Juniata Troutfitters

Happy July 4th to you all. We are entering a situation with our area rivers where it’s been a number of years since this has happened. That is, long periods of low flow and warming waters, with no cool down in sight. You may often read about using your thermometer and a certain water temperature, such as 67 degrees and lower, being safe to fish. There is no doubt that there are plenty of areas/early mornings staying cool enough, strictly from a temperature standpoint, that... appear to be safe to fish for wild trout. While that may be generally true, long periods of warm low water, introduce something we do not see often. That is, depletion of dissolved oxygen and because of it, a gradual build up of lactic acid in trout. I am not a trout biologist, but I’ve talked to enough and have read enough to say with confidence, a trout that is caught, released and appears to be fine in these conditions, may not make it. The longer this draws out, the worse it can get. Hope you are staying safe and enjoying the weekend.

Chet with some lower river browns. Temps still good for now.

64 degree water against the humid 90 degree air creating a mist over mid-river. A decent number of sulphur spinners at dark. Tis the season to keep your thermometer active, especially on the lower river. Once water temps hit 68, fish can struggle after a battle and while they may release, they may not recover. Fishing usually slows around these temps too. This time of year, if overnight temps do not dip into the lower 60s the lower river may be warm even at daylight.

Kathleen and Chris joined JT for an anniversary gift. They were greeted by some nice sized trout! Some fun folks to be on the water with!

We’ve been out a good bit lately, spinner falls are heavy at dark. Cahills, a few slates, scattered caddis throughout the day. Today is nice and tomorrow is to be even cooler. Upper J green.