From: 10/21/2017
To: 10/21/2017
Type of Water: Freshwater
Species: Rainbow trout, Brown trout
I guided two very experienced fly anglers on the Little Juniata River for Wild Trout. Ryan and Josh are buddies that reside in the Potter County area. Ryan is a committed streamer fisherman and nighttime mouser. Josh is more of a dry fly and nymph fisherman. They both came to the right place because the Little J has water for all styles of fly fishing.
The day was partly sunny, with a low temp of 48 deg and high temp of 68 deg. Water was low and clear with water temps in the low 50's.
We started fishing at day break in a remote valley spot that I fish quite a bit. Since both fishermen prefer different fly fishing methods I needed to put them in water that would fit their styles and this place was it. Ryan was using a small game changer pattern and was hooked up with a nice Little View more...I guided two very experienced fly anglers on the Little Juniata River for Wild Trout. Ryan and Josh are buddies that reside in the Potter County area. Ryan is a committed streamer fisherman and nighttime mouser. Josh is more of a dry fly and nymph fisherman. They both came to the right place because the Little J has water for all styles of fly fishing.
The day was partly sunny, with a low temp of 48 deg and high temp of 68 deg. Water was low and clear with water temps in the low 50's.
We started fishing at day break in a remote valley spot that I fish quite a bit. Since both fishermen prefer different fly fishing methods I needed to put them in water that would fit their styles and this place was it. Ryan was using a small game changer pattern and was hooked up with a nice Little J Brown before Josh was even in the water. Unfortunately the fish shook the hook before we could net it and off it went. Ryan had a few more fish swirl at his streamer but no more hook ups so we continued downstream.
The next spot we fished was a bend in the river with a nice series of riffles that lead into a long deep pool. It wasn't long before Josh was hooked up with his first Little J Wild Brown. The male Trout was sporting his Fall colors and was stunning to say the least and Josh was ecstatic!
After taking some pics we continued down river to an island that has been great fishing for us for years. Ryan continued throwing big meaty flies and Josh with his tandem nymphing rig. Josh was using a tan Mop fly with a size 16 Pheasant Tail Nymph when he detected a bite and after a quick hook set was fighting a solid Little J Rainbow Trout. This colored up beauty put on an aerial display and gave Josh one heck of a fight. We fortunately got the fish into the net and after a few pictures was released.
After a late lunch break we trekked back into the valley and prepared for the night bite. This was the time Ryan was waiting for and he was excited. He had tied up several of his favorite mouse patterns just for this trip and he couldn't wait to start slinging them. In total darkness I stayed back and gave the guys plenty of room to cast. They were working a long slow pool over known to hold some lunker sized Trout when I heard a loud splash on the water, followed by a "darn it he missed my fly" from Ryan. A few minutes later I heard another loud splash and this time an excited Ryan shouted through the darkness that he was hooked up! Josh and I turned our headlamps on and made our way over to Ryan who had already had his fish in the next. We had our first mouse eating Wild Brown in the net and after some celebratory high fives the fish was released. We fished in the dark for 4 more hours and both fishermen had at least two dozen strikes each and both landed 5-6 fish . What an adrenaline filled night and it was a fitting way to end a great day on the water with two awesome fly fishermen.
