Fly fishing Philadelphia

[goblue20]

Hey everyone.

New to the forum and fly fishing in general. Always did a little fishing here and there, but I've wanted to learn to fly fish for a while now. Now that I've moved out here from Michigan for PA school, I'd like to take advantage of the fishing opportunities close to me in the little spare time that I do have.

I live close to the Wissahickon and I have a spinning set up, so I've fished a couple times in the past week without much luck. Eventually once I get the basics of fly fishing down, I'd like to switch over to that. Even if that means later this summer for bass or again in the fall for trout.

Really just looking for resources you guys would recommend for a beginner, especially relating to any fishing relatively close to me. Reading the water, hatches, really anything that may be good for a beginning trout/fly fisherman in general. I've been sifting through YouTube and reading on here as well, but just curious what resources you guys may have utilized in the past. Any help is appreciated.

Cody

 

[Chaz]

Cody, welcome to the message board. Below you'll find the link to the PA Fish and Boat Commission web site that give all the info you'll need to get started in and around Philadelphia.
Within an hour of Philly there are a lot of trout streams to explore, and within 2 hours, literally thousands of trout streams. This includes some of the best trout streams in the Commonwealth. Have fun exploring, I'd advise getting a Delorme Gazetteer of PA. and learn to use it, and if you have a GPS app on your phone you can then enter coordinates to find the streams you are look for.

Or you can PM me and I'll share info.
Trout info

 

[poopdeck]

Hmmmmmmmm, go blue, from Michigan, I'm guessing you don't care for the color green and you don't own anything red.

Welcome to the city of brotherly love. Make sure you keep everything locked. I prefer pats to Gino's and lunch at the reading terminal market. I also hear there is a bell in town and the constitution was signed here.

Not much trout fishing close to the city. Valley creek at valley forge is your best bet for trout. Depending on where your living its about 45 minutes from downtown.

 

[goblue20]

Thanks for the replies guys. You're spot on with the green and red comments! Haha.

I started school in September, so I'm getting fairly accustomed to the city. Haven't been to Pat's or Gino's yet actually, but I've had a few lunches at the Reading Terminal Market. Hadn't looked into the Valley Creek at Valley Forge either, so I'll have to check it out.

 

[Fishidiot]

Welcome Cody to our online fly fishing community.
The first thing you'll want to do is make sure you have a license with trout stamp. Then you'll want to get a fly rod set-up and probably some hip boots or waders. To do this, a visit to a good store can help. I recommend the Orvis stores in Plymouth Meeting or Downingtown.

Now is a good time to fish Wissahickon as it has a lot of stocked trout (by June it gets too warm but you can catch bass and sunfish there). You might try fishing it with spin gear first just to get a feel. The above mentioned Valley Creek is a well known nearby stream with wild trout. However, I don't recommend it for beginners. The fish are tough to catch and pressured hard by capable anglers so you need a stealthy approach. I recommend putting Valley Cr on the backburner until you have a bit more experience with FFing. Valley is the major leagues.

Take some time to read through this Beginner's Forum as there is a lot of discussion of topics you will be interested in. Most years, a dedicated group from this community puts on a free seminar for beginners up near Allentown called the "Newbie Jam" or something similar. Watch the Events and Meet Ups Forum for info on these sorts of events.
Good luck with your introduction to or great sport.

 

[JerryC]

Welcome. I think you'll enjoy fishing the Wissahickon. I've been fly fishing it for about 20 years now. I haven't specifically fished it for trout in awhile. I usually don't start until after the last stocking in May when most people are convinced that the state didn't stock enough trout or they've all been caught. It's also when the bass and panfish start taking top waters with gusto. My only suggestion would be put some distance between you and the parking areas and wade where you can. For example, the stretch below the bridge at Bells Mills Rd can be waded downstream for at least a 1/4 mile and if you have really low water you can wade even further. Not to many places where folks can fish from the bank, so less pressure. Trick is once you get below the pool at the end of the riffles is to wade down the middle of the creek and cast your poppers or flies toward the banks on either side. Water in the middle is pretty much knee deep in most places, deeper closer to the banks.

 

[goblue20]

Thanks for the info Jerry.

I actually had my first two strikes yesterday morning fishing the Wissahickon. Both got off before I could land either, but I definitely had a lot of fun trying.

I'm still pretty new to fly fishing and I haven't really met anyone out here that fishes to tag along with and learn from, so it's kind of trial by fire right now. I still feel like I'm learning some things along the way. Thanks again for the info guys. Really enjoying this forum.

 

[afishinado]

goblue20 wrote:
Thanks for the info Jerry.

I actually had my first two strikes yesterday morning fishing the Wissahickon. Both got off before I could land either, but I definitely had a lot of fun trying.

I'm still pretty new to fly fishing and I haven't really met anyone out here that fishes to tag along with and learn from, so it's kind of trial by fire right now. I still feel like I'm learning some things along the way. Thanks again for the info guys. Really enjoying this forum.

The Orvis stores in Downingtown as well as Plymouth Meeting give free Fly-fishing classes every Saturday morning until the end of June. Just contact the store to reserve a spot in the class. All classes are free and all equipment is provided for free.

 

[goblue20]

Forgot about the fishing 101 classes at the Orvis store. I'll have to check one out sometime. Thanks!

 

[JerryC]

Just thought of something else, goblue20. The Friends of the Wissahickon publish a map of the Wissahickon Valley from Northwestern Ave down to Ridge Ave. It shows the dams and bridges on the creek. Access points, parking areas and if you're into hiking and or biking all the various trails in the park. Not sure where they sell them, probably at the Valley Green Inn or at the Nature Center off of Northwestern Ave or maybe on their website. It doesn't show depth but it can give you some idea of where to fish. Dams, pools above, fast water below. More likely to find largemouth above the dams than below them. Smallmouth in the faster water.

 

[goblue20]

I actually came across the fishing while hiking the trails with my girlfriend before the opener, so we did invest in a map. It's been nice as far as looking at stretches of water and where to park at. I've fished both sides of Bells Mills Rd and as far down as the dam. This weekend I tried by the Inn on Saturday and had good luck as far as getting on fish. My technique still needs work though.

 

[JerryC]

That's always been a good spot for me. Wade across at the end of the riffles just past the inn and work your way downstream casting toward the Forbidden Drive side of the creek.

 

[JG63]

Welcome aboard! Jim's steaks at 400 South street are better than Pat's or Gino's IMO. You'll have to try all three and form your own opinion. Don't miss Koch's Deli at 4309 Locust (near Drexel). You'll wait in line but it's worth it!

 

[hooker-of-men]

If you're talking about steaks AND fishing the Wissahickon, you've got Delassandro's and Chubby's right by the creek. Both rival any of the places closer in the city and make for a convenient stop after you're done on the stream.

As said above, Wissahickon has good spots all throughout, but trout pretty much comes to a dead stop in June. Pennypack is close and has some really good spots. If you haven't been, it's in a high-use park like the Wissahickon, but there's a lot more of the creek that winds away from the main trail and is accessible by less trodden fisherman's trails. It's kinda nice to feel somewhat secluded fishing in the middle of the city and I've had better luck there over the past few years than at Wissahickon.

Another option than traveling out to Valley Forge would be going down to Ridley. It's a super nice creek that, though fished pretty heavily, is spread out over a lot of space and a lot of varying terrain. There's a fly fishing only section, but there's also plenty of other stretches where fly fishing (or spinning) are completely accessible. I believe it also has a wild trout population, but someone else could speak to that better than me.

I'm pretty sure Sporting Gentleman, a fly shop close to Ridley, actually has a Fly Fishing 101 course running weekly right now too. Could be worth checking out and planning fishing around to make the drive down from the city (~45 mins.) more worthwhile. Less good cheesesteak places down that way, but I know of a good cheeseburger shack if you need one.

 

[goblue20]

Thanks again for the info. If nothing else it sounds like I have some new places to eat at. I've looked into Ridley a little bit too, so I may have to check it out sometime.

Fished the Wissahickon again this morning for a couple hours. Was able to land this trout and a couple gills. Not that I wasn't before, but I'm definitely hooked now!

 

[pratt]

the wissahickon map is available at the REI store in Conshohocken (on Ridge)

 

[mellowluke]

I'm new to Media, PA. New York transplant -- has anyone fished Ridley creek lately? Looking to go on Saturday and wanted to see if it has been fished out yet.

 

[JerryC]

I was talking to Barry at the Sporting Gentlemen last Sunday complaining about the lousy morning I had fishing a flooded quarry. Plenty of fish, just not interested in any thing I threw at them. Two decent sunfish and a very small largemouth for two hours work. He said that Ridley was fishing very good. Still a lot of fish in it. If nothing else the rain and the cool weather we've had this week should keep it that way.