Loyalsock Creek, Sullivan County, 12/13/15

[Reeder]

The last time I was at World's End State Park was this past summer, and there were trout rising everywhere and hundreds of people. I managed to catch a few trout in the few places that didn't have swimmers, but I didn't get a chance to actually fish it. I told myself I would be back and decided to go this past Sunday.
When I arrived, there wasn't a person in sight, and I had the whole thing to myself. Small black bodied midges were hatching sporadically. I fished about a mile of the stream, dead drifting a streamer through the fast water and stripping it back across the pockets behind the hundreds of large boulders throughout the creek. I managed to pick up 2 small brown trout, and rolled 3 or 4 others. But the surprise of the day was all of the small wild brook trout I saw darting out from under the rocks. Most were too small to get the streamer in their mouth, but then I picked up this 9" brook trout. It certainly made the trip worthwhile.

 

[henrydavid]

Beautiful fish, I used to fish that stretch years ago, every spring I'd get cabin and fish all around. With the weather this winter it might be a possibility to get back up there.

 

[salmonoid]

Two of the most beautiful wild brookies I've never caught (didn't have a rod) were in the Loyalsock and I saw them while hiking the LT as a teen. We came down from the swim area overlook and there was a nice sized brookie (maybe 12") in the official swimming area. The other fish was in about a foot of water, in the flat bedrock immediately below Haystacks.

Definitely an underfished drainage for me..

 

[The_Sasquatch]

I think, from my experience in Sullivan Co. in the winter time months, that as the waters in the tribs cool, the natives swim down to the bigger waters. I'd be willing to bet that you could have a fairly decent winter day fishing the big 'Sock or Little 'Sock if it isn't frozen!

 

[duckfoot]

Excellent work. It's an easy place to fish, but it's tough to find them sometimes.

 

[troutbert]

I have also caught native brook trout in Loyalsock Creek, a little further upstream than that.

I don't think there are large numbers of them, but there are some.

The fact that there are some now, after all the disturbances, give credence to Charles Lose's descriptions about the brookie fisheries in the Sock in earlier times.

 

[dc410]

Very pretty brookie, you gotta like that predator instinct of a fish like that attacking a fly of that size. Good stuff!

What is the critter in your avatar? I just can't totally ID it. Is that a mudpuppy or hellbender type of critter?

 

[Reeder]

It is a big, bright orange hellbender my kids found in the creek behind my house. They find a lot of them, but this is easily the most uniquely colored one I have ever seen. Here are a few more pics.

 

[dc410]

Neat! Thanks for sharing your photos. I've seen a few of them over the years but I have never seen one with that kind of coloration. I'm glad I asked.

 

[duckfoot]

troutbert wrote:
I have also caught native brook trout in Loyalsock Creek, a little further upstream than that.

I don't think there are large numbers of them, but there are some.

The fact that there are some now, after all the disturbances, give credence to Charles Lose's descriptions about the brookie fisheries in the Sock in earlier times.

I think there's more than people think. I've waded through nearly every yard of that creek upstream from Forksville and I've spooked a lot of fish.

They're very tricky to find.