November Browns

[gfig19]

I was told to go fishing for browns in November. I live in Lancaster, PA but willing to travel to nearby counties/river/creeks/lakes to fly fish for them. Anyone know where I can try to fish for Brown in November around me. I've never had the opportunity to catch one yet!

 

[jabink84]

the little Juniata river.....its a far drive from where your at, i am sure there are ones closer, but i dont fish down your way. are you looking for a good sized brown or just a brown trout. if you dont mind catching in the 7-12 inch size i am sure there are many smaller streams closer to you than the little j

 

[Chaz]

That's a tough question to answer, first because in much of the southern half of PA browns are spawning in November. They will be in exposed areas, and if on spawning beds shouldn't be fished over. However they do spawn at different times on different streams. There are quite a few brown trout streams near Lancaster, The Tully, the Ltl. Lehigh are a couple. I pick and choose my fishing outings by the stream because I know when the trout are spawning on certain streams so unless I want to observe spawning trout I avoid those streams where I think they will be spawning.

 

[Padraic]

If you have been bitten by the fly fishing bug, I'd recommend picking up a copy of Dwight Landis's Guide to Pennsylvania Trout Streams. You can find it in any fly shop and most book stores!

In your area, you should be able to find fish in;
The Donegal right in Lancaster County.
The Quittiphahilla (sp) in Lebanon
Clarks or Stony Creek in Dauphin
The Yellow Breeches in Cumberland County.

Hit the special regs areas in each. Except for Stony, which is all open water. Look for the section on the state game lands.

I'd recommend Lititz Run, but I've never fished it. Its also in Lancaster County.

There are others near you. Check the fish and boat commission website for information on streams by county.

 

[gfig19]

Jabink84: that is pretty far but i've heard about the Juniata. I dont care the size, I actually do more small mountain stream fishing than I do any other type. Small brooks and the occasional leftover stocked rainbow. Thanks for the response.

Chaz: you seemed to be more on track of what I was actually asking on here. Yes I was told the reason they are easily caught this time of year was because of their spawning cycles and you just have to find their locations. But your saying dont go to the spawning creeks or locations? I was applying the same strategy to when Crappies spawn. They get aggressive and go after just about any bait/fly/ect. I would imagine it would be the same as trout. What county is the Tully by the way?

Padraic: Thanks for the information. I stay away from those "mainstream" creeks and rivers you mentioned in Lancaster. Trout in lititz run remind me of the Carp/giant gold fish you see at theme parks. There just sort of there and used to humans. Parts of Hammer Creek in Lititz, PA are decent. Trout Run conservancy in Pequea and Big Elk in Chester, PA have plenty of stockies and small mouths. I've actually fly fished for years, just now really do it exclusively but I havent had the pleasure to of catching browns, wild or stocked.

 

[flipnfly]

theres always the delaware river but i think its pretty far maybe for a weekend trip.....

 

[barrybarry]

Muddy Creek (Woodbine) in York County. Much closer than a lot of the others.

 

[mazzg]

I fished Donegal creek last week and pulled out a nice brown...about an 8~9" fish....That was my first brown on fly...used a grey ghost....i will go back!

Going to try Lititz Run for the first time anyone have any luck there recently?

 

[Chaz]

Chaz: you seemed to be more on track of what I was actually asking on here. Yes I was told the reason they are easily caught this time of year was because of their spawning cycles and you just have to find their locations. But your saying dont go to the spawning creeks or locations? I was applying the same strategy to when Crappies spawn. They get aggressive and go after just about any bait/fly/ect. I would imagine it would be the same as trout. What county is the Tully by the way?

gfig19
What happens during the spawn is that trout won't eat, but you'll see them there out in the open and they will see you and spook. It basically very tough to catch trout that are actively spawning, that is over redds, but you can still fish and catch browns that aren't spawning. Hope that makes sense.
Browns have to be about 3 years of age and between 9 and 12 inches to be mature sexally, am I allowed to say that here? So any trout smaller than that are catchable and probably very easily. After browns spawn is when they are very aggressive, because they've got to replenish fat for the winter and what was lost during the effort to spawn.
Also large browns that can no longer spawn will get out there and eat eggs and smaller fish that are available to them.

 

[pwk5017]

I am planning on going to visit state college next weekend(first time back since graduating in may) and I have been bout if the browns will be spawning. Will they be spawning in spring and penns next weekend or no? Also, do the rainbows in spring creek spawn in the fall or spring? Thanks!

 

[AllWaterAngler]

The Tully is a tailwater off of Blue Marsh... its in the Reading area of berks county. If you want to find out more about it and conditions, you can go to www.tcoflyfishing.com and check out stream conditions. There is also a TCO fly shop not far away from the stream in West Lawn.

 

[reds]

I have to ask when people say spawning fish are hard to catch do you mean nymphing? I have always been under the impression that a spawning brown will crush a streamer out of the sense of trying to protect the redd? Am i wrong?

 

[Fishidiot]

pwk5017 wrote:
I am planning on going to visit state college next weekend(first time back since graduating in may) and I have been bout if the browns will be spawning. Will they be spawning in spring and penns next weekend or no? Also, do the rainbows in spring creek spawn in the fall or spring? Thanks!

PWK,
I haven't been up to Centre Co this fall so take this as general info: Browns in Spring Creek spawn mainly in November and it wouldn't surprise me to see fish on redds during the last week of the month. As far as I know there isn't much rainbow spawning in Spring Creek (if at all) but there are rainbows there and I've often thought some were wild. I have no idea when rainbows would be spawning in Spring but normally 'bows spawn in the time frame of Feb-March. I have seen rainbows spawning in Spruce Creek in October so it's possible in Spring Creek too I suppose.

 

[Fishidiot]

reds wrote:
I have to ask when people say spawning fish are hard to catch do you mean nymphing? I have always been under the impression that a spawning brown will crush a streamer out of the sense of trying to protect the redd? Am i wrong?

While I don't cast to spawning fish, I have always regarded fish on redds to be easy to catch and agree with your sentiment regarding streamers (egg flies too).

 

[DirtNap]

Another small stream south but close is the octararo. it runs thru some gamelands for easy access.

 

[gfen]

gfig19 wrote:
I was told to go fishing for browns in November.

As this thread has helped you realize, it was because you're supposed to fish for them on the spawning redds.

That is grossly unsporting; now that you understand, don't be that guy.

However, it doesn't mean you shouldn't get out and fish, just don't single out the fish that have something better to do, and be cognizant of the places where this activity is happening, and try not to disturb it or walk across the redds.

Think of it as an investment in future angling.

 

[midnightangler]

As far as I know there isn't much rainbow spawning in Spring Creek (if at all) but there are rainbows there and I've often thought some were wild.

Its not unusual to see rainbows spawning in the fall near the hatcheries on spring creek. They are hatchery escapees and some of them are quite big.

I don't personally believe that there are any truly "wild" rainbows on spring. I have never seen a rainbow spawning during the appropriate time for the species (ie. spring). I expect that any streambred rainbows are likely the progeny of these hatchery escapees.

 

[pcray1231]

I'd question that about Spring Creek. Yes, I agree, near Benner and Paradise there are rainbows in the stream, and many incorrectly call them wild, when in actuality they are hatchery escapees. Remember, they escape at every age, so some escape as fingerlings and grow up in the stream, and can be nicely colored and look a lot like streambred fish.

But there's other areas of the stream, much farther upstream, where I've caught much different looking rainbows that I believe to be a truly wild population. They may have started as the progeny of stockies (as all rainbow, and brown trout populations did), but they have taken hold.

 

[midnightangler]

pcray,
I've caught small rainbows in Spring Creek along Houserville road and also in slab cabin run. I wouldn't say I've caught a lot of them, but when I do catch them they tend to come in bunches. A few novembers ago I caught six or seven in slab cabin run all right in a row. However, I don't think there are enough rainbows to sustain a population in any part of spring creek without an influx of hatchery escapees. Browns outnumber rainbows by a wide margin all the way up to the quarry. I think if you get rid of the hatcheries the rainbows would disappear completely.

 

[mazzg]

Went out to Lititz Run yesterday and netted a nice brook trout...about 12~13"....right by where the old dam used to be....i am looking forward to getting out there again...looking for rainbows...