Big lackawana browns

[flyguy93]

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.

 

[wildtrout2]

Very nice wild brown, what were you using?

 

[flyguy93]

Tight lining with a tandem rig. Size 14 bead head pheasant tail with a size 16 bead head Frenchie as the dropper. Took the Frenchie.

 

[lars]

nice fish. water temp?

 

[dryflyguy]

nice fish. water temp?

Yes - please be mindful of the water temps there.
They're usually too high most of the summer
If you dont have a thermometer, you can get on A &
G outfitters web site.
They post temps there, and say when you shouldn't be fishing there.

I'm not even considering going up until fall now

 

[flyguy93]

I didn't get the water temp but I've been fishing at 6 am and leave around 9 or 10am usually

 

[lars]

not to scold or preach, but big fish don't handle high temps very well. they might swim away but go belly up later.
looking at the site referred to above, they suggest looking elsewhere at this time.

 

[Nocktavius]

First lesson in big fish club is shut your GD mouth. Only thing more annoying than AI slop is spot burning

 

[jifigz]

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.

 

[TimMurphy]

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.

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 🙂

 

[jifigz]

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 🙂

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]

First lesson in big fish club is shut your GD mouth. Only thing more annoying than AI slop is spot burning

How is speaking about the Lackawanna, which I would characterize as being widely known for the presence of some big fish, considered to be spot burning?.

 

[wildtrout2]

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.

Yep, it'd be like calling the mention of Penns spot burning. 😆

 

[jifigz]

Yep, it'd be like calling the mention of Penns spot burning. 😆

Wait! Penns? Never heard of it. I'll have to look that one up and check it out.

 

[Skook]

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.

 

[dryflyguy]

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 🙂

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

 

[FisherOfMen]

I'm curious to see how it holds up with the 51 data centers proposed in Archbald.

 

[FisherOfMen]

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.

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.

 

[jifigz]

I'm curious to see how it holds up with the 51 data centers proposed in Archbald.

Is that an exaggerated number?

 

[FisherOfMen]

Here is a good link from the LRCA for river access:

https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/35928d34-4fb2-4795-b916-4e3efac60feb/downloads/Trail_RiverAccess_TextWeb.pdf?ver=1785518178579