Big lackawana browns

F

flyguy93

Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2024
Messages
44
City
Philadelphia
I've moved to the lackawana county in April and have been learning the lackawana river.I caught my first trophy brown in May but kept him out of the water too long so I won't post that picture but he did swim off. Was a learning experience. I caught another nice brown yesterday I thought I'd share. Handling and release was much better on this one. Hopefully more big wild browns to come. This river has some big fish and I never even hit the trophy section. Avoiding the crowd.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20260808_061203041_HDR.jpg
    IMG_20260808_061203041_HDR.jpg
    406.9 KB · Views: 216
I'm curious on the water temp, too. I know you said you didn't take it, but.....there are rivers that stay pretty dang cold all summer, but I'm not familiar with the Lackawana and if it's one of them.
 
jifigz said:
I'm curious on the water temp, too. I know you said you didn't take it, but.....there are rivers that stay pretty dang cold all summer, but I'm not familiar with the Lackawana and if it's one of them.
Click to expand...
Dear jifigz,

It's fed by drainage from long abandoned coal mines from its source to its mouth. Most of them are pretty much harmless with no AMD. They are literally why the river above Olyphant is a wild trout stream. NE PA has gotten plenty of rain in the last few weeks so I'm sure the temperatures are fine.

Before you get all excited, most of the stream is within earshot of State Highways and towns. Wilderness, it ain't.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂
 
TimMurphy said:
Dear jifigz,

It's fed by drainage from long abandoned coal mines from its source to its mouth. Most of them are pretty much harmless with no AMD. They are literally why the river above Olyphant is a wild trout stream. NE PA has gotten plenty of rain in the last few weeks so I'm sure the temperatures are fine.

Before you get all excited, most of the stream is within earshot of State Highways and towns. Wilderness, it ain't.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂
Click to expand...
I'm aware of it being fed by mine drainage. Mines, while obviously an awful scar on our planet with many downfalls, are a boon to wild trout once the AMD gets cleaned up.

Fishing in industrial settings or urban settings doesn't bother me one bit. If there are good wild trout there, then I'm interested.
 
Mike said:
How is speaking about the Lackawanna, which I would characterize as being well known for the presence of some big fish, considered to be spot burning? Someone correct me if I am wrong because I think it has been discussed here a number of times in the past.
Click to expand...
Yep, it'd be like calling the mention of Penns spot burning. 😆
 
Long before Youtube or Internet spot burning became a thing, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's ABC affiliate WNEP-TV used to feature the brown trout of the Lackawanna River on its popular Sunday show "Pennsylvania Outdoor Life." On some shows they would fish, on some they would electro-shock and show the results, and on other shows they would do river clean up.

Once those shows began airing, probably starting 25 or 30 years ago (maybe longer), the "secret" of the Lackawanna River was out.
 
TimMurphy said:
Dear jifigz,

It's fed by drainage from long abandoned coal mines from its source to its mouth. Most of them are pretty much harmless with no AMD. They are literally why the river above Olyphant is a wild trout stream. NE PA has gotten plenty of rain in the last few weeks so I'm sure the temperatures are fine.

Before you get all excited, most of the stream is within earshot of State Highways and towns. Wilderness, it ain't.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂
Click to expand...
It definitely warms up in summer
I was up there in early June, and the temps got up over 70 on the lower part of the river
I had to move upstream and fish it around Archbald, where the water was about 5 degrees cooler
 
jifigz said:
I'm aware of it being fed by mine drainage. Mines, while obviously an awful scar on our planet with many downfalls, are a boon to wild trout once the AMD gets cleaned up.

Fishing in industrial settings or urban settings doesn't bother me one bit. If there are good wild trout there, then I'm interested.
Click to expand...
Its a larger stream, with populations of wild browns that reach class A in sections and a fair head of larger trout. There are gaps in the population structure some years of 9-12" fish. It has been theorized that the larger trout are feeding on those fish. Hatches can be sporadic but heavy at times. I prefer fishing streamers or crane fly larva when a hatch isn't going on. Certain sections you can fish the Sulphur hatch well into the night due to the street lights. The mosquitos there are supernatural and can bite through jeans. There is plenty of parking areas and places to access the river and an extensive rail trail. Certain sections are sketchy. You are likely to be approached by a meth or crackhead. It does get warm in the summer.

I always enjoyed fishing it.

Given your location, Id make a weekend of it if you plan to go. There are plenty of good streams in the woods outside of town. The river is very finicky. Feast of famine. So if it isn't fishing well, id head into the woods. When it is fishing well, its entirely possible to catch a dozen large trout over a weekend.

Towns have good pizza too.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

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

Share this page

Back
Top