In this video, Devin Olsen from Tactical Fly Fisher breaks down how to read pocket water hydraulics and identify where trout hold around river boulders. He explains how boulders split currents into three key holding zones: the downstream pocket areas (where the prime target is the slowed, less turbulent water just below where split currents meet), the sides of boulders (where undercuts and friction create resting zones), and the upstream velocity cushion (where water slows as it climbs over barely-submerged rocks). To effectively fish these spots without drag from conflicting currents, Devin suggests using a single-nymph Euro-nymphing setup for downstream and side lies.

I especially liked how he covered the bank rocks and pointed out that boulders along the banks are often hidden goldmines. He explains that bank rocks combine boulder structure with natural shoreline flow, creating small eddies where fish can rest without fighting heavy currents. It’s a great tip because those side pockets are so easy to walk right past.

Many anglers know about the magic of fly fishing the salmonfly hatch in June on the Madison River, or the excitement of the Mother's Day caddis hatch on the Yellowstone River, or in October chasing big brown trout with streamers on the Missouri River. But as the heat of summer begins to fade in late August, with longer, cooler nights but still plenty of sunshine to keep things comfortable, there's a unique window of fishing that occurs during these weeks of not-quite-fall-yet-not-quite-summer. Here are 5 top places to go fly fishing when it isn't yet fall, but summer is on the way out.


Yellowstone National Park
As late August comes, the nights become noticeably cooler and longer in Yellowstone National Park. The rivers and creeks in the northeast corner of Yellowstone National Park drain some of the highest-elevation mountains within a few hours...

I will keep the names of most streams hidden. With a little digging, you'll be able to figure them out if you so choose.

June 17
On June 17th at about 5:20 am, I hit the road and drove to Wisconsin for a solo fishing trip. I arrived near Dodgeville, Wi, which is in Iowa County, at about 6:00 pm. Shortly after my arrival at Governor Dodge State Park, tornado warnings were issued, and we all sheltered in and around the bathroom facilities. The storms got vicious, and while we didn't experience any direct tornadoes where I was, this would shape my next couple days of fishing. After the heavy rains and winds subsided, I setup my tent, referenced some maps, and took a drive around the Iowa County country side. Iowa County is gorgeous. It is some of the most well-kept farmland I've ever seen. I also found many numerous spring creeks. The problem, however, was that they were all muddy brown from the storms. I returned to my campsite, ate some dinner, and turned in for the night, excited and ready to begin fishing in earnest the next day.

June 18
I awoke early, ate some food, referenced some maps, and immediately headed for some nearby trout waters. Wisconsin streams and geology is vastly different than that here in PA. The majority of the stream bottoms I encountered were sand and muck. While I didn't love that aspect of Wisconsin, what I did love was their stream access laws. They have pamphlets detailing what exactly a "navigable waterway" is, and basically if it has a defined stream channel, it's navigable. This equates to a wet feet law that allows you to access and fish pretty much everything, even the smallest trickles, without worry of trespassing. Furthermore, you can access streams at any public bridge crossing as long as you can safely pull off the road. Add on the tons of easements and public parking lots built for anglers, and you have a wealth of spring creeks and access - TAKE SOME NOTES, PA. SPEND YOUR DOLLARS HERE! I drove...

Tight Line Dry Dropper - Fishing the "Y" - The Duo - NOT Euro Dry Dropper - A Comprehensive Look
by Troutbitten

In this video, Domenick Swentosky from Troutbitten provides an in-depth breakdown of the Tight Line Dry Droppertechnique (often called fishing the "Y" or "The Duo"). He clarifies that this is fundamentally different from a strict "Euro dry dropper" or competition-style approach, offering everyday anglers more flexibility and better results.

Visit the Troutbitten website: 1500+ articles about fly fishing for wild trout in wild places.https://troutbitten.com/
Listen to the Troutbitten Podcast:https://podcast.troutbitten.com

The 2026 Paflyfish Spring Jamboree turned out to be another very successful event. We enjoyed plenty of good weather, time with friends, and opportunities to fish. We also tried a couple of new activities this year: a casting clinic led by Derek Eberly and a fishing gear swap on Saturday morning. Both worked out very well.



Many anglers made their way to Penns Creek over the weekend. Poe Paddy was a popular destination because the weather and water levels were so favorable. However, as is often the case on Penns Creek, the fishing proved challenging for many. There were some good nymphing opportunities, along with March Browns, limited Sulphur hatches, and sporadic spinner falls.



Derek Eberly captivated the crowd Saturday morning with his casting clinic. Anglers of every experience level found something they could learn and techniques they could improve. I came away with two new moves to master that should help improve my casting skills and accuracy. Thanks, Derek!





We also held a gear swap Saturday morning, with several people offering flies, rods, artwork, and other items. Dave Weaver put on a show as he created one of his fantastic brown trout illustrations. The level of detail was impressive.





The Jamboree is one of the few times each year when all the forum moderators can get together and enjoy some time fishing. We had a special treat this year, with Matt behind the grill doing some tailgating and serving Philly cheesesteaks to those of us from the Philadelphia area. Everyone agreed...

I'll write up my report on my computer, and then I'll post pictures from my phone.

Friday, May 23
On Friday after work, I went to one of my favorite streams. I went to a section of stream that I don't love because it is lacking in habitat, but I fish it occasionally. I hooked one wild brown trout. It had no water, and I had lamented this stream's lack of water in a previous post. I figured since we just received an inch of rain the day or so prior that the stream would be bank full; I was wrong. My highlight of this trip was stumbling upon a fawn that must have just been born. It was in the stream, and it looked so pathetic. I slowly backed away and left the fawn and I moved back upstream.

Saturday, May 24
My brother-in-law, Clayton, has been an aspiring fly fisherman for years now, but he doesn't go often. He has also historically experienced awful fishing when we go out, but that all changed for him on this weekend. We braved the rain and went to one of my favorite small streams. He found lots of action, and he missed probably about fifteen to twenty fish, but he landed about ten or so. He really got a lot of practice casting, controlling his bobber drifts, and mending his line. I barely fished, but I caught four or so. I was mainly just guiding him. I only made casts when he got stuck in a tree or blew the location or whatever.

Sunday, May 25
I headed back out with my brother-in-law to a much different style of stream, and once again, he got some good practice in. Much like the previous day, I only fished when he was stuck or blew a hole; I mostly was acting as a guide. He landed five or six trout, and all were wild browns except for one which was a stockie bow. I landed the best fish of the day, however, and mine came on streamers. He caught one on streamers, too, and it was good practice for him because that was the first time he had really cast streamers to trout. All in all, it was a great outing, and he really got some good...

Hey all-

I wanted to give a report after spending the last 4 days up on the Upper Delaware. I haven't really spent a ton of time on the Upper D, and this was the first time we DIY'd it with floating. I've fished with guides twice and waded a bit on it, but aside from that one could say we were rookies. My buddy has an NRS raft, so we used that to float 3 of the 4 days.

Flows: WB on the drop, 1000ish CFS
Water Temp: Upper 40s, low 50s.

5/15:
We met up in Hancock at the Bat Factory and decided we would float the WB from Balls Eddy down to Shehawken. It was pretty cloudy and pretty cold still that morning in the 40s. We launched at 11AM and made our way down starting with some streamers in the riffles and nymphing until the bugs picked up. We moved some fish on streamers but nothing to net. Continuing downstream the caddis started coming off pretty good and we switched over to dries. We had some pretty solid eats, but still nothing to net. We sat at a pool for an hour so during the caddis hatch but there were so many bugs it made it difficult get fish to eat the fly vs the real thing. Once we got down to Shehawken we popped into Cross Current for the goods. We figured it would be tough with the cold weather, not having the right flies for the caddis that were coming off didn't help either.

After resetting we decided to do a quick evening float on the upper reaches of the WB near where we were staying, and finally had some success. Pretty quickly we got a 15" brownie to eat a hendrickson emerger. Continuing downstream we saw some sporadic rises, that seemed to be smaller fish. I saw a sip in a riffle and made a cast, and hooked into what ended up being the biggest trout of the trip. Not sure on size, as we didn't measure it, but I guessed over 22"+? Hard to tell.

As it got darker we found some more risers and missed a few more. Overall it was a good day. Tough at...

Please join Stanley Cooper Chapter of Trout Unlimited in welcoming Dave Kile to our monthly meeting to be held Wednesday, May 13, 2026 at 7:00 PM at Sabatini’s Bottle Shop, 1901 Wyoming Ave., Exeter, PA

Presentation Topic: Stream Hunting Pennsylvania with Dave Kile
Pennsylvania offers an extraordinary range of trout water—from well-known classics to hidden blue liners—yet discovering new water can feel challenging. This presentation shows how fly fishing anglers can use today’s online tools to make stream exploration more efficient, organized, and rewarding. Drawing on decades of fly fishing experience and years spent researching Pennsylvania waters, Dave Kile presents a practical approach to “stream hunting” using digital resources. The talk covers a process to identify promising trout streams, locate public access and parking, and combine readily available tools to build a personal playbook for confidently exploring new water.

Dave Kile has been an avid fly fisherman for more than 45 years, later combining that passion with a background in digital cartography. In 1995, he founded Paflyfish, the Pennsylvania Fly Fishing site that has grown into the region’s leading online communities for fly fishing anglers.


What will be covered:
Online resources for new streams
How to uncover new trout steams opportunities
Finding parking and access
A process to track and managing of your locations

When: Wednesday, May 13 at 7:00 PM

Where: Sabatini’s Bottle Shop, 1901 Wyoming Ave., Exeter, PA

Stanley Cooper Chapter Trout Unlimited | Please join Stanley Cooper Chapter of Trout Unlimited in welcoming Dave Kile to our monthly meeting to be held Wednesday, May 13 ,at 7:00 PM at Sabati... | Facebook

Please join Stanley Cooper Chapter of Trout Unlimited in welcoming Dave Kile to our monthly meeting to be held Wednesday, May 13 ,at 7:00 PM at Sabatini’s Bottle Shop, 1901 Wyoming Ave., Exeter. ...

www.facebook.com

Zoom Link

Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise cloud communications.

zoom.us

Mark your calendars for Friday, May 15–Sunday, May 17, as we enjoy the Annual Paflyfish Spring Jamboree Weekend at the Seven Mountains Campground. It’s that time of year again when members of our site gather for a fantastic blend of fly fishing, fly tying, camping, and camaraderie. Set against the backdrop of north-central Pennsylvania streams—including locations like the Little J, Penns Creek, Spring Creek, Fishing Creek, and more—it always offers a fun weekend.

The heart of our Jamboree is the pavilion at Seven Mountains Campground, rented by Paflyfish and serving as our central hub for meet-ups, impromptu conversations, and fly-tying sessions.


New this year will be our Saturday morning meetup. We will be offering a Fly Fishing Casting Clinic led by Derek Eberly (@FinFurFeather), a state-level competitive casting champion. Derek will offer a demonstration of casting techniques from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM on the central Seven Mountains lawn—a great opportunity for new and experienced anglers to sharpen their casting skills.

Another addition this year will be a Fly and Gear Swap on Saturday morning at the pavilion from 10:00 AM–12:00 PM. Attendees are encouraged to bring their old or unwanted fly fishing gear—such as rods, reels, waders, books, and packs—to trade or barter. Fly tyers are welcome to bring their flies to sell or swap at the event. (Please keep it to fly fishing gear only—no weapons and no businesses. Paflyfish has the right to ask a participant to leave for any reason.)


There’s no shortage of spontaneous fly tying, casting pointers, and friendly guidance on where to cast your line. Whether you’re a seasoned angler or new to the area, our community members are here to ensure...

For anglers in Pennsylvania, the appearance of the Grannom caddis (Brachycentrus numerosus) is the true sign of spring. The hatch frequents the region in mid-April; this event transforms quiet streams into scenes of chaotic activity. Unlike the delicate emergence of mayflies, the Grannom can be a "blizzard hatch" of dark-bodied insects that seem to materialize all at once, flooding the air and coating the riverside foliage in a vibrating blanket of wings. At times they can seem like a river of insects flying upstream above the water in one motion together.

Grannom Caddis (Brachycentrus numerosus)​

Size: 12-14
Location: Western, central, and some southeastern parts of Pennsylvania
Start Date: April 9th Timing: Late morning to early afternoon
(Start dates and timing can vary annually)

The oldest "true" caddisfly body fossils (the winged adults) date back to the Early Triassic, roughly 230 million years ago. They originated in the Permian Period, which predates the Triassic Period (when the first dinosaurs appeared) by tens of millions of years.


The Grannom Caddis activity usually kicks off during the warmest part of the day, typically between 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM. On legendary waters like the Little Juniata, Kettle Creek, and Oil Creek, the trout quickly dial into the heavy drift of pupae rising to the surface. If you arrive too late in the day, you might see the bugs, but the "feeding frenzy" has often already subsided, leaving the trout slowing down after their heavy feeding earlier in the day.

To find the fish, you have to understand the Grannom’s life cycle. Before the winged adults take flight, the trout focus heavily on the...

If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like when fly fishing crosses the line into a full-blown survival mission, this latest video from Hardman Fishing Adventures is a good one to check out.

The guys head into some of the most rugged, vertical terrain in Southern Appalachia, chasing wild brown trout in water that looks as fishy as it is dangerous. We’re talking "lock in or end up on the news" kind of hiking. Between bushwhacking through impenetrable rhododendron thickets and navigating "unpassable" waterfalls, it’s a masterclass in why we love (and sometimes question) this sport.

The Hardman channel features a wide variety of fly fishing destinations across the United States, often focusing on remote, high-altitude, or "underrated" waters. You can find other videos that cover West Virginia, New York, Georgia, Tennessee and more.