Trout Streams and Hatches of Pennsylvania

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mporter012

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I finally picked up Trout Streams and Hatches of Pennsylvania this week. A part of me really doesn't like the book - his writing style is in the third grade science teacher genre (why!!!??) and the photos are bad (why!!!!!???). I don't get this. Also, why not have more information on the streams (freestone, limestone, tailwater, gradient, ECT). I wish Ansel Adams would have written a PA fly fishing book! Anyway, the book is loaded with good information on hatches and access, so that part is helpful. Are there others who find the book less than great, or do most love it??

 
mporter012 wrote:
I finally picked up Trout Streams and Hatches of Pennsylvania this week. A part of me really doesn't like the book - his writing style is in the third grade science teacher genre (why!!!??) and the photos are bad (why!!!!!???). I don't get this. Also, why not have more information on the streams (freestone, limestone, tailwater, gradient, ECT). I wish Ansel Adams would have written a PA fly fishing book! Anyway, the book is loaded with good information on hatches and access, so that part is helpful. Are there others who find the book less than great, or do most love it??

Didn't know that Ansel Adams was a PA flyfisher?
 
I hate it for a variety of reasons. If it is as inaccurate about other streams as it is about my home waters, it is probably virtually worthless.
 
Interesting. Do you have alternative recommendations?
 
Dwight Landis, Trout Steams of PA.
 
+1 on Dwights book, been my go-to for the past 15 or 20 years. yes, it's getting kinda worn looking!
 
No fan of that type of book, but of the ones I have seen, Landis's is probably the best, though an older book, the late Mike Sajna's PA Trout and Salmon Guide, is easily the most enjoyable reading because he includes a lot of historical info. about streams and their locales. It's been out of print for a while and might be hard to find now.
 
A lot of us use the Dwight Landis "Trout Streams of Pennsylvania," it's written better and IMO has more accurate information. Plus it has good maps.
 
plus dwight posts here alot and is "one of us"!
 
I wish I would have picked up Dwight's book at the Jam this year but Ed decided to miss the turn for the campground and we took a 40 min detour......THANKS Ed!
 
You can still get Mike Sajna's book on Amazon. Just checked.
 
mporter,

The real value of the book is simply the hatch listings for each stream. The compiler found someone with enough knowledge of each stream to create a hatch listing. These should be used as a starting point and as rtt mentioned may not be completely accurate.

 
I think you will like Sajna's book if you buy it, but some of its information is outdated. Even so, it is a highly readable book for this genre.
 
I also rec Dwight's book. I think I'm on my third copy now because everytime I lend it to someone I never get it back! I agree with the other poster that the maps are great, especially when paired with the Delorne PA maps. I use it as a quick guide if I'm traveling to an area I don't get to very often or at all.
 
The first book I bought for streams in Pa. was Dwight's, it's worth every penny. The second was by A. Joseph Armstrong, Trout unlimited Guide to Pennsylvania Limestone Streams. Along with the Pa. delorne map always in the truck when out and about.
 
As a dedicated hatch chaser, I've always found Mecks books to be very helpful. They were my guide during my early years of fly fishing - 30 years ago now. And generally, most of the hatch information seemed to be right on IMO.

Some of his materiel is a little dated now however. Trout streams do change a bit over the years. I've seen hatches come and go on many trout streams that I fish
 
I got Dwight's book as a gift, and I must say it is worth every penny.;-)

Not a fan of those kind of books and prefer exploring.
 
As Elvis said
"don't be --------".
lol,lol,lol,lol
 
The Landis book is so good that it was very expensive as a used book until Dwight did another printing. But no book could cover all of the hundreds of small streams on a million+ acres of public PA land, so there is always a place for mapping and hiking if you like small streams. Nice.
 
Some of Dwight's inclusions really surprised me. My brother in law owns a small farm in Sullivan County and has a small stream running through the property. Dwight actually listed the stream and what he found there. He said access was an issue 'cause of posted land....but access wasn't an issue for me 'cause of being of kin to one of the land posters! My brother in law, who's not a fly fisherman (or any kind of fisherman) was pretty excited that "his" stream was in there.
 
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