Letort Spring Run, Cumberland County, 4/3/25

[Mikey2006]

Fished for about three hours in the afternoon on the Letort today. Air temp was in the mid 70s and there was a ton of bug activity, but I didn’t see a single rise the entire day. Although the flows were normal, arguably on the lower side compared to what they have been recently, the water was stained from last nights rain making the visibility poor.

I fished the stretch from the sports emporium to just below the turnpike bridge and used a black articulated dungeon streamer the entire time. I had four strikes and landed one wild brown, a solid 11.5 inch fish. Two of my missed strikes were from fish of similar size, but one fish looked to be 14-16 inches long. It came up the behind the streamer and just bumped it, so there was no real shot at hooking it.

There were some really deep holes around some logjams and fallen trees that looked like they could hold some monsters. Returning when the conditions are better is probably the way to go as I suspect that none of the lunkers were feeding today. And maybe fishing during low light periods and/or night fishing would turn up some bigger fish.

 

[wgmiller]

Another option is to work the undercuts on the side you're fishing. You'd be surprised at the habitat under your feet and where those fish tuck in. Any time you can catch the Letort with a little color to it bumps up your chances of catching fish, as gin clear water and that creek are not your friend!

 

[Mikey2006]

Another option is to work the undercuts on the side you're fishing. You'd be surprised at the habitat under your feet and where those fish tuck in. Any time you can catch the Letort with a little color to it bumps up your chances of catching fish, as gin clear water and that creek are not your friend!

Water was even muddier today. Went out after school for an hour or so and got this 21.5 inch monster. Ate a full size 5 inch black dungeon

 

[wildtrout2]

Fished for about three hours in the afternoon on the Letort today. Air temp was in the mid 70s and there was a ton of bug activity, but I didn’t see a single rise the entire day. Although the flows were normal, arguably on the lower side compared to what they have been recently, the water was stained from last nights rain making the visibility poor.

I fished the stretch from the sports emporium to just below the turnpike bridge and used a black articulated dungeon streamer the entire time. I had four strikes and landed one wild brown, a solid 11.5 inch fish. Two of my missed strikes were from fish of similar size, but one fish looked to be 14-16 inches long. It came up the behind the streamer and just bumped it, so there was no real shot at hooking it.
View attachment 1641241142
There were some really deep holes around some logjams and fallen trees that looked like they could hold some monsters. Returning when the conditions are better is probably the way to go as I suspect that none of the lunkers were feeding today. And maybe fishing during low light periods and/or night fishing would turn up some bigger fish.
View attachment 1641241143

Letort browns seem to have a distinct look to them. That's a pretty fish.

 

[Mikey2006]

Letort browns seem to have a distinct look to them. That's a pretty fish.

I’m not sure the big one I caught was a wild fish. Not much red on him, looks like it could be a holdover

 

[Bamboozle]

Looks like an interloper to me...

 

[wildtrout2]

I’m not sure the big one I caught was a wild fish. Not much red on him, looks like it could be a holdover

That's what I was thinking as well. Prolly an interloper as Bam suggests. Still a nice brown though!

 

[5footfenwick]

To be fair, in my experience not a lot of 21-1/2” wild browns are very colorful. Most are never as pretty as say a 10 or 12”er. Some big ones have no red at all.

You better be careful, you might get addicted to only streamer fishing for big browns and brookie fishing tiny creeks. Next thing you know you are cutting class because it’s raining and the creek is starting to go off color.

 

[wildtrout2]

To be fair, in my experience not a lot of 21-1/2” wild browns are very colorful. Most are never as pretty as say a 10 or 12”er. Some big ones have no red at all.

I agree, the bigger they get the less red they are likely to have. This 17" wild brown is a real good example. No red.

 

[Mikey2006]

To be fair, in my experience not a lot of 21-1/2” wild browns are very colorful. Most are never as pretty as say a 10 or 12”er. Some big ones have no red at all.

You better be careful, you might get addicted to only streamer fishing for big browns and brookie fishing tiny creeks. Next thing you know you are cutting class because it’s raining and the creek is starting to go off color.

There was a small amount of red on the underside of its tail, but not enough to show in the pictures I took. It’s fins were in pristine condition but it just looks so dull and drab that I was hesitant to call it wild, especially since I’ve heard of people catching holdovers in the section I was fishing. But who knows.

I’m probably going to end up going to Juniata College this fall. Being that close to a great fishery will probably not go well for my grades 😂

 

[Mikey2006]

I agree, the bigger they get the less red they are likely to have. This 17" wild brown is a real good example. No red.

I personally still think it’s a holdover that’s been living in the stream for a few years and has taken on the habits and characteristics of a wild fish, but boy would I love for it to be a wild one. I have caught smaller wild fish in the Letort without any red, so I guess it could be wild.
Edited for clarity: I was talking about the big one, the photo I attached below is an example of one of the smaller wilds with no red spots

 

[Mikey2006]

To be fair, in my experience not a lot of 21-1/2” wild browns are very colorful. Most are never as pretty as say a 10 or 12”er. Some big ones have no red at all.

You better be careful, you might get addicted to only streamer fishing for big browns and brookie fishing tiny creeks. Next thing you know you are cutting class because it’s raining and the creek is starting to go off color.

Nah I enjoy all different types of fly fishing. Falling Spring is practically in my backyard so I’m out on the water casting dries for spooky little rainbows pretty much every evening during the summer. Any day with a rod in my hand is a good one

 

[wildtrout2]

I personally still think it’s a holdover that’s been living in the stream for a few years and has taken on the habits and characteristics of a wild fish, but boy would I love for it to be a wild one. I have caught smaller wild fish in the Letort without any red, so I guess it could be wild.
View attachment 1641241191

IMO That's no holdover in that pic, it's wild. I don't believe a holdover would aquire an eye spot. Maybe color up some though.

 

[5footfenwick]

I care about Brook trout being native and colorful and beautiful. Funny thing happens when you start chasing big browns with big offerings. Maybe it’s just me, but you occasionally run into some confusing looking fish and you start to care about the wild brown vs. holdover brown debate a little bit less. Don’t let whether it’s grampa was stocked 100 years ago or it was stocked two years ago rain on your parade. You smacked a big one. Congratulations, it’s awesome.

 

[TimMurphy]

I personally still think it’s a holdover that’s been living in the stream for a few years and has taken on the habits and characteristics of a wild fish, but boy would I love for it to be a wild one. I have caught smaller wild fish in the Letort without any red, so I guess it could be wild.
View attachment 1641241191

Dear Mikey,

That's a fine fish. I'm curious as to why you think this fish is a holdover if caught in the Letort?

It's not a stocked stream that I am aware of, and every single trout I have caught in the Conodoguinet below Letort Falls were colored exactly the same. I've caught dozens of cookie-cutter brown trout in the Conny from 5 to 14 inches that were clearly from the Letort in origin, especially in April.

The Fall is another story, but Letort fish in the Spring are characterized by their lack of color, it's literally what proves their origin. They look more like Atlantic Salmon in a bleach bath than any brown trout elsewhere in PA.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[Mikey2006]

Dear Mikey,

That's a fine fish. I'm curious as to why you think this fish is a holdover if caught in the Letort?

It's not a stocked stream that I am aware of, and every single trout I have caught in the Conodoguinet below Letort Falls were colored exactly the same. I've caught dozens of cookie-cutter brown trout in the Conny from 5 to 14 inches that were clearly from the Letort in origin, especially in April.

The Fall is another story, but Letort fish in the Spring are characterized by their lack of color, it's literally what proves their origin. They look more like Atlantic Salmon in a bleach bath than any brown trout elsewhere in PA.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

Maybe I’m not not used to seeing big wild brown trout. This was my first (potentially) wild brown over 17 inches so I guess I had expected the bigger fish to look like the smaller ones. And the few wild trout I have caught in the Letort that do not have any red on them all had a very sparse spot pattern, whereas this fish has a bunch of smaller tightly packed spots that reminded me of your average stocked brown.

My assumption that this fish has hatchery origins came from the fact that other fisherman I’ve encountered on the stream said they had caught holdovers in the area. I was told they swam down from Letort park where they stock for a kids derby. That’s a decent distance to travel, but this fish, if stocked, has obviously been in the stream for quite a long time and would likely move about.

I used to be under the assumption that every brown I caught in the lower Letort was wild, but I reconsidered when some people told me this brown (caught about 200 yards downstream from where the 21.5” fish was caught) was not wild. I dismissed it at first but after looking at how worn the underside of its tail was and noticing the absence of red spots, I thought that it might be a hatchery fish. So I guess some opinions on this one as well would be appreciated.

I guess the idea that I somehow caught a true 20+ inch wild brown seems too good to be true. I’d rather call the fish stocked if I’m not 100% sure just to be safe. And if anything that gives me more of a reason to keep chasing big ones since it leaves my goal of catching a 20 unaccomplished.

 

[Mikey2006]

I care about Brook trout being native and colorful and beautiful. Funny thing happens when you start chasing big browns with big offerings. Maybe it’s just me, but you occasionally run into some confusing looking fish and you start to care about the wild brown vs. holdover brown debate a little bit less. Don’t let whether it’s grampa was stocked 100 years ago or it was stocked two years ago rain on your parade. You smacked a big one. Congratulations, it’s awesome.

It really was an amazing experience. Wild or not, it had my legs shaking so bad that I could barely stand. It was especially rewarding since I’ve put in a ton of hours over the past few months without any real success on the lower Letort searching for fish just like this one. Literally everytime it rains I try to make it up there as soon as I can.
I’m pretty sure I had this same fish bite last December, and a few weeks after that I had one of similar size foul hooked for a few minutes before it ultimately got away. I got a glimpse of it, and it looked pretty damn similar to the one I just caught. I’m pretty sure I’ve been chasing the same fish for these past few months, which made catching it even better.

 

[Mikey2006]

IMO That's no holdover in that pic, it's wild. I don't believe a holdover would aquire an eye spot. Maybe color up some though.

Are you talking about the big one or the smaller one I just included a photo of? I’m already positive the smaller one is a wild fish, my point is that there are a few wild browns in there that don’t have red spots. Which would make it a little more likely that the big one is also wild.

 

[5footfenwick]

Maybe I’m not not used to seeing big wild brown trout. This was my first (potentially) wild brown over 17 inches so I guess I had expected the bigger fish to look like the smaller ones. And the few wild trout I have caught in the Letort that do not have any red on them all had a very sparse spot pattern, whereas this fish has a bunch of smaller tightly packed spots that reminded me of your average stocked brown.

My assumption that this fish has hatchery origins came from the fact that other fisherman I’ve encountered on the stream said they had caught holdovers in the area. I was told they swam down from Letort park where they stock for a kids derby. That’s a decent distance to travel, but this fish, if stocked, has obviously been in the stream for quite a long time and would likely move about.

I used to be under the assumption that every brown I caught in the lower Letort was wild, but I reconsidered when some people told me this brown (caught about 200 yards downstream from where the 21.5” fish was caught) was not wild. I dismissed it at first but after looking at how worn the underside of its tail was and noticing the absence of red spots, I thought that it might be a hatchery fish. So I guess some opinions on this one as well would be appreciated.
View attachment 1641241194View attachment 1641241195
I guess the idea that I somehow caught a true 20+ inch wild brown seems too good to be true. I’d rather call the fish stocked if I’m not 100% sure just to be safe. And if anything that gives me more of a reason to keep chasing big ones since it leaves my goal of catching a 20 unaccomplished.

That’s a wild fish, just over-did it spawning and wore off some lower tail.

 

[sixfootfenwick]

It's wild