Ultimate PA trip - July

[streamerguy]

It turns out I'm going to be in Philly around the 4th of July and on the way there/home I'm planning on doing a good bunch of fishin. I know it's not an ideal time of year to be fishing for trout, but I figured since I'll be going by so many streams I might as well take an extra day or three and take advantage and knock them all off the bucket list. This all depends on conditions of course(water temps and flows) but I'd like to fish Yellow Breeches, Letort, Big Spring, Spring Creek, BFC, and maybe some other streams including wild brookie streams but like I said conditions and temps will decide. I figure the spring creeks will be ok temperature wise. Might hit some lakes and warmwater rivers if I have time.

So, in terms of hatches, and just the fishing in general what should I expect at the beginning of July?? I've fished Spring Creek before(last June), but not any of the other streams. I guess I should be stocked up with various nymphs and terrestrials? And maybe toss some streamers in the low light periods? Gonna be more of a "sightseeing" fishing trip since I haven't fished most of those famous streams, but I'd like to catch a few fish while I'm at it Any general stream info is appreciated also, but I'll probably just hit the popular sections(special regs sections I guess) and like I said it's not really a serious fish catching trip, just want to visit a bunch of streams and have fun. Thanks

 

[Fishidiot]

streamerguy wrote:
I'd like to fish Yellow Breeches, Letort, Big Spring, Spring Creek, BFC, and maybe some other streams including wild brookie streams but like I said conditions and temps will decide. I figure the spring creeks will be ok temperature wise. Might hit some lakes and warmwater rivers if I have time.
So, in terms of hatches, and just the fishing in general what should I expect at the beginning of July?? I guess I should be stocked up with various nymphs and terrestrials? And maybe toss some streamers in the low light periods? Thanks

Sounds like you have a great trip planned and a heckuva lot of choices. I'll speak for the Cumberland Valley streams (FWIW). Yes, you'll want terrestrials. Hatches are always a bit touch and go down here in the SC and early July is probably too soon to expect tricos or white flies. It will be a terrestrial game. I find that ants and inchworms work well in June but you get diminishing returns with ants as the summer progresses in my experience. Streamers at low light conditions can do very well. For Breeches, it will probably fish best in the am as this stream does get warm. Letort, Big Spring and Falling Spring will be cold and will fish fine regardless of how hot the weather is. They do tend to fish bets on dark days.

Also, if you head from the Cumberland Valley toward Centre County (or vice versa), you might want to stop and fish the Juniata River for WW species.

 

[streamerguy]

Thanks! Just the type of info I was looking for. I might just have to check out the Juniata on my way to the State College area, thanks for the suggestion.

Anything I should know more specific to the Letort or Big Spring? My only "limestoner" experience has been on Spring Creek, and from what I know the Letort and Big Spring are much different and tougher. I'm up for the challenge though!

 

[hammertime]

Don't count Trico's out as they are making appearances.

 

[Fishidiot]

streamerguy wrote:
Anything I should know more specific to the Letort or Big Spring? My only "limestoner" experience has been on Spring Creek, and from what I know the Letort and Big Spring are much different and tougher. I'm up for the challenge though!

Yes, they're a different game. Personally, I don't think the fish are more selective than Spring Creek trout but they are tougher to present a fly to (esp Letort) due to weeds and very tall meadow grass. You should pay 'em a visit if for no other reason than that they're such a rich part of the PA FFing heritage.
Breeches, however, has a similar look and feel as Spring Creek. Take a look at the many threads here and in Stream Reports for more info on Letort and BS as they have been extensively asked about and discussed.

 

[streamerguy]

Thanks again. Yeah the main reasons why I want to fish the Letort and Big Spring(especially the Letort) is because of all the history. I'll have to start surfing through some of the past threads on the streams. Still got a month, but I'm impatient haha.

Hammertime, next week I'll be fishing a stream in Ohio that supposedly has a trico hatch, so if they started hatching then that'll be a good warmup. Never fished them before.

 

[boychick]

Sounds like a fun trip, enjoy.

 

[dc410]

Sounds like an awesome couple of days. I would think at that time of year chances are decent you may catch some early morning trico action on some of your target streams. Hope you get a chance to see and fish as many streams as possible. Good luck and give us a report on your trip. I look forward to hearing about it.

 

[krayfish]

What route are you taking into Ohio? Rt 70 or Rt 80? Provide that and we can set up a limestoner tour for ya.

 

[streamerguy]

Not sure what I'm taking on the way there, whatever the GPS says I guess. Most of my fishing will be on the way back I think.

Looking at the map I guess I'll take 76 from Philadelphia all the way to the Breeches, Letort, and Big Spring area and then from there shoot up to State College somehow. I'll be taking rt 80 home from there.

 

[Fishidiot]

streamerguy wrote:
Looking at the map I guess I'll take 76 from Philadelphia all the way to the Breeches, Letort, and Big Spring area and then from there shoot up to State College somehow. I'll be taking rt 80 home from there.

That would probably bet the best way.
When you head up from the Cumberland Valley toward State College, you'll be driving up RT 22/322 which runs right along much of the Juniata River and you can hit this river at many of the towns from Newport up to Lewistown.

 

[streamerguy]

That's perfect that it's on the way. I'll have to give it a try! After all, bass are much better than trout

 

[pcray1231]

Yeah, tricos. That's a little on the early side for them, but not out of the question. Spring Creek has em, I'm sure some of the others as well. Early to mid-morning intense spinner fall with tiny mayflies. On sunny days, they fall as soon as the fog burns off, which can be anytime from 6:30 to 9:30 or so. On cloudy or drizzly days, they sometimes are less intense, but over a longer time period, from morning right through the early afternoon.

 

[cvlimestoner]

Sounds like a great road trip. Having moved to the Cumberland Valley from Ohio recently, I've had a blast exploring these legendary waters. As for the Big Spring, I'd start at the ditch and work down through the ffo section.

 

[streamerguy]

Figures, I get all excited posting on here and now I don't need to be in Philly anymore. With that said I still want to do a PA trip that weekend. Still planning on doing the State College thing(Spring, BFC, Penns, etc..) but maybe not the CV, still might fit it in though. According to Google Maps it's roughly 2hrs from the State College area to the Harrisburg area, so idk. One of the days I still might want to make a run down there. I just really want to fish the Letort and Big Spring for fishing and historical reasons. Need to scratch those streams(as well as BFC and Penns) off the list!

 

[dc410]

Perfect!!!! You got the whole thing well on its way to being planned out. Think how much more time you will have to fish and you won't need to use all that gas to drive to Philly. You gotta love it when a plan comes together! :-D

 

[streamerguy]

Exactly, so now it's JUST a fishing trip! I'm actually thinking of doing next weekend now instead. Might miss the tricos but I've never fished that hatch anyways so I don't really know what I'm missing.

 

[Chaz]

It's trico time on the limestone streams, size 24 spinners and duns are the ticket. On frestone streams terrestrials are the ticket, but don't rule out stimulators and other attractors like a royal wulff.

 

[NedZeppelin]

I hear you on the history but if I had to choose it would be Centre County and Spring Creek over the Cumberland Valley. Letort is very difficult and other than the ditch I think Big Spring is also very difficult. Definitely just my opinion, but that's what it is. Also in State College ther R some brookie streams worth trying. Check the Class A Wild Trout waters list for either location to see what is out there too.

Pa sure does have the streams though, no doubt. An embarrassment of riches.

 

[streamerguy]

Also in State College ther R some brookie streams worth trying. Check the Class A Wild Trout waters list for either location to see what is out there too.

Last time I was out in Centre county I did check out a couple of Class A brookie streams but was overall kinda dissapointed. I mean I caught fish and all and enjoyed myself, but I've fished much better non-class A's(not in Centre though). I totally understand that the populations fluctuate though, and it's probably been a while since a lot of these streams have been surveyed. The brookie fishing I do do this time around I think I'll just pick some random blue lines in a likely brookie area and explore a little. That's more fun anyways.

I also want to check out some of the Class A brownie streams around State College though(I assume these are mostly limestoners, especially the ones in the Spring Creek watershed?)

Pa sure does have the streams though, no doubt. An embarrassment of riches.

Yep. For trout(except steelhead) I find myself fishing in PA most weekends. This weekend I'm planning on fishing(if it's not blow out) one of Ohio's BEST trout streams, and it's still not all that great at least compared to PA streams. The non-resident license is well worth the money, and I'm fortunate to live within an hour of a bunch of decent stocked streams, and not all that far from wild streams.