When the Drought Hits Home

I got home from work at 7PM Last Tuesday and decided that I was going fishing. The closest fishing hole to me is Cache creek, about a 10 minute drive. I grabbed Excalibur (6wt.) and shot for the creek before the sun went down. 

For those of you that don’t remember, Cache creek is the place where I SLAYED the green sunfish and where I caught my first smallmouth bass on the fly. AS you may recall there is a deeper pond where the big boys hang so that was to be my first spot, but nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to find.

It was gone! That stretch of Cache creek has been reduced to a 4 foot deep ditch without a big smallie in sight.  And the worst part is that the spot where I caught my first smallie is now bone dry. 

This part of the creek no longer exists.

I took a couple of pictures of where the pond used to be and the little bit that is left. Its very sad. A beaver was still hanging around swimming and I wonder if he sensed that his home would soon become a casualty of the drought.

I went ahead and fished what remained of the pond. There was no interest in the hopper pattern or the popper. With single swings my fly reached across the entire pond. I wondered if the shallowness and narrowness of the pond put the big fish in danger for predators or if they were hiding somewhere in the cattails. 

 

  I tied on a black wooley bugger and after a bit I brought my first green sunfish to hand. I really wanted to try a new fly that I bought at sportsman’s warehouse. I didn’t get a name for it but it has a black body, a pink tail and a tiny propeller on the top.  It did attract the attention of one green sunfish and then I switched back to a popper and finished the day.  

On the walk up to my car a sheriff stopped me, let me know that this was private property and I was trespassing, which is weird because last time I was there the sheriff told me I was fine to fish there. I guess it doesn’t matter because within a couple of months, this creek like many others, will be gone.

Total fish: 2 Green sunfish