Too late for stockies?

[kenbo5733]

im new to fly fishing but have been able to catch a few trout this season so far, unfortunately where I live there are little to none wild trout waters and I have a feeling all the stocked trout will be taken already so should I target smallies or still give it a go for some stockies, im wondering when to u stop fishing for the stocked trout because in my neck of the woods the last time they stocked was almost mid april.

 

[polky]

I'd give the stockers another month or so down in SE PA, but that being said it is also a good time for smallies. Just this week I was out fishing ATW for smallies and ended up pulling panfish, smb, and rainbows all out of the same spot. One rainbow was caught over a mile away from the nearest stocking point.

 

[StarvinMarvin]

honestly look up and check out c&r waters near you, trout fishing is just getting good imo

 

[Mike]

Given the weather this spring, the relatively low angler use on many SE Pa streams after opening week...I would bet that you could find stocked trout still active in every stream that is stocked in SE Pa. except perhaps those like Tohickon Ck which are primarily supplied by impoundments with surface discharges.

 

[afishinado]

Agree with Mike. I get reports from people every day. The water is still cool and there are a lot of stocked trout still in the SE streams.

 

[bigslackwater]

The stocked trout fishing is really good right now!! I've found that many of the opening season fishermen and women are giving up by now. Some of the stocked creeks are restocked and plentiful.

 

[RCFetter]

I fish Pennypack, warm water in Phila and Montgomery counties, until mid June and heard of others who catch trout well into July. I guess you have to hit deep pools.

 

[springer1]

I've been catching a healthy mix of Bluegills, Fallfish and Trout for the last several weeks in SEPA Delaware & Chester Counties. I'd suspect the next week will be great with the falling temps.

If you're new to fly fishing, this is a great situation because the 'gills and fallfish can provide a lot of action while you hone your skills. The problem is keeping the bait & spin fisherman from seeing you catch fish because they tend be much more prone to killing the fish they catch - sorry if that sounds offensive, it just is the experience I've had reinforced many times.

Get out and try new places and you'll learn a lot & have lots of fun. Later on, warm water fish in the summer can be very educational & fun.

 

[Riverexpress]

Hi, guys new to this site. Just wanted to chime in and say that SE PA stockies are alive and well at the moment, at least in Chester Co.

 

[Fishidiot]

kenbo5733 wrote:
im wondering when to u stop fishing for the stocked trout

Good info from previous replies - I agree, there's plenty of time.
To be sure, many streams can appear "fished out" and that is what many locals will tell you this time of year. However, if you're willing to look around, you may be surprised how many stocked fish are still in local creeks. This has been a cold springtime and water temps are still pretty low. I usually give up fishing for stocked trout on marginal streams around the end of June. If you are practicing catch and release, I'd recommend that you stop trout fishing when water temps exceed about 70 or so degrees. If you plan to harvest fish (you might as well keep them on marginal streams with no cold water refuge as they'll die anyway), you will find they still take flies when the temp is in the low 70s. In your neck of the woods, these conditions will probably be reached by the end of June or maybe mid July. After that, go bass fishing - bass love creeks with water temps over 70.

Riverpress,
Welcome to our online community - glad to have yuh.

 

[phiendWMD]

They are still there. I've seen people catch them in 3 stocked streams and 1 lake in the SE this week. Don't give up on them yet.

 

[afishinado]

springer1 wrote:
I've been catching a healthy mix of Bluegills, Fallfish and Trout for the last several weeks in SEPA Delaware & Chester Counties. I'd suspect the next week will be great with the falling temps.

If you're new to fly fishing, this is a great situation because the 'gills and fallfish can provide a lot of action while you hone your skills. The problem is keeping the bait & spin fisherman from seeing you catch fish because they tend be much more prone to killing the fish they catch - sorry if that sounds offensive, it just is the experience I've had reinforced many times.

Get out and try new places and you'll learn a lot & have lots of fun. Later on, warm water fish in the summer can be very educational & fun.

I'm a C&R guy, through and through, but nearly all the stocked trout streams in SE PA get way too warm to hold trout through the summer. Have fun!.....and bring a stringer.

 

[springer1]

I'm a C&R guy, through and through, but nearly all the stocked trout streams in SE PA get way too warm to hold trout through the summer. Have fun!.....and bring a stringer.

Yes right, I appreciate your point as true, thanks. Especially once the later part of June rolls around.

But April and May is a wonderful time for trout fishing in SEPA and I wish capable fishermen would go easy on their killl as I'm sure you do too. This last week all the browns I caught were feeding and healthy, however, some of the rainbows had lost body mass. I wonder if others have observed the same thing?

 

[kenbo5733]

what flies should they be taking because I went out on the wissahickon this weekend and managed two smallies and one rainbow but I saw a lot of fish feeding on the surface

 

[shakey]

kenbo5733 wrote:
what flies should they be taking because I went out on the wissahickon this weekend and managed two smallies and one rainbow but I saw a lot of fish feeding on the surface

i would bet that terrestrials started or will soon on the wiss.

right now sulphurs should still be hatching,caddis will be starting up.

what did the hatch look like??

if you want to stay on top an EHC around 14 is safe on the wiss,BWO's, i saw some small crickets already.

below the surface a peacock and brown,black or partridge is a good go to,as well as most SH's as long as they're looking up.if they aren't feeding so high,a GRHE with a slate mallard wing can be good,and royal coachmen.

PN,PTN and GRHE are no brainers there.

 

[cvlimestoner]

Lots of stocked trout remaining in South Central PA.. I would imagine the same is true in SE PA. Find the holes a little ways off the beaten path.

 

[DotMan]

This past weekend was awesome for fishing SEPA, cool temps, good flows and willing stockies that are above average makes for good times. The best day was yesterday in the rain.

All were taken on a copper john with a hares ear dropper or a size 10 black bugger with a PT dropper

 

[JeffK]

After Memorial Day is my favorite time of year to fly fish for stockies - particularly in standard regulation waters where the trout haven't seen tons of flies. The streams are fully stocked, the bait fishermen are gone, the weather is pleasant, and there are usually rising fish (especially at dusk). Once the water gets lower and clearer fly fishing can be more effective than metal lures or nightcrawlers and bait fisherman pressure doesn't mean much. Go for it.

How long it lasts is a function of the weather. In a cool, wet summer it can last all summer (i.e 2011); in a hot dry summer (i.e 2012) it can end in early June. Typically I have good luck until about July 4th. Trout have a way of finding good spots, so learn to find the good spots and don't worry about where the fish were stocked. When it gets warm PA has plenty of other options for fly fishermen. Smallies are the standard answer, but bass bugging is a traditional form of angling that is a blast and fly fishing for carp is challenging and fun for a different experience.

 

[polky]

I love the color the rainbow stockies put on once they have been in for a while.