Penns Creek, Centre Co., 05/16/2009

[Sylvaneous]

Water was in good level and decent color for Penns. Unfortunately, fish was poor. I saw only one fish caught. I only saw a couple risers in the last hour of the day. None taken. Bugs didn't materialize. Mid-morning had some March Browns and sulfurs trickling off but this ended by 11:00. Fish didn't care. Some sulfurs came off in the evening, but nothing noteworthy. Maybe the stormyness screwed things up. March brown spinner fall was typical for Penns as I've usually experienced: A sky full of march brown spinners to look up at, nothing on the water, no fish rising. I went away fishless. I was there from 9 AM to 8:30 and didn't hook a fish. 12 years fishing Penns and I've had way too many days like this. Makes me glad the Little J is closer.

Syl

 

[nativebrownie]

Nice report - musta been beautiful in that area at this time of the year. I wish that I were closer to Penns, but that is not so. I have heard, from regulars like yourself, that Penns giveth and taketh away - the best days must be marvelous. Thanks for sharing your day..

NB

 

[sundrunk]

Looks about right, I too had a couple bad days on Penns last week. Lots of bugs few rises. When ever I start catching a lot of brookies on Penns somethings up. In this case the browns were all down on the bottom like it was mid-january...Water was stained and the fishing was super tuff...I wonder what the drake is going to look like this year.?

 

[sundrunk]

I think the flows have to drop to around 300cfs before the trout know that April's over and Spring has arrived..It's hardly gotten close to 400cfs in the last 50 days...

 

[LehighRegular]

It doesnt matter what the flows are for the Drake to hatch. The bugs will hatch when its time. Its more dependent on Temp than flow. And, the hatch will probably look the same as it did last year.

 

[eroc144]

...Penns giveth and taketh away...

Truer words have never been spoken. Penn's makes you pay your dues over and over and over again, but the payoff can be spectacular.

I was on Penn's last night (5/18) and overheard "mutterings" from the guys tramping up and down the path about no fish rising, in spite of a decent number of sulphurs on the water. I lucked out and found a half-dozen that were quietly rising to sulphurs tight against the far bank. The best one ran around 15" and most were around 12". I don't think any of them were more than 3' from shore and they would have been hard to spot from the trail. Made for a nice ride home!

EG

 

[nativebrownie]

EG,

Sounds truly beautiful... would you share the sulphur tie that was effective/or you like?.. there are so many ties offered over the years here in PA.... Thanks

NB

 

[eroc144]

NB - It was nothing sexy; Just a plain ole comparadun. Of course it took considerable skill to wade into position, drop the cast into the trout's feeding lane, mend to get a drag-free float, set the hook, & etc

;-)

EG

 

[tobewan77]

Fished penns in the catch and release section on tuesday night. Water was stained but a good level. Brown Drakes everywhere, including in the water. Water exploded with rises. Caught over 20... bass! All smallmouth and 1 brookie. Amazing bug activity, brown drake spinners, sulphur duns and spinners caddis and others i couldn't make out in the brown drake blizzard. So grab the clouser minnows and hit penns up through the railroad tunnel.

 

[nativebrownie]

eroc144,
Thanks much for the pic of your comparadun - nice, especially like the split tails. I still think that it was your skillful, careful observation of those rising fish that made the day. I do not know Penns, but finding the rising fish seems to greatly matter on some other rich waters.
Musta ben nice...

NB

 

[Dances_With_Brookies]

I have to admit that this stream is an enigma. I have fished it several times, but that was obviously not enough to unlock its secrets. My two best outings netted five and six fish near the confluence with Pine Creek as well as the confluence with Weikert Run. I have friends who swear it is much better than it showed me. The two times that I did fairly well, the weather was total crap and my expectations were really low. The other trips where I did not catch anything, things were ideal, and at the end of the day I left wondering why I didn't just drive up to Spring???Perhaps the biggest disappointment of all, had to be when on one trip, I decided to try the C&R area on Cherry Run and found the stream absolutely devoid of fish save for a few suckers under the metal bridge before the stream enters private property on its way down to Penns.

 

[nativebrownie]

Dances,
Well, you're way ahead of me. The distance makes it difficult for me to even walk the banks. I do know that Penns always had that rep, it seems. I've had a publication since the early 70s - 100 Pennsylvania Trout Streams - that I dreamed over as I was still carless and too far away. The article "Truth about Penns Creek" said that same thing then - tough and moody - well, seems some things never change...

NB

 

[ackerdl]

Guys, I had much better luck than many of the people above, but maybe I was just there on the right days, and to be fair I was there a few weeks earlier at the very end of April. Caught 5 nice browns (11" to 14") in 3 hours just downstream of "the trestle" downstream of Coburn on the night of Wednesday 4/29 (some in the nymphing water, some in the flat) and had a morning-to-dusk banner day (truly lost count of the hook-ups) at the Cherry Run Catch and Release Area on Thursday 4/30 with the biggest fish being 15.5, 17.5 and 18.5. Fish seemed to "turn on and off" in different periods of the day with no rhyme or reason, but that was OK because there was still plenty of action and great scenery. Used an assortment of dries, nymphs and streamers --- kept varying the flies and the technique, and did a lot of hiking and covered a whole lot of water. Best advice for a newcomer: save up and get a knowledgeable and motivated local guide who knows the water well --- I can recommend an awesome one (as well as a great place to stay and another one to eat)! Best contact for me would be on the board referenced below, although I'll try to check back here occasionally.

Check out 4 pictures from the second day (4/30) on my BeenUp2 page: http://www.beenup2.com/users/daveshouse . If any of you want to join BeenUp2 (it's free) and post and discuss flyfishing pictures, I'm looking for fishing friends --- go ahead and send a friend request!

Dave

 

[Hook_Jaw]

Nice trout penns was at great levels and colored up alot in the spring made for great big trout fishing with streamers.