Ken Undercoffer, the president of the Pennsylvania Council, and I met for an evening on the Little Juniata, a premier brown trout fishery. By eastern standards, the Little J is not very small. While the river is big enough to support a lot of nice trout, it is still wadeable in most spots. The fish grow fat on some of the best hatches in the country, making this river a great destination for the dry fly fiend.

As the shadows spread over the river, Ken and I started to see a few noses poking out of the water. The fish were rising sporadically to sulfur duns, demanding patience from the angler. Why these fish decide to take your twentieth presentation over your first, I don’t know, but persistence can pay off for wily browns, assuming you don’t spook them with your efforts.

Throughout my time in PA, I used a realistic hackle-winged comparadun-style imitation to match both the sulfur dun and the spinner. This fly has treated me well for the better part of a decade, so I included a photo of it in the gallery. I caught my best trout with a down and across presentation into the slack water on the far bank. These fish are fat and colorful and a lot of fun.

Towards dark, the sulfur spinners were laying eggs in the faster riffles and the trout were worked into a frenzy. I finally put down the rod after hooking countless fish, including one rainbow, an escapee from one of the ritzy angling clubs on the river.

Ken and I walked back to our cars after dark, content with a fine evening of dry fly fishing. A dark colored sedan with two occupants was idling in the lot when we arrived. Basking in the glow of a successful day on the water, I just figured they were other anglers who were leaving the water. I intentionally went out of my way to walk around a large boulder, so it would be easier for them to pull out and leave. As soon as I approached my truck, they did just that. As they left, I even waved goodbye.

It seems that we interrupted these two as they were cleaning out the back of my truck. I noticed right away that the chintzy locks on my rear topper window had been bent and popped open. Further inspection revealed that they had taken my compound bow, TU’s laptop in my personal Pelican case, and an empty Pelican case that normally holds my camera and waterproof camera housing. Given all the stuff (including the value of the truck in fly rods) that they left behind, we suspect that they were just getting started, so it is a good thing that we returned to the cars when we did.

Unfortunately, this is part of travel and fishing in our day and age. There are a million “what ifs” that I have been asking myself about the situation, which of course doesn’t help any. The old expression “live and learn” is tough to swallow while you still feel the sting of loss, but I’m sure I’ll laugh about all this someday.

Also, in the end it’s just stuff. I have my health, one of the best jobs in the world, wonderful family and friends, and a great life overall. The thieves didn’t take any of these things from me. I don’t believe that I am the actual victim. They are the ones who have reduced themselves to a horrible lifestyle that I’m sure goes far beyond the theft of my possessions.

To see photos of nice Little J browns and the robbery scene, click HERE.