I’ve fallen behind in my writing again. It’s okay because I do this mostly for myself and at my leisure, but I still get frustrated when I don’t keep up with it. I worry that I’ll miss important details that someday I’ll wish I had. In this case, the adventure I’m writing about occurred on June 26, and here it is the early morning hours of July 19. I’ll do my best to accurately capture what started out as a quest to see some new water in the late spring trout season, but turned into making a walk that I last made about 30 years ago.
I had been taking advantage of some late June rains and cool morning temperatures to chase stocked trout in Yellow Creek and Little Mahoning Creek. The morning before, I decided to give the Ferrier’s Run Road section of Yellow Creek a try because I hadn’t fished that section in years and I heard that people were having some success. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised then when I arrived at the parking area, which is a dead end where Ferrier’s Run Road meets the creek, and found two other vehicles. One fisherman was just getting started and he headed downstream. I figured I’d go upstream then to avoid fishing the same water. I was pleasantly surprised to find some very nice pools not far from where I parked, and it didn’t take long before I put a few rainbows in the net. I didn’t fish long but the time I put in was productive, and I planned to return the following morning when I had more time.
The next morning I arrived a little earlier and was happy to see I was the first one on the stream. This time my plan was to check out the water downstream with more of a focus on reacquainting myself with an area I last fished when I was in my early 20’s than seeing how many trout I could land. I started downstream and quickly found some nice holes to fish. The water level was pretty low, but the pools were deep enough that I could mostly avoid spooking already wary trout. After about an hour I realized I was pretty far downstream and I started to think back to a long journey I made with a few buddies about three decades prior.
We were spin fishing then and hatched a plan to cover the stretch from Ferrier’s Run Road down to what we called “The Waterworks.” The Waterworks is the small dam that I often hike upstream to from the 6th Street (Route 954) bridge before fishing back down to the parking area. It’s owned by the Indiana County Water Authority and I believe provides or once provided water to Homer City Borough. If I’m remembering correctly, we parked a vehicle at the bridge so we’d have a ride back and drove another one to our starting point. For some reason I remember catching 11 trout that day and it’s probably because every fishing trip seemed to turn into a competition. I also remember packing a lunch and stopping to eat stream side along the way. At that time you would have never convinced me that I wouldn’t make that walk again until I was in my 50’s.
The distance from start to stop is about 1.15 miles, which may not seem very far, but it’s through a steep valley and very rugged terrain. There’s no cell service and if you only have one vehicle, the trip requires a long walk back keeping in mind this is when wearing wading shoes or boots of some sort. I was only fishing with dry flies, specifically an elk hair caddis. Even though the fish weren’t rising, I managed to fool a small brown well downstream of where the stocking ends and figured that alone made the hike worth it. After releasing the fish I looked at my onX map and quickly did the math in my head. I had time to continue downstream to The Waterworks and get back if I really wanted to. I considered that I may never be in good enough physical shape to do the trip again someday, and this might be my last chance. At that moment, I just put my head down and went for it. I was so close so why not?
Fishing took a backseat to hiking as I worked my way through the tough terrain. I was wet wading so I wasn’t bogged down by waders, but it was still a difficult trek. When I had to leave the stream channel I was met with dense vegetation and steep banks. It was also getting warm and I didn’t have any drinking water. What I did have was determination though and that, along with some great scenery, was enough to push me through. I was reminded that there is some excellent fish habitat on that remote stretch of stream and I did my best to mark most of the significant pools. Looking at my map now I see I marked a dozen spots. I may never see any of them again, but you never know.
Once I got to where the water slowed down as it entered The Waterworks, I stopped for a photo to commemorate the moment. I wish I had a photo to compare it to from all those years ago, but carrying cameras around wasn’t much of a thing in those days. I stood there for a few minutes to take it all in, and then looked for the easiest way I could find to start my return trip. For a moment I considered calling Angela to see if she’d pick me up at the 6th Street bridge, but there wasn’t even a hint of cell signal in the valley. I had little choice but to turn around and head back the way I came.
I thought I could see a hillside trail on the opposite side of the stream and spotting the USGS gauge station told me there had to be a road somewhere that might connect to an easier route back to the truck. After a crossing the stream and a little investigation, I located a tram road that appeared to follow the creek. I should have mentioned earlier that the entire south side of the creek in that area is State Game Lands 273 so anglers walking that stretch of Yellow Creek don’t have to worry about navigating private property. The other thing about Game Lands is there is typically no shortage of trails, old logging road, or service roads. I started back upstream on the tram road and was pleased to learn it was easily walkable. After a while, it became obvious it would take me all the way back to the parking area.
I stopped to take some photos along the way and felt a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment as I realized what a great adventure I had. I also thought about future trips now that I knew I could find easier access thanks to the road I just found. I don’t think I ever need to walk the stream channel again to get to some of the spots I marked. I’d like to head back to them though to spend more time fishing and less time hiking. I’ve always been the type of person that would rather have the stream to myself and some good adventure than catching a bunch of fish while standing next to several other anglers. This stretch of water provides that.
Exhausted, I returned to the truck and met up with a couple anglers that were just arriving. If they only knew how much water I already covered that morning! They asked me how I did and I told them I was mostly hiking but did manage to land a single trout. I told them I walked all the way to The Waterworks, but they were either unimpressed or so impressed that they had little reaction. For me though, it was an accomplishment that I felt blessed to still be able to do several decades after having done it the first time. If I want to do it again, I don’t think waiting another 30 years is a great idea.