Fishing at Deer Camp

[PocketWater]

I don't hunt, but was thinking about fly fishing next Saturday. How much orange do you recommend wearing while fly fishing to feel safe from someone with an itchy trigger finger? The only orange I own is an orange hat. Is that typically enough?

 

[dc410]

This coming Saturday gun season for deer is open for both buck and doe, I believe mostly statewide. I would definitely wear some orange while fishing. I would feel an orange hat should cover you. Good luck!

 

[Swattie87]

I’ll fish on Saturdays (and Monday-Friday if I have a day off) throughout most of the Fall hunting seasons in areas where hunting is allowed, wearing the appropriate orange. Outside of deer rifle season, I’ve only ever encountered one active hunter (crossbow) while fishing, and one other guy hiking in a tree stand. There's just a lot less people out there.

That being said I won’t fish during deer rifle season in those areas, even if I was dressed head to toe in orange. Safety of course – there’s a lot more guys in the woods those weeks, but also I don’t want to spoil the hunt for any guys that are out there. You can only rifle hunt two weeks out of the year and I know plenty of guys (and am related to some) who look forward to those two weeks more than anything else on the sportsman’s annual calendar. They put in plenty of time and research scouting, sometimes targeting individual deer even…Just like I spend a lot of time researching streams to fish. I’d hate to spook off their deer splashing through a stream and getting my fly caught in trees. I can fish the other 50 weeks of the year. If I have the itch during rifle season, I either fish on Sunday, or fish a handful of streams that are in areas where I know hunting isn’t allowed.

 

[PocketWater]

Swattie87 wrote:
I’ll fish on Saturdays (and Monday-Friday if I have a day off) throughout most of the Fall hunting seasons in areas where hunting is allowed, wearing the appropriate orange. Outside of deer rifle season, I’ve only ever encountered one active hunter (crossbow) while fishing, and one other guy hiking in a tree stand. There's just a lot less people out there.

That being said I won’t fish during deer rifle season in those areas, even if I was dressed head to toe in orange. Safety of course – there’s a lot more guys in the woods those weeks, but also I don’t want to spoil the hunt for any guys that are out there. You can only rifle hunt two weeks out of the year and I know plenty of guys (and am related to some) who look forward to those two weeks more than anything else on the sportsman’s annual calendar. They put in plenty of time and research scouting, sometimes targeting individual deer even…Just like I spend a lot of time researching streams to fish. I’d hate to spook off their deer splashing through a stream and getting my fly caught in trees. I can fish the other 50 weeks of the year. If I have the itch during rifle season, I either fish on Sunday, or fish a handful of streams that are in areas where I know hunting isn’t allowed.

Those are good points Swattie. Maybe I will wait until Sunday to go since they won't be hunting on Sunday.

 

[geebee]

it sounds like they should move some of the deer herds down here in SEPA out to the wilds - i see on average 10-15 deer a day, every day on the drive to and from work in several different spots, typical in threes and fours, although sometimes larger.

the biggest herd i've seen was 17 does and youngs, one evening back in September. this is a mix of private and some public land.

the roads are littered with dead deer in April and just about now. it would seem they are becoming a problem.

 

[steveo27]

Anyone have any luck today? I shot a doe right before dark.

PocketWater wrote:
I don't hunt, but was thinking about fly fishing next Saturday. How much orange do you recommend wearing while fly fishing to feel safe from someone with an itchy trigger finger? The only orange I own is an orange hat. Is that typically enough?

I hunt, and I personally wouldnt fish any day during rifle season other than on a Sunday just because. It gets crazy out there, especially on public (SGL/state forest/ANF) lands.

Swattie brings up great points as well.

If you do want to fish any day other than a Sunday, Id wear at least whats required by the PGC, which is "a minimum 250 square inches, on head, chest, and back combined visible 360 degrees" just to be safe.

In the fall, once archery starts, I will fish on Sunday's only. Just feels safer and Id hate to spoil someone else's outing.

I actually fished yesterday all afternoon and hunted all day today.

 

[purplewoolly]

I've fished the Sunday before deer the past 5 or 6 years and experienced something this year I hadn't seen before. I hit the DHAO stretch of the Allegheny above Coudersport. It was about 2:00 , sunny and 41. I rigged up a couple of nymphs and after a half dozen casts I noticed something floating toward me. It was a size 18 BWO. I watched the water above me for a couple of minutes and saw a rise. I quickly changed my nymph leader to an adequate leader for size 18's. The hatch was not heavy but lasted almost 45 minutes in which time I landed a small brown and 2 holdover rainbows. I also had 3 takes that felt the steel but I didn't get hooked. It was by far the latest in the year that have caught trout on a dry fly. As has been the case in recent years, the fishing out performed the hunting at deer camp.

 

[Acristickid]

No fishing this year. I did go to Erie last Tuesday before the holiday. Two of my buddies bagged "shooter bucks". Both small 6 points- meat. One was in the big woods up north, the other was a farm outside Ligonier. I had thick fog roll in on opening day about 1- couldn't see 80 yards- had to give up. The big woods lack browse in my opinion to be productive, south hills of Pittsburgh is loaded with deer. Tried crossbow this year- just couldn't spend enough time out though. Hope to shoot a doe for sausage, ground meat and deer sticks. Good luck to all fly anglers and deer hunters.

 

[Sekora]

Back from camp and I think I'll be taking my fishing gear from now on. Went fishing on Saturday before the season opened to a section of stream we've always walked past hunting but never fished. The water was really clear and fairly low so the fish were spooky. You only had one shot at a drift before they scattered. I caught some fish in an orange stimulator and a hares ear. Seen some really big brookies in the deep water but could only get the smaller ones. The highlight for me was catching my first wild brown out of that creek. On the other hand, hunting was really good. We had 6 guys that hunted hard and got 5 bucks. 4 8's and a 7. I was able to take a nice 8 point on opening day after a really big buck got past me in the morning.

 

[pcray1231]

Saturday we hunted ANF north of Tionesta near Blue Jay creek. We saw 1 deer all day. It was a nice size 6 point.

We're based just north of Tionesta.

We had 4 hunters and 1 driver (killed 1 in archery) for the first Monday. Hunted a new to us area, still ANF, because scouting our typical areas revealed very little sign and deer sightings, largely thanks to a complete lack of acorns this year. Where we hunted had a fair bit of hickory nut on the ground and that's what we felt was drawing them there.

The 4 guns all saw between 10 and 20 deer, though who knows how many are doubles (seeing same deer multiple times). I saw 11 personally. We killed 1 (not mine). A smallish 5 point, but it was a big heavy deer and probably at least 2 1/2, maybe 3 1/2 years old.

There was a massive 12 point killed very close to us. 250 yards from my treestand, just out of sight (around a point). A teenager killed it while walking, it was on it's way towards my treestand....

My brother (the driver) came by him as he was gutting. Full of corn.... I suppose this new area did have a corn field about 4-5 miles away, as the crow flies.