This past Saturday I decided I needed to get out and do some wild trout fishing. I started by having my mind set on driving out to spring creek and doing some dry fly fishing, but after some somewhat subtle hints from the girlfriend, stayed closer to home. I decided to visit a nearby western PA class A wild brown trout stream many I am sure know of. I have fished this stream for more than 10 years, although have not had a great fishing day there in a long while, mainly because if you are not the first one there you are in trouble and I sometimes have a hard time waking early on the weekends. Still having my mind set on dry fly fishing I started fishing a tan caddis from the mouth of the creek. Having not seen so much as a trout come look at my fly in the first couple pools in the clear water I decided I needed to add a dropper. Knowing this stream has an ok population of little yellow stones and some caddis, I put on a 12 beadhead hares ear. Next cast a small 6 inch brown on the caddis. Then quiet again, well knowing how I used to catch these fish, white and olive buggers, I decided to go with a larger brighter dropper fly, so I tied on the ultimate junk fly the beadhead green weenie. Well evidently the supposedly sophisticated larger wild browns in this stream love bright green because I started catching one after another and not the 6 inch dinks, but 12-16 inch fat pigs and missing more once the hook point blunted. I knew it was the fly when I went to the first waterfall pool in which I had not coaxed anything out of for a couple years and caught two trout the first 16" and the second 13" which I have never got more than one fish out of a pool in this creek. I then caught over a dozen on my two mile hike and fish and lost even more. It amazed me because I had thought this stream had started to decline with the rise of people fishing it, but I guess I was the one in decline, not it. It is always funny to hear people talk about this stream in passing because no one ever seems to do well but there are some BIG fish in this small stream as well as a good number in the midrange. It just takes a while to unlock where they are and once you do how to not spook all of them before you even cast.

I've caught many a fish on that stream on the green weenie. I don't know what it is, but it's saved me on more than a few occasions. Caught a pretty nice one last year right at the mouth on one.


Congrats on a nice day out and welcome to the board!

Nice story. Welcome to the board.

Nice report. Atleast you were man enough to admit to using the GW :)

I think I know the stream you were fishing. It sounds like you had a good time. Back when I used to fish it, I never saw another fisherman there, but that was before the state began listing everything on the internet. I did see a few hikers and even some folks on horseback, but the wild browns were more of a closely held secret back them. I confess to having caught fish there on a Green Weenie, but only when the stream was high and muddy after a thunderstorm. Usually I did well on attractor dries. The key was not spooking the fish. That is easier said than done on a stream like that.

Tom

No pictures no true story...Nice post. Those are some nice sized wild fish. And hey, a fly is a fly right? I'm sure I'll get screamed at for that but you use whats working. You shouldn't have to sacrifice catching fish and having fun for worrying about what people think about your fly.

Yeah I know I was kicking myself for not bringing the camera with me but I was kind of pessimistic from the get go, besides I always seem to do better without it, imagine that.

I do dry fly fish that stream more extensively in the spring, there are some ok hatches if it is timed right. I never really have a lot of luck with attractor patterns on bigger browns though, unless of course you count terrestrials. This was also my first time fishing it with my new 6'6" three weight and I think it will be a big help for dry fly fishing this stream in the future. I was surprised how much easier it was for me to get casts in to some tight areas without literally lying down in the stream.

I have never tied a Green Weenie ( I can't say why), but it sounds like it was a "killer" for you. It's nice to have days like that.

Just wait till you tie a GW off the bend of a large dry. This is a blast, and if you ever fish Clarks Creek near Dauphin, use the same set up. Works every time it's tried.......

The green weenie saved my day a bunch of times. It has become one of my go to flies.

I'm pretty sure I know the stream also. For me it's always been a tough creek under normal/low conditions, but when the water is up and colored and even almost blown out I have had some pretty good days with black buggers. Theres actually more big fish in that creek than most people think. I've come to believe almost every big plunge pool has a nice one.

It's a H?!l of a predicament to have to resort to such measures as what some call junk flies to catch browns. I know some very good fisherman who use them a lot on brown trout water, and they usually catch the biggest trout in the stream. Don't forget in the summer terrestrials dominate on those type of streams, and wht does a green weenie imitate? An inch worm.

I often delude myself into believing I am matching the hatch with my fly selection. After smelling the skunk, often I stoop down to chucking the junk - GWs, SJWs, Eggs. And more times than not, I catch fish.

I share your embarrassment, Mark.

Green worm flies imitate the green worms in nature, i.e. green caddis worms and green inchworms. And these patterns have been around for a long time.

Nothing wrong with using a fly that works!

Once caught over 20, 20 + inch browns in a day on a greenie worm, don't leave home withouth them.