Alnitak
Member
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2014
- Messages
- 314
I love to fish smaller streams with wild trout populations, particularly our native brook trout. As it warms up here in Lancaster County I need to look north for cooler water, and I love to explore so yesterday I headed up to Schuylkill County with my brother-in-law; my father lived in Orwigsburg for some time and is buried there so I have some connection to that area (and I grew up in northern Berks).
Doing some research I located a couple of streams to try out and on the drive we decided on the final destination. We arrived on the stream at about 1pm and it was a beautiful location. The water was cold at 59F and very clear. It was a little low but not too far off of what is likely the average level for this stream. It was tight quarters so I took my 6' 3WT Orvis Superfine Touch and my BIL used his 7' Sage (or maybe it was a Hardy? Can't remember.).
The fish were feeding well when we first arrived, and on my first cast I missed a nice brown in a pool under an overhanging tree. Two or three casts later he came streaking out from under the roots and took my size 16 Royal Wulff; a nice BT about 9-10" long. I have very good vision after having had LASIK a number of years ago, but I have to say that I struggle to see a tan caddis in most waters like this, so the Wulff was a great way for me to see the fly. In addition, brookies seem to love it, and I was hoping to get into some nice brookie waters.
Interestingly enough, while this was listed as a brook trout fishery, there were very few brookies. We fished nearly a quarter mile before I caught a nice healthy 7" ST. Not long after I caught two or three more smaller ST in the 4-5" range. My brother-in-law caught 2 or 3 small ones as well. Given that we both had over 30 brown trout, the population of ST seemed to be pretty sparse. Perhaps there are more further upstream.
The browns were very colorful and most were quite dark--a deep bluish black. My BIL caught one when I was not nearby with my camera that he said was a purple color. Gorgeous fish. There were lots of small young of the year browns and a good number of fish in the 8-12" size range, although most of the fish we caught were about 8-10" long. I used a Royal Wulff most of the day and later a larger stimulator caddis. My brother-in-law used a tan caddis and a dark grey stonefly most of the day. On a couple of deeper holes I dropped a green inchworm and was able to catch a few larger fish, including one about 14" that I lost right before getting it in hand. I ran a streamer in one deep hole and had a solid smack but missed the set.
It was a beautiful stream with gorgeous scenery. Unfortunately the locals seem to think that the roadside is a dump and at one or two points where the stream is right near the road the trash gets carried in and downstream. The stream is listed as Class A, but I was surprised given how wide it is. Large stretches of the stream were wide and shallow with few or no fish. The fish were stacked up in some of the holes, but it seemed to be sparse for a Class A and thin on solid habitat for the first quarter to one third of a mile we fished. After that it went into a stretch of gorgeous plunge pools and boulders where it was just stuffed with trout. At one point while I was untangling my fly line--it had twisted around the end of my rod--a little fingerling brown hooked himself on my fly as it dangled on the top of the water at my feet.
I know some folks here get uptight about posting stream names...so I won't name it. If you can figure it out, great. If you want to know the name, just PM me and I'll tell you if you're a forum regular. Its not a stream for everyone--you have to like catching smaller fish, not mind very tight cover and not be afraid of bears. We saw a lot of bear sign, and yes, I now know the answer to the age-old question as to the toilet habits of the bear.
All in all a great day to be out fishing with my BIL.
Jeff
Doing some research I located a couple of streams to try out and on the drive we decided on the final destination. We arrived on the stream at about 1pm and it was a beautiful location. The water was cold at 59F and very clear. It was a little low but not too far off of what is likely the average level for this stream. It was tight quarters so I took my 6' 3WT Orvis Superfine Touch and my BIL used his 7' Sage (or maybe it was a Hardy? Can't remember.).
The fish were feeding well when we first arrived, and on my first cast I missed a nice brown in a pool under an overhanging tree. Two or three casts later he came streaking out from under the roots and took my size 16 Royal Wulff; a nice BT about 9-10" long. I have very good vision after having had LASIK a number of years ago, but I have to say that I struggle to see a tan caddis in most waters like this, so the Wulff was a great way for me to see the fly. In addition, brookies seem to love it, and I was hoping to get into some nice brookie waters.
Interestingly enough, while this was listed as a brook trout fishery, there were very few brookies. We fished nearly a quarter mile before I caught a nice healthy 7" ST. Not long after I caught two or three more smaller ST in the 4-5" range. My brother-in-law caught 2 or 3 small ones as well. Given that we both had over 30 brown trout, the population of ST seemed to be pretty sparse. Perhaps there are more further upstream.
The browns were very colorful and most were quite dark--a deep bluish black. My BIL caught one when I was not nearby with my camera that he said was a purple color. Gorgeous fish. There were lots of small young of the year browns and a good number of fish in the 8-12" size range, although most of the fish we caught were about 8-10" long. I used a Royal Wulff most of the day and later a larger stimulator caddis. My brother-in-law used a tan caddis and a dark grey stonefly most of the day. On a couple of deeper holes I dropped a green inchworm and was able to catch a few larger fish, including one about 14" that I lost right before getting it in hand. I ran a streamer in one deep hole and had a solid smack but missed the set.
It was a beautiful stream with gorgeous scenery. Unfortunately the locals seem to think that the roadside is a dump and at one or two points where the stream is right near the road the trash gets carried in and downstream. The stream is listed as Class A, but I was surprised given how wide it is. Large stretches of the stream were wide and shallow with few or no fish. The fish were stacked up in some of the holes, but it seemed to be sparse for a Class A and thin on solid habitat for the first quarter to one third of a mile we fished. After that it went into a stretch of gorgeous plunge pools and boulders where it was just stuffed with trout. At one point while I was untangling my fly line--it had twisted around the end of my rod--a little fingerling brown hooked himself on my fly as it dangled on the top of the water at my feet.
I know some folks here get uptight about posting stream names...so I won't name it. If you can figure it out, great. If you want to know the name, just PM me and I'll tell you if you're a forum regular. Its not a stream for everyone--you have to like catching smaller fish, not mind very tight cover and not be afraid of bears. We saw a lot of bear sign, and yes, I now know the answer to the age-old question as to the toilet habits of the bear.
All in all a great day to be out fishing with my BIL.
Jeff
