A few weeks ago on 6/9 I headed north to get 1 last possible float on Big Pine .I chose to fish float from Blackwell to Slate Run it was,about 10 miles about5 miles too long .But this is the float I used to do some many years ago back in the 80s when I was a young guy it did not seem as grueling back then what with all the beer on board and hoagies and such plus a younger body . Back then I floated down with my old Sears johnboat a 12 footer we piled in usually 3 of us and headed down stream . We always caught plenty of fish . This trip was some 30 years later with a 60 year old at the oars but some how I felt like I was in my 20s again laughing like a giddy school boy at every fish hooked and played . Many were caught and many were lost all fat sassy rainbows . The smallest was 11 inches and the biggest 18 with all sorts in between The hot fly was anything you could put in front of them . I tied a new pattern wich is an ancient wet fly that I converted to a dry the Professor wich they tore apart and left the 1 in a shambels .I only tied 3 so I had 2 left I was saving them for the end of the float down at Slate Run but 1 was broke off by a big Brown and I dropped the last 1 when I was trying it on around dark a big fish rose it sounded like a beaver tail slap and when I turned my head I dropped the last 1 . But not to worry any fly worked as long as it was drag free I used my old stand by the tan spinner in a 14I tie this 2 kinds of ways 1 is with the antron wings tied spent and the other is with light fun Hackel tied full with 10 turns Hi vizz mixed in with the Hackel then clipped flat on the bottom and left full on top the fish see the spent wing on the bottom but you see the Hackel and hi vizz on top a great fly towards dark. well I tied this on and hooked a big Brown down by Slate run I got it up between the pontoons for the net job and he snapped his head and broke off .Oh well who cares I had a great day and normally I'd be bummed out for losing a big lunker like that but it was icing on the cake for probably one of my best days fishing .Oh at 1 point in the float I did nothing but row for 2 hours to reach Slate run before dark I passed over 100 s of rising fish but I already caught over 20 by then anyway . So that's it at this writing Big Pine is over 70 degrees I fear,alot of trout will perish in these lethal temps and its a shame cause there were thousands of easy fish for the taking I went up again last Friday and we waded a couple of different streams in the area Kettle Cross Forks and Slate run they were all in the mid 60s but Big Pine was 75 at 7pm but yet the fish were rising at Slate run like it was in the 50s they were tough but we caught them on the tan spinners and I got a 20 inch Brown and no my fly was not in its mouth from last week .I felt kind of guilty catching fish in those Hi temps but when we released them they swam away just fine but I will not go back again this year . Anyway Pine Creek revisited was a good call on my behalf . I also got permission from Tom Finkbinner to hang Dick Friebel 20 inch Brown in the store I dropped off at the taxidermist for a refurbishing after all Frieb caught that fish on 1 of our camping trips up to Slate Run back in the early 80s it only fitting the fish should hang there and the Frieb can be immortalized .So I would recommend Big Pine to anyone who wants to catch alot of easy fish just go before the summer heat drives up the water temp .It is a carbon copy of the upper Delaware except with tons of easy fish .
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Pine Creek Float
Posted - 06/20/2018 : 19:27:34
