This is Not Possible!

Never had a First Day like this one! By the photo above, you can see the results of the rainy morning in Central PA. Unbelievable.

Major rain storms and tornados have ravished the South Central region of the country and, although we were spared the true force of these storm events, we have been definitely nicked by them.

Because of local downpours, the decision was not to hit a stream. Many were very high or close to flooding their banks. So I opted to go to a small lake in Huntingdon County. Certainly the rain did not deter fishermen/women from showing up. When I got there just before 7:00 am, finding decent access to the lake where a rod was not announcing a reserved spot was almost impossible. I eventually finally found an area to set up where I had decent water access. I had my hip boots on so I could sit with my feet in about three inches of mud and water waiting for the appointed hour.

And yes, it was raining but at about five minutes before 8:00, starting time, the rain stopped and I could pull back my water proof hood and unzip my rain jacket. The lake was ringed by at least 75 people, all hoping for an exciting morning. Big crowd for sure. The water directly in front of me was shallow, so I figured that I’d wade out about 7 feet so and cast into deep water and hopefully not in one of the 9 boats that were slowly cruising around, jockeying for position. With my position set, I attached an old red and white bobber and hooked up a Butterworm. Ready for the first cast with the usual anticipation.

I pitched the line, bobber, and worm to a good spot. As soon as the bobber hit the water, it went under! Yes! Well…no. My line was not going out and everything was still but with no bobber in sight. What? Turns out my bobber sunk. “Are you kidding me!” Does not seem possible but it did. Reeled the line in and put on another bobber. The start of a strange day on the lake.

About an hour passed and no trout but I kept an eye on others. I’d estimate that only about 5 or 6 fish were caught during that time. Exceptionally slow! Strangely my experience was that with each cast, the ‘new’ bobber would move and sometimes bob up and down but never fully submerged. What was going on? And often the line would simply trail off. Very small fish were at work nibbling away at my expensive bait but trout nowhere to be found. They nibbled all morning until I caught one. People to my left and right were also catching small sunfish, rock bass, and one very small catfish. The length was in the 5 to 6 inch range. Then about 11:00 it started to rain steadily again. Hood back up.

Because of the major storms and what we were experiencing from them in our area, it appeared that the barometric pressure was being telegraphed to the fish. There is something called ‘swim bladder regulation.’ Fish regulate their buoyancy using a swim bladder, a gas-filled sac that they can inflate or deflate to achieve neutral buoyancy at different depths. In other words, fish have to adjust internal pressure to match changes in water pressure caused by the air above. Sudden changes cause stress due to fluctuations in barometric pressure that can cause trout to be uncomfortable so one way they cope is for them to go deep to regulate themselves. This may also cause a decrease in feeding.

Whatever the reason, there was nothing really exciting to report for this year’s first day. Guess I’ll just have to keep an eye on the barometric pressure. But at least, there have to be 1,000 fish left in the little lake. Some good news. But now to find the time…