Minister Creek: A Synopsis of a Brief Fishing Excursion on Summer Solstice Weekend

One of the streams that I managed to fish this summer was Minister Creek. Ellen and I were camping with some friends over the weekend of Summer Solstice. Our campsite was positioned close to the confluence of Minister Creek and the much larger, Tionesta Creek. The weather was perfect. Early one morning, I headed out to fish the lower portion of Minister Creek.

I headed upstream crossing Rt.666 and entered into the camping area on the northside of the road. I didn’t want to start fishing next to tents and sleeping campers, so I continued upstream until a came to an open field with an old pump house standing in the middle of the clearing. Just north of the clearing, I began to fish. Previously and with success, I had fished the upper portion of Minister Creek where the North Country Trail intersects its waters. This was the first time I had tried fishing the downstream portion.

Minister Creek contains some great looking pools, large boulders, log jams, and undercut banks. The creek is guarded on the east and west by a steep ravine. Large hemlocks and beech trees protect the waters from direct sunlight. I started fishing with a Royal Wulff. I fished a couple of eddies around some large boulders and was able to hook a couple of brookies. Some of the pools were fairly deep, and as I worked upstream, I switched my fly to a small bead-headed nymph. After doing this, I began to catch more fish.

By mid-morning, I made my way back to camp. Everyone had already left to go hike the Minister Trail. I ate a quick breakfast and then fished a little more right around the campsite, which was a couple of yards from the confluence of the Tionesta Creek. Close to the bigger creek there still seemed to be a good number of smaller brookies. Nothing of substantial size was caught that day. Perhaps the largest was the first brookie taken on a Royal Wulff.

It was a rather quick fishing session, but of course, it was still fun to feel the tenacity with which even the smallest brook trout takes a fly.