Harman's North Fork Invitationial

Since they are now considered "PROFESSIONAL", does that mean they won't be able to enter any of our local amatuer comps?


Way to go TEAM PA.
 
Great job to Team PAFlyFish! Shane and Phil you guys really fished well and caught a few big fish when you needed to most. Being only 8cm from 1st to 3rd shows how close it was in the end. That is only 3.14 inches between the 3 teams! See you guys there next year.
 
As Phil and I have told you over and over again, you and Woody really helped us with some good tips. We really do owe much of our success to you guys. Thank you for that Mark.

Thank you to everybody as well for the kind words. Our goal going down was not finishing in last place. We accomplished that.
 
No problem man that is what competition is all about if you are not sharing and helping everyone become better anglers what is the point.
 
Thanks All!

We had an absolute blast...I guess that was the main goal but after that we just didn't want to get last place. Being our first comp we had quite a few lessons along the way. Every session had some very adverse moments...like starting the first session thinking we had time to set up our rods etc and having to start right away. Shane had a rod ready and I was stringing 3 rods that had bird nest leaders...20 mins in Shane calls for a switch and I'm still MIA. Second session started out really hot. We got to five quick and had even let a smaller fish go...to everything shutting down all of sudden and somehow pulling a couple fish in the final moments...3rd session was worst beat on a cold morning. Pounding the crap out of a shallow pocket run was exhausting and highly unproductive...and it was our 2 fly. Final round were on our 4th fish and I needed to get my second...ended up dropping 2 hogs that I swore took out of taking it...
There's a lot of luck of the draw involved but you have to capitalize on the chances you get and I'm glad we were able to do that for the most part.
I was hoping to meet some real pro guys and bunking with Mark Hanes (MHanes) and Dave Woody took care of that. They are real class acts and all around good dudes.
We got to see how things work behind the scenes and there is a lot of work that goes into this event...this played out for an amazing time for all the participants.
A special thanks to Todd and Ryan Harman, and the entire staff at Harmans (and also Big Riggs catering) They pulled out all the stops to make this thing work out so well.
And of course a huge thank you to Dave, Maurice and all of Paflyfish for providing this opportunity...without your contributions to this site, we would have probably only have seen this on TV
Oh and how can I forget...thank you Curtis and and FRC staff. It's pretty amazing all efforts they go through to help Vets, disabled, anyone in need etc...it has evolved into a tight knit community of friends, volunteers etc that is one big family

I'm sure there's others that I forgot and many more details on this event that seemed like a long journey from start to finish...I will follow up with anyone I missed and I think there will more in the official write up

Thanks again everyone!!
 
I dont know what's better...the fact that you guys won, or the fact that you got interviewed on a nationally televised cable show while rocking a handlebar mustache.
 
The handlebar was shaved off today. I promised my wife I would after the HNFI. I just did it for lolz.

As I told other competitors...Everybody in the fly fishing world seems to want to grow massive beards. Not me, I wanted to grow a stupid curly mustache. :)
 
Congratulations Shane and Phil. You really did us proud!
 
They cheated!! I got them on film putting pieces of nightcrawlers on the tip of their flies!!! LOL
Glad to have met you both! Congratulations
 
Just so everybody knows, YoughnessMonster shows up to our second session and tells us...."Just so you guys know, every time I come to get footage of the competitors they seem to get skunked. So just tell me to leave if you want." Phil immediately hooked and landed the biggest fish of the competition, but then we did not catch another fish until he freaking left. If the footage of Phil's fish does not make the show it is Yough's fault.:)
 
The Lehigh cultivates fly fishing gods.
 
Very cool! Way to go, guys! Making us proud!
 
Nice job guys!
 
Thats pretty darn neat.
Congrats to both.
 
I’ve been a lurker on this site for several years but this is my first post. I really enjoy this site and have learned a lot from the many talented fly fishermen who share their knowledge here.

One thing puzzles me, however, and I wonder if some of you could shed some light on this issue. My question is not meant to be a “troll;” I’m sincerely interested in your thoughtful replies.

The general consensus on here seems to be that operations like the one run by Donny Beaver are highly disliked, to put it mildly. His business plan is to privatize streams, stock them with large trout well beyond the carrying capacity of the stream so that they have to be spoon fed to survive, and to charge fly fishermen to fish there. I believe he also requires anglers to hire a guide.

Then we have Harman’s. They have 1.75 miles of privatized water stocked to the hilt with large trout. To fish there you have to either lodge there or buy a one-day permit to fish. From what I could find on their website, it’s ambiguous as to whether you have to hire a guide.

In principle, I’m wondering how these two organizations differ to the point where the general consensus here supports a tournament at Harman’s? Would PAFlyfish support a tourney on Beaver’s water, which, like the Harman’s tournament, would be done for advertising purposes to bring more revenue into the hands an “evil empire,” in this case Beaver’s Spring Ridge Club or whatever it’s called now?
 
This has come up before and I wil try to clear things up a bit.

1. Beaver leases Blue Ribbon Wild Trout water, as much as he can to support his memberships.
2. In the case of the Little J he was keeping the public off a public stream.
3. Beaver Stocks the pellet pigs over the wild trout in these streams. And calls it conservation.

Beavers memberships are near $100,000 for the right to fish.

Harmans is no different than any individual private property where access is restricted or limited to the discretion of the landowner.

Harmans also is stocking a marginal stream where no wild trout exist.

Harmans is an affordable vacation spot/paid access situation.

They are very different business models.
 
DD,
Welcome to our community - glad to see you "signed up" - although your first post is a bit of doozy (but a fair question). :)

I'll take a crack at answering it. First off, we should visit the disclaimer that folks are entitled to different opinions on this topic. Like other controversies that we wrestle with around here, each forum member must decide for themselves where they stand on these issues. Speaking personally, my views continue to evolve and some of them have shifted a bit in the last few years as I've been more exposed to this community and it's diverse views. Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that operations like SRC are unpopular with many of our readers. In recent years, other private clubs have built a genuine fan base among our readers. At first glance, this may seem contradictory but some basic points ought to be remembered: In the case of Harmon's, they have been a strong supporter of Paflyfish and been very generous to us. Our readership has responded in kind. This is in stark contrast to other private clubs which, due to their prohibitively high membership costs, are not the slightest bit interested in cultivating us "average joes" that populate this site. Furthermore, Harmons is marginal water; they don't stock over wild trout, and don't make the pretentious claim to be protecting wild trout. Other clubs make this claim when their fishery depends in large part on artificially fed stocked fish. And finally, Harmon's didn't try to block us average joes from accessing a legally accessible (ie navigable) waterway as certain other groups have done in the past. Simply put, Harmon's wants us to visit their stream. Other clubs seek to exclude us unwashed masses. Sure, Harmons is private but they have provided free opportunities for us to visit and anyone of us is welcome there for modest fees. The many testimonials on this message board reveal a very satisfied group of customers who feel they got a great deal and wish to return again. These testimonials matter.
In the end, each of us must decide how we feel about private water and posted waters. Many of these clubs are very different and each ought to be judged by their individual merits. It's up to each of us to decide where we stand on these clubs. Many fishermen would not care to patronize any fee fishing clubs - and that's fine. Others may wish to support some clubs but not others. Ultimately, it's up to you.
 
There is no "answer". The last two posts are opinions - and they are entitled to opinions. I've sat back on this one too. And my opinion is that there ain't much difference between the 2. I think that both operations are bad for FFing. That is my opinion. Okay - raise a bunch of 24" bows and stock them, keep people out and have clients pay to fish there. That's cool...? Go "fly-fishing" there and happen to be the guy that caught the 26" fish versus the 25" fish and you win.. haha.. Good one.

I do not know the specs regarding the North Fork, but are you telling me that no trout would live in that section if it weren't stocked by Harman's? I doubt it. And even so - post it and not allow the general public on that water that the good lord put here for us..? Some are alright with it and that is fine, but my opinion is no good...
 
streamer-stripper wrote:

I do not know the specs regarding the North Fork, but are you telling me that no trout would live in that section if it weren't stocked by Harman's? I doubt it. And even so - post it and not allow the general public on that water that the good lord put here for us..? Some are alright with it and that is fine, but my opinion is no good...
Click to expand...

Basically dries up over the summer. No wild trout even have a chance to survive.

They do not stop people from floating through and not fishing

Funny your last post here was this..... "Did those interested email Harman's?

The original post had asked that interested parties email Harman's. I know of two members, not me, that emailed Harman's but didn't post on this thread because they original said to email Harman's..? They heard nothing.

Is Becker really PAFF's representative? It seems to me he is always causing trouble on the site!..lol Best of luck!"


How did that go?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Montana Angler Fly Fishing
Montana Angler Fly Fishing
Harman's North Fork Cottages


Real Time Data From
the USGS Site

Share this page

Back
Top