Penns Creek, Centre Co, 4/2/2023

troutbert said:
Do you think these brookies were wild or stocked?

The trout rising late in the day might have been taking BWO spinners. They are small and hard to see in the waning light.
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I would love to see a picture of a 15" brookie so we could debate wild vs stocked. The Penns drainage is certainly somewhere a big brookie could turn up.
 
KeviR said:
Two friends and I fished a new (for us) area on Penn's below Cherry Run. Walked in about 1/2 mi and saw only a few other fishermen all day. Grannoms started pretty heavily around late morning and we caught a few risers on grannom dries. Most of our fish were on olive walt's or olive threadbody like an iron lotus. Between three of us we caught 35 or so on the day. At mid-afternoon the water temp was 52. Three of the fish were brook trout. One of them was 13" and one was 15". I've not caught or seen a PA brook trout that big in a ...ever.
There were lots of bugs on the water all afternoon. Grannoms, hendricksons, quill gordons, BWOs. Fished until about 7. On the way back, we were walking by a pool with a few consistent risers, so we stopped to try them. Between 3 guys with several fly changes each, we couldn't figure them out. After 1/2 hour or so, we gave up and walked back. At the big flat pool by the parking area, there were several fish rising. No obvious naturals on the surface, but two of us were gluttons for punishment. Very surprisingly, I had great success on a quill gordon parachute and my buddy at the same time had good success with a hendrickson dry. I don't think they were taking these naturals, but both flies worked well. Go figure. It had all the hallmarks of a humbling encounter, but it was a blast. Every one of my fish took on the first good drift over them. 5 fish fooled in about 10 minutes. (Only landed 2 of them) Penn's almost never does that. Especially on the big pool by the parking lot. Goes to show why hope springs eternal in the hearts of all fishermen...
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I was just out on Penns this past weekend in the same area. Caught a 12-13" brookie. Penns definitely has some big brookies in it but I would assume most are right around the Cherry Run area
 
Well it would certainly be nice if we had some up-to-date stream surveys. Cherry Run's last survey in 2004 showed the biggest brookie at a whopping 8 inches. With the way fish move, that certainly doesn't rule bigger fish out. Elk can certainly crank out bigger brookies, but I'm guessing it, along with other tribs, has suffered from stocking and brown trout.
 
I can't speak for private hatcheries and sportsman clubs, etc, but the PFBC does not stock brookies in any tribs of Penns or Penns proper.....these streams are only stocked with browns and rainbows according to the PFBC stocking page. Does the Union County Sportsman Club stock any brookies?
 
This is the smaller one - I didn't get a pic of the larger one - will ask my buddy to send me one.
Dan's Penn's Brook2.jpg
 

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I was up on Penns this weekend as well. Caught 4 brookies in the 11" range. Another guy I was with landed 4 as well. These brookies have been around since last year when I started catching them, but they were a little smaller (8" +/-). I've caught them down near the Little Mountain area and as far up stream as Rainbow Riff (a couple of pools above the PFBC cabin). Not many people know where they may have come from. Coloration is pail for most part, but fins look good. I've never caught so many brookies in Penns, so this leads me to believe they are likely from a hatchery and stocked.
 
LehighRegular said:
I was up on Penns this weekend as well. Caught 4 brookies in the 11" range. Another guy I was with landed 4 as well. These brookies have been around since last year when I started catching them, but they were a little smaller (8" +/-). I've caught them down near the Little Mountain area and as far up stream as Rainbow Riff (a couple of pools above the PFBC cabin). Not many people know where they may have come from. Coloration is pail for most part, but fins look good. I've never caught so many brookies in Penns, so this leads me to believe they are likely from a hatchery and stocked.
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Mike has made a comment about brookie coloration in limestone influenced streams I believe that I agree with in-terms of coloration can be blunted. Either very dark green fish or pale without intense halos/red/blue. This is anecdotal not based on research so ai have nothing to back it up but two other brook trout spring creeks ai know tend to have this going on. Obviously penns is spring influenced and I don’t know if thats why or not. You can’t rule stocking in PA obv but with some of the frequency people have caught these fish in different places, the look of my brookies caught, and the abundant tribs I would say wild if the barrel of a gun was on my temple.
 
LehighRegular said:
I was up on Penns this weekend as well. Caught 4 brookies in the 11" range. Another guy I was with landed 4 as well. These brookies have been around since last year when I started catching them, but they were a little smaller (8" +/-). I've caught them down near the Little Mountain area and as far up stream as Rainbow Riff (a couple of pools above the PFBC cabin). Not many people know where they may have come from. Coloration is pail for most part, but fins look good. I've never caught so many brookies in Penns, so this leads me to believe they are likely from a hatchery and stocked.
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Here is another Brookie on penns I caught in the winter. Definitely has “muted” colors but I don’t think they are stocked IMO
 

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Assuming these fish are wild I wonder why they have been on the uptrend for year 3 now it seems? Rick Nyles gives a wonderful presentation on dry fly fishing penns and like 4-5 years ago he said they guide extensively on Penns and he was averaging only about one brook trout a year in Penns. Somethings different, would think 3 years is starting to be more than the random variations with year classes. We had drought low water high temps in penns doesn’t make sense
 
jifigz said:
I'm staying at Poe Valley next weekend, Friday through Sunday. I am ready. I am taking someone who has never fly fished before so we will see how they handle Penns. I'll have another forum regular there, too, so maybe between two of us we can coach the newbie together. But I am hoping the new guy can swing some caddis type wets and hook up with fish.
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I'll be there this weekend as well. We are the guys camping out of the utility trailer.
 
I agree that the fin wear and coloration may indicate a wild brookie. But what leads me to believe they were stocked is the all of a sudden presence of these fish and the quantity of fish being caught of basically similar size.
 
I've fished. Penns 3 times in the last 5-7 years. Typically within a mile of cherry run (up or down). Caught at least one brookie between 5" - 11" every outting.

For the late risers....Rusty in #20 or #14. Small black caddis coming back to the water can be nearly impossible to see later in the day which is also a possibility. Don't forget, grannom are divers and for every rise you see, tons are getting gobbled sub surface
 
I am prob going to go first week of may and just sleep in my car over night after i am done fishing, wake up fish, hit the road around dinner. I can’t wait
 
Those are wild fish. And I have caught similar in Penns the last few years from Poe area down to Cherry Run. And not saying they aren't above Poe, I rarely fish upstream of the cabin stretch, but thats above the mouth of Big Poe and they're in there too. Have had guys say they get em in Coburn as well.

I have caught stocked brookies in that stretch (below Big Poe) as well, but its been a number of years. I thought they stocked Big Poe with brookies but that may have changed. Everything I caught the last few years have been wild and I'm 95% sure those pics are wild, both KeviR's and Shaefers.

Penns has a noticable number of wild brook trout right now. A minority for sure, but noticably present.
 
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