New to PA

[Sheridan]

Im new to the area and different regulations around here and just moved to Canonsburg a few months ago, loved all the posts on here and figured I could make some use of it finding a good place to toss my rod around.. Ive been checking out this chartiers creek here in town and I think it looks a little too polluted for fish. Im hoping to find somewhere kinda close to my area but its looking like my options are very limited! The internet can usually be of some good use and refrence but it doesnt let you in on the hidden creeks that are not so populated with people. Im also finding that there arent near as many fishing locals to help me out as I had hoped. Any lead on a somewhat close fly fishing creek to Canonsburg would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[bikerfish]

welcome! your best bet is probably to head in the direction of the laurel highlands, east of you. lots of good trout water there.

 

[Sheridan]

Awesome! Thanks for the input.. I just watched some youtube videos from...Casselman River? I believe.. Looks amazing over there! Any specific creeks or rivers you know of? Looks like a pretty big area.

 

[David]

The Yough is the main water in the area...the cassleman runs into the yough. The yough is big water with lots of fish. It can be very rewarding, but very frustrating as well. The cassleman is ok, but not great...good smallie water in the summer. In the area, you also have meadow run which is very pretty and productive. Laurel Hill is also close by as well as a slew of brookie streams.

Here's a map that shows you some of the trout streams in SW PA.
http://www.paflyfish.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=144

Also a straight shot up 79 will get you to slippery rock and neshannock. Both are well stocked with special regulation areas.

 

[ryguyfi]

My sister lives out that way and there's not much fishing outside of the local put and take streams (the state puts the fish in, and the locals take them out). I would recommend what the other guys said. The Yough isn't to far for you, and there's plenty of brookie water out in the Laurel Highlands area.

I'm organizing an instructional meeting at a stream that's about an hour and a half north of you if you'd be interested in coming. We should probably have atleast a dozen people from the board there from the Western part of the state. Check it out in the general form (Western PA Instructional Mini-JAM). You should come if you can.


Ryan

 

[Sheridan]

Ya I have looked into the yough a little and its a pretty big river which takes some knowledge to acquire a hot spot. I love this site and how quick I've been getting responses! I also looked into.. Buffalo creek here in Washington county. Just east of Washington about 10 minutes. It looks amazing for FFing but still I dont want to go spend hours somewhere with no fish haha. And for ryguy- what type of meeting is it your putting together? I would definitely be interested in coming as long as my new little one is cooperative with mommy that day! Does anyone know of a good starting point for me in the Laurel Highlands or can I expect to catch something in any of the streams there? Thanks for the replies guys!

 

[Fishidiot]

Sheridan,
Welcome to PA and welcome to the PAFF forum. Are you originally from PA? If not, PA has a world class reputation for trout fishing and deservedly so. When folks from other states think fishin in PA, they think stream trout. However, the wealth isn't spread evenly and western PA is not in the prime zone. Generally, if you look at a map of PA topography, the mountains curve from the southcentral to northeast and good trout fishing generally follows the Appalachain curve with the best fishing in the central and northcentral sections. Western PA and SE PA have far fewer trout fishing opportunites for drive times under an hour. On the other hand, don't overlook bass and warm water fish. Your area is loaded with medium to large rivers that have great bass fishing (and tons of tribs with bass). A month from now, the rivers will really perk up and bass will be on the prowl and feeding heavily by early April.
However, if it's trout you want, check the "Trout Streams" link at the uper right hand side of this page. The state fish Commish website aslo has trout streams listed by county:
www.fish.state.pa.us

 

[Sheridan]

Thanks fishidiot! Im actually from Wyoming.. Ive been spoiled by some of the trout fishing there and thats actually where I got hooked on this new-to-me art of fishing! I enjoy all kinds of fishing but I really love smaller creeks for wild trout.. Smaller rivers and creeks are just a little easier to cover more ground in a day to find myself a nice spot.. And I really dont mind an hour drive or two in hopes of catching some fish so I am pretty open minded since I know absolutely nothing about the area aside from what I'm learing on here.. After all; a bad day of fishing is a hell of a lot better than a day of work! Hopefully soon I can just try and get out and explore more of PA cause Im getting way too antsy to get out on the water!

 

[Fishidiot]

Heck, just noticed the thread title (sound of hand slapping forehead). Sorry for the dumb question.

But anyway, yes, welcome to PA.

If you don't mind driving an hour or two, it really does open a lot of fishing opportunities. Since you like small stream trout fishing, you'll need to spend some time in the Laurel Highlands (as others have pointed out). That area is loaded with small streams and many have wild trout.

Some things helpful to know:
PA has a problematic legacy from coal mining in past decades that has resulted in severe acid damage (Acid Mine Drainage, AMD) to many flowing waters so streams that appear at first glance to be "trouty" are sometimes barren. This is particulary true in the streams that are in western PA. If you see a stream with a distinct orange tint, this is probably one with AMD and not worth fishing. Many of us are a bit tight lipped about our favorite small streams, so do some exploring and get to know some of the forum members from western PA and you'll find some great small streams. Most of our small stream wild trout are brookies, but browns are common too and many streams have both. Wild rainbows are pretty rare in small streams. About 2/3rds of PA trout streams are wild population with no stocking. Most of our streams with wild trout produce mainly small fish with brookies averaging about 6" and browns maybe 8 or 9" - there are exceptions to this, but most of our wild trout are small.

The lists of streams on the state website known as "Approved Trout Waters" (ATWs) are streams that are stocked with trout. Just because a stream isn't listed as an ATW doesn't mean it doesn't have trout, it's just not stocked. Wild trout streams that have been documented to have high numbers of wild trout relative to the stream size are known here in PA as "Class A."

Small streams here in PA are different from what you're likely accustomed to out West: they tend to be covered in dense forest, often hemlock and white pine and can be thick with rhododendron making for a tough fishing experience but you'll get used to that quickly I'm willing to bet.

 

[Maurice]

Sheri,

by all means do what those others said.....sorry it was a tl;dr for me.

Regarding Gun-town, once the stockings start, try upstream of gun-town lake. the Chartiers Crik in the city limits is a decent smallmouth fishery. look for spots to explore downstream of the state hospital in the wooded areas.

But yea, the area ain't too trouty. I moved away from there for that very reason. But hey, you got the best chocolate in the world there.

I lived in Glen Canon for ten years. There are places to wet a line, just don't be too choosy.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Welcome aboard.GG

 

[Sheridan]

Awesome thank you guys again.. Another question I had that I cant find a specific question in regulations handbook is when can I fish some of these creeks? Are class A streams open fishing year round? I saw an opening day of trout for "approved trout waters" does this apply to the class A as well? Im not looking to keep any fish. I only catch and release and back home I can fish anywhere I want all year long.. I've noticed alot of the streams breaking free of ice about now and like I said before Im getting antsy haha! Are there any streams available for me to fish and catch a few wild trout right now?

 

[Fishidiot]

You can fish any trout streams until the end of this month (Feb).

You can fish Class A streams year round on a catch and release basis. This is also true for streams listed as "Wilderness Trout Streams" as they are not stocked either. Be aware that some streams are Class A or Wilderness only in certain sections and are stocked in other areas, usually downstream.

Sections that are listed as Approved Trout Waters cannot be fished at all from 1 March until Opening Day of trout season in April. Streams that are neither ATW or Class A/Wilderness - this includes most streams in PA - are a bit more difficult and whether you can fish 'em C&R has been a subject of debate and the answer is actually a bit unclear and you'll get different answers ....but generally it is believed that if the section is NOT an ATW section you can fish it on a C&R basis but I generally stick to Class A sections and the other special regulation sections (Fly Fishing Only, Trophy Trout, Delayed Harvest Artificial Lures etc) during the closed season in March.
It is indeed a bit confusing and the state Fish Commission should be more clear about this in my opinion.

 

[Acristickid]

Anyone that uses the term Gun-town is a yinz'er hick.

 

[albatross]

Akid wrote

Anyone that uses the term Gun-town is a yinz'er hick

There was never any doubt about Mo. Definite Yinzer...

 

[Burgh]

This link may help you out.
http://uscflyfishing.org/streams.htm

 

[pcray1231]

I put this together a few years ago. It's the # of wild trout streams in each county. Might not be up to date as some streams have been added or subtracted from the list, but its certainly enough to give you an idea.

A few things to note:

In the ridge and valley regions and SE, there are limestoners, which are like the Spring Creek's out west. For the most part, these are our most productive wild trout streams. There tend not to be as many as in some other areas, but these streams are often larger and still stay cool, plus they're much more biologically rich.

Across the northern tier, as well as in the Laurel Highlands, the streams are mostly freestone. So the large numbers of wild trout streams are often very small, densely forested waters, and there's a few medium sized waters mixed in, but in these areas the large waters typically get too warm in the summer, so the primary trout fishing occurs over stocked fish.

 

[afishinado]

Nice Pat, but still looking for the wild trout stream in Philly. Tookany Creek?

 

[pcray1231]

nah, it's kind of a trick. This is simply the PA natural reproduction list put on a map, by the county they list it under. For streams that cross county lines, they list it in the county of it's mouth.

So, the Philladelphia County one is:..... The Schuylkill River! lol.

Likewise, 1 of the 2 Allegheny County streams listed is the Allegheny River, even though the wild fish are all the way up in the NC part of the state.

That said, despite the handful of ridiculous exceptions, this gives a pretty dang good idea of where congregations of wild trout are found in our state.

 

[afishinado]

A picture is worth a thousand words:

http://146.186.163.133/preview/map.ashx?layer=980