PA Fly Fishing Stream
Reports
FALLING SPRINGS
The
Falling Springs is one of three designated limestone wild trout fisheries, and
fly fisherman nationwide recognize the Falling Springs as one of the best
limestone waters in the East. The Falling Springs with its constant water
temperatures makes for a great year round fishery. Most of the Falling
Spring flows through picturesque meadows. The stream is blessed with a
diversity of mayflies, caddisflies and midges and prime water for summer
terrestrial fishing. The Falling Springs has a great population of wild
rainbows. Many reaching lengths of 20+ inches. There is also a
very good population of wild
brown trout, but they are seldom seen or caught because they
are very wary. The downtown section is full of both stocked browns and an
increasing population of wild rainbows and brown trout..
Fishing Report on Falling Springs:
7/13/08
What a great day I had with Jeff from here in good ole' PA. The water was
clear, great flow and 55 degrees. The sun was shining, but was cloudy come
afternoon. There was a nice breeze all day. We started out looking
for some tricos, but wind made me decide on another plan. I thought, lets
fish and hit some tricos come 9:30am. Well, Jeff and I hit some water and
the tricos lightly did there thing as we fished. The day started great and
may have been hard to beat. Jeff's first dry fly trout was a "BIG" 16"
rainbow followed by to nice lost browns. Then we fished some tricos and
missed one small rainbow and went back to other dry flies and landed one and yet
another brown trout. As the day continued, threatening skies kept coming,
but we were able to fish until 3:00pm. Jeff was into the trout. We
had missed and lost a few and landed at least four more browns and another
rainbow.
LETORT
Out of all our South-Central PA streams, the Letort is by far the most
famous. This is where terrestrial fishing began. The brown trout of the Letort are
extremely skittish. Patience, the ability to sneak about and the proper fly presentation
are all needed to be successful on the Letort. Brown trout populations continue to
go up and down but still trout over 20" are present. Midges hatch year round. Blue Winged Olives, black
stoneflies, sulphurs and tricos hatch during their given times. Terrestrial fishing
becomes the norm over the summer months and good streamer techniques are a must for this
legendary limestone creek.
Fishing Report on LeTort: 07/01/08
I meet up with Dale for a half day on the Letort. The
sky was clear and that would mean sun. The water was clear and backing up
with all the weeds in the stream. We fished from 2pm until 6. Dale
just wanted to stick with dries and look for trout. There were a few
laying atop the weedbeds and they were spooky. Dale made some nice cast,
but three took off. Then we did find a few rising browns in the shadows of
some trees. Dale and I took our time and patience paid off. Dale
landed two browns-on small, the other 13 inches on terrestrials.
YELLOW BREECHES
Although not a wild trout stream, these trout can be very selective. Most
anglers fish within the 1 mile "no-kill" stretch at the Allenberry, but good
fishing can be had for holdover trout outside of the special regulation section. The
stream is stocked several times a year. The Yellow Breeches has a wide diversity of
hatching insects. Of all the insects, the "Breeches" heaviest hatches are the
black caddis, olive-bodied tan winged caddis, sulphurs and tricos. The most famous is the White Fly Hatch and lets not
leave out the fantastic midge fishing. To round out the fishing, the Breeches is very well
known for its terrestrial fishing.
Fishing Report on Yellow Breeches: 07/03/07
Dan and I hit the breeches this
morning. Dan was in for a full day and we started here since it has been
crowded and warm. Dan I I fished the breeches from 8am until n00n.
The water was clear and low. I would say around 1.3' Some bugs were
hatching along with a few tricos. There were a few trout rising and we did
well below the dam. Dan landed 12 before we headed to lunch. We
caught them on terrestrials and midges.
BIG SPRING
Big
Spring Creek sure has come a long way since I first starting fishing it back
when it was one trophy trout per day. Now it is classified as a catch and
release fly fishing only stretch of 1.1 miles; from 100 feet downstream of the
source (Big Spring) downstream to the Nealy Road Bridge.
Below that is open regulated water. Still, it is nothing like it
was in its hay day when Vincent Marinaro walked the grassy banks of Big Spring.
Much has been written about the rising brook trout once found in Big Spring.
These books describe a stream of miles and miles of rising brook trout, then
came the mills and then the final blow—a big hatchery at the headwaters.
Much has changed since the hatchery has been shut
down. Big Spring is now fishing much like a wild trout stream. Now one can
find trout outside what was locally known as the “ditch”. This once dead stream
is now on the rebound. There is plenty of trout to be found within the catch
and release water and good angling below the project water. The stream is
filled with some stream-bred rainbows and brown trout. The past population of
stream-bred brook trout is on the rebound. Thanks to some stockings of brook
trout fingerlings, many stream-bred brook trout have begun to appear within many
reaches of the stream. Efforts have begun to restore the
stream and once again make it a world-class fishery.
Fishing Report on Big Spring: 06/30/07
Man, I was so looking forward to a full day with Scott and Joel.
Unfortunately we had to run Fisher to the hospital last nigh. He is OK
right now and stable. Had to have a blood transfusion ASAP which became a
problem, but all is good now. Still, I had to cut the day short but the
guys completely understood. The skies were sunny and the water clear and
cool. No trout rising. We started to fishing nymphs on Big Spring
for just about 45 minutes. We landed three and missed two. From
there we hit Falling Springs.
OTHER PA STREAMS
Jay Nichols-photo
Fishing Report on Antietam: 07/12/07
I had a blast with two great guys from the past. I had the honor to fish
with dad and son. Had to forget the Jim's. I knew it was going to be
a great day. They have not got out much so we decided to try some lesser
spooky trout. Since the breeches has been getting hammered we headed
south. Well, it paid off. The stream was ours for the day!
Water was clear and 65 warming to 69 by 3:30. The air was hot. It
was sunny, humid and 91 degrees. i had the guys toss just about everything
from streamers to dries. I will keep it short. The guys did
fantastic. They missed and lost several. They landed seven of so.
Looking forward to another day with these guys. It is always fun.
