Favorite PA Wild Trout Photos

[Swattie87]

Got the idea for this thread from wildtrout's recent wild/native preference thread. One of the unfortunate side effects of the whole SBing debate has been a pretty noticeable decrease in picture posting IMO. That's always been one of my favorite parts of the site...just looking at pictures of fish...I don't care what stream they came from, I just like looking at them. And most of the time to be honest, I don't want to know where they came from...I'd rather find them on my own.

Anyway, a few ground rules for the thread to try to keep things in order:

1. Only wild fish caught in PA.
2. No arguing over whether a fish is wild or not...if the poster says it is...good enough.
3. Only one fish per species...part of the fun is having to pick just one. So it's possible to post as many as 4 pics (Brook, Brown, Bow, Tiger)
4. Try to include a short caption about why that pic is your favorite for that species.
5. It's up to the poster to disclose location if they choose...totally cool if you don't...no SBing discussions, period.
6. If you don't wanna participate in a constructive manner, don't post!

Let's share some good pictures and good stories gang...that's why we all originally signed up for the site right? I'll get my thoughts and pictures together and post them in a little while.

 

[Phish_On]

Cool idea. I have a bunch of wild fish pictures, but I know the best is still yet to come. Oh and I can't figure out how to post pictures, hahah.

 

[k-bob]

Great idea for a thread... Weather warming up, I should take more fish images. I usually just take stream scenery and people shots

 

[Swattie87]

Brook - Definitely not the biggest I've caught, and not necessarily my favorite from a colors/pattern perspective, but it's close in that regard I suppose. It's my favorite because of where it came from...a tiny, extremely high gradient headwater freestoner that basically cuts it's own narrow gorge at a 90 degree angle straight down a 1200 ft. mountainside. It's my favorite stream in PA...not because it has a ton of fish in it...it definitely doesn't, and this is a monster for that stream...but because of what it is, and the life it sustains within its tiny waters. It's very isolated, very beautiful, and quite honestly pretty intimidating. Between the relentless high gradient, huge slippery boulders, and large rattlesnake population I'm always somewhat nervous while making the hike in. Once I get to the stream though, I seem to immediately forget about all of that and am immediately fixated on coaxing just one or two pieces of history from its tiny plunge pools. Given its remoteness and the watershed it feeds, I suspect its fish are as close to heritage strain fish in PA as you can get.

Brown - Again, not my biggest, or prettiest Brown by any stretch...this was the fish that started me down the path of exploring wild trout streams however, and for that this will always be a special fish. I had caught what were probably wild fish before, but never paid that much attention to it...until this guy. This fish came from a stocked over SC stream, that I never knew had wild fish until I caught this one and thought "wow, that looks different." Before this fish I didn't know about things like the Nat Repro or Class A lists, spawning habitat, or Tiger Trout...hence it has well earned its place as my avatar fish.

Bow - As I mentioned in wildtrout's thread, I don't have much experience with wild Bows. This one's my favorite simply because of its colors. The purple in this fish is unlike any other I've ever caught. I'm usually much more amazed by a trout's colors and patterns than I am by its size. If I want to catch large fish, or enjoy the fight and pull on the line, I'll fish for WW species. For me trout fishing is about the beauty...and this fish exemplifies that as well as any I've ever caught.

Never caught a wild Tiger, but hope to add a post to this thread at some point...

 

[csoult]

 

[lv2nymph]

Sweet shot Cs

 

[albatross]

Native brookie I caught from a rowboat with my Dad. We had a special chance to fish in a water company's normally closed water in North Central PA. Wild brooks and wild bows. The bows were bigger, but this 14 inch brookie was the most memorable.

 

[csoult]

lv2nymph wrote:
Sweet shot Cs

Thanks. I love this thread! Alby with another monster, figures. ;-)

 

[blueheron]

This one came to hand during a trip with a group of guys I fish with. Like my screen name I tend to fish alone but I have been known to socialize on occasion and when I got to the appointed location I couldn't wait to hit the big water so I threw some gear together and hit this 10' stream. I'm a little kid around new spots, I get all twitchy and anxious and jump out of my skin and into my waders and double time down to the water. The mayflies were as big as hummingbirds and I can only hope that this little beauty survives our latest foray into the economically driven disasters that plague our state every few generations.

 

[zenherper]

Mine aren't all that impressive, but I'll contribute. One brown, one brookie, and one bow.

 

[k-bob]

Nice images .. I do need to take more fish pics!

 

[PACOFRANSICO]

Ill throw my hat in the ring.

 

[PSUFishMenace]

I decided to lean more toward most memorable than my best pictures. Too many decent-quality pics and no real standouts to choose a favorite.

Brown: My largest trout so far. 19" taken from a stream that at the time was not even on the nat. repro. list. Never would have considered fishing this stream if not for a comment made by (FBC) Mike on this site. The first time I caught this fish was on spinning gear (which is when I took this picture). I returned three months later with fly gear and caught this fish again from the exact same pool.

Rainbow: I caught this 15" wild bow this past fall. It was only my second wild rainbow ever, from a small limestoner dominated by browns. I have since caught 4 more wild bows from this stream, including a bigger one, but this guy was the last fish I caught on a trip that was a turning point for me on this particular stream. I had really struggled on this stream the year before- averaging less than one fish per outing. This trip I tried a fly pattern I tied myself that looks like absolutely nothing in particular and cleaned up. Since the day I caught this rainbow I have averaged 5 trout per outing on that stream and haven't taken a skunking once.

Brook: The photo reflects the conditions when I caught this guy. One day this January a friend and I decided to check out a rugged-looking brookie stream after class. Rain was in the forecast but we hoped to beat it. Of course as soon as we stepped out of the car it started raining and sleeting. We had driven pretty far and decided to fish anyway. It was a steep climb down to the stream but once we got there it looked awesome but the rhodos were pretty thick. I swung a woolly bugger where there was room and in an hour I lost two nice fish. The rain was just dumping at this point and the outer two layers of clothes I was wearing were soaked through (good thing I was wearing four). Daylight was fading fast, but I had to fish just one more run. As my friend was standing on the other side of the stream saying, "dude, we really need to get out of here" I hooked and landed this nice brookie! snapped a quick pic and then bolted toward the car. Only one problem- it was 40-50 vertical feet up a 60-70 degree slope of loose rock and brush to the road! We both made the climb safely and made it to the car before dark, completely soaked and covered in mud. Got back in the car and had two thoughts: (1)How did I not slip and die on that climb, and (2) when can we fish there again?

 

[pcray1231]

Some of the better pics I've taken. Happy coincidence when you happen to ge ta good pic on a pretty fish.

 

[pcray1231]

I guess I gotta add browns

 

[pcray1231]

More interesting fish, pictures not as good.

1. I call him 3 spot. I've now caught him 4 times total over a period of 2+ years (in only 5 visits to the stream). He did not move during the entire time. He grew less than an inch from one year to the next.

2. Largest native brookie to date. Right around 12". Note, I'm not 100% sure he's wild, but it was in an unstocked stream 4 miles up from the mouth (the stream it runs into is stocked, but not with brookies). There's also a Berks County stream where I've caught multiples in this class that I still hold AREN'T wild, but it is class A (downstream of an ATW), and some knowledgable folks have backed me off my "stocked" stance a little.

 

[wildtrout2]

This is a pic of my only wild tiger trout in 30 years of trout fishing. It came from a Carbon county stream that I have only ever caught/seen native brookies in. I thought something looked strange when bringing in this fish. When I saw what it was, I just looked up, smiled, and said "thank you".

I'll be adding my usual wild trout and stream photos a little later as the season progresses.

 

[greenlander]

I've posted these before, or at least links to them before, but they fit the thread, so ....

 

[delta_dog]

This one will always be my favorite because its my first trout on a fly.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Brown

Rainbow

Tiger (not wild - dont have a pic of the 2 wild ones I caught)

Brook Trout (couldn't decide)