First Brookie on a fly

JK Reed

Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2023
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58
City
Paris and Indian Head, PA
Caught my first brook on a fly this afternoon. Small mountain stream Laurel Highlands area. Possible native?
 

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Congrats on your first. Hopefully many more to come. It's tough to tell with that one, were you fishing a stream that could possibly have stocked trout in it, or were you in a remote setting where stocking wouldn't be possible?
Either way, it's a great catch you won't soon forget.
 
I'm going to say, 'yes, native'! And a nice one at that!

To my eye, the spots, parr marks, and coloration: esp the reds, and darker purple pigments outlining the fins are a bit more authentic than those seen on a stocked brookie. No clipped fins I see either.

(Well-wait-is the top fin clipped, or it it just flopped to the side/folded?)

Well done!

Joe
 
No the top fin wasn’t clipped. I was told by the local fish warden that they don’t stock brookies up in this area, but you need know. This stream is stocked further downstream but we were pretty far upstream and it is known for wild fish.
 
Congratulations! Always nice to see a Forest mountain gem like that. Looks wild to me too with a lot of color on the dorsal fin. Now good luck not getting addicted to brookie fishing!
 
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Yep, think I'm already there. Three years into FFing and we're just now starting to catch them. But I've always been drawn to these small mountain streams. Temp was 61 where we first went in and dropped a few degrees the further we went upstream. Fished Confluence on the 3rd and again on the 12th but got skunked both times.
 
Yep, think I'm already there. Three years into FFing and we're just now starting to catch them. But I've always been drawn to these small mountain streams. Temp was 61 where we first went in and dropped a few degrees the further we went upstream. Fished Confluence on the 3rd and again on the 12th but got skunked both times.
It’s tough this time of year with the heat. A lot of guys struggle. Ok we all do! If it is low water too, they get a little bit Spookier than a Zara Pooch in a hayride on Halloween. You want some rain, but not too much. Get this dialed in right and it’s usually great conditions to try wet wading on the small creeks in summer. If your feet are cold you are going too slow or in the creek too much. If you are too hot get into the creek and slow down at the holes more. Looking forward to your next brookie already!
 
I thought that Pa doesn't clip fins anymore to time consuming and expensive,but that looks wild to me,I caught 13 brookies on a stocked stream and no fins were clipped
 
"Trout don't live in ugly places" is a catchy saying.

They often do though.

Examples include parts of the Lackawanna River and numerous other streams in coal country.
 
"Trout don't live in ugly places" is a catchy saying.

They often do though.

Examples include parts of the Lackawanna River and numerous other streams in coal country.
yes. I recall posts about people fishing a small spring creek that runs through a rough part of Harrisburg. I also saw a good number of wild browns living in a small creek that flows through (partially) a mall parking lot . The lesson is water quality I guess.
 
yes. I recall posts about people fishing a small spring creek that runs through a rough part of Harrisburg. I also saw a good number of wild browns living in a small creek that flows through (partially) a mall parking lot . The lesson is water quality I guess.
I've fished that spring creek in Harrisburg, and I've caught trout there.

Some of the best brown trout streams flow through or past industrial looking settings. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.....or sumpin' like dat.
 
"Trout don't live in ugly places" is a catchy saying.

They often do though.

Examples include parts of the Lackawanna River and numerous other streams in coal country.
The Elkhorn in WV is a good example, but it's got some great wild brown trout fishing, despite the raw sewage that gets dumped directly into it from local homes.
I've yet to see native brookies living in ugly places though.
 
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