Last weekend’s rain was welcomed in the Pine Creek Valley as the water levels were getting pretty low for this time if year. Although, this area didn’t get the amount of rain like those further south had gotten – it had rained steadily all day Friday and only a brief shower Saturday morning in Slate Run. The week that followed the rain, this past week, was looked upon with anticipation. It was thought, by many more than just me, that this past week was going to be ‘the week’ – for a great emergence of March Browns, for turning on the trout to start feeding on them, and for the fishing to take off! Well, the best laid plans do not mean that they’ll come to fruition do they? And the emergence of March Browns was not especially heavy here in the Slate Run area as far as what I’ve heard and seen.
Seriously, I saw few March Browns on Pine this week but was lucky enough to have captured one on the stream & get a few pictures.
I wasn’t totally shut out, but I had to work for them.
Today, Friday – is the second day in a row that I have seen what I believe are March Brown spinners here at the cabin on Pine Creek (in the vicinity of Slate Run).
Same fly – different picture exposures trying to display, more properly, it’s color.
Yes, I needed a manicure but that didn’t stop me from doing my duty and getting a ventral view of this fly. I think it’s kind of an important view as a fish would see this side of the fly usually.
I think I did adjust exposure on this image above, but I made no color adjustment. In my opinion, this image above most accurately represents the color of the specimen shown in all the pictures. All these images are of the same fly.
Anyway, I think I have company in scratching my head as to why the fly fishing in Pine Creek didn’t bust loose this last week. Water temp as I saw it last evening was 64°. It’s a bit more humid today as predicted by the weather-guys. I think we just need to shrug this off and see what happens next. Keep tossing the line and see what happens I suppose.
Till we see each other again, live and reporting from Slate Run… UB
Slate Run Sportsmen 
It would be a sad thing if a major local hatch like the M.B. made only a trace appearance this year, but such is the way of natural cycles, and stranger things have happened. We’ll see what this next week brings in the way of caddis & mayfly hatches. Meanwhile, thanks for sharing another fine crop of photographs, viz., March Brown & mid-May browns!
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Thanks for adding another comment to this blog RTR! Cyclical emergences, like you say, is just part of things for sure. I do remember 2012 and I think 2015, where the MB was pretty heavy in the PCV. And I think in 2012 they were of a larger (size) nature. Harry’s hoping that something didn’t happen upstream that has caused this seemingly very light emergence this year. Time shall tell. Hope your excursion/s (was it one over to Kettle and I think one up your way) were fruitful. UB
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