Places in Pennsylvania to take a Beginner Fly Fishing

[Taimenpala]

After a guided bass fishing trip in Disney, hell froze over, and my Mom decided to take up fly fishing as a hobby like my Dad and I. We've already taken her out once to a trout stream in Bedford County and she really enjoyed it.

A week later, a friend reached out about streams that would be easy to teach someone to fly fish at and it got me wondering, what streams are best for taking a novice to to teach them in PA?

I was thinking of criteria that would make a person's first fly fishing experience enjoyable for both them and their teacher/guide, and came up with:

• Easy to catch fish at
• Easy wading/hiking
• Lack of dense tree and brush for easier back casts
• Easy to access (clear parking, no need to ask for permission to fish, easy drives, etc.)

Off the top of my head, I'd say the Yellow Breeches and Little Lehigh would be good options for a beginner to be taught at. Spring Creek may have more difficult fish but I think it meets the rest of the criteria.

Does anyone else have any places they like to take a beginner to or thoughts?

 

[Sylvaneous]

Where are you located?

 

[Sylvaneous]

A bluegill pond is really MY choice of a-learin' sumwun how to fly fish. I"m doing that with my 5 year old.

 

[Taimenpala]

A bluegill pond is really MY choice of a-learin' sumwun how to fly fish. I"m doing that with my 5 year old.

After writing this I realized the obvious answer is what you said, a pond. That's where I learned to fish at that age too.

 

[Taimenpala]

Where are you located?

I'm in SCPA, but my parents live in SWPA, and we go up to the State College area a couple times a year for football games and other events. We're meeting up in that area this weekend and Mom would like to go fishing again, so I'm trying to cook up some options.

I have friends who live in various parts of the state that have expressed an interest in trying fly fishing, predominantly from SEPA.

Honestly I thought this post would just be fun to see if anyone else was thinking about this before and what streams/rivers/lakes etc they came up with.

 

[gfenlikestolosepasswords]

The local pond is really the right answer. It puts you on fish quickly and easily. There's always a chance for something more substantial. You can even try to be clever by casting to a cruising carp.

After that, it's any stocked stream with easy and open access. There are some around me that cut through wide open parks. That'd be the next choice.

 

[TimMurphy]

I'm in SCPA, but my parents live in SWPA, and we go up to the State College area a couple times a year for football games and other events. We're meeting up in that area this weekend and Mom would like to go fishing again, so I'm trying to cook up some options.

I have friends who live in various parts of the state that have expressed an interest in trying fly fishing, predominantly from SEPA.

Honestly I thought this post would just be fun to see if anyone else was thinking about this before and what streams/rivers/lakes etc they came up with.

Dear Taimenpala,

If you are going to be in State College, then Colyer Lake would be a good spot for your mom to fish, it's off Rte 322 a couple of miles below Boalsburg. Sayers Dam is another one, so is Black Moshannon State Park but it's a little further away than the other places depending on where exactly you are going to be in State College. Between Huntingdon and State College you also have Lake Perez and Whipple Dam, plus there are a lot of places at Raystown and Glendale Lake, and Canoe Creek State Park. I've had my wife fishing at all the places mentioned so I know they are women friendly and fairly easier to get around.

Depending on where you are in SWPA there should be a number of State Parks with lakes or ponds in them.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[Bamboozle]

Taimenpala:

To Tim's post I'll add...

If you can find a State Park with a floating fishing pier or a non-swimming amount of beach along the lake, that makes things even easier.

 

[nd1001]

I agree that panfish are great to learn on. A lot of stocked trout streams that don’t support wild trout will have panfish in the summer months. I think a pond is a great place to start too, but something about the experience of wading moving water and exploring a stream was really fun to me when I started out.

 

[ROVERT]

It depends what technique you are trying to work on. A pond works for general casting and hooksets. There are a lot of things in fly fishing you can't learn on a pond, though.

I generally fish for wild trout but on a couple occasions this Spring have gone to streams that have wild browns and stocked rainbows. Those rainbows would be a good target to work on flowing water presentations and mending. They're quite cooperative.

 

[CRB]

LMB and SMB have been on fire off the Presque Isle SP along Presque Isle Bay up here in Erie on flies.

 

[Taimenpala]

It depends what technique you are trying to work on. A pond works for general casting and hooksets. There are a lot of things in fly fishing you can't learn on a pond, though.

I generally fish for wild trout but on a couple occasions this Spring have gone to streams that have wild browns and stocked rainbows. Those rainbows would be a good target to work on flowing water presentations and mending. They're quite cooperative.

Couldn't agree more. I appreciate all of the still water options I have gotten for sure, but I think we'll still be going to some moving body of water. I'll keep doing some research on that. Maybe hit Whipple Dam for casting practice and getting some panfish and then go to one of the open sections on Spruce Creek for working on drifts.

And you bring up an excellent point about the stocked fish over the wild fish. While that is not what should be going on, I do go to a couple of streams at the beginning of trout season with wild fish + public fish + co-op fish to knock the rust off.

 

[6xAdams(Jones)]

If you're golf club members, see if you can try the water hazards. If the club doesn't use pesticides, there should be a population of sunfish and possibly a bass or two. They clip the grass pretty close to pond's edge on the fairways, leaving a nice open area for the back cast.

 

[Taimenpala]

If you're golf club members, see if you can try the water hazards. If the club doesn't use pesticides, there should be a population of sunfish and possibly a bass or two. They clip the grass pretty close to pond's edge on the fairways, leaving a nice open area for the back cast.

Are you talking about the Blue and White courses? If so, there are definitely bass in there, but I'd need to check if they allow someone to fish who isn't a member.

 

[6xAdams(Jones)]

Are you talking about the Blue and White courses? If so, there are definitely bass in there, but I'd need to check if they allow someone to fish who isn't a member.

I have no idea about golf clubs in PA or anywhere else. Our local private course is adjacent to our housing plan. My boys and I used to be able to walk in and fish in the evenings when most of the golfers were almost done. This was before the county took it over and fenced in all the illegal access pathways.

 

[gfenlikestolosepasswords]

My cousin moved to Arizona in the 80s. He used to sneak into golf courses and fish for bass and send pictures back of absolute monsters because it was, evidently, an unknown thing back then.

 

[mszoke1802]

I have no idea about golf clubs in PA or anywhere else. Our local private course is adjacent to our housing plan. My boys and I used to be able to walk in and fish in the evenings when most of the golfers were almost done. This was before the county took it over and fenced in all the illegal access pathways.

I used to fish course courses often at night. tons of bass on the courses near me. In college I worked at a private club in chester county and we'd go out on the course to fish after closing up. fun times.