Penns Creek, Centre & Mifflin Counties, 04-10-2023

[Sylvaneous]

Got to Penns about 12:30 on Monday. Intense sun. Crystal blue sky. Water clear/green. Not good Penns conditions. Nymphed below the Poe Paddy tressel. Fished a Hendrickson nymph on a drop rig on my Euro rod. Fished hard. Picked the water apart. Only hooked & landed 2, but they were decent browns. Crossed to the other side of the tunnel and nymphed the fast water below where Swift Run comes in. Nothing. Walked below Big Poe creek looking for spinners. There were lots over the water, but the fish weren't terribly excited, keeping form for the day. Got 2 decent browns about 1/2 way down the pool where there's an old rock slide and rocks showing in the water. I went back to the softer but bouncy water in the riffle, but didn't see any risers; a place I've see good activity before. They just weren't interested today.
Tuesday started better. I started with the Grannoms above the eel weir. Quickly caught 3 in the head of fast water features on a pupa tight lined behind a #1 shot. Then couldn't find another bite. Swung, tight lined, fished deeper water, shallow; nothing. Moved to the Granny Riffle above the upper tressel. Got like 5 there tight lining. Much more surface activity here. Again, the fish were in pretty skinny water. One super nice 17+ incher Grannom Penns Brown .
Then got 2 more on top in the glide upstream by putting Frogs Fanny on the grannom sparkle pupa that I was nymphing and swingning.
So that morning saved the trip. Penns giveth and Penns taketh away. It nearly took me away. I 'sat' the river on Monday because, eh... I don't need to bring my wading staff. I used it Tuesday.

 

[troutbert]

Got to Penns about 12:30 on Monday. Intense sun. Crystal blue sky. Water clear/green. Not good Penns conditions. Nymphed below the Poe Paddy tressel. Fished a Hendrickson nymph on a drop rig on my Euro rod. Fished hard. Picked the water apart. Only hooked & landed 2, but they were decent browns. Crossed to the other side of the tunnel and nymphed the fast water below where Swift Run comes in. Nothing. Walked below Big Poe creek looking for spinners. There were lots over the water, but the fish weren't terribly excited, keeping form for the day. Got 2 decent browns about 1/2 way down the pool where there's an old rock slide and rocks showing in the water. I went back to the softer but bouncy water in the riffle, but didn't see any risers; a place I've see good activity before. They just weren't interested today.
Tuesday started better. I started with the Grannoms above the eel weir. Quickly caught 3 in the head of fast water features on a pupa tight lined behind a #1 shot. Then couldn't find another bite. Swung, tight lined, fished deeper water, shallow; nothing. Moved to the Granny Riffle above the upper tressel. Got like 5 there tight lining. Much more surface activity here. Again, the fish were in pretty skinny water. One super nice 17+ incher Grannom Penns Brown .
Then got 2 more on top in the glide upstream by putting Frogs Fanny on the grannom sparkle pupa that I was nymphing and swingning.
So that morning saved the trip. Penns giveth and Penns taketh away. It nearly took me away. I 'sat' the river on Monday because, eh... I don't need to bring my wading staff. I used it Tuesday.

Where are the "eel weir" and "Granny Riffle?"

 

[Nocktavius]

Where are the "eel weir" and "Granny Riffle?"

Down below the Love Shack?

 

[Swattie87]

Where are the "eel weir" and "Granny Riffle?"

About halfway between Gilligan’s Island and the Devil’s Pool.

Just downstream from the Bridge Over Troubled Water.

 

[mt_flyfisher]

Got to Penns about 12:30 on Monday. Intense sun. Crystal blue sky. Water clear/green. Not good Penns conditions. Nymphed below the Poe Paddy tressel. Fished a Hendrickson nymph on a drop rig on my Euro rod. Fished hard. Picked the water apart. Only hooked & landed 2, but they were decent browns. Crossed to the other side of the tunnel and nymphed the fast water below where Swift Run comes in. Nothing. Walked below Big Poe creek looking for spinners. There were lots over the water, but the fish weren't terribly excited, keeping form for the day. Got 2 decent browns about 1/2 way down the pool where there's an old rock slide and rocks showing in the water. I went back to the softer but bouncy water in the riffle, but didn't see any risers; a place I've see good activity before. They just weren't interested today.
Tuesday started better. I started with the Grannoms above the eel weir. Quickly caught 3 in the head of fast water features on a pupa tight lined behind a #1 shot. Then couldn't find another bite. Swung, tight lined, fished deeper water, shallow; nothing. Moved to the Granny Riffle above the upper tressel. Got like 5 there tight lining. Much more surface activity here. Again, the fish were in pretty skinny water. One super nice 17+ incher Grannom Penns Brown .
Then got 2 more on top in the glide upstream by putting Frogs Fanny on the grannom sparkle pupa that I was nymphing and swingning.
So that morning saved the trip. Penns giveth and Penns taketh away. It nearly took me away. I 'sat' the river on Monday because, eh... I don't need to bring my wading staff. I used it Tuesday.

I believe you and I fished some of the same water, at nearly the same time, on Monday afternoon, and I would have written a considerably different report had I written written one. I would have said something like “there were lots of rising fish“ and “they were interested today.”

I find it interesting that 2 fishermen can honestly have different perspectives, and both may be right. Being honest though, there’s no way I could have said I caught any fish as nice as that brown you got onTuesday. 😊

 

[Swattie87]

I believe you and I fished some of the same water, at nearly the same time, on Monday afternoon, and I would have written a considerably different report had I written I written one. I would have said something like “there were lots of rising fish“ and “they were interested today.”

I find it interesting that 2 fishermen can honestly have different perspectives, and both may be right. Being honest though, there’s no way I could have said I caught any fish a nice at that brown you got onTuesday. 😊

I think this can definitely happen. I hit Hendricksons pretty good mid-afternoon on Saturday. I was fishing pretty quick water, below a heavy riff, and above a long slow pool, the transition between the two really. I had about 2 hours of steady risers. The whole time, there was a guy high-stick nymphing the heavy riff above me. Different perspectives, and different preferences on techniques. I suspect our reports of the afternoon’s fishing would have been very different.

 

[Sylvaneous]

Down below the Love Shack?

Beside. And the Love Shack seems to be recieveing some new love. Someone is sprucing it up. Must have been long enough since Hurricaine Ivan that people don't think that's a big problem for that location.

 

[Sylvaneous]

Where are the "eel weir" and "Granny Riffle?"

I won't explain the eel weir, but the Granny riffle is the riffle right above the upper tressel. Jonas called it that and, with me and my other friend, the name stuck.

 

[pcray1231]

Well, where I was Saturday, if you were on the water from 2:30-4:30 or so, regardless if you were in pools or riffles the thousands of bugs and rising fish woulda been hard to miss. Fast water, slow water, everywhere. The issue at the peak of it was too many naturals!

That said the same thing did not happen Thursday or Friday, so I'm not gonna say it occurred Sunday or Monday or Tuesday. There were just a few bugs the other days. And I was walking out from day #3 of putting in long hrs and lots of effort just to catch a couple fish when things turned on for real. If I had been a half hr earlier and to my car by 2:30, I woulda definitely walked away with a very different report of the whole trip. Somebody who fished the morning, took an afternoon break, and went back out for the evening may have never known what happened. Such is Penns. Turns on, and off, like a switch. That switch is off far more than on. Those days and times when its on are amazing but not real predictable. And you gotta put in the time to run into it. Sometimes it seems just when you've lost hope and start wondering why in heck you hold this place in such regard, you know you coulda done better elsewhere. Thats when it shows you why. And thats what makes you wanna go back. I'm a glutton for punishment, lol.

 

[Sylvaneous]

Just saying what happened to me where I was, folks. Not saying 'shadow casting' a periwinkle googlefarb wouldn't have hooked a dozen an hour. Telling it as I found it. Penns can be very different place-to-place, day-to-day and year-to-year, especially with Hendricksons, as I've seen. Or maybe not.

 

[troutbert]

About halfway between Gilligan’s Island and the Devil’s Pool.

Just downstream from the Bridge Over Troubled Water.

I won't explain the eel weir, but the Granny riffle is the riffle right above the upper tressel. Jonas called it that and, with me and my other friend, the name stuck.

It seems like every pool and riffle on Penns Creek has been named. But different generations may have different names.

I know where Love's cabin and Loves pool are, but is that the same or different than "Love Shack?"

Hopefully names like Broadwater, Rainbow Riffle, and Clay Banks will survive. And Trestle Number ___. I always forget the number.

 

[Swattie87]

The spots I mentioned can only be found by those who know where they are. 😉

 

[afishinado]

On Penns and other bug factory type streams it's not just the how and when, it's the where. And where is not necessarily measured in miles.

As an example. during last years Jam I fished with the Mod Squad on Penns in the evening. I found 100 yards +/- of good looking dry fly water and there were anglers above and below me so I fished "my" stretch nymphing and waiting for a hatch or spinner fall.

Dave Kile and Mo moved upstream a couple hundred yards. I caught 2 small trout all evening and I saw exactly three rises the whole evening and very few bugs (sulphers) on the water.

Back at the vehicle Dave Kile reported fish rising all around him and all kind of bugs on the water. Mo was fishing just below Dave and saw him lighting it up. He had a great time on the water dry fly fishin'/catchin' while I was blanked. I couldn't see him around the bend, but he was no more than a quarter mile above me. The scenario happens time and time again on streams and rivers like Penns and also the Delaware River comes to mind.

 

[jifigz]

I sure hope I find some good fishing on Penns this weekend. I wish the crick would get a little more color to it before then.

I will be sure to write up a report too.

 

[Nocktavius]

I sure hope I find some good fishing on Penns this weekend. I wish the crick would get a little more color to it before then.

I will be sure to write up a report too.

Central PA levels are getting very low. Rain outlook looks pretty poor for the next 10-15 days unless a pattern shift happens. Once the trees start really leafing out, you're going to see much more pronounced flow decreases that probably will make for some truly **** May fishing. This time of year we should be getting pounded every 3-5 days by valley washers that bump these things up to above 2000 cfs, instead its just low clear and dropping.

 

[Fish Sticks]

Yea it is interesting, i am hoping we get a wet summer atleast. However, wonder if less may gully washers and muddy water will improve hatch density or not? Obviously if it gets too low you dewater alot of bugs and kill them near the stream margins. Not sure what to make of it over all. Flood events in first 30-70 days is mortality factor for brookies but if things get low imagine predatation will be more. On penns these drought conditions have been kind of the norm recently but its been more of a late summer-mid fall thing. I too wonder how the timing of the low water will effect the ecosystem and I have no idea obviously but still curious.

 

[Nocktavius]

Yea it is interesting, i am hoping we get a wet summer atleast. However, wonder if less may gully washers and muddy water will improve hatch density or not? Obviously if it gets too low you dewater alot of bugs and kill them near the stream margins. Not sure what to make of it over all. Flood events in first 30-70 days is mortality factor for brookies but if things get low imagine predatation will be more. On penns these drought conditions have been kind of the norm recently but its been more of a late summer-mid fall thing. I too wonder how the timing of the low water will effect the ecosystem and I have no idea obviously but still curious.

I look at it as really no different than the Cannonsville and Pepacton reservoirs being at <50%. The limestone aquifers have a typical fill level and slowly drain via spring/seep influences into the creeks over days to weeks until they're replenished by more spring rains. If they're more "full" we usually see more runoff (and therefore color), but this year even heavy rains seem have been soaking right in- indicating a pretty low water table. We also had almost zero snowmelt to pad the levels in the earlier months.

Penns once it hits the special regs area has a lot more freestone influence than rivers such as the LJ so it stands to get hit a lot harder by an early season water deficit with respect to thermal stress. Summer and Fall low water is more typical, but unless I'm mistaken the last few springs have been pretty wet. I've at least got way more Mar-Jun memories of wading at 400-700 cfs and we've been hitting these rivers pretty religiously for at least the last 10 years. Generally what's good for the hatch and fishing isn't necessarily good for the fish- they eat probably 90% of their diet subsurface anyway and those big heavy blown out weekends where I've got Sz 6 Pats on point and still adding split shot just seem more appropriate for this time of year than the comparatively easier wading and fishing we've been seeing this year thus far.

 

[jifigz]

Yeah, but it will all be fine. There have been wetter years, drier years, etc etc. The fish and systems will go on. I can't control it and so I have learned not to worry. There are better things I can use my energy on.

 

[discomidge]

I'll be out there Friday and Saturday, C&R section. Say hey if you see me. Blue NY Mets hat covered in flies that were rejected by the fish.

 

[jifigz]

I'll be out there Friday and Saturday, C&R section. Say hey if you see me. Blue NY Mets hat covered in flies that were rejected by the fish.

On Friday I am meeting HopBack at the Feathered Hook in the morning and then probably fishing up the Cobrun way before dropping down into our campsite. Saturday all day I will probably be in the project.