Penns Creek, Centre County, 9/23-25/2022

[discomidge]

I spent a weekend backpacking on the stream (yes I know you're not legally allowed to camp out there but life's too short). It's been something of a tradition for me and this year's first fall trip was pretty good. The nights and water were cold. It got down into the 30s Friday night and Penns was in the mid 50's the next day. Flows were obscenely low but the trout were back in full force. There were still some smallies/fallfish/chubs in the mix but the browns dominated. There were excellent cahill hatches (#14-16) both evenings and the fish really keyed in on them. Also caught a nice cahill hatch Saturday morning. Otherwise the usual suspects were around - caddis, slates, and cream midges mainly. Late Saturday night I also saw some October Caddis. I mostly fished on top because I wasn't forced to do much else. I got some nymphing Saturday afternoon but then decided a nap would be nice, and I wasn't wrong. I left Sunday morning after waking up at 6 to a thunderstorm. I broke camp and saw the only other person I'd seen out there for nearly 48 hours. I pointed him to a favorite hole and watched him catch some fish but I was beat. But once I got back to the car I couldn't resist going back in for a few more hours and I'm glad I did. I stumbled into an epic slate hatch around 11am and things got wild.

It's so nice to have cold water on Penns and to have the trout back. Looked like a rough summer. And it was a welcome change from smallie fishing, which was fun, but I'm a sucker for sippers.

PS - last weekend the cahills were pretty scarce but the BWOs hatched consistently for hours.

 

[caddisflyer]

Thank you for the report. Encouraging after the hot summer. Just curious what sizes of fish you saw and caught? I can't tell from your photos. My last few times at Penns I thought the average fish were smaller than yrs past.

 

[discomidge]

They seemed pretty normal to me. No lunkers, but several were 16 and the the vast majority of them were over 12. Plus I didn't catch any real skinny ones whereas last fall I did.

 

[Zipper]

Disregard of laws. Might as well enter a walleye tournament and put weights in the fish.

 

[JeffP]

Great to hear! I won't clog the board next summer with worries about the fish. What area were you fishing?

 

[caddisflyer]

They seemed pretty normal to me. No lunkers, but several were 16 and the the vast majority of them were over 12. Plus I didn't catch any real skinny ones whereas last fall I did.

Good to hear. Glad you got them on top. I know what you mean about the skinny ones. Over 12 is a nice average. Yes 16 is respectable. 18-20 inchers have never been common on Penns in my experience. It is a beautiful stream.

 

[dryflyguy]

Great report!
Yes, the dry fly fishing really does pick up this time of year.
Plus, the heat and bugs of summer are gone now. Makes for a really nice time of year to be out.

As for the camping - there is a lot of state forest land along Penns. And backpack camping on it is legal.
So, depending on where you were - it may have been kosher.

 

[Swattie87]

Yeah, assuming you were in the large SF section between Coburn and Cherry Run and not on private land or within the Poe Paddy SP area (you have to register and camp on designated sites there) I don’t see how BP, hike in camping that area is illegal. I’m not 100% sure, but I think recognize your photos as the stretch below Poe Paddy, and above Cherry Run, which is SF.

Is there a special reg for camping along Penns in the SF we’re not aware of?

Edit: I’m incorrect. Double checked the maps. The corridor immediately along the stream from Poe Paddy to Cherry Run is actually PFBC owned, which you can’t camp on. Though Bald Eagle SF lands are within a couple hundred yards, or less, of the stream in most places. So you could in theory camp/fish that area, just have to be careful where you make your camp and watch the boundaries on your map/GPS.

 

[discomidge]

JeffP - I was in the C&R section. The happiest place on Earth.

And yeah Swattie you're right - the land stream-side in that section is PFBC.