Falling Springs, Franklin County, 05/21/2017

[3wt7X]

Time Fished:
1030 am-1230 am

Stream Conditions:
Completely gin clear with a moderate flow. Water temps in their normal 50 degree limestone range. Overall, like many of the other limestone spring creeks in southern PA, it seems much more silted in this year with little stream vegetation in the section that I fished, which was all in the heritage water above the funeral home.

Weather:
Cloudy and dreary with mid to lower 60 degree temps. It was basically perfect weather to approach trout in.

Hatches:
For as early in the day as I was fishing, I noticed a steady trickle of small sulpher duns (size 18) and BWO's (size 20). The midges were around but sparse, and the ever present sow bugs and scuds.

Results:
Just a great two hours. A size 14 walt's worm through the better holding water yielded a half dozen wild rainbows. No big bows, but a few spunky 10 inchers. I stripped some sculpins and ran into a couple nice browns. One was sitting in a plunge pool behind a rock and he completely sharked out of the water coming after the olive sculpin fly. He measured out at 18 1/2 inches and was one of the prettiest browns that I have taken in a long while.

 

[Wild_Trouter]

Man, you never disappoint! I miss fishing that stream. In the 90's I lived 10 minutes away. Falling Spring will provide quite an education. If you can catch fish there, you can catch them anywhere. Now if only the PFBC would change the DHALO to C&R and stop stocking it. Beautiful fish 😛int:

 

[Dave_W]

Agree. Good report and a very nice fish.

We were just talking at the Jam last night about the same 20" trout that three forum members (Squaretail, 3wt7X and myself) caught in FS in three consecutive years.

 

[troutbert]

So are more wild browns showing up?

It doesn't seem that long ago that there were plenty of brookies and rainbows, but browns were hardly to be found. Which seemed odd for a limestone stream.

 

[Dave_W]

troutbert wrote:
So are more wild browns showing up?

It doesn't seem that long ago that there were plenty of brookies and rainbows, but browns were hardly to be found. Which seemed odd for a limestone stream.

Are you thinking of Big Spring?

Falling Springs has always had a good number of wild browns in among the numerous rainbows. The big fish in FS are usually BTs.

 

[troutbert]

Dave_W wrote:

troutbert wrote:
So are more wild browns showing up?

It doesn't seem that long ago that there were plenty of brookies and rainbows, but browns were hardly to be found. Which seemed odd for a limestone stream.

Are you thinking of Big Spring?

Falling Springs has always had a good number of wild browns in among the numerous rainbows. The big fish in FS are usually BTs.

Yes, I was thinking (or "thinking") of Big Spring.