so when does the fishing pick up?

[ryanh]

The drought is over, soon it will start getting cooler...so when does the fishing pick up? Is it the decreasing amt of light that triggers the fish or is the the cooling of the water? Also I have heard a bunch of talk over the years about large fish from the main stem of streams migrating up into tribs to spawn. When does this start? Does this really happen in noticable numbers? We can go over the ethics of catching fish on redds but hell it sure would be cool to see some big boys in smaller water.

 

[littlejuniata]

Today should be good, I would imagine that most streams are out of the thermal danger zone?

 

[pete41]

If your looking for big browns,the best time to catch them out other than spawning runs and by nite fishing,is what I call turn over time.
They will feed when its the most comfortable and safest for them.Sometime in late fall or early winter that will change from the night hours to the heat of the day.So if your up to it and its legal find a place with spring holes or good pools and get out when its high 30s-low 40s and do some winter nymph fishing.A black wooly worm size 10 or 12 will work as well as anything.
Just keep one eye up stream,it can be disconcerting when a chunk of bank ice gets you in the rear.lol

 

[StudentofTheStream]

Typically most fish will make a fall run into prime spawning areas (gravel bottom stream sections) starting mid September though the actual spawning starts a bit later in October. Browns are fall spawners while rainbows and brookies will spawn towards the spring. Thats one thing that I've never understood, being rainbows will run in the fall but don't actually spawn till late winter/early spring. Anyone know why this might be? I typically will fish into mid October then let the fish be towards the end of the month/November as thats when I was told the heaviest spawning occurs. I like to catch em but I want them to fertilize the eggs without me interrupting the process or affecting the number of fertilizations. Any other feelings on this?

 

[jayL]

I've caught some giant browns making runs from the schuylkill river in berks county. Early November seems to be the best time for that. People don't believe they are in that river, and they aren't in catchable numbers... but the few that are there make a strong push into a few little streams in the area.

Look for carp. I've found that the carp push up with them for some reason.

 

[JF_]

StudentofTheStream wrote:
Browns are fall spawners while rainbows and brookies will spawn towards the spring.

Brook trout spawn in the fall....

John

 

[ryanh]

I bet the carp follow for the eggs.
Same way trout would follow the salmon in AK.

 

[StudentofTheStream]

My mistake, brookies and browns in the fall and the bows in the spring.

 

[rrt]

The fishing should pick up right now. The nights have been cooler, and the morning stream temps are down into the trout's favored range. Exceptions would be small native streams from which the water has already run off from the rains--as I found out on "Mt Hemlock Run" yesterday. I couldn't get close enough to cast to most places w/o spooking them, so I ended up on ljr's favorite stream for a while. Anyhow, the time should be right now.

 

[dryflyguy]

Any easy solution to fishing during spawning time - be like me and fish only dry flies. I doubt if any fish that's rising is also reproducing.
As for when things really start to pick up, for rising fish, usually when the weather starts cooling down noticebly. From my experience, this starts generally around mid sept, and stays good thru oct. Again, I'm talking about fall hatches, and the fish starting to rise thru out the day again like they do in early spring, instead of just early morning and evening. I refer to this as their fall mode - mostly fishing to autumn olives, but lots of streams also have good slate drake and caddis hatches. And tricos will still be around thru oct on some streams also.
Fall has become probably my favorite time to fish. There are no crowds to contend with - most outdoorpersons thoughts are turning to hunting by then. You will likely have most streams to yourself
Those annoying mosquitos - which have particularly bad this year where I've been fishing - start to disappear.
And again, those beautiful fall hatches. On streams with tricos, I frequently find fish rising all day. The tricos usually go all morning then, and just as they peter out in early afternoon, the olives start, and last pretty much the rest of the day. Doesn't get much better than that!
I recommend you get out and enjoy it.

 

[pete41]

The Biologists out west have managed to develop a strain of fall spawning rainbows.I have fished for them in Montana.Why they wanted to is the question.In the spring run of spawners on the Missouri river near Helena Mt. I would often catch two at a time.Averaging 3pds.Talk about wild fishing.
I am serious about winter fishing.Can be great.

 

[ian_brown]

Things do seem to be picking up. I caught two beautiful fish on tricos this morning. one odd thing is that the fish don't seem to be rising to the tricos like they were earlier; I had to sink my flies.

 

[sandfly]

brooks also spawn in spring too..thats one reason you get such colorful fish..

 

[Chaz]

When it rains for several days and the stream levels come up and stay up.

 

[schrec]

I've found mid-October to mid-November to be the best time for huge browns to move upstream. I once caught a 23-inch brown in a brookie stream that probably averaged 8 ft wide, a tributary of the Clarion River. It was the last Saturday in October, 1991. Some dates you never forget. (Unfortunately, my wedding anniversary isn't one of them.) ;^)

rising fish always
schrec

 

[dryflyguy]

I remember this post from about a month ago, and just thought I'd stir it up again. With the cool weather the last few days - highs in the upper '50's, and lows in the upper '30's. - I think now is when things should really start to pickup. In fact I'll be heading for central PA on my next days off.

 

[jayL]

Good call on resurrecting this one, dryflyguy.

The trikes were off and on today for me. I caught them drifting tiny tiny, tiny nymphs and "junk" flies. The fish seemed active, but we still need a bit more water. I'm really chomping at the bit for October fishing. The leaves are a pain in the rear, but the beauty of the scene makes up for it.

I'd say the time is now.

 

[dryflyguy]

Jayl-

yes, those leaves can be a real pain once they start dropping.
after about 20 years of fishing in the fall, I've found that there is a prime window of opportunity to fish in cool weather, but before they start falling - usually mid sept til mid oct.
I plan my fishing time accordingly, and will get out every chance I can during the next month. I even took vacation the first week of october - just for fishing now that I quit hunting