rustbeltwilds
Well-known member
Yeah ive done pretty good there last few days will post a collage of pics from a few last days excursions. Big small all all age classes after i get home from the salt mines
Fismasters' Top 30 Trout Fishing Streams in Pennsylvania
- Thread starter TheDuke44
- Start date
JSky
Active member
Spruce has too much private water and Yellow Breeches is always overrated on these lists IMO.
gfenlikestolosepasswords
Well-known member
...and Valley is a consolation prize for Philthadelphians.
This reads like someone sifting for most popular trout cricks more than anything else. I mean, is there really anything left of the Brodhead of yore that isn't private and heavily stocked? And again, why isn't the LeTort on there. Even if it doesn't fish the same it's still a destination for history, beauty, and uniqueness.
This reads like someone sifting for most popular trout cricks more than anything else. I mean, is there really anything left of the Brodhead of yore that isn't private and heavily stocked? And again, why isn't the LeTort on there. Even if it doesn't fish the same it's still a destination for history, beauty, and uniqueness.
laurelhighlander
Well-known member
Can't believe youghiogheny is ranked 13, that's my home river, I would say it's one of the toughest trout streams I've ever fished. Granted, I'm not the best trout fisherman, nymph fishing just isn't enjoyable to me(that's prob where im going wrong. However laurel highlands guide service seem to fish a lot of streamers and catch good fish sometimes
CinnamonJoe
Well-known member
So, everyone is entitled to their incorrect opinion.
I thought 'Dark Skies' did a decent job on their list they put out recently; and, also in providing their rationale behind it.
darkskiesflyfishing.com
Joe
I thought 'Dark Skies' did a decent job on their list they put out recently; and, also in providing their rationale behind it.
Best Trout Streams in Pennsylvania: 12 Legendary Waters to Fly Fish - Dark Skies Fly Fishing
Explore 12 of the best trout streams in Pennsylvania, including Spring Creek, Penns Creek, Yellow Breeches, the Little Juniata, Pine Creek, and more.
darkskiesflyfishing.com
Joe
Bamboozle
Well-known member
Dark Skies has their favorites too, because the rationale falls flat in some examples, most notably the Letort which I have fished more than all of the other streams combined...
Ability to Handle Fishing Pressure - The Letort handles pressure TERRIBLY, especially if the other anglers don't know what approach DOESN'T fly.
Which brings me to:
Excellent Hatches - There are hardly ANY hatches on the Letort save for Sulphurs and BWO's and those are SPARSE hatches at best that take a LOT of patience to fish to get any results.
Exceptional Angling Experience - I get the "Maybe it’s the history, the atmosphere, or simply the way a river makes you feel..." bit, but with thousands of trucks roaring on I-81 a few hundred yards away and most of the stream running through a very devloped area, you ain't getting the solitude or scenery part.
And if it is about the angling experience and not just checking boxes, shouldn't fish numbers, size or the average number of fish per outing count for something?? 0 to 3 fish a day averages aren't going to excite a whole lot of folks for long.
I've heard more than a few comments from other anglers on the Letort. Most of it was muttering and even the friends I've dragged there kicking & screaming never uttered the word "exceptional." Most of the time it was, "Let's go somewhere else..."
Don't get me wrong, I love the Letort, but I don't think it meets the criteria for this list either.
CinnamonJoe
Well-known member
You and, everyone else, are just gaslighting the Letort.
(Little joke!) 😉
I fished it once 30 years ago-and only once: I was utterly flummoxed at the hot mess of elodea and phantom trout in that cute meadow; got skunked-frustrated: and that was that, for the time being. I'd have had better luck trying to go out on a date with Natalie Portman & Scarlett Johansson. I will say though, it is a matter of 'unfinished business' for me. The Carlisle chamber of commerce members will benefit some small windfall from my return visit someday. I will allow the Letort be in such a list, if for nothing else, historical & Levitical reasons.
Joe
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TerrellBFly
Active member
Landed 3 on the middle yough Sat, on streamers. 0 on nymphs. Only saw a few risers, that were eating emergers. Right before that storm came through. Then the bite turned off.
RIP Cable Car
Bamboozle
Well-known member
I liken the fishing at the Letort to jungle warfare; if you move around a lot, you are dead...
You have to pick a spot, sit down, make your self comfortable and WAIT until the fish start to move/rise/feed. Smoking cigars and sipping some whisky from a flask helps kill the time. 😉 I also put the waiting to good use repairing or rebuilding leaders and mentally solving fishing problems while I relax & wait.
I remember one day in particular about 25+ years ago. I was sitting at favorite spot where I knew there were fish. Another angler walked carefully up the bank, well away from me as I sat there, watching the hole, relaxing and smoking a cigar.
An hour later he walked past again heading upstream then another hour went by and back downstream he came again while I hadn't budged an inch in over two hours. He told me, "You are the most patient fisherman I ever saw.
When I asked him how he was doing, he replied that he neither caught or saw anything. I told him I caught three fish without moving more than a few feet in the two hour period he was walking yards and yards up and down.
And I said, "THAT'S why I am so patient..."
If you try and rush the process, you will probably get skunked. With the condition the stream is in right now with flooded muddy banks, it is even tougher. If this kind of fishing isn't your thing, you will probably have a MUCH better time at another stream or one of the restaurants in Carlisle.
I agree that it's AI slop.
Though it's "personalized" slightly by the author saying that he's fished a few of the streams.
The same website did a very similar article for New York, and that was pure AI slop, with no attempts at personalization at all.
Bamboozle
Well-known member
Couldn't or wouldn't... 🙂
wildtrout2
Well-known member
Prolly the latter. Wouldn't blame him either. 😉
Bamboozle
Well-known member
Other than mentioning the Letort previously, I wouldn't even tell anyone which of my favorites are on someone else's list of favorites... 😉
This has kind of made me think, what are qualities that make your favorite streams your favorites?
For me its location/scenery, how it fishes (ie: good numbers/big fish), hatches, history, not crowded, with good access being an added bonus.
For me its location/scenery, how it fishes (ie: good numbers/big fish), hatches, history, not crowded, with good access being an added bonus.
GANGGREEN
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 26, 2016
- Messages
- 505
That stream sounds like my worst nightmare, for the reasons you point out. I like to think that I'm a reasonably good fly fisherman and generally if I have the means to compare my daily adventure with a friend or someone else on the stream, I stack up quite well most of the time.....BUT, I don't have much/any patience and I absolutely enjoy a stream where I can really roam, fish the prime lies quickly and move on and fully expect to catch more fish than the guy who sits in one spot all day. To each his own, but I can't do it.
Bamboozle
Well-known member
For me it is something I call the "happy factor;" places that immediately put me in a good mood even before I make my first cast.
A LOT has to do with the scenery, time I've spent fishing them, memories and room to spread out, even if there are other cars at a pull off. Some of these places are far from off the beaten path, some are stocked streams while others are wild trout streams. A couple are very close to me.
Three that I'm willing to mention are Clark's Creek, the Big Bushkill on the Boy Scout property and McMichaels's Creek in Stroudsburg. All three are pretty much all stockers, but I always get a smile on my face when I fished them which was OFTEN.
Unfortunate my days on Clarks are done and I haven't been to the Bushkill or McMichael's in a few years, but hopefully that will change.
Tigereye
Well-known member
Probably a list more of what I don't like.
1. Im partial to larger waters.
2. Scenery, history or reputation mean little.
3. Decent sized fish. Not too enamored chasing 5 inch gemmies. A 10 inch stockie has better appeal.
4. Access and public water. I dont want to be harassed by over zealous landowners.
5. Varied water types ie riffles, runs, pocket water.
6. Fish size or amount need be worth the effort . Don't want to walk 3 miles through rhododendron to catch a half dozen fish. I dont mind fishing all day/night getting skunked knowing opportunity for a large fish ( 18" +) is realistic.
7. Minimal crowds. Don't mind other people fishing but 3 or more is a crowd.
8. Within an hour or so drive depending on quality.
9. Not fond of " fishing club waters". Been there, done that, no thanks.
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Bamboozle
Well-known member
Patience is the thing you need in the greatest abundance if you want to catch fish at the Letort. Without it, as Vince Marinaro said, "It is a taskmaster."
It funny though, I cut MY patience teeth fishing SEPA Stocked Trout Waters as a kid with spinning tackle in the Extended Season before the Closed Period when stocking began.
At some of those streams, I'd see a couple of skinny stockers that somehow managed to survive and I knew it might take me an hour or more to catch one. There just weren't many trout to try and entice so it worked out better to wait, watch and try and make a perfect cast and catch ONE fish versus moving around a lot and getting skunked.
When I became a fly fisherman and first visited the Letort, it was really easy to adapt to what was required to catch a few fish every outing.
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laurelhighlander
Well-known member
Yea I suck at trout
