The off season is a great time to look at old books and to explore new ones as well. Some of the early books I read when I was getting started with fly fishing are still good reads and should not be overlooked. The more recent ones hold fresh insight to many of the locations and changes to many of streams in Pennsylvania.

Before you start striping any line or emptying your wallet you might want to take a look at The L.L. Bean Ultimate Book of Fly Fishing by Macauley Lord, **** Talleur and Dave Whitlock. It is one of the best all around general fly fishing books there is for any new angler to the sport. Their book provides essential information about flies, bugs, gear, concepts, traditions and everything from Atlantic Salmon to the zug bug.

A lot of good first hand information can be found in Flyfisher's Guide to Pennsylvania (Flyfisher's Guide Series) by Dave Wolf and Trout Streams and Hatches of Pennsylvania; A Complete Fly-Fishing Guide to 140 Rivers and Streams by Charles Meck. Both books are carried by seasoned anglers. They not only help in the where, but try to make sense of the what before you get into a stream.

Reading some of the Pennsylvania fly water type books is how I got...

Profile Overview: Chuck is an avid fly fisherman and fly tier. He is the sole director of the International Fly Tyers Symposium. He designs flies for Raineys Flies, and had developed a tying material made from leather called Bugskin.

Questions

1 - Dave: Please tell me how and when you got started into fly-fishing.
Chuck: I started in Fly Fishing seriously when I attended college, Penn State, and took the George Harvey fly fishing course in the physical education dept. It was the first Credited course offered at any University and it changed my life.

2 - Dave: Tell me what inspired you to create the International Fly Tying Symposium and The Fly Fishing Show.
Chuck: A fly fishing club of volunteers had a fly fishing show in Southfield, Michigan, that I attended. It was such a long drive I thought I could start one where I owned two retail stores at Seven Springs Mt. Resort. That was my first event that started it all for me. Now, after twenty years later, I’ve done many shows, none near by, so I’m traveling even further today.

Perkiomen Creek, the chapter's namesake is the main focus of the restoration efforts at the chapter, in an attempt to extend a growing wild trout population.

By working with landowners, state and local leaders, and other state organizations, Perkiomen Valley Trout Unlimited has had great of success in restoring key tributaries of the Perkiomen, through several miles of tree plantings, streambank restoration and structure, educating communities and landowners on best land management practices.

Now comprised of about 200 members the chapter is working hard to complete the major work of restoring stream banks and water quality. Water quality has already improved enough in the main branch that a noticeable difference has been recorded in the water quality of the Green Lane Reservoir.

The chapter has a fund raising raffle underway to support local Trout in the Class and stream restoration efforts. Details for the the raffle and prizes can be found on the Perkiomen Valley Trout Unlimited website.


Membership Meetings - Perkiomen Valley Trout Unlimited general Membership Meetings are held every 3rd Monday of the month between the months of September and May, starting at 7:30pm in the Upper Perkiomen Valley Free Library Community Room at the Upper Perkiomen Valley Library 350 Main Street Red Hill, PA 18076.

Photo by culmer

The first annual Erie Steelhead JAM was a huge success! We had a great turnout with people from all across the state. A special thanks to Folly’s campground for their hospitality in the usage of their facilities!

In an attempt in not embarrassing myself in not remembering everyone’s names, I will not give a list of everyone who showed up. We had an estimated 25 guys (and one spouse!) came to fish the famous steelhead alley in Erie Pennsylvania over the weekend of October 30th to November 1st. A few members filtered in on Friday and braved the wind and the rain, but the majority of people showed up on Saturday morning.

We all met at the pavilion at Folly’s and planned our attack from there. Elk is about 50 yards away from the pavilion so it was the logical choice as the water was rising by the minute. A few headed down to the mouth of Elk to “beat the flows”. The fishing did not last very long as the creek visibly rose in front of our eyes. A few people got stuck on the wrong side of the stream and some of us watched in anticipation as they slowly crossed the creek. Those of us who were there then joined up the genius “beat the flow” guys and had a small window of fishing before the flows hit the mouth. Our early morning success was very limited as there were a few hookups and maybe 1 or 2 fish landed.

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Perkiomen creek in spring

Perkiomen Creek in early spring.

I fish the stream until the hatches show. I will not fish a stream I do not enjoy just for the hatches.

I have no problem with prospecting with "staple" foods like scuds, or terrestrials.

Luckily, I like streams that have hatches.

When you have been out fishing for a while and changing flies over a period of a day you loose quite a bit of your tippet. One of the preferred methods for joining two different lines of similar size is the blood knot when joining sections of tippet or leader. This is one of the best methods for extending the length of your tippet.

A quick animated instruction for the blood knot and well as others can be found at: Animated Knots by Grog.

Aging eyes and dark evenings can really challenge some to tie this knot. I know plenty of nights I have calculated the time to tying tippet ratio. The last thing I would want to do is tie a blood knot at dusk.

The folks at Anglers Ace provides a simple little knot tying product that could save some time. Here is a quick slideshow showing how the product works.

Can one ever really have too many flies :lol:

When the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) holds its quarterly business meeting in early October, the newest board member will bring to his first meeting a diverse background in government service, higher education, private sector experience and local conservation. It’s a mix G. Warren Elliott believes will benefit the agency as it develops its next five-year strategic plan.

“I have been interested in fishing and boating, conservation and protecting our natural resources for most of my adult life,” said Elliott, a resident of Chambersburg, Franklin County, who took his oath of office last month as one of the Commission’s two at-large boating representatives. “I also have a keen interest in public administration, experience I want to use to assist my fellow commissioners, the agency leaders and their employees as we craft the strategic plan.

I have seven. One of them is an old glass fenwick, and is on perma loan to a friend. The rest are used semi-regularly at least.

Bellefonte proudly proclaims to be “Central Pennsylvania’s Victorian Secret” with it’s charming homes in a modern world, but it is no secret to anglers that it also holds a charm all its own when it comes to fly fishing. Nestled in the Nittany Valley of Centre County, Bellefonte is home to some of the premier fly-fishing waters in Pennsylvania. The members of PaFlyFish.com have selected Bellefonte, Pennsylvania as the Best Fly Fishing Town in Pennsylvania for 2009.

Anglers enjoy the world-class fly-fishing waters of Spring Creek that meanders through the town. Other prominent streams such as Penns Creek, Fishing Creek, Spruce Creek and the Little Juniata River are all in close proximity too. The mountain fed and limestone streams provide cool productive waters through out the year that are a delight to fly fishing enthusiasts.

Members of the Pennsylvania fly-fishing community at PaFlyFish.com resoundingly selected Bellefonte in a recent poll as the Best Fly Fishing Town in Pennsylvania. Selected for not only the close proximity to the many wonderful streams in the area, but its hospitality, shops, dining and accommodations. With a lodging named the Riffles and Runs Bed and Breakfast how can this not be a wonderful fly fishing town.

Bill Simmeth, member at PaFlyfish.com adds, “If I would ever move somewhere close to good fly fishing, Bellefonte would be at the top of my list. The town has all the amenities a fly fisherman could want with good restaurants, accommodations and two great fly shops nearby. Yet it still has that nice small town feel to it."

Walt Goldman, Mayor of Bellefonte, commented, “We are thrilled to hear that Bellefonte has been recognized for this wonderful designation. Bellefonte welcomes all fly fishing anglers to come and visit our wonderful town."

Thanks to www.VisitPa.com for the Bellefonte picture.