(first post on paflyfish) First Fork of the Sinnemahoning fly question

[mike_richardson]

Just became a member of paflyfish. I fish this stream every year around costello where the First Fork and Freeman run together and it gets plenty of new fish as well as an abundance of hold overs. I have tried many paterns here but want to be sure i am not missing any to have in my vest on the opening day. I have had success with Beadhead nymphs(pheasant tail, hares ear, prince) dries have included. BWO, red quill, Hendrickson. Streamers are the obvious and deadly wooly bugger. Haven't had a lot of success with egg paterns. I see a lot of caddis larva in this stream but not sure what to use to capitalize on this fact.

Any other thoughts you guys might have on a go to fly would be appreciated and will sure to find itself in my box on the 17th.

 

[flyfishermanj]

Welcome aboard! Your 1st post, my 1000th!

 

[JackM]

mike_richardson wrote:
I see a lot of caddis larva in this stream but not sure what to use to capitalize on this fact.

I would recommend a caddis larvae:

Caddis Larvae

 

[jayL]

A hare's ear nymph will effectively cover caddis larvae, as well as most nymphs. It looks a lot like everything, and not a lot like anything.

I use a hare's ear on a curved hook to cover generic caddis larva duty.

Flip a few rocks and take a peek. You'll see free living caddis, as well as tiny rock and stick cases. Pick a few apart, and take a look.

 

[ryguyfi]

per one of jacks pictures on his link.


http://globalflyfisher.com/patterns/sharks-caddis-larva/#caddis

This is a great looking pattern. I've tied a few up in the cream color and also in caddis green. They look fantastic wet and I plan to use a handfull of them this year. Not too difficult of a pattern.

 

[albatross]

Try a green weenie. Basically a caddis larvea imitation that is very easy for the fish to see.

Welcome to the board!

 

[whheff]

Welcome to the board. It looks like you got great answers, and links, to your question.

 

[flipnfly]

im between ryguy and albatross personally i have yet to catch a fish on a caddis larvae but this will be the year ohh wait does a steelhead on a green weenie count? i guess so ok i have done that deed now to only get better at it

 

[Festus]

I've been all over the state forest roads down that way over the last few weeks. Roads were in great shape with no 4WD needed. A few soft spots here and there and that's about it. Cedar Mountain Road was even in good shape. The only road that I wasn't on was the shortcut from Slate Run to Rt 44. Best call Slate Run Tackle and ask Tom about that one.

 

[jackshook]

I fish in the area every spring. One of the best fly combos is a green weenie (#12) with a zugbug about 8 - 10 inches behind it. Another combo that has produced very well is a March Brown wet fly as a trailing fly with a Gold Ribbed Hares Ear on a dropper.

 

[osprey]

One of the coolest things i ever saw was on a stretch of the stream that branches off of the first fork at what used to be "The Wharton Hotel" , it's been years , so i don't know if the hotel is still there or not , or if the name has changed , anyhow , i think the name of that stream is the east branch of the first fork , facing upstream it went to the right of the hotel , up towards Cherry Springs i think. There was a huge hatch of what i think were blue quills , lots of them were visibly females , carrying a big ol yellow egg sack , a young fellow was hooking up on almost every cast with the old Lady Beaverkill pattern , the one with a yellow wind or two of yarn/dubbing at the tail to imitate the egg sack. If i was going that way i'd always take a few of those flies along 'cause that was one of the coolest things i ever saw , it really worked and the trout were tuned in to the flies that were carrying the egg sack. Welcome to the Board , your gonna like this place. Portage is a suburb of Johnstown ain't it? Lady Beaverkill for sure would be in my box but if the hatch isn't on the next thing i'd suggest would be small clouser minnows tied to look like redfins , back then those streams were full of them. GOOD LUCK and WELCOME ABOARD.

 

[FlySwatter]

Osprey,

That Lady Beaverkill is a lot like a Female Adams, right? That's a nice pattern, too.

 

[Festus]

In addition to what Osprey said, another one that's extremely popular on the FF is the Olive Wooly Bugger with a gold bead. A buddy of mine swears by them with both a black tail and olive tail.

 

[crs5942]

mike_richardson wrote:
Just became a member of paflyfish. I fish this stream every year around costello where the First Fork and Freeman run together and it gets plenty of new fish as well as an abundance of hold overs. I have tried many paterns here but want to be sure i am not missing any to have in my vest on the opening day. I have had success with Beadhead nymphs(pheasant tail, hares ear, prince) dries have included. BWO, red quill, Hendrickson. Streamers are the obvious and deadly wooly bugger. Haven't had a lot of success with egg paterns. I see a lot of caddis larva in this stream but not sure what to use to capitalize on this fact.

Any other thoughts you guys might have on a go to fly would be appreciated and will sure to find itself in my box on the 17th.

I used to fish the hole at Costello every year on Memorial day weekend. The march browns and sulphurs can be very good.

As for April, small egg patterns fished deep could be productive. San Juan worms and green weenies might work as well. Another good choice is a soft hackle caddis. I usually tie mine on scud hooks or emerger hooks. Wooly buggers with a lot of flash are always a good choice for early season as well. Hopefully, you will get lucky enough to have the Hendricksons start.