and a temperature in the 50’s…all sure signs of an early fall. The creeks remained low and clear with very little current. As I waded across lower Elk Creek in near darkness, a great horned owl greeted me with his well-known interrogatory. My first offing [...]