Hammersley Wild Area

thebassman

thebassman

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Mar 28, 2009
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With the very real possibility of me moving from PA this year I thought it would be a travesty to have lived here and never fished for, or caught a native brook trout.

My goal is to take a trip this spring to backpack and fish for a few days.

I am looking for any information possible on where to park, and what streams I should look for. Send me a PM if you have any information. I assume that most streams in the area will hold some native brook trout, but I am not 100% so point me in the right direction. I should be fine on flies, and gear, but living 5 hours away and never stepping foot in the area I little guidance would be nice.

Shoot me a PM with what ever advice or tips you have. I know I can find brook trout closer to Philly, but this seems like such a beautiful area that I want to take the trip out there.

If for some reason a trip does not pan out I always have the Poconos I can explore too.

Steven
 
Steven,
There's no real trick to the Hammersley. If you can figure out how to get to the stream (which you can do using Google Maps), you'll see where to park. Just start hikin' in, man. You can camp just about anywhere back there.
Andy
 
Squatch,

Safe to say any stream you see will hold brookies or are there a stream or two that I must hit up while in the area?
 
Sorry, when you said "Hammersley Wild", I just assume you'd be fishing Hammersley Fork. That's what I was referring to.

But you're right, if you see a stream, it'll have natives.
 
Salvelinus,

My thought was to hike a day and set-up "basecamp". Then the next day or two hike from there to fish.

I am open to any number of miles as long as it leads to those beautiful little natives!
 
Just go up the Hammersley. Follow the stream. Hike in as far as you want, camp, and fish it. There's enough stream to keep you busy for 2 days. Look on Google Maps. You'll clearly see where the main branch flows. Nice place to camp about 2 miles in if memory serves me correctly.
 
thebassman wrote:
Squatch,

Safe to say any stream you see will hold brookies or are there a stream or two that I must hit up while in the area?

The entire Kettle Creek basin above the Alvin Bush dam is rated Exceptional Value (only basin I am aware of in the state that is like that). I think it is safe to say that every stream above the dam will hold brookies.
 
The_Sasquatch wrote:
Just go up the Hammersley. Follow the stream. Hike in as far as you want, camp, and fish it. There's enough stream to keep you busy for 2 days. Look on Google Maps. You'll clearly see where the main branch flows. Nice place to camp about 2 miles in if memory serves me correctly.

I'm having a tough time finding it on google maps, but the location of that campsite is really great. It really takes you to a different mindset. I did not camp there, but we did hike in and fish. The hike in was easy, the hike out, not so much.

I miss it there.
 
Be careful where you store your food. The bears in that area can be anything from a nuisance to destructive. A few years ago a couple of guys were camping at Kettle Creek State Park. They parked their truck as far as you can go in the Lower Hammersley to fish. Their truck had a soft bed cover, and they stored their food in the bed of the truck (in a cooler and bags). When they came back from fishing, the whole bed was torn up. The bear ripped apart everything, even their clothes. Ruined their trip, they ended up going home.
 
Hammersley is a "wild area" and relatively remote, by PA standards anyway. Wildlife encounters are to be expected. Be smart. Bear bag your food away from camp (and your vehicle). Saw a bear this past year on my hike out, but it quartered away from me after I spotted it. Saw 2 others this year elsewhere in the Upper Kettle drainage too. Busy year for bears for me.

Watch your step if you're there in Summer...healthy population of Rattlers. 3 sightings in the last 4 years for me, all essentially on the immediate stream banks too. Gaiters to the knee are a wise $75 investment for such a trip.

There's Brookies (mixed in with Browns to varying degrees) just about everywhere up there with the exception of the main stems of the bigger streams. If you go up to the Potter/Tioga area you'll surely get your Brookie bassman. Although as you note, they are found much closer if you wanted too.

Edit: Also, unless you are one of the legacy camp owners beyond the stream ford you should not be driving past the stream ford. Park short of there and hike in.
 
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